Park House School Personal Best Issue 35

Legends...

The Headteacher’s ‘Living the Values’ Award, introduced by Mr Peaple in 2012 as part of the school’s Legacy commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic Values, was this year presented by All Black legend Zinzan Brooke to Luke Barlow.

See pages 4-7 for more outstanding prize winners!

Read Luke’s account of his trip to Tanzania on page 12!

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Legends...

Legends. We’ve certainly been privileged to work with a number of legendary figures from the worlds of sport and broadcasting over the last term.

They’ve been an inspiration, as you’ll see in this issue of Personal Best. But I also sense that we are creating our own generation of future legends here at Park House; young people who will be remembered both individually and collectively for their record-breaking, nationally recognised achievements and caring and compassionate contributions to the local and wider community. Remember. You read about them here first... • Derek Peaple, Headteacher

“Was a real pleasure to engage with so many brilliant young people.”

John Simpson CBE, BBC World Affairs Editor

A unique insight into post war history In November, students from Years 11 and 12 were given a very unique insight into recent political history with legendary BBC World Affairs Editor, John Simpson CBE who is currently celebrating 50 years with the BBC. At such a pivotal time in the landscape of international politics, it can be easy to overlook the defining moments that led us to this point.

But, history was brought to life as the enigmatic reporter and journalist took time out of his busy diary to regale our students with his experiences of some of the most pivotal moments from the post-war world.

Potential future journalists, reporters, writers, and politicians listened, spellbound to the first hand descriptions of John’s time on the front line – usually both physically and emotionally challenging – as he reported on the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, the release of Nelson Mandela, the wars in Afghanistan, and Iraq, and of course, most recently, the election of Donald Trump.

Sophie Doherty from Year 12 said: “It was really interesting to hear about his amazing experiences. I learnt so much about world affairs... you couldn’t believe he had actually been to those places. He was really great at actually answering the questions that we asked him and being really honest! He really is like the David Attenborough of the news!”

Luke Donohoe from Year 11 said: “This experience has definitely made me look at the world and the wars that are happening differently. It shows how much passion John has for his job, as he is really putting his life on the line to get the story.”

Mr Peaple, himself a history teacher, said: “This was a truly exceptional experience for our students. They were privileged to learn from an individual of remarkable wisdom and insight. I know that meeting John will have had a huge impact on their thinking about their own futures and world affairs.”

And to cap it all, after his visit, John tweeted us to say: “Was a real pleasure to engage with so many brilliant young people.” •

Park House School A Leading Academy for the Whole Community

Personal Best is published by Park House School. It is distributed to students, staff, parents, stakeholders, alumni and friends of Park House School. Issue No 36 will be published in the Summer of 2017.

We need the help of staff and students to produce Personal Best – thank you again to all those who have contributed to this issue – we’re sorry if your story couldn’t be included this time.

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Do you wish to say something positive about school life? Please submit ideas, stories, copy and high resolution photos for future issues to Headteacher, Mr Derek Peaple or Mrs Teresa Jones in the school office.

Park House School, Andover Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 6NQ T 01635 573911 E tjones@parkhouseschool.org W www.parkhouseschool.org /ParkHouseSchool @PHSNewbury

Designed and produced by Waddell Digital Limited WaddellDigital @WaddellDigital www.waddelldigital.co.uk

An evening with two Rugby legends The Rugby Legends evening in November was a resounding success, thanks not only to All Black legends Zinzan Brooke and Sean Fitzpatrick, but also to rugby commentator and ex-coach Sean Holley who compèred the evening brilliantly; raising over £4,000 for OK Our Kids – our chosen charity for the evening.

Mr Peaple said: “We were thrilled to host such a fantastically entertaining evening on behalf of OK Our Kids. ‘Fitzy’ and ‘Zinny’ kept us enthralled with a mixture of anecdotes and opinions on the modern game. We are delighted that OK Our Kids is now in a stronger position to continue their work educating young people on how to stay safe in the modern age. We were very pleased to share the evening with some of our keenest female, rugby-playing students, including our England U18 Carys Cox [see page 14]. Fiona Davies from Year 12 also kept us entertained with some truly wonderful singing.”

Thank you to The Events Room and Waddell Digital for supporting the evening – we hope to host a similar fundraiser for the school in 2017. Look out for news on our social media in the new year! •

Compère Sean Holley and All Black legend Sean Fitzpatrick.

Fiona Davies from Year 12 sang beautifully.

Tony and Lynn Churchill, OK Our Kids and Headteacher, Derek Peaple dwarfed by ‘Fitzy’ and ‘Zinny’.

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A Legendary Prize Giving It was wholly appropriate that we should have had All Black legend Zinzan Brooke, one of the greatest rugby players of all time, as guest of honour at this year’s annual ex-Year 11 Prize Giving Celebration Evening on 16 November.

Appropriate because my last assembly with the year group prior to their GCSE exams started with the challenge of the Haka as a metaphor for the examination challenges ahead – and was subsequently based on what lessons can be learned from the approach that makes the All Blacks the most successful team in history.

My speech on the evening was therefore an opportunity to thank the year group for listening so attentively – and for taking up the challenge!

In achieving the best GCSE results in the school’s history, these students certainly fulfilled the core All Black aim of ‘leaving the jersey in a better place’, proud of their performances and acting as an inspiration for the next generation of players to aim even higher. This legendary year group have left the Year 11 Park House jersey in a better place.

The best place it’s ever been… • Derek Peaple

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Head Girl Katherine Langley presenting ‘Zinny’ with her designs for his new shirt.

Mr David Marson was thanked for his long and outstanding service as our Chair of Governors.

Mrs Stubbs, Head of Learning, couldn’t resist getting in on the selfies...

Head Girl Katherine Langley, Zinzan Brooke and Head Boy Lucas Voss.

‘Zinny’ was thoroughly entertaining – especially when adjusting the microphone to his height...

George Melling (right), French subject prize recipient with Alfie Weatherhead. More prize winners on next page...

