Park House School Personal Best Issue 37

Living the Values...

The Headteacher’s ‘Living the Values’ Award, introduced in 2012 as part of the school’s Legacy commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic Values, was this year presented by England and British Lions legend Lewis Moody to Daniel Roch.

See pages 4-7 for more outstanding prize winners!

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Celebrating Values...

Each year our annual Prize Giving Evening represents a rounded celebration of all that our amazing young people do and achieve.

Not just of course in relation to academic attainment, but also their progress and service and contribution to the life of the school and wider community. Hence the breadth and very special character of the evening, which is so wonderfully captured on pages 4 to 7. And it’s also that breadth and diversity of school life which is so clearly reflected in this latest Winter Edition of Personal Best. It’s what we really value... • Derek Peaple, Headteacher

Royal visit recognises Achievement for All Newbury based charity, Achievement for All, along with Mr Peaple, school Governors and our Head Boy, Luke Barlow and Head Girl, Lili Atraki welcomed Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex GCVO, to Park House on Wednesday 29 November.

The visit saw The Countess of Wessex celebrate the work of the charity in transforming the lives of children and young people across England and Wales. During the visit, Her Royal Highness met with students, parents and staff from the school and Achievement for All who have been collectively working together to ensure all children and young people are able to achieve.

Sonia Blandford, CEO of Achievement for All said: “It was an absolute honour to have The Countess of Wessex come and see the work of the charity with Park House.”

We have been working in partnership with Achievement for All for seven years with a hugely positive impact on student and parental engagement in learning. The partnership has been all about working as a team for the benefit of our students and their all-round progress and personal development as individuals. It was a great privilege and pleasure to be able to share and celebrate those achievements with Her Royal Highness.

Achievement for All is a leading not-for-profit organisation working in partnership with early years settings, schools and colleges, improving outcomes for all children and young people from two-19 years of age in almost 4,500 schools, colleges, and early years settings to date.

As a finale to her visit, Her Royal Highness was also treated to a performance from the cast of our forthcoming musical Sister Act (see pages 34 and 35) which will be staged at Arlington Arts in January. • Derek Peaple

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 38 will be published in the Summer of 2018.

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

Mad Dog and Welshmen all out for a night of fun At our November Prize Giving, our students presented Lewis ‘Mad Dog’ Moody with a cheque for £1033 for the Lewis Moody Foundation – the funds raised at our recent British and Irish Lions Legends Evening.

The Foundation was set up in 2014 and works diligently to raise funds to help support young people living with brain tumours, and their families.

The evening saw guests regaled with tales of tours and training, and a question and answer session with 71 times capped England legend Lewis Moody MBE and Shane Williams MBE capped 87 times for Wales.

This was a really wonderful evening for an equally wonderful cause.

Former Ospreys Head Coach and BBC Rugby Scrum V presenter, Sean Holly, led an engrossing conversation on topics ranging from the unique experience of a Lions Tour to live issues in the modern professional game. There was also a great opportunity to explore the wider educational values associated with Ruby, exemplified by the establishment of Lewis’s ‘Mad Dog’ Rugby Academy at Park House next September.

BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS LEGENDS

SHANE WILLIAMS & LEWIS MOODY Sponsored by

In support of

www.waddelldigital.co.uk

The evening was generously sponsored by SafeToNet, who we are proud to be working with to develop an innovative, anti-bullying, social networking app. • Derek Peaple

Shane Williams, Compère Sean Holley and Lewis Moody set the tone...

L-R: Dan Roch, Year 12 (BBC Young Commentator of the Year finalist), James Burton, Shane Williams, Lewis Moody, Derek Peaple, Richard Pursey (founder SafeToNet – sponsors), Sharon Pursey (CEO SafeToNet), Phillip Norris and Sean Holley.

Head Girl, Lili Atraki; Head Boy, Luke Barlow and Derek Peaple present Lewis Moody with funds raised at the Lions Legends Evening.

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2017 Ex-Year 11 Prize Giving:

A Celebration of Values I’m not sure that, in context, we have ever had a more appropriate Prize Giving guest of honour than former England Rugby Captain and World Cup winner, Lewis Moody MBE. Firstly, because Lewis’ nickname as a player was ‘Mad Dog’. A nickname which captured the spirit of courage, commitment and, indeed, fearlessness with which he played the game.‘Mad Doggedness’ – courage, commitment, and fearlessness – was certainly required by our students to tackle head on the challenge of last summer’s exams – widely acknowledged as the toughest since the introduction of GCSE exams 30 years ago this year.

How amazing, therefore that their results - which we proudly celebrated on 14 November – represented a further 4% improvement on top of last year’s record breaking results, building still further on a five year trend in continuous improvement that recently saw us congratulated by Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Education as being placed in the top 100 State schools in the country But this was also a celebration of values. And wider values clearly matter to Lewis, as you can read more about on page 24. On the evening he spoke modestly – and eloquently – about how his experience of the game had helped to shape his own personal values, in particular that of respect; a value that also lies at very the heart of our own school community and was especially prevalent across this truly wonderful Year Group. It was therefore a pleasure and privilege to equally recognise and celebrate our wider values together with him. • Derek Peaple

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Lewis Moody MBE spoke with humility and gratitude for everthing that rugby, and sport generally, had given him.

Maha Bryan and Gemma Forte J Roberts Shield for Sports Leadership

Laurence Bu-Rashid

Connor Humphreys

Jack Hygate

Governors’ Prize

Schneider Memorial Prize

Paul Barker Memorial Prize

Student who has perservered and succeeded

Best GCSE results

Services to the community and school

Laurence, Connor and Jack were the proud recipients of the Headteacher’s ‘Living the Values’ group award

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

Gemini Services Award Excellent work in IT

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

Holly Donohoe

Charlie Woodfield

Alasdair Magee

Biology Peel Cup

Spanish Eileen Hanks Cup

Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Female Athlete of the Year

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Outstanding artwork

Amelia McKay

Dulcie Crosby

Neve Sanders

Bridget Skinner

Textiles

English Literature Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Drama

Music Neil Jones Memorial Prize

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Student who has excelled academically

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

Aimee Shannon

Arnaud Montagne

Joseph Lardner

Henry Sandys-Lumsdaine

Dance Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

History

Newbury Oils Cup

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Maths Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Max Twining

Paul Hammond

Leon Crossman

Harrison Phippen

David Clark Shield

Further Maths

Resistant Materials Governor’s Shield

BTEC Construction

Significant progress throughout school life

Male Athlete of the Year

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Academic Progress

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Noah Wood-Recio

Alicia Fraser

Brad Chick

James Peaple

Dawson Prize

Twin Town Award for Excellence in Languages

Trevor Fisher Memorial Prize

David Welch Memorial Trophy

Student most deserving of success

Outstanding attitude to work and school life

Continuous progress throughout the school

Alex Harman

Grace Norton

David Lee

Ellie Lockhart

BTEC Sport Food Technology

French Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Gordon Clewes Memorial Prize

English Language

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Services to Music

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

Well done and congratulations to all of our deserving prize winners.

John O’Shaughnessy

Natasha Mathias

Daniel Roch

Physics Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

German

PE Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

Headteacher’s Living the Values Award

Photo prints available to buy from www.waddelldigital.co.uk/phsprizegiving2017 (You will be asked to enter your email to access the photos.)

Manisha Gurung

Fay Penlington

Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

Chemistry Psychology Gil Appleby Memorial Prize

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades

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

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Year 7

– now Year 8

Year 8

– now Year 9

Celebrating student achievement throughout the school...

Year 9

– now Year 10

Year 10

– now Year 11

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Scarlett drew inspiration from Park House From a young age, I always had a very strong interest in Art and Fashion. Dressing myself in the morning as a small child, I would come downstairs in the most bizarre outfits at times. I was also fond of painting and drawing – some of which are still displayed around my family home. Despite being typically bright, curious and adventurous I really struggled with academic areas at school. I was told I had dyslexia, and from a young age my short term memory was terrible. I couldn’t read, write or spell properly without help – and I still struggle now; relying on family and friends to help me with grammar and spelling. I knew academic study wasn’t for me – I couldn’t concentrate and lacked confidence in many subjects.

Being labelled as someone who had a learning disability definitely knocked my confidence. I remember when I started at Park House, being a really nervous, anxious student who lived in constant fear of having to read out in front of the class, or being picked out to give my answer when I hadn’t been listening. Criteria? Genre? I remember these words being used over and over again in English and having absolutely no idea what they meant; I was too frightened to put my hand up and ask for help and feared people would laugh at me. I felt most comfortable in creative subjects and knew this was where my talent and interests lay.

Year 11 meant one thing – exams. I somehow scraped through and came out with 11 GCSEs graded C-B. If it wasn’t for teachers like Miss Wozniak who were patient and put all their time and energy in after-school lessons and extra revision classes, I probably wouldn’t have got my C in maths. Thanks Miss – I’m still very grateful!

I attended another school for Sixth Form. This proved very tough for me as the teachers didn’t really know me or understand that I needed some extra help. The degree I was specifically interested in was Fashion Photography, at Falmouth University, creative visuals have been something that have always inspired me. My new art teachers tried to persuade me to focus on a different art medium, despite my best efforts to persuade them otherwise! Thankfully, my Media teacher really believed in me despite me getting a U in a mock exam and my highest predicted grade being a D. No matter how hard I worked I couldn’t seem to get any of my graded homework much higher, but... I achieved an A in the final exam!

I went off to Falmouth University in 2014 – at the time, the top Arts university (according to a Which? student survey) in the country with the top fashion photography course in Europe. I was over the moon to be given an unconditional offer. My time at Falmouth really changed and shaped who I am and what I am doing today; I worked hard, made friends for life, and partied the nights away. I remember feeling very nervous about receiving my first ever hand-in results...

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but with 68% I was two marks off a First – I considered this an absolute miracle. My tutors, my friends and my family all believed in me and I had found a subject in which I knew I could achieve.

Attending an Arts University has led to so many amazing opportunities. I have attended London Fashion Week four times, working for 1883 Magazine as a social media coordinator, I have met and interviewed Jean Shrimpton (one of the world’s first super models) and Peter Goulding (The Denim king).

I have met Elizabeth Dibicki (Hollywood actress who starred in The Man from Uncle and The Great Gatsby), Chloe Pirrie (British television actress) and Reggie Yates (my childhood hero). I have worked with Clive Crook (founding Art Director of Elle Magazine) and with Michael Wooley (world famous fashion photographer).

I’ve met and networked with Mike Trow (Picture Editor of British Vogue) I am friends with the editor in chief, creative director and creator of Schon magazine (Raoul Kiel and Patrick Clarke), 1883 Magazine (Jay Mitchell), James Hensby ( Art Director of Tommy Hilfiger).

I have socialised and attended the same fashion events as the Made In Chelsea and TOWIE cast (Jamie Laing has actually interviewed me, and yes the McVities prince does indeed smell like biscuits- don’t be fooled it’s the fake tan!), I have worked for some of the world’s biggest fashion magazines: Schon, Four Seasons, 1883, Interview, L’Officiel Turkey, GQ Turkey. I have photographed for fashion brands; HUFF, Fourth Element, Finister & Roxy.

All of this experience has helped me grow in confidence. I was studying a subject that I believed in and most importantly I believed in myself. Without this self-belief and hard work, I wouldn’t have achieved a 2:1. Whilst I was at school, I did not believe that I would ever get into university, let alone get a degree from a top arts university! It has definitely not been easy, I really have worked so hard, but I got my head down and focussed and this has enabled me to get to where I am now.

Despite some health issues and losing two friends along the way, I am now feeling confident and ambitious; living in Amsterdam doing a six-month internship with fashion brand ‘10Days’. I never thought I would have the courage to do something like this! And no, mijn Nederlands is niet goed (my Dutch is not good)! Living in a different country has been very daunting, but I am loving it. I recently met up with my friend James Hensby, Art Director at Tommy Hilfiger, who introduced me to a senior director of Tommy Hilfiger – watch this space!

If there is anyone who is struggling like I was, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me, whether you need advice or a mentor – I would be more than willing to help. • www.linkedin.com/in/scarlett-langley-21508577

Jeremy’s riding moves up a gear We catch up with our very own Superbike rider Jeremy Knight, who we first featured back in Issue 35 when he was just in Year 8.

Jeremy started this season on a Metrakit 70 within the Cool Fab British Championship. He settled very quickly winning many podiums. He was then selected along with 90 other top riders between the ages of 12 to 18 from around the country to participate in the British Talent Cup trials at Silverstone on 23 August. Jeremy made it to the final stage of the selection process but unfortunately just missed out.

Jeremy then moved up to ride an Aprilia 125 within three Championships where he gave his all to learn the new bike and larger tracks like Donington Park, Thruxton and Oulton Park. He quickly adjusted and was very competitive from the start; finishing the 2017 Darley Moor Formula 125 Championship in second place, the 2017 EMRA Formula 125 Championship in third and the 2017 Thundersport Superteen Championship with an array of different powered bikes in 18th overall.

Now taking an even bigger step, Jeremy will be moving up to British Superbikes (BSB) on a Moto 3 Honda NSF 250 within the Standard Moto 3 Motostar Championship and will in Spain in December to complete his testing.

Jeremy has a large following on his Facebook page and has been supported through 2017

by Team 35 and by sponsors A Plant, I & S Landscaping and Pest Control Services, Rainbow Graphics, Falkland Cricket Club, C & E Groundworks Ltd and Lavisher Building and Roofing Ltd. He is now looking for new sponsors and joiners to Team 35. If anyone is interested in becoming part of Team 35 or sponsoring Jeremy then they can message us via Facebook page for details.