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Some of our amazing ex-Year 11 prize winners from the night

Miles Albert

Lili Atraki

Luke Barlow

Newbury Oils Cup

Textiles Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Biology Paul Barker Memorial Prize

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Best GCSE results

Trevor Fisher Memorial Prize

Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Outstanding attitude to work and school life

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Male Athlete of the Year

Headteacher’s Living the Values Award

Carla Castell

Liam Chandler

Maria Columbro

Harry Etheridge

Gemini Services Award

Work Related Learning Award

Resistant Materials

For excellent work in IT

Outstanding commitment to an extended work placement

Health and Social Care Twin Town Award

Harriet Ferris

Zoe Forte

Izzy Fry

Oliver Hewitt

Graphic Products

ICT, PE

Peel Cup

PE

For excellence in languages

Female athlete of the Year

Thomas Ingvorsen

Niamh Jones

Scarlett King

Ruairidh Livingstone

Music Gordon Clewes Memorial Prize

Art Governors’ Prize

History

Governors’ Shield

Services to Music

Services to the community and school

Academic progress

Photo prints available to buy from www.waddelldigital.co.uk/phsprizegiving2016 (You will be asked to enter your email to access the photos.)

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Charles Matthews

Esme Mayled

Luke McMahon

Katie Motion

Computer Science, English Literature Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

David Clark Shield

Further Maths

English Language

Significant progress throughout school life

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Alice Parker

Sophie Parker

Katie Part

Joshua Reeves

Additional Science Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Eileen Hanks Cup

Geography Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

J Roberts Shield

Outstanding artwork

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Officiating in Sport

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Callum Reynolds

Gabriel Silva

Ben Sutherland

Alex Tu

Business Studies

Spanish

Dawson Prize

Food Technology

Student most deserving of success

Aaron Vass

Harry Waye-Branch

Ellie Woodley

BTEC Construction

BTEC Sport

Physics Neil Jones Memorial Prize

Photo prints available to buy from www.waddelldigital.co.uk/phsprizegiving2016

Well done and congratulations to all of our prize winners.

Student who has excelled academically

Gil Appleby Memorial Prize For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

(You will be asked to enter your email to access the photos.)

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Junior Prize Givings We don’t just wait until the end of Year 11 to formally celebrate student achievement! The following highlights capture our wonderful Junior Prize Giving Ceremonies for Years 7-10, recognising the commitment and progress of all our students as they mature within school...

Year 7

Year 8

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Celebrating student achievement throughout the school...

Year 9

Year 10

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Earning your House Colours...

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Mr Marshall and I am the new House Lead Tutor. It is my responsibility to ensure the House System is run fairly and in an exciting and engaging way for all students. So far this year we have had some incredible events and activities designed to build community spirit within the school, as well as raise money for charity, develop student character and grow healthy competition.

We began our year with a whole school, five-mile fundraising walk which saw students earning House Points for their contributions. The Senior Student team have also organised a wonderful charity drive which so far has included ‘Purple for Polio’ and ‘The Food Bank Collection’. Not only have these events helped those in need, but have also allowed students to earn those ever-important House Points.

Students earn House Points throughout their time at Park House, which add up to give them a personal account of what they have achieved. Once a student gets 150 House Points they receive their Bronze Badge. This should be accomplished by most students by the time they finish Year 7 (that would be just over four House Points a week!).

House Rugby.

House Dance.

By the time a student finishes Year 8 they should be on course for a total of 300 House Points which would get them their Silver Badge, then 450 House Points for Gold by the end of Year 9.

Once students have achieved all three of these they begin working towards the House Colours. Half Colours are awarded when a student achieves 525 House Points, with Full Colours awarded for 600.

The most successful students of each House might even receive a House Tie. This special award is for those students who have made the most superb of contributions to their House. To qualify, students must have their full colours and be able to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to their House, the school and the wider community.

The new look House Badges are being distributed this year.

Each student will receive their badges in the colour of their House.

Another fantastic way to earn House Points is by taking part in House Events. This year we will see the return of the fantastic House Maths competition, House Dance and many other subject specific House competitions.

House Netball.

House Sports are currently underway with the Winter terms seeing Badminton, Rugby and Netball. Each year group will battle it out for a winner. Totals will be calculated and an overall House Champion will be crowned for each sport.

Keep your eyes open for even more new and exciting House events coming soon! • Mr Marshall

Year 8 ‘elves’ taking part in Newbury Weekly News’ parcel drop for the elderly

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Chelsie’s hard lesson in softball We dug deep on the Thursday night for an intense match but made history with a 7-2 victory over Italy which not only put us in good stead for the rest of the tournament but made Fastpitch Softball history!

However, the tournament wasn’t over yet and boy did GB’s momentum carry us through on Friday as we beat Belgium 8-4. As pool winners we were then up against the second place Czech Republic who wanted revenge. The winner of this game would then play in Saturday’s final.

With hundreds of people in the stand all making noise, a guaranteed spot in the final looming in our minds we formed a dance circle and sang at the top of our lungs to Beyoncè’s Love on Top which put us in a great frame of mind for the match ahead.

The Czech Republic put us under pressure from the start – two in the first innings. They then shut us out and scored another four – 6-0! It seemed we’d come to the end of our tether until suddenly our bats got going and we scored two runs – 6-2!. It was our last chance to win the game, bases loaded and the Czech pitcher walked a run in, 6-3, in the dugout my heart was pounding uncontrollably. One of our team who hadn’t hit all night came up to bat – first a swing and a miss, then a ball and all of a sudden she smashed the ball over left field and the base runners kept running! The last runner came in and the score was 7-6 – GB had won! We now had to face the Italians once again in the final.

Unfortunately that night I slipped in the bathroom and sprained my ankle which meant something I’d worked for the whole year was out of my reach because of a wet floor! But I was determined to be part of it so I grabbed my crutches got myself to the field where the final was being played and joined my team mates in one last dance circle, singing to Beyoncè again.

GB were not going to go down without a fight. We shut the Italians down straight away but at our turn to bat they proved they were a force to be reckoned with as they shut us down too. This went on for seven innings with neither team scoring!

In June I was selected for the Great Britain Fastpitch Softball team to represent the under 19s at the first European Championships. I was training for two hours daily in London and Milton Keynes to improve as much as possible before heading to Barcelona with the team on 26 July.

At the hotel in Saint Boi there was no messing around – we were given our rooms and went straight to bed as the next day our five-day training camp began. This was to be the beginning of a journey that I’ll never forget. We met our teammates who joined us from all over the world – girls we’d never met before but who’d soon become our closest friends.

We played a training match in Gava against a team visiting from Ohio. It wasn’t the prettiest of games as we were still trying to find our feet in over 30 degree heat but we had our first win together as a team. But, the five days’ training looked like they’d taken a turn for the worst as we made easy mistakes, error after error and continued losses in scrimmage games. We could be in trouble at a tournament where we aimed to get a medal...