I would like to thank the school for being supportive of Jeremy and his racing and look forward to updating you on his progress in the new season. • Nell Knight More info on Facebook at: Jeremy Knight Racing #35

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Erin and Alice take steps to Blackpool Alice Evans and Erin House qualified in May, in Guildford, to dance at the National Association of Teachers of Dancing (NATD) Finals in Blackpool for Ballroom and Latin dancing. On Friday 22 September they travelled up to Blackpool with their families; staying over for two-days of competition for Ballroom and Latin.

Erin House, Year 7 writes: On the Saturday we made our way to the Winter Gardens Ballroom in Blackpool. It was difficult to keep calm because there were hundreds of people around and although the ballroom was lovely it soon became hot and stuffy. I stepped onto the dance floor and danced my best. I heard my number called out again and again until I made the finals. They had narrowed it down from 70 girls and I came sixth in the waltz, I was really pleased.

In the afternoon it was all-girl dances. The dances we did were the waltz/tango and the waltz. We did so well, we kept getting recalled and danced in the finals. In the all girls waltz/tango we came second and in the waltz we came third! Amazing!

The next day was Latin day. We danced the cha cha (my favourite) and I really enjoyed it. In the afternoon we did all-girls cha cha. We again managed to be recalled a few times and reached the finals and came fifth overall! I was so proud of my achievements and really enjoyed the whole experience. •

In the all-girls dancing we were put into heats for the waltz and tango. Again, our number kept getting called until we found ourselves dancing in the finals! We waited for what seemed like forever for the presentations and we came second in the waltz/tango and third in the waltz! Robin Windsor from Strictly presented us with our trophies – I couldn’t believe it!

On Sunday it was the Latin day. My first dance was the Cha Cha, I got recalled into the Semi-Finals. I didn’t make the finals but I knew I had danced my best. In the all girls we danced the Cha Cha, and made the finals again, this time we came fifth!

I came home with four big trophies and a medal, and was really proud of myself. I didn’t imagine I would dance in any finals. I just thought that if I didn’t make it at least I could say I had a great experience in a great competition. We had a lovely time and hope to do it again next year. • Alice Evans, Year 7 writes: We travelled to the Winter Gardens Ballroom in Blackpool. I was so nervous. I didn’t know what it was going to be like. I didn’t know what the judges would think of me!

In the morning we danced solos with our dance instructor. In the solos we did the waltz. Because there were so many girls and boys doing this competition they put us into heats. In our dance category there were over 70 girls. My hands were sweating so much, but I knew all the steps so there was nothing to worry about! Yes, done!

Ballroom isn’t my strongest dance. I didn’t get a recall this time. I was not too worried as I much prefer dancing Latin.

Risa writes...

Just recently, I entered a number of writing competitions, including The George Orwell Youth Prize and a local Hampshire creative writing challenge.

With The George Orwell Youth Prize, I was able to attend lectures at Oxford University about political journalism and creative writing.

I really enjoyed the day as it was an interesting experience to tour the University, to meet really influential writers, and to hear the viewpoint of George Orwell’s son, about his father as a person rather than just a writer. He’s an incredibly talked about writer at the moment due to current events such as the rise of fake news and alternative facts, so it was the perfect time to learn more about him.

For the Hampshire creative writing challenge I had to write a letter in 400 words or less and was highly commended for my letter. • Risa Cooper, Year 11

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Erin House (left) and Alice Evans with Robin Windsor

Smashing progress for Josh!

Ex-Year 11 student Josh Lawson has made history as the first Newbury tennis player to be accepted onto the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) scheme at Gosling Tennis Academy, a regional high performance centre. All this after only playing tennis for three and a half years while completing his GCSEs with us.

Acceptance criteria for the apprenticeship are tough with applicants having to prove that they have the ability and/or the potential to play at the highest level in their chosen sport. In tennis, acceptance is determined in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association of Great Britain.

Josh is the first student from Park House to be accepted onto this sought-after national programme. As part of the programme Josh will also be able to attain Level 3 NVQ in Excellence in Sports.

Josh’s father, Peter Lawson, a Dentist at the Wash Common Dental Practice said of his son’s achievement: “I am very proud of him; his ambition is to become a professional tennis player. He has chosen a very hard road but he loves playing tennis so I am happy he is following his dream.”

Derek Peaple said: “This is a very special achievement indeed. We were delighted to support Josh’s talent and rapid development with a modified timetable which enabled him to combine training and competition with his

studies. Josh thoroughly deserves his success in securing a place on such a prestigious programme. His achievement exemplifies our commitment to nurturing outstanding sporting talent alongside academic excellence. We are thrilled for him.”

The Apprenticeship programme, set up to give top young athletes the support and training they need to succeed in elite sport, is funded by the Skills Funding Agency and has supported athletes including Rebecca Adlington, double Olympic Gold Swimmer and England Football International, Jack Wilshere. •

How music and creativity help us all...

Albert Einstein said: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Creativity helps us all to express ourselves, whether you enjoy playing an instrument for relaxation, dancing for escapism or just baking a cake, all of these creative activities can enrich your life. Creative activities are enjoyable and they often become our hobby, allowing us to think and do different things both inside and outside of school.

suit everyone from pop and rock to traditional classical music. Music is a great way to express your feelings especially at tough times. Studies show that playing quiet classical music at the back of a class is very soothing and helps children concentrate. Music is shown and proven to help so many things like stress, depression and dealing with quite difficult emotions. Go on – give music a go! • Issy Tallis, Year 7

Creativity is at the heart of everything we do and gives us the ability to think differently and independently when approaching different problems or questions and makes us a more complete person and not just a robot. Creativity helps you think for yourself and certainly encourages real team work, improving both social and mental skills.

My particular creative hobbies include music and dance. I enjoy playing the piano and the flute and have been doing so for the last few years. Learning to read music and play instruments has helped me in so many different ways, including helping my mathematical ability and concentration to encouraging me to think and approach things in different ways. It is great escapism too and when playing I don’t have to think about anything else. Being able to play a piece of music is also very rewarding and I feel a great sense of achievement when I play my flute either just for myself or to an audience and even helps with my confidence.

‘We have never found a culture that has no language and we have never found a culture that has no music.’ Music is universal and appeals to all ages and people across the world and there are so many types of music, singing and instruments, there is something to

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Year 7 welcomed by Paralympian Back in September, our students were warmly welcomed to their new school with an inspirational message from Paralympic gold medalist Graham Edmunds. Graham joins a long line of inspirational speakers including GB Bobsleigh driver and former Park House student, Annabel Chaffey, and GB Olympic Hockey player Alex Danson, who have in past years delivered messages of motivation and inspiration as the students start this new chapter of their education.

The motivation that comes from working with an inspiring Olympic or Paralympic athlete sets the tone for the year ahead.

It encourages students to aim high, and teaches them about the importance of overcoming new challenges and showing resilience in striving to reach their personal bests.

The Paralympian from Reading addressed students in an assembly, sharing his experiences and his own personal route to discovering that nothing is impossible if you stay positive and never give up – a powerful message coming from Graham, who faced losing the use of both of his ankles and had to rebuild the muscles in his legs after spending three months with both legs in casts when he was knocked off his motorcycle on the A4 in 2000.

Our journeys so far...

My journey, so far, at Park House School has been full of opportunities. In less than two weeks of starting Year 7, me and three friends, were chosen to speak at the Year 5 and 6 induction evening. Even though it was fun I couldn't help feeling anxious!

At the start of November, I took part in a session in the TechnoGym to raise money for charity. And now I have the opportunity to write about my journey for Personal Best!

The people here have been great too. Coming from a primary school that isn’t in the area, meant I didn’t know anyone but I’ve made some great friends. I’m really looking forward to the rest of my time at Park House School. • Patrick Hemsley

7 Sigma – Mr Holland

It’s all about getting students to have high expectations of themselves, thinking about their own Personal Bests, planning for how they are going to achieve them and ultimately realising their dreams.

Graham followed in the tradition of inspiring new students, enthralling our young people with his story of overcoming adversity to become the very best in the world.

• Derek Peaple

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7 Sigma – Miss Bunn

My journey, so far, has been surprisingly good. I have good friends, and I have been getting good marks on my report. I love the assigned work they give us.

The teachers here are great – they help you understand your work. I am from a different country (South Africa), so it was a bit frightening at first. I thought I would not make any friends or understand the work.

But, as school has drama as a subject, I was very excited. I auditioned for the play Sister Act – one of my favourite movies.

Now I am used to the school it feels like I am on cloud nine. My aspiration is to get excellent marks and to be happy. Thanks to my teachers for helping me with my work and to settle in. • Waona Mothoa

7 Sigma – Mr Elliott

7 Sigma – Mr Keatley

7 Sigma – Mme Naitt

7 Sigma – Mr Gook

7 Sigma – Ms Greaves

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Our Year 7 students were steeped in oriental culture this term as Chinese entertainers, dancers, dragons and martial artists took over the school to introduce students to Chinese culture.

The event, which Mr Oxley, Head of Languages described as an “inspiring day that really enthused students about life in the Far East,” was generously sponsored by Jing and Graeme Aarons, founders of the Anglo-China Education Foundation. It gave the students a taste of how cultures and beliefs differ around the world and is a welcome addition to the school’s teaching of global cultures which, aside from twinning with Sithengile School in Durban, and School number 79 in Ulan Bator, Mongolia and Shinagawa School in Tokyo.

Far Eastern Inspiration

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Mr Peaple described the day as a “fabulously vibrant introduction to the rich history and culture of China.” He said: “We are hugely grateful to the AngloChina Education Foundation and Chinese Embassy for providing this unique opportunity for our Year 7s.” The school also unveiled plans to introduce Mandarin enrichment lessons in partnership with the Embassy and Oxford Brookes University as part of the Confucius Classrooms Programme.

Staff and students at Park House have also been working closely with TOCOG (Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic Games), to help them identify ways that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics can have a lasting impact in schools and educational establishments across Japan.

These intercultural relationships and learning opportunities have earned Park House recognition in the Far East with the school and Derek Peaple having been featured in the Japanese national press. •

Urban and coastal field trips Year 9 urban fieldwork in Newbury Year 9 students were out in Newbury town centre this term to complete some urban fieldwork. They were looking at whether the Parkway development has affected Northbrook Street and the Kennet Centre. Students did footfall surveys, environmental impact assessments (EIAs)and questionnaires. • Miss Bunn We went into Newbury Town Centre and collected data for our GCSE fieldwork. We did a footfall survey, EIAs, Land Use and a questionnaire in Parkway, Northbrook Street and The Kennet Centre. Since the trip we have been filling in our booklets with our data. • Ollie Glenn and Jack Dymond We travelled to Newbury to complete our urban fieldwork. We completed many surveys, footfall tallies, EIAs and questionnaires. We compared three parts of the town to see what the differences were. It was really successful and it is helping us now we are back in class. • Archie Connington

Year 12 Swanage field trip Year 12 Geographers first visited a farm park to look at rural diversification. Then we went on to Osprey Quay to look at how it has been regenerated. After this we visited Chesil beach to look at sea defences before finishing at Durdle Door and carrying out beach profiles. A busy and productive trip! • Miss Bunn We experienced different ways of conducting fieldwork both for the Human and Physical Geography courses. While collecting data we saw how environmental processes are changing our coastline and how changes in coastal towns change the way people live. • Luke Donohoe Early in October we went on a trip to Swanage and Portland. Our first stop was Farmer Palmer’s Farm Park where we learnt about the regeneration of the farm. Our next stop was the Portland where we did surveys based around the regeneration of Osprey Quay. We then went to Chesil Beach where we looked at the sea defences and their effects. The next aspect of Geography we looked at was beach profiles at Durdle Door.

We measured the angle of the beach and also the size of the pebbles. The trip was really beneficial for us and will help us with our independent investigation later on in the year. • Frances Hewer

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Tashtastic!

A humble moustache is not only an expressive badge of honour but a talking point and at Park House we aim to spark a conversation to help raise not only awareness of men’s health issues but monies for a noble cause.

Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends face a health crisis that isn’t being talked about.

Men are dying too young. We can’t afford to stay silent. By 2030 the aim is to reduce the number of men dying prematurely of Prostate cancer, Testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention by 25%.

Purple for Polio Organised by the Park House Interact group (the youth branch of Rotary) this term saw many staff and students swap out an item of clothing in exchange for donations to support the fight against polio.

I would like to thank every one of you for your support, help and comments over the years resulting in donations totalling over £1000.

• Mr Jones – for more information please visit uk.movember.com

he t f g u n n i t t u P Macmillan Coffee morning raises £175

Disadvantaged students at Park House were the delighted beneficiaries of funding secured by a group of early risers who make use of the gym at Park House.

Newbury Dawn Breakers, is a high intensity, training and fitness group that trains at 6am and 6.45am every morning. In an effort to give back to the community, the group held a fancy dress charity event in week five of their six-week programme.

Staff and students held a cake sale in support of the MacMillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on 29 September.