However, after a relaxing Sunday with friends and family exploring Barcelona we brushed off the patchy training and got our heads in the game ready to take on the opening game of the Championships the next morning.

Monday 1 August. Game day. Our first game of the tournament was against Lithuania – an inexperienced team who gave us our first morale-boosting win 15-0. On Tuesday we beat Israel 18-0 and Spain, 15-0. The positive vibe surrounding every GB player that evening was indescribable! On Wednesday morning we beat Germany 8-1 – a glorious win but we knew our toughest game yet was to face the Czech Republic later that evening; so to prepare in true British style we went for fish and chips on the beach!

I sat on the bench with the rest of my team and created a sensational rhythm – an intense drumming beat that carried us through the game unsettling the other team!

We kept our rhythm strong. Seventh innings, one out and bases loaded and then our batter hit the ball up the third base line and bobbled it and GB came in with a run to end the game!

GB under 19s were the first European Champions – a gold medal! I hugged my teammates and we all shouted and cheered with our friends and family in the stands.

And, after the celebrations settled down, on the speakers we heard: “Ladies and gentlemen it has just been confirmed that softball will be back in the Olympics at Tokyo in 2020!” Again the stands erupted along with the players on the field. I couldn’t have been more proud although I was gutted to not play in the final for which I had so tirelessly worked. But, I learned a valuable lesson – just because I wasn’t on the field, the drumming and encouragement from the bench was just as inspiring as making diving catches and hitting home runs.

This is a milestone achievement for me and British softball – being a team player isn’t just about being in the starting line up, it’s about what you do when you’re not in the starting line up. • Chelsie Robison, Year 13

We won! We beat the Czech Republic 6-2! Our positivity carried on into Thursday when we faced Russia to come out victorious once again...10-2! Yet again we had to then gear up for another gruelling game the next day against Italy – a team that GB had never beaten in Fastpitch history – so what did we do? Yes, fish and chips on the beach again!

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Gap Medic in Tanzania I arrived at Gatwick wearing my Gap Medics T-shirt, knowing no one.

By the time I arrived in Dar es Salaam, having made a connecting flight in Dubai, I had already met around 30 fellow Gap Medic participants from around the world.

I was the first student through customs thanks to having obtained my visa at the embassy in London and was met by Gilbert, a thirty-year-old Tanzanian placement manager with a great sense of humour. His favourite phrase was “cool like bananas in the fridge”! We then spent the night in a hotel and the following morning took a three hour bus ride to Morogoro.

We arrived at Forest House – a complex of bamboo buildings nestled at the foot of the Uluguru Mountains – it was a haven of tranquillity amongst a mishmash of corrugated shacks and ramshackle buildings. The staff were welcoming and friendly. The accommodation was guarded and the security guards became my friends. I was allocated a bed in a dormitory with four other students. There were enormous ants and Gary – the resident lizard.

There were serious motorcycle crash admissions and many HIV patients.

Very often the patients would have firstly sought the help of ‘witch doctors’ who often spread disease because they believed in cutting HIV patients with an unclean “sacred knife” to cure them. They would then go on to use the same knife with no sterilisation which led to the further spread of HIV. I volunteered to do a night shift and witnessed the birth of twins and was privileged to hold one of them when just a few moments old. The unsanitary conditions were a bit of a shock, it was hot, the air was stagnant and stench in the labour ward was at times hard to stomach.

My first day on the Paediatric ward was a harrowing one. I watched a six-year-old boy struggling to breath, he had respiratory pneumonia as a complication of malaria and died a few hours later. The ward had a mortality rate of ten percent.

That same week I met an eighteen-year-old girl who had given birth three days before. She had walked for days from a rural village and eaten nothing to give birth in hospital. Both she and her baby were malnourished – so much so that she was unable to lactate. She had no money for formula milk and the father of the baby had abandoned her. We were permitted to buy her meals in the canteen and formula milk, but this was not widely encouraged.

My final week was spent on the surgical ward – time for me to see if I had the stomach for becoming a Doctor. The smell of a psychiatric male patient with a gangrenous ring finger (the ring was too tight) was the hardest due to the repugnant smell. Very often surgery would take place with inadequate anaesthesia – in one case a man had an entire leg amputated on just one paracetamol. He had no money for sedation and as you might expect he passed out quickly from the pain.

The saddest memory I have is of a nine-year-old boy, the sole survivor of a motorcycle accident. His femur was pinned together as it had snapped in half. He awoke sobbing before his operation was complete, which was not uncommon.

We set off the next morning at 7.30 in smart dress, for the one mile walk to Morogoro Regional Hospital. Vervet monkeys darted across the road as motorbikes, carrying entire families precariously balanced, sped by.

My first week was spent observing the doctors in the outpatient ward.

The majority of outpatients were antenatal – some as young as thirteen!

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A large amount of my free time was spent at a nearby Catholic orphanage. Many of the beautiful children were not strictly orphaned, but their parents were unable to feed them. We weren’t allowed to buy them toys but instead purchased three goats for them. When we left we were told they would soon be killed for them to eat. I felt the physical needs of the

children were met but they were sorely lacking in love and affection and it was an honour to spend time with them and bring a smile to their faces. One in particular tugged at my heart strings – a little girl whose Mother had slept with a Chinese man who then left her. The despair she felt at being unable to provide for her child led her to commit suicide just three days after dropping her daughter at the orphanage.

I spent one weekend on Safari at the Mikumi National Park and saw giraffes, rhino, buffalos, wildebeest, vultures, lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, crocodiles and antelope. We slept in a hut in the middle of nowhere guarded

by Masai tribesmen. I was blessed by a Masai Chief and watched a ritual dance that was intended to scare off the big cats.

Against my parents advice (“don’t do anything unless you’re with a group”) I sought out a mountain guide and took a trek up Morningside Mountain.

The guide had dreadlocks and was known simply as Rasta. He was a very laid-back character, in his mid-twenties and we got on very well. The view at the top was stunning, the only slight issue was a black mamba snake we encountered on the descent. It was about six feet in front of me and is one of the world’s most deadly snakes!

I loved the people, the place and the medicine, and learned that what we consider hardship here really isn’t at all, and, I made some lifelong friends from around the world. • Luke Barlow, Year 12 For more info on Gap Medics visit: uk.gapmedics.com

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Carys caps an outstanding season We are so proud of, and thrilled for, our amazing Deputy Head Girl, Carys Cox, who won her first full England U18 Rugby Cap this year in France, scoring six tries in a multi-nation tournament. An inspiration... here she writes about her experience:

I had thought my fifteens season was over until I got an email inviting me to England under-20s trials – a massive shock that showed me that my hard work had paid off. Unfortunately I didn’t make it through these trials but this gave me the motivation to work even harder for next season.

2016 has been my most successful year yet. It started with South West trial success which led to the selection for the England National talent group in which we played against Canada in the Easter half term in where we won by a significant amount.

By May, it was time for Sevens. Firstly I got selected for the South West Sevens team when we played three other divisions across England and won! Based on my performance at that Sevens tournament I was selected for the UK School Games at Loughborough University playing teams from all over Great Britain.

And then, following nine days of trials between June and August plus my Sevens and fifteens performances I was invited to try out for the England Under-18 Sevens Team.

At the England camps we were assessed on skills and attitude and at the end of August I received a call from the head coach saying that I had been selected for the team and that I would be flying out to Vichy, France the next week to compete in the European championships! Safe to say I was very excited and proud.

On Thursday 8 September we had a final training day at Bisham Abbey with the team which was heading to France on the Friday morning to make final preparations before match weekend.

Saturday was our first game day – we were set to play Ukraine, France and Italy. We won all of our pool games convincingly without conceding a try. After each game we had to ice bath. The evening then consisted of game analysis, rehab and team pizza!

Sunday was finals day and we had special guests, Canada in the quarter final. This was our hardest game yet as they put pressure on our defence immediately. Unfortunately we lost this game by one try scored in the final seconds. The day wasn’t finished yet though as we had two more games, one against Wales and the next against Italy. We won both of these games without conceding any tries. This meant that we had finished third in the European cup out of 18 teams. The weekend closed with medal presentations, lots of photos and a closing ceremony.

The whole experience was a massive learning curve for me and the team, and wearing the Red Rose for the first time was an overwhelming honour.

This year has been very tough but hugely successful for me and has put me on a pathway to hopefully one day play again for my country. It proved to me that hard work, dedication and self-belief pays off. • Carys Cox, Year 13

Karate confidence boost I belong to Traditional International Shotokan Karate Association (TISKA).

I started karate when I was eight to help boost my confidence. I attend TISKA classes every Sunday lunchtime at Hungerford Leisure Centre with my instructor who is known as Sensei Stockley.

I also attend special black belt courses which are run by Chief Sensei Sahota in Northampton. I have a grading every three months for my next belt and/or tag. Recently I have completed my grading for my brown and white stripe with red tag. My next gradings for my brown and red stripe belt, and brown with black stripe belt get me even closer to my black belt. (You can see all my belts here.) • Emma Cheshire, Year 7 The classes are for both adults and children (age 4 – 104!).

More details at www.tiskakarate-hungerford.co.uk

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Knight rider Jeremy Knight, Year 8, has just competed in the 2016 Cool Fab British Championship sponsored by British Superbikes on a Mini GP 50 Metrakit motorbike. He took part in eight very competitive rounds at various tracks around the country finishing at Mallory Park.

Jeremy worked really hard and finished the championship in a very impressive seventh place. Jeremy has been riding motorbikes since he was five, starting with motocross then joining Scott Redding Young Riders Academy in 2014 on a mini bike before moving up to riding a Mini GP 50 Metrakit.

Jeremy also continues to participate in motocross and indoor pit biking. He is very dedicated to his riding; he is working very hard in a very competitive championship and is proud of his achievements so far.

He now has numerous fans on his Facebook page along with a number of generous sponsors that have supported him through 2016; A Plant, I & S Landscaping and Pest Control, Rainbow Graphics, C & E Groundworks Ltd, Lavisher Building and Roofing Ltd, Falkland Cricket Club and Automotive Paint Supplies.

Jeremy will now be moving up to compete in the 2017 British Championship on a Mini GP 70 Metrakit starting with testing and competing in a world race in Spain in March 2017. He is really looking forward to the new race season in 2017 which looks to be a very exciting year!

• Penelope Knight More info on Facebook at: Jeremy Knight Racing #35

Weight for it...

Earlier this year both Eran and Levi Whyte, both Year 9, took part in their first weightlifting competition at Southern Schools.

We [their parents] are very keen members of Crossfit Hungerford where we have the privilege of training with Marius Hardiman, a former British champion Olympic weightlifter, who agreed to put a junior lifting club in place.

Eran and Levi were both keen to join and have attended weekly for the last couple of years.

They were then selected to train at Oxford Powersports under Marius and over the last few months of coaching have become quite proficient lifters.

At Southern Schools, Eran and Levi were amongst 49 competitors ranging from Years 5 to 11 with body weights started from 35 Kg to 94kg. They had to perform two lifts with three attempts at each; the snatch – a very technical and awkward lift, followed by the clean and jerk; again a very technical lift.

They both did amazingly well. Levi was first in his category and first for his year group while Eran was first in her category and overall third in her year group. On top of that, Eran was the only girl in her year group!

We are not sure at this stage what their future in weightlifting might be but their coach Marius is keen to continue with them and they are keen to train! • Matthew and Caroline Whyte

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Microsoft DigiGirlz Our DigiGirlz team of 2016 comprised of Lowri Thomas, Keala Doyle, Livia Popplewell, Emma Layton, Jessie Thompson, Georgia Poole, Leonie Craddick and Kira Tucker who were given the task of designing an advertisement for a new, food related, mobile app.

The event began with a presentation about future technologies and how they could be used in the future to support both the wider community and people with disabilities. Valuable insights were also provided into the future of learning and the skills needed to ensure that young people are ready to work alongside technology to be successful.

The challenge activity involved the girls working together as a team, undertaking different roles to produce an advertisement. The team elected Lowri as the project leader who organised her team. Keala was tasked with using movie editing software to manipulate the video clips to produce an advertisement with impact; Jessie Thompson and Livia were involved in creating the graphical representation of the final product; Georgia and Emma were in charge of the costing strategy and Leonie and Kira were the marketing experts.

The solution was a design for an app that would scan the food inside a fridge and then determine what meals could be made from the remaining food. An order can then be sent to a local supermarket to deliver the additional ingredients. The DigiGirlz worked tirelessly on their solution, using the dynamic working spaces of Microsoft to fuel their creativity.