A wonderful selection of cakes were donated by staff and students resulting in a fundraising total of £175.00. • Mrs Brown

The group’s efforts have benefitted many local charities. As the theme for their fancy dress event was Back to School, it was decided that the funds raised should do just that – go back to school. A total of £158.11 was raised and presented to the Head Teacher, Derek Peaple by the Dawn Breakers Instructor Jason Briley who is a former GB Triathlete. Mr Peaple expressed his gratitude to the group for funds which would “help ensure every child can make the most of extra-curricular activities.” •

Dawn Breakers support our students 18

£400 raised for Children in Need Our Year 7 students held a wonderful lunchtime fundraising event in November for Children in Need. The students created and ran many stalls including ‘guess how many sweets’ and ‘guess the name...’, cake stalls, archery and other fun stuff!

This was a fantastic demonstration of teamwork by our Year 7s who continue to shine as a wonderful year group in the school. A really great achievement in just one lunchtime, and lots of money for a special cause.

!g n i s i a r into fund Thank you to all those who supported the event enabling us to raise over £400. Well done Year 7! • Mrs Whyatt

Scenic sponsored walk raises funds for school This term our amazing students raised funds to improve school amenity projects selected by the students themselves that will include more outdoor seating, and refurbished toilet facilities.

The 6.5 mile route covered beautiful scenery between the school and Speen Moors and Northcroft – sites of major historic battles that took place in and around Newbury during the English Civil War. Mr Peaple, a former history teacher believes it’s important for the students to understand local history to

fully appreciate their environment. Prior to the walk students researched information in relation to life on waterways and canal and river habitats.

The sponsored walk was completed by almost every member of the school community who were raising sponsorship money for the improvements that had been nominated by the Student Council. Students said the walk was a “great experience” and that it was “enjoyable to raise money for the school community.” •

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Bringing local history back to life...

This year the Monday Afternoon Art Enrichment Club was commissioned to work on a special local history project by Falkland Cricket Club, supported by English Heritage.

Students initially researched the Battles of Newbury and planned what they would like to create in Art Club. English Heritage then funded a visit to the West Berkshire Museum to primarily explore and sketch artefacts from the Civil War. Art Clubbers were fortunate to have exclusive access to the Civil War exhibits and were also able to explore the other exhibitions.

As Emma Cheshire from Year 9 said: “It was very fun and exciting to walk around part of our town’s history. It was amazing to draw such artefacts.” Year 8’s Wendy Boxall said, “I enjoyed the trip because it was fun and educational... we learnt cool things about the past and history of the Civil War.” Following on from the visit, students began to create their individual pieces of work based on the

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Civil War. It was wonderful to see such a range of ambitious ideas developing in a wide range of Art materials. Students produced a variety of work; watercolour paintings of the Falkland Memorial and Donnington Castle, a time capsule and clay tiles depicting scenes and artefacts from the Battles of Newbury, as well as textile and papier-mâché maps showing the positions of cavalry troops from both the Royalists and Parliamentarians.

As you can see from the photos, they really challenged themselves and produced super work!

Lydia Mathias from Year 9 summed things up by saying: “The whole project was really engaging; I enjoyed seeing all the students from different year groups working with such varied materials.”

Work produced by the students will now feature as a community display in the Cricket Club’s new pavilion. This will be a fantastic opportunity to display and celebrate the group’s creative talent inspired by the rich history of the local area.

• Jackie Peaple, Display Coordinator

‘An amazing experience.

I had so much fun making my 3D map of the First Battle of Newbury. Not everything went to plan… but I am very happy with the overall outcome’ Jacob Howard, Year 8

‘I really enjoyed creating the work for the project.

There were a few challenges, but after a lot of hard work, I was left with a complete watercolour painting of the Wash Common Memorial’ Noemi Espinar-Fisher, Year 9

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Getting a taste for Cookery School Park House Food department has been working alongside the Education Department at Newbury Showground to offer the ‘Cookery School’ experience for over five years now.

ingredients from the farm. In order to build up an appetite before lunch we were shown round the farm on a tractor, where the staff and students learnt about the different animals that are reared and the varieties of crops grown.

During that time we have been working with small groups of students to provide them with the opportunity to cook with fresh, seasonal and organic foods, which are all supplied by Sheepdrove Farm in Lambourn.

We stopped off to visit the walled garden where they grow a variety of fruits and vegetables which the children are asked to identify and then taste if they wanted to. Some of which were more popular than others as Jake and Harvey found out when trying a gooseberry picked straight from the bush!

Despite the aim of the trip being educational several of the boys in particular were eager to lend a hand when the head gardener explained that they were having problems with the slugs eating the leaves and damaging the plants.

The students selected for Cookery School complete four practical cooking sessions – last year they cooked apple crumble, vegetable soup, rhubarb muffins and marinated chicken with roasted vegetables. The sessions are led by the amazing Jan Murray from the Newbury Showground Education team.

Before every session Jan collects the seasonal ingredients so they couldn’t be any fresher.

Not only do the students have the opportunity to cook fantastic dishes but the experience also helps to develop skills such as organisation, time management and independence. The students work in pairs throughout the experience which allows them to work with a variety of students they may not have worked with previously thus developing their communication skills.

After the students have completed their four cookery sessions in school, the experience culminates with a trip to Sheepdrove to find out where all the wonderful ingredients have been grown and to learn about organic farming.

Last year this trip took place in July which meant that we had beautiful weather.

The visit to Sheepdrove gave the children the chance to see first-hand the idea of eating “Farm to Fork” as we were treated to a wonderful lunch of lasagne and lemon curd natural yoghurt. All of which was produced using

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A competitive game of slug hunting ensued, with the boys happily collecting any culprits they came across and depositing them over the garden wall.

After lunch we were able to stroll down through the Physic Garden which hosts a range of plants that are used for culinary, medicinal and aromatherapy purposes. Including those which are used in the products sold

by Neal’s Yard Remedies. The walk continued to allow the students to see the reed-bed system, which is a natural water treatment system which treats all of the waste water produced on the site with no chemicals or machinery.

This is helping the farm to become carbon neutral. For many though the highlight was meeting the new piglets, some of whom even the staff had not been introduced to fully.

We are continuing our work with Jan and the Sheepdrove team with a new team of students who have already completed some fantastic crumbles and we look forward to another exciting Cookery School. • Miss Morgan, Head of Food Technology

Local democracy inspires debate Well done to all our students who took part in the debating competition this term. One of our teams made it to the final but was pipped at the post, and came second overall. It was an excellent day, and both staff and students alike had enormous fun and were tested by the rigorous debates. Many thanks to Newbury Town Council for organising this debate as part of Local Democracy Week, and to Newbury Weekly News for sponsoring the event. We look forward to next year! • Miss Davis On 17 October, a group of Year 12s and 13s were taken by Miss Davis to a debating competition at Newbury Town Hall, competing against six other sixth forms from the local area.

Our team consisted of Alix Pells, our first speaker, Dani Newton, our timekeeper, myself Katy Jones as second speaker, and Ben Marshall as the third and final speaker. We were given the motion of “Prisons are too soft” and we had to argue in favour of the motion. We were participating in the third debate against which was scored using a point system and the two highest scoring teams went through, regardless of whether they won or lost the debate. We made the final and we were given just fifteen minutes to prepare to argue in favour of the motion “Grading systems in school should be abolished”.

Unfortunately, our rivals won after what felt like a long, ten minutes of debate.

The experience in debating was really fun and useful preparation for university and life. I would fully recommend taking part in this competition to help engage in Local Democracy Week. • Katy Jones, Year 12

As a politics student, the chance to partake in the inaugural West Berkshire Inter-Schools Debating Competition as part of Local Democracy Week was a fantastic opportunity.

We were given our debating topics a couple of weeks beforehand, giving us time to meet up daily with Miss Davis and Mr Wilder to prepare our arguments and questions. Whilst many of us had previously taken part in school debates, the complex judging criteria regarding not just the content, structure, and delivery of the speeches but also the ability of team members to think on their feet and dispute their opposition made this debate significantly more challenging.

Team 1 spoke against the motion “People should not eat meat”, whilst Team 2 spoke for the motion ‘Prisons are too soft’. There were three speeches per team, consisting of two main speeches, followed by the floor debate, and closed with the summary speeches. Team 2 made it to the final, and the entire Park House team were given just 20 minutes to prepare to argue for the motion “The grading system should be abolished”. After an intense debate, Team 2 finished in second place, and we celebrated with drinks at Costa.

Many of the students who took part in this debate, including myself, are hoping to study Politics at university. This experience has been particularly useful for all of us, especially in helping us develop the skills that universities look for; from improving our public speaking skills and teamwork, to refining our abilities to construct coherent and persuasive arguments. This experience has definitely been a valuable one. • Lili Atraki, Year 13, Head Girl

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Derek Peaple and Oonagh Dockley of Greenham Common Trust with Lewis Moody MBE

Park House set to establish third Mad Dog Rugby Academy Lewis Moody MBE is one of the greatest and most charismatic rugby players this country has ever produced.

Nicknamed ‘Mad Dog’ for his bravery and commitment, Lewis played for England 71 times from 2001 to 2011, captaining his country for the last two of those years and also gaining three coveted British Lions caps. With a World Cup Winners’ Medal, two World Cup Finals, two Six Nations Championship Winners’ medals and seven Premiership Winners’ medals, Lewis is a true rugby legend, winning virtually everything there is to win in the game he loves so passionately.

Since his retirement, Lewis has become tireless in his work as charity patron and

ambassador for Hope HIV and Crohn’s and Colitis UK, and has also established the Lewis Moody Foundation, which supports young people diagnosed with brain tumours and their families.

coaching programme led and delivered by one of England’s all-time greats. This unique programme will inspire students to achieve their very best both in the classroom and on the rugby field.

The values of rugby and the wider impact that they have on young people’s wider personal development, progress and academic achievement are also central to the Mad Dog Academy Programme. I am therefore, very proud and privileged that a Mad Dog Academy is planned for our Sixth Form from next September with generous support from The Greenham Common Trust.

Lewis, CEO of Mad Dog Sport, said: “We are delighted to be launching the Mad Dog Academy at Park House School, where its values sit perfectly in line with what we strive to instill in all our players.

I am thrilled that students will now have the exciting opportunity to combine their academic studies in the Sixth Form with an integrated rugby

“The vision Mr Peaple has for the future of the school and the community is something we are excited to be a part of and our hope is that by providing these opportunities we are able to benefit both the students and the fantastic cohort of grass roots clubs in the area. We can’t wait to get started!” • Derek Peaple

Kool for Katas I started Karate with my dad and brother about five years ago and have been training ever since then. Each year there are championships in the Northern and Southern regions of the country.

On 11 June the Southern Championships were held in Hatfield where all members of TISKA (Traditional International Shotokan Karate Association) could compete in three events: Individual Kata, Team Kata and then Kumite (sparring).

As I became a senior this year, I was competing against adult women for the first time and I was nervous to the start the competition. Despite my worries it was very successful as I came first in Individual Kata, and second in both Team Kata and Kumite.

I am currently working towards my Black Belt and hope to grade for it soon. • Ellie Findlater, Year 10

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Open All Hours...

Some slightly older readers will recognise the headline reference to Ronnie Barker’s classic 1970s corner shop sitcom!

I do also like to use it as a metaphor for a term which sees our annual Open Evening and Morning for prospective Year 7 students and their parents in September and of course our Sixth Form Open Evening in November.

I particularly love the way that these events bring the whole school community together. I love the privilege of speaking alongside students from Years 7 and 11 and the Head Boy and Girl in the packed school hall to

audiences of more than 200; they always steal the show! I love the musicians in the entrance foyer, the Sixth Form student guides and the literally hundreds of young people who so willing and enthusiastically support the work of the departments throughout the Year 7 evening.

And at Sixth Form ‘PH6 ‘Open Evening, there is so much pride in listening to students speaking so passionately alongside their teachers about why they love their courses and the opportunities we provide post-16.

The following images capture just a little of that spirit and what it means to be open all hours... • Derek Peaple

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West End Star visits school On Wednesday 8 November, Drama students from Years 10 through to 13 were lucky enough to travel up to Northampton to see the national tour of the musical Blood Brothers. For some, this was to be their second viewing of the stunning production, but for Year 10 students and several others (myself included) this was to be the first time we had seen the musical.

The musical, written by Willy Russell, revolves around twin boys (Mickey and Edward) who are separated at birth and brought up in completely different environments in Liverpool during the 1960s.

Following the performance (which we enjoyed with enough sweets to feed an army), we were over the moon to find that Miss Baron’s close friend, Dean Chisnall, star of Shrek the Musical and the Narrator in Blood Brothers had agreed to come out and meet us all! We had all been so impressed by his outstanding performance that many of the students were totally star struck! After a quick chat, a few hugs and even a marriage

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proposal to Dean from one Year 11 student, it was sadly time to board the coach and make our trip home.

But, just two weeks later, on Monday 20 November, the students were surprised and thrilled to be called to the Drama Studio for a Q&A session with the extremely talented Dean, who had very generously given up his free time to come and see us. Period 4 saw Years 10 and 11 quiz Dean on Blood Brothers, his career and where he buys his unique and colourful shirts from. During period 5, those in Years 10 to 13 who are interested in a career in acting were able to ask Dean questions on the industry; how he got into it, what it was like and how to deal with rejection.

The day was highly valuable and massively enjoyed by everyone involved. We still can’t quite believe we got to meet and chat to such a brilliant star of musical theatre and we would all like to say a massive thank you to Dean for giving up his free time to come and talk to us.