Their process included interviewing some of the workers in order to gather some of their insight and views on their potential product. They used a detailed storyboard in order to capture the necessary clips to be combined in Movie Maker where sound and transitions were added for a truly inspiring advert which featured all of the team.

I would like to thank all the girls for their combined efforts and their infectious enthusiasm. • Mr Marshman

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Teentech Gold!

Park House has been awarded Gold status as a TeenTech Centre of Innovation and Creativity. This prestigious new award is given to schools who provide opportunities for young people to become innovators by being given the access, opportunity and environment to explore projects which make life safer, simpler and more fun.

Our most outstanding model of this to date has been the work of Jack Hygate, Laurence Bu-Rashid and Connor Humphreys and their multi-award

winning eWATERtap project which took the journey from idea to prototype to installation to supporting rural and village communities in Africa.

Their idea was initially developed as part of an entry in the TeenTech Awards.

The award has only been given to six centres of excellence in the UK – all of which have reached out to the local community. One example of this outreach was the successful pilot of the TeenTech City of Tomorrow programme which enabled local primary

schools to experience innovation through the design and development of prototype models of future structures which were both sustainable and fun. Park House has also supported programmes with external, established organisations to lead students in developing core skills in creativity, teamwork, communication, collaboration and confidence. A few of these partners include the University of Reading, CDK Global, Sony, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Maplin and Berkshire STEM ambassadors to name but a few.

This award not only provides recognition of our fantastic achievements but also provides a foundation for our successful students to become TeenTech Ambassadors who will inspire others across the UK. At the moment, our Years 7 and 8 students are embarking upon their TeenTech Awards 2017 journey and we are looking forward to seeing their innovative ideas develop and wish them all the best in this year’s competition. • Mr Marshman.

Teentech innovation week A group of Year 7 students took part in a TeenTech innovation session at CDK Global in Hungerford. This new approach to developing ideas for TeenTech enabled local specialists and STEM Ambassadors to provide insights into careers within Science, Technology and Engineering through a variety of presentations and discussions.

These valuable perceptions provided a firm base for the TeenTech teams to generate ideas for new technology and to gain valuable knowledge and guidance from professionals to refine and evolve their ideas into potential solutions which would benefit society.

The TeenTech teams have now chosen their appropriate subject area which include transport, the environment and health and are already investigating these areas to ensure that their brainstormed technical solutions could change the world by considering the target audience and practical applications. We look forward to seeing the prototypes generated from this initial phase of creativity as they continue a cycle of development and investigation over the coming weeks.

CDK and Cisco will be supporting the students all the way through their TeenTech journey with one or more Ambassadors helping at the school each week. • Mr Marshman

Ambassadors who have been involved: Colin Hamp, Elaine Lieu, Chris Heath, Nick Fowler, Scott Wilson (CDK) John Quinn (Cisco) Raymond Buckland (STEM ambassador) Russell Shackleton (careers & enterprise advisor) Students involved: Harry Sherlock, Harvey Carter, Sam Riley, Joseph Sheperia, James Nicoll, Billy Smeeton, Ned Robey, Adil Ahmed, Paige Harris, Ben Hensby, Jack Harman, Josh Donohoe

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Geography field trips...

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Dorset In October, we visited the south west coast on our field trip to gain details for the completion for our coursework. We did fieldwork on the morphology of the coastline and studied economic regeneration.

We started by visiting a farm park and spoke to the owner about how she was making the farm more successful. Next we visited Osprey Quay located on the Isle of Portland. We asked other visitors their opinions on the area and afterward we went to Chesil Beach to look at the different types of coastal management and then on to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove where we studied the formation of the landforms.

On the final day we visited Studland Bay to complete a beach profile followed by looking at the plant succession further inland. It was extremely cold so we had to wear thousands of layers and we were also stalked by a vicious sea gull!

We then went on the ferry connecting Studland bay to Sandbanks and Barton on Sea where we studied the coastal defences against erosion. Overall it was a very educational and enjoyable experience.

• Sophie Philpot and Katie Part

Snowdonia “We visited Snowdonia as part of our Cold Environments Geography Unit. The most incredible highlight of the trip was by far Electric Mountain – an HEP Power Station – to see how we are using the ancient glacial landscape. It was really interesting to see how the glacier has shaped the mountains and the valleys. ” Louis Stewart

“I enjoyed exploring and learning about glacial features. We spent a whole day identifying and sketching glacial features, such as a corrie, roche moutonnée and an esker. One of the highlights was the evening walk and the view from the top of the ribbon lake at Llanberis watching the sunset.”

Katherine Langley

“On this trip we were able to learn about glacial environments and landforms in their natural environments, amongst dramatic scenery. The days were often tiring, but they were a lot of fun too. Thank you to Mr Davis and Miss Bunn for putting up with us and I hope that we weren’t too loud for the locals!”

Toby Holloway

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A student formula for success?

Bristol University’s Electric Racing Team gave some of our Year 9, Year 10 and Sixth Form students the opportunity to experience the thrill of engineering and designing a race car. A team of students from Bristol University Engineering and one of our former students, Maddie Gilboy, came to school with a car they’ve been developing to enter the Formula Student racing event at Silverstone in July 2017.

Students discussed the design of the race car, how to get in and out of it, the choice of materials, the design and manufacture of parts and also the type of subjects they need to concentrate on to work in STEM industries after school.

It was great to see the university students so engrossed in engineering and putting across their love of their subject to students about to make choices that will influence their later options. Their main message was: ‘choose science and maths and you will have fun and if you want to be an engineer you must choose Physics and Maths at A Level.’

They also made clear that choosing these subjects keeps all your options open in careers in business, finance and many other industries as well as being must-haves for engineering.

Thank you to Bristol University Engineering Outreach team for putting on the event and igniting a passion for STEM by demonstrating their own enthusiasm. • Mr Miller, Head of Physics and Director of STEM Outreach

Thatcham Research experience In November, A Level Physics students visited Thatcham Research, a leading non-profit researcher into motor safety and security.

Neil Samuel from Thatcham gave students an introductory presentation into Thatcham’s research, including the different types of crash testing they do to grade car models against a five-star rating for safety and a fifty-point system overall. This forms a Euro NCAP rating for the car, Thatcham being the only Euro NCAP laboratory in the UK. Students were then shown around the facilities including the Repair Technology Centre where new cars are assessed for appropriate repair methods developed in conjunction with various worldwide manufacturers.

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The indoor crash areas were enthusiastically hosted by graduate engineer Tom. His passion for making cars safer was infectious. He explained the huge forces involved during a vehicle impact.

Each crash test takes several weeks to set up as the car must be in the correct position to make every test reproducible. The tests are designed to mimic real life crashes and it was quite shocking to see brand new cars get written off in massive impact tests!

At Thatcham’s training centre students saw how new manufacturing materials are developed and the challenges therein. For example, the use of extensive carbon fibre in modern high end cars presents new problems for the repair industry. Students also saw the

substructure of new Tesla cars – extensively built from aluminium and requiring specialist welding techniques for repairs to be safe. We also saw a carbon fibre tub from a McLaren supercar. Carbon fibre can be severely compromised in an accident making them very difficult and expensive to repair.

The grand finale for students was to become passengers, in an autonomous braking Volvo which when driven towards a ‘foam car’ braked with no input from the driver. A very jerky experience but a great demonstration of how technology is being improved to save impacts, insurance costs and potential injuries. • Mr Miller, Head of Physics and Director of STEM Outreach More info at www.thatcham.org

AWE STEM Tech Challenge At AWE’s annual STEM Tech challenge on Monday 2 October, our students had more than usual to celebrate. The competition, run and hosted by AWE, saw the our team walk away not only with awards for the best accuracy, furthest distance, a bonus prize for an outstanding and inventive design, but also with the trophy for being overall winners.

Year 9 students Lily Marston, Caitlin Richards, Tiegan Doyle, and Harvey MacKay, worked together to create a winning piece of engineering, developing a launching device that was not only the most accurate, but also the fastest and the most powerful.

This year’s challenge was to design a machine to launch a tennis ball, a ping pong ball and a beanbag.

The teams were armed only with an information pack about slingshots, trebuchets and ballistas, and some raw materials. Then they were then left to their own devices to design and build their creation.

Mr Peaple said: “Our students’ stunning all round performance is a reflection of fantastic teamwork and a creative approach to STEM challenges that runs right through the curriculum. We could not be prouder of them.” • Danielle Auld

IBM

In October, Year 12 Physics Students had the opportunity to visit IBM Hursley. From being a hideout for Vickers’ pioneering development of jet fighters and the Spitfire to now, being on the very cutting edge of technology and the advancement of applications of existing ones. All this despite its seemingly unfitting ornate rooms and stately presence. IBM spends around $5 billion a year on Research and Development across hardware, software and the physical sciences.

We went on to see the IBM labs where we were able to see some of the new technologies currently in development. As we marched on through the corridor towards the research labs, the walls were full of photos of IBM’s Master Inventors – highly accomplished individuals with successes in patenting and new innovations – a key factor in IBM’s success.

While in the laboratory, we were able to try out some new and upcoming technologies; virtual reality developments, automation

technologies integrated with the web of things and finally the impressive analytical systems powered by IBM’s Watson such as the “Big Data” analysis of tweets – something IBM has particularly focused on after pivoting away from hardware development.

Our group took a shine to safety technology developed to track the conditions of workers on dangerous sites. Demonstrated with one safety helmet wired up to a large number of sensors, very enthusiastic students used a semi soft baseball bat to simulate impacts upon the hard hat.

Instantly we saw the results as the telemetry data poured into a live overview board giving us a look behind the future scenes of industry.

A visit to the museum situated in the basement of Hursley gave us an insight into the history of both IBM and the development of technology.

Each artifact was a testament to a company that has had to, and has been able to, constantly reinvent itself and adapt for success as the demand and technologies changed and progressed. A thoroughly exciting day! • Charles Matthews and Ellie Woodley

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Mentoring our Champions of Enterprise In November the first heat for the Champions of Enterprise was held at Park House. This involved Business Mentorsjoing us from local businesses; Waitrose, Gist and Environmental Solutions. Students were asked to choose a business and provide a solution to the specific problems facing their choice.

The groups worked extremely well together and the comments from the visiting mentors centred around the excellent, and in some cases outstanding, ability of the teams to organise, research and communicate with each other to provide some wide ranging presentations. Website design, the homeless and logistics were all included in the varied presentations at the end of the day. The winning team was Harvey Grew, Matthew Harris, Ethan Bowers, Eve Stratton and Tom Amor who will all go on to compete against other local schools before Christmas. • Mrs Langford-Holt

Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Our Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards students are all making good progress with their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.

The Bronze assessed expedition took place back in the summer in surprisingly warm conditions (despite students having prepared for the worst weather) and with some moderately hard walking for the students. They planned and executed the journey themselves using maps and compasses and arrived at their check points on time and in good spirts.

The Silver group have been progressing well this term and the Gold students enjoyed a fourteen-day sailing expedition from Hamble Marina, Southampton back in the summer.

We will give you a more detailed update in the summer edition of Personal Best, by which time many of the students will have completed their individual awards activities and paperwork. • Brian Burton, DofE Coordinator

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Equestrian news Despite the damp weather and a slightly depleted squad the equestrian team had a successful day at Sparsholt. Lily Marston rode a beautiful double clear round in the 70cm and then repeated this in the (very large!) 80cm class.

Holly Aufiero joined her in the 80cm, also getting double clears and coming third individually. Holly and Alice Parker then competed in the 90cm, again both getting double clears and Holly coming fifth individually. Amber Alsbury also joined the squad for her first competition but her naughty pony obviously would rather have spent the day in his dry stable. I’m sure he’ll behave better next time! • Mrs Brown, Equestrian Team Manager

Alice Parker in action (left inset) and modelling our very smart rugs!

Holly Aufiero (left) and Lily Marston

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Sounds of the Musicals...

At the end of November a cast of 66 students took to the stage to produce three fabulous evenings of live entertainment for the masses with songs from a variety of blockbuster musicals!

It was truly a musical extravaganza – with no fewer than 20 soloists performing over 30 different songs from a variety of musicals to help raise money for the Drama department’s next production.

With classics from Wicked, Les Miserables, Mamma Mia and audiences dancing in the aisles, we were proud to showcase three fun-filled nights of top-class entertainment to rival the West End. Miss Baron would like to give a huge thank you to all involved, but particularly to Mason Pretorius and Sam Ho for whom this was their fourth and final show at Park House.

Thank you all for your commitment and help over the years and good luck for the future.