• Dan Roch, Year 12

What a fantastic two days we had in the Dance Department back in the Spring Term! 3Fall Dance Company, from the University of Chichester, visited school to create a brand new contemporary dance work with the Year 9 and Year 10 GCSE dancers. The students worked very intensely and were pushed very hard by the third year university students. At the end of the two day workshop they performed live at

The Arlington Arts Centre alongside a full programme of works by 3Fall. A Level students were also treated to a modern dance technique class followed by a Question and Answer session. It was a fantastic two days and I was immensely proud of the professionalism and extremely high quality of the final performance by the GCSE dancers.

• Mrs Mawazini, Head of Dance

3Fall Dance Residency What a wonderful and memorable experience. Beforehand, I was quite nervous! It’s quite a nerve-wracking experience to have thirdyear degree students teaching us dancers a very technical dance. But, as soon as Karl, Liv, Amy, Alex and Hannah came into the dance studio, I instantly felt calmer. I want to thank everyone who made this occasion possible. I had a whale of a time! • Niamh Dorrington Year 10 I really, really enjoyed the 3Fall workshop and had so much fun. The parts I enjoyed the most were creating our contact and name phrases, as well as the running duets. Lifting and contact work isn’t something I have done much of before so it was great to try something new and reassuring to know that 3Fall were there to help.

Over the two days of our rehearsals, I benefitted and learnt a lot. 3fall gave me loads of choreographic ideas and now I feel more confident in choreographing my own piece for the GCSE exam. Our final performance at Arlington Arts went so well. It was brilliant!

The 3Fall show was amazing and I particularly enjoyed the all-male piece – I found it very inspiring! Also, I am considering whether to apply to Chichester University so I could maybe become part of 3Fall’s incredible company in the future!

Even though I was hotter than the tribesmen in the Sahara Desert and sweatier than the locals in the Amazon Rainforest (guess what we are doing in Geography?), I still had the best two days. Thank you so much to 3Fall for their time. Hopefully one day, I might get the chance to dance with them again! • Harry Ashton, Year 10

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Encompass Dance This year’s Encompass show was a clear demonstration of the high calibre of dance here at Park House. I thoroughly enjoyed it! From the enthusiastic Year 7s to the incredible A Level dancers, I was inspired and impressed! On the rehearsal days in the theatre, it was very enjoyable, not only to perform, but also to watch the other pieces go through their technical rehearsal.

The lights were really professional and the costumes really complimented the dances in the show. The performance itself, was incredible and I loved every minute of it! My quick costume change was rather stressful but apart from that, everything went extremely smoothly and I really appreciated the experience. During the show, backstage had a really fabulous atmosphere. Everyone had a burst of adrenaline which provided a lot of energy for the show itself. I am really happy and proud with the amount of confidence we all threw into the show. My parents and sister said that they loved it! In their words: “Such a high standard of dance.” Thank you Mrs Mawazini for providing this fantastic opportunity and for continuing to have such high standards for all of us in your department! • Tiegan Doyle, Year 10 with photos from Howard White at www.dzphoto.co.uk

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Our joint Rugby and Hockey tour was unforgettable. We played against some amazing Dutch teams and joined in with other activities such as laser tag, bowling and tobogganing. The following gives an short illustration of how our Hockey teams progressed: This memorable tour began at 4:30am on the Monday morning when we all arrived tired but excited to leave for The Netherlands. The teachers attempted to make it as fun as possible by coming up with some daft games.

Our first training session on the Tuesday saw us training with an ex-professional hockey player, to get us ready for our first match later that evening. We learnt many new skills and tricks which improved our playing.

Our two teams were both equal in ability, as we have so many eager players. We separated that evening to attend two different fixtures. Team 1 travelled furthest with Mrs Whyatt to play a highly skilled team against whom we tried our best. However the Dutch team came out on top with a score of 4-0. Despite this, we felt it was one of our best matches and the score would have been much higher without our amazing goalie, Astrid Davis, who saved a massive six goals alone, and all thanks to Mrs Whyatt’s coaching!

Netherlands tour 2017 Team 2 played another highly-skilled Dutch team that evening who were also a highly skilled club but our team were still determined to try their best no matter the score. The end result was 4-1, which to us was a massive achievement that we scored a goal, which was thanks to a great team effort and our two wonderful teachers Miss Davis and Mrs Rowland who coached the team to that goal.

The next day saw another training session where we learnt a number of new skills and we worked on the key things to help us win our match that day. Both teams worked extremely hard to improve and excel in their hockey.

Our last match against a local team happened later on the Wednesday where Team 1 stayed local and Team 2 travelled to their fixture. Team 1 were determined to play their best and to focus on the key skills learnt at training.

We had definitely improved from our first game and although we made a few silly mistakes at first we soon recovered from them. The end result was 5-0 to the Dutch team but once again without our amazing goalkeeper I’m sure the score would have been a lot more.

Team 2 also had a great game with a few mistakes that they quickly learnt from and they played one of their best matches yet. Team 2’s goalkeeper Grace Chilton was also a big part in that game!

A few amazing year 10 players attended the tour, Bethan Philp, Lucy Wells, Kate Eaten, Jodie Boyle, Tali Hamshaw, Beth Roch and Grace Chilton who at first was a little bit shy to play with the year above but soon realised we were all friendly and ended up playing a big part in our matches.

Our last day we were taken to a local pancake house which was a good start to the day. We later played against another visiting English school with Team 1 drawing 0-0 and Team 2 losing 1-0 to the other school.

Our tour ended with an 80’s disco with other English schools and it just so happened that we were the only school in fancy dress. Thanks Miss! Everyone had so much fun.

A big thank you to Mrs Rowland, Mrs Whyatt, Miss Davis, Mr Rowell, Mr Wilder and Mr Hawkins who made the tour unforgettable! • Em Bettles and Lilly Gohara, Year 11

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Brecon Residential During the first weekend in October we departed for our, now annual, GCSE PE Residential visit to Llangorse Lake in the Brecon Beacons, with 60 students in tow.

The staff made light of the two and a half hour journey with Mr Tree teaching his younger contemporaries the delights of Nomination, whilst the young whippersnappers (of the student variety) made the most of the last bit of screen time they could cram in. A Haribo Star-Mix scented coach arrived at the Activity Centre just after lunch on the Friday and within an hour students were either in their harnesses and heading up the climbing wall, or in their buoyancy aids and out on the lake.

The weekend continued with little down time and lots of climbing or kayaking, in fact we managed to cram in around 24 hours of intensive lessons over the 70 hours we were at the Centre, including the evening theory sessions. The students were exhausted by the end of the weekend but had learnt so much and made huge progress towards achieving an additional grade for their practical element of their GCSE PE course. It made staff so proud to have the staff at the Centre comment on how good our students were with the Kayaking group coming in for particular praise for how quickly they progressed. The instructor said they were the best group he has taught and that Kristof Jenkins was better at Kayaking than some of the instructors at the Centre.

The students were fantastically well-behaved and made the running of the trip so worthwhile, and the staff that gave up their weekend to supervise the trip were fantastic too. Thank you to all of you for making it a great weekend all round! Bring on next year! • PE Department

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Science saves lives...