We hope you can all join us for 2017’s next big show! • Drama Department with photos by Waddell Digital

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More from Sounds of the Musicals...

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Photos available to buy from: www.waddelldigital.co.uk/phsmusicals (You will be asked to enter your email to access the photos.)

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Macmillan Coffee morning raises £174 This term’s coffee morning was arranged by me and my team as a fun way to raise money for a good cause. Recent statistics suggest cancer now affects 1 in 2 people – not a nice thought.

Our coffee morning involved cakes, tea and coffee with a little twist of creepy-crawlies as it was around Halloween.

Lots of people came together to raise funds for cancer specialist nurses who maintain medical and practical support throughout someone’s cancer treatment. This is important because Macmillan’s motto is ‘no one faces cancer alone’. We raised £174 which was a massive achievement. Thank you to everyone who donated by buying a cake and thank you to those who took part in the cake-off and spot the cake competitions. It was a great day and I hope everyone enjoyed it. • Abi Scarlett, Year 13

MoBro Tash Attack!

Staff including Mr Jones, Mr Slater, Mr Hornsby and Mr Hawkins have yet again indulged in some hirsute fundraising for Movember which aims to raise awareness of men’s health issues and funds for diseases such as prostate and testicular cancer. Well done chaps on raising almost £300! For further information visit uk.movember.com

Mr Jones.

Mr Slater.

Historical sponsored walk raises over £5,300

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On Monday 19 September, all staff and students donned suitable footwear for a sponsored walk across fields where the First Battle of Newbury had taken place 373 years earlier on Sunday 20 September 1643. The battle was fought between the Royalist army of Kings Charles I against an army of Parliamentarians led by Robert Devereux, third Earl of Essex.

The walk raised over £5,300 and the school is applying for Gift Aid to top up that amount in order to purchase a more up-to-date selection of library books to enrich students’ reading and learning.

A huge thank you to the local community including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, parents and guardians, as well as all the staff and students who took part in the walk.

Mrs Robinson-Slater suggested the fundraiser after becoming aware the Berkshire Schools Library service would no longer be able to provide new books for school libraries including ours.

Well done to everyone involved – staff are already planning another exciting route on a new theme as part of next year’s fundraising efforts!

Interact grows support for charities Park House Interact is sponsored by Newbury Rotary to encourage community service by young people and we have already raised over £1,000 since forming in July 2016 To raise these funds we have marshalled the car park for the Newbury triathlon in September and we have held fundraising doughnut sales within school. The monies raised so far have been donated to Cancer research and Daisy’s Dream.

Crocus planting.

Wear Purple for Polio.

October 24 was World Polio Day and the school took part in this important event. Newbury Rotary donated around 1,000 crocuses to our Interact group which have all been planted around the school grounds and will bloom in spring time, hopefully all in the appropriate purple!

We further raised awareness by holding a purplethemed day where everyone attended school wearing one item of purple clothing, this raised over £450 for World Polio which meant that, at 48p a vaccine we have provide 938 vaccines for children around the world.

Ready to plant crocuses.

And finally for this term, just as Personal Best is being published our team worked together to collect for the West Berkshire Foodbank for those in need this year.

Collections from students, parents and staff were split into school Houses and the winning house, Oak, will be awarded additional house points. Thank you for all the contributions which we know will make a difference!

We are currently a Sixth Form group but we are looking to branch out to involve younger year groups.

• Gemma Maynard, President, Park House Interact

Loading up for the Foodbank.

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South Africa Tour 2016 After well over two years in the making, the Park House Rugby, Hockey and Netball Tour to South Africa 2016 happened! The stress of the endless preparation, risk assessments, communicating with parents and students and all the fundraising is over. The two weeks together as a group of 50 students and teachers are now just memories, but many that will last a lifetime...

On our first Monday in Cape Town we went up Table Mountain for some spectacular views before the clouds chased us up the mountain and obscured our view.

Our second day was spent touring the Cape Peninsula, heading down to the Cape of Good Hope, seeing the penguins at Boulders Beach and a boat trip out to see a seal colony. Later on students met their host families who they’d be staying with the next two nights.

The following day was game day with matches being played in torrential conditions, so much so that the hockey had to be abandoned due to the ball not moving more than a couple of metres on the pitch with each hit. The rugby boys and netball girls played their first competitive matches despite the weather.

On the Thursday we had a boat trip out to Robben Island and heard all about Nelson Mandela and the struggle against apartheid – an inspirational trip that brought into life some of the horrors of the awful segregation of the past.

We then saw the girls draw their second hockey fixture 1-1 against Pinelands at the foot of Table Mountain.

An unwelcome 4:30 am wake-up call on the Friday saw the start of an exciting day where we headed out on a boat from Gansbaai and got to do some cage diving with great white sharks. It was an amazing experience despite the high sea-sickness rate within the group – there was indeed a “hell of a swell” as the Captain put it!

There was no time for recovery lay-ins on the Saturday as there were netball and rugby matches to play and a two-hour drive with stunning scenery to our 10.00 am fixtures. Hoerskool Haarlem were tough opponents and our travelling over the previous 24 hours certainly took its toll on the first half of both fixtures with the rugby boys losing six tries to four and the girls losing their netball too. In the afternoon we visited an elephant park where students got to feed and stroke elephants.

Sunday was more relaxed – we enjoyed a canopy tour of Tsitsikamma Forest via zipwire before heading to our final host families at Hoerskool McLachlan in the tiny town of Joubertina. Students had been worried about this as the town was so small that staff had been contacted the night before to ask if we wanted food prepared as nowhere was open on a Sunday! They needn’t have worried though as they were treated to some awesome hospitality with their fantastic hosts.

Monday morning involved a visit to the huge fruit distribution centre in the morning followed by an educational session about the area around Joubertina by staff within the school. The afternoon saw our netball girls defeat Hoerskool McLachlan followed by the most surprising moment of tour when both rugby Captains arrived in the centre of the pitch by helicopter! The rugby match that followed was extremely hardly fought with Park House leading at half time and then losing three tries to one, still searching for that first elusive tour victory...

Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning were spent at the amazing Kariega Game Reserve where we experienced dusk and dawn game drives seeing elephants, rhino, lions, hippos, ostriches, giraffes, zebras and many more animals in their natural habitats. We then headed to the airport to catch a plane to Durban for the remainder of our Tour.

Thursday ended up being a quiet day as the Water Park we were scheduled to visit was closed due to bad weather the previous few days. We did however have our final tour matches with the girls losing their last hockey match

“Our daughter got to experience the most amazing things during the trip. One of the most fulfilling aspects of the tour for her was the visit to the partnership school in Durban and to experience how township school children absolutely enjoy their school and who were also so welcoming towards the PHS touring party.” Tour parent

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“My son has just returned from the most fantastic tour to South Africa.

It was something that he will remember forever ” Tour parent heavily and winning a very close netball match 41-37. The rugby boys finally got the result their performances had deserved though, we almost felt sorry for Pietermaritzburg Collegians as we ran riot in a 43-10 win!

Our final day (or so we thought) was such a humbling and heartwarming experience as we visited our partner school - Sithingile Secondary School – in a township just outside Durban. Our students were met with such warmth and treated like superstars wherever they went. Selfies were taken everywhere, contact details swapped; shirts and boots donated and songs shared. We were also treated to an amazing display of song and dance from the Sithingile students. A lifelong memory for all of us.

We began our journey home that evening but only got as far as Johannesburg before finding that our flight was delayed by 24 hours. What to do with 44 students in a hotel and airport for over 24 hours? We shouldn’t have worried though. Phone calls were made and we ended up having a fantastic “bonus” day at the Gold Reef City Amusement Park riding the rollercoasters!

The airport was always going to be a sad occasion as we said goodbye to Miss Richards and Mr Cook who were leaving Park House and will be missed greatly – but what a send off we gave them! We managed to pack so much in to those two (and a bit) weeks that it would take more than a page or two of Personal Best to give you all the detail, but thankfully Zoe Forte has put together a great little video of the fun we had. You can currently see this on the homepage of the school website.

As tour leader I can say the fun that I, and my colleagues, would have on tour was always dependant on the behaviour of the students – we are so proud of each and every one of them as they showed great individuality and maturity whilst showing huge respect for everyone around them. They seemed to “grow-up” right in front of us. They were awesome and made all the planning, organising, and the time spent away from home worthwhile. You are all truly ‘Lekker’! • Mr Tree, Head of Physical Education and Sport

More photos from Mr Tree and Ben Lefevre overleaf...

“I had the best two weeks of my life... filled with lots of once in a lifetime opportunities! I gained a lot of experience about another culture, learnt a lot about myself and the other people on tour.

It definitely exceeded my expectations!” Student

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“Not only will your child benefit from all the amazing experiences - seals, penguins, sharks, boats, elephants, lions, new cultures and customs, but this once in a ‘school life’ opportunity will bring them home, grown in self-belief, having learnt to compromise and consider others in a way that can't be learned at home.” Tour parent

“The teachers were amazing and made the trip very enjoyable!”

“The best experience I have ever had!”

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“Such an amazing two weeks that I will never forget!”

“Can we please go again?”

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Girls’ Rugby honours On 26 November, Sophie Thornton-Allen and I played rugby at Twickenham and were also part of the Guard of Honour for the Men’s England v Argentina and Women’s England v Canada matches, as part of the Berkshire Barbarians under-13s Girls’ Team.

It was such an honour to be there representing our country. The day started with a briefing in our changing room which the England Ladies were going to use later in the day. We then played against Hitchin on the hallowed turf whilst the crowd started to fill all the seats. Sophie and I both scored tries on the Twickenham pitch and were interviewed for the main pitch screen. They said that both of us had very promising talent and will be looking out for us in future years. We were speechless!

We then lined up on the pitch for the National Anthem; the atmosphere was electric but at the same time we were all petrified to be standing in front of 80,000 people. It felt so surreal I thought I was dreaming. As the crowd roared for the players. I couldn’t help hoping that one day that cheer might be for me.

We got to watch both matches in the VIP seats and were only metres away from where all the England subs were sitting. Both English Teams won their matches - it was an incredible day and so motivational! • Ellen Hill, Year 8

1st & 2nd XI Football Leagues It has been an amazing year for our two most pre-eminent football teams within school.

Our 1st XI won the U19 Berkshire League (West) with a 100% win record – the first time we have won this league in over 12 seasons.

Our 2nd XI also won their league for the first time since 2009, when a certain Mr Thorne featured in the team!

Congratulations to all the boys for a fantastic achievement! •Mr Tree

Students turn the tables on staff Our Table-Tennis club is going from strength to strength and we now have a steady flow of up to 16 students coming each week. It is open to all students in Years 7–11. There have even been special appearances from staff including Mr Tree, Mr Peaple and Miss Ottey.

We do a variety of activities like playing singles, doubles, learning the rules, practising our serves and the most popular group game – ‘around the world’.

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In the Spring there will be a Schools County Tournament where some of our budding Year 8 stars will take part – very successful for the school previously.

The club runs every Thursday after school from 3.30pm to 4.30pm and students muck in with setting up tables and nets and collecting bats and balls. We’re very proud of our club and hope that it gives the students confidence to try a new sport and make new friends. • Mrs McDougall

Kew Gardens In October, GCSE and A Level, Art and Photography Students visited Kew Gardens where they all sketched and photographed and the GCSE students created group sculptures for their Natural Forms project.

Students were shown how to make sun-prints using photographic paper and found leaves. Then having looked at the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy they produced some fantastic ‘leaf’ sculptures which really responded to the style of his work, incorporating gradually changing leaf tones in spirals and circles.

Students will now be using these ideas back in the classroom to develop and extend their exam portfolios. • Mrs Waddell

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Year 7 welcome Our welcome to New Year 7 students began with their Induction Day visit in the Summer term of Year 6. This was a brilliant day allowing students time to meet their new tutors and form some of the new friendships that are so important for the start of school. They also had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their new school and meet our peer mentors who supported them in the early weeks of school.

Students started their first day at Park House with an assembly which included an inspirational presentation from ex-student and Olympian Annabel Chaffey. Students then had the opportunity to meet and ask questions about her time at school and journey to becoming a Bobsleigh champion.

As term got underway Mr Peaple and Mrs Chandler invited parents and guardians to an informal Welcome Evening which provided a nice opportunity for everyone to get together along with tutors and other staff.

We are always proud to see how well our students progress and settle into life at secondary school, meeting new staff, making new friends and finding their way around the larger campus.

Some have already taken on the challenge of public speaking and of welcoming our next generation of students, whilst others have joined various sporting, musical and drama productions within school. We look forward to seeing them perform their Personal Bests with us. • Mrs Jones

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