In November, A Level Physics students got the chance to visit Thatcham Research, a leading not-for-profit researcher into motor safety and security.

Neil Samuel from Thatcham Research gave us an introductory presentation into what Thatcham Research does, including the front-left, side and rear crash testing they do at the centre. These crash tests allow Thatcham Research to grade each car model against a five-star rating for safety and a fifty-point system overall. This forms a Euro NCAP rating for the car. Thatcham is the only Euro NCAP certified crash lab in the UK. Neil introduced some of the new developments in safety, becoming increasingly available on mainstream cars inncluding; a demonstration of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), self parking cars and autonomous cruise control.

We then got a tour around the facilities and saw video and real evidence of how safety has progressed over the last 20 years with comparisons from an early ‘90s Rover Metro and a current Honda Jazz model. The results were quite disturbing. Where occupants in the Jazz would have survived the impact, with relatively minor injuries no one would have escaped fatal injuries in the Rover. Quite chilling.

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to make every test repeatable and reproducible. The tests mimic how the car would behave in a real life crash. It’s quite shocking to see brand new cars with just two or three miles on the clock get written off in massive impact crashes – all the tests are to make the cars we drive on the road safer.

We also toured around their training building, where experts provide apprentices and other enthusiasts the courses they need for the industry. The manager of this area explained how new materials are developed and how the behaviour of these materials affects the way they are body repaired after an accident; for example, the use of extensive carbon fibre in modern high end cars presents new problems for the repair industry. We saw the aluminium substructure of some of the new Tesla model cars requiring specialist welding techniques for repairs to be safe. Thatcham is unique in that all the tools needed are available on-site, along with classrooms for the theoretical aspects.

In addition to safety developments, for some reason an Audi R8 and McClaren sports cars attracted a fair bit of attention from our students.

The final part of the visit was hands-on with students as passengers in an autonomous braking Toyota Prius and a Tesla S. These cars were driven towards a ‘foam car’ and the cars braked on their own (with no input from the driver) when the cameras and radar sensors detected the parked foam car. Very jerky but saving an impact, the follow-on insurance costs and potential injuries. This showed us how technology is being used in everyday life to assist with motoring issues.

The indoor crash area demonstrated the huge forces involved in collisions.

Here, cars are propelled on a moving floor sideways into a concrete pillar. The collision happens at the side of the car directly next to the driver’s head to test the side airbags deployment and how the car copes with the impact. Each test takes several weeks to set up as the car must be in the correct position

Our STEM Physics visit to Thatcham Research is now a highlight fixture of our first year A level physics course. It’s designed to inspire an interest and passion for all things automotive in our students. By the looks on some of the faces here we seem to have hit that target. Science saves lives is our new slogan, courtesy of Thatcham Research. • Mr Miller

BBC’s ‘Big Life Fix’ I was both enthused and shocked when my Winchester Goalball coach, Adam Knott, emailed me saying a BBC film crew wanted to record us testing a prototype for a completely blind boy named Josh.

(Goalball is a sport for the blind and visually impaired).

doesn’t require sight at all, hence the tac-tile paving. Because goalball is a blind paralympic sport in which I partake, it was ideal to receive some feedback from me and my team mates who have sight-loss, and I must say, the idea was a success.

Josh wanted to play with his friends but because of the sheer chaos of playtime, he just sat on his bench, waiting to return to lessons. The idea was to create some technology to help him navigate, but that didn’t work, so they came back with something that both Josh and other children would like to play with.

The paving made sounds, which allowed us to navigate with satisfiable ease around the room. Josh also loved the fact that he could partake in playtime which is a result. Big Life Fix is funded by Children In Need and helps children with severe or life changing disabilities.

• Marcus Bu-Rashid

The prototype used tac-tile paving (like you see at road crossings for visually impaired individuals), which when stepped on made sounds, which

Editor’s note: unfortunately, at the time of publishing, the iplayer link for this year’s Big Life Fix is not available.

STEM activities update As always our STEM team have been very active generating new and exciting activities and events in conjunction with our industry friends and partners.

In addition to our visit to Thatcham Research in November other events have also been enjoyed by students from Years 9, 10 and 11 this term. A group of Year 9 students went to Rutherford Appleton Labs (RAL) at Harwell to get hands on with some IBM technology. In November some of our female Year 11 STEM students enjoyed a day at Downe House School getting involved with various biomedical and engineering activities during their STEM innovation day.

involved. Enthusiasm is the main selection criteria for selection for our STEM events. We have other ideas for activities and events for later in 2018. STEM doesn’t stop evolving and neither do our activities. Thanks to all of our host organisations, you really are making a difference and giving our students the chance to show their Personal Best.

More reports and photos will be on Facebook and in the next issue of Personal Best! • Mr Miller

A larger mixed group of year 10 students enjoyed an insight day at Vodafone Headquarters at The Connection in Newbury. During this day they got to play with Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and learnt about some of the opportunities available to them within a technology company like Vodafone.

Those of you with access to Facebook will have seen some of the exciting activities that were posted from the Vodafone day early in November.

And, we have more to come in the spring with a Year 7 STEM event at Harwell and a Sixth Form masterclass day for the particle physicists.

In March we have been invited to Oxford University to an open day for Sixth Form students interested in Oncology and scientific investigation methods.

This is for all A Level Science students as it’s of real multidisciplinary interest.

Look out for publicity surrounding these events if your child would like to be

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Sister Act Rehearsals are well underway and tickets are now on sale for this year’s school production, Sister Act! The show will run from the Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 January at Arlington Arts.

Blow away those post-Christmas blues with an evening of joyous entertainment from 70 of our talented students!

Tickets are available now from the Arlington Arts website. • Miss Baron, Head of Drama

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PARK HOUSE SCHOOL PRESENTS

ARLINGTON ARTS CENTRE 7pm 17, 18 & 19 January tickets available from:

www.arlingtonarts.co.uk

With permission from Josef Weinberger 35

Fun Day & Fete Sunday 13 May 2018

10k, 5k, 2k runs plus toddlers run All races start at Park House School Toddlers’ run registration 9.00am for 9.30am start 2k registration 9.00am for 10.00am start 5k and 10k registration 10.00am for 11.00am start

For more details and entry online visit: www.parkhouseschool.org/charityrun

Celebrity Starter Ben Smith Winner of BBC Sports Personality of Year 2016 – Helen Rollason Award

NEW for 2018 • Mascot Fun Run • Competitions and tombolas • Face painting • Bouncy castle • Raffle • Fun Dog Show • BBQ & Refreshments • Tractor rides • Various stalls and much more...

NEW Mascot Run Stuart March Photography

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Stuart March Photography

FREE ENTRY TO FUN DAY

Supporting

All runners receive a goody bag & medal Main sponsor

Over £10,000 raised f charity or to date