Headteacher’s Newsletter End of Term Message from the Head Flourishing indeed we are! This half term has been action packed, highly successful and most rewarding for all who have engaged in the vast array of opportunities for personal development beyond the classroom. Amongst the many wins and highs, the highlight on a grand scale must surely be the five night run of performances of Iolanthe at SC Town Hall this March which matched the best productions ever seen since the Vesey association with G&S light opera began in 1922. What makes our students so special is that they typically rallied round together, joining with counterparts from SCGSG, and rose to the challenge of matching the best in front of very discerning and highly appreciative audiences. Equally in the classroom, our students have been working extremely hard as evidenced by the, in general, first-rate module marks received this March, leading to the final AS & A2 exams in the summer. Beyond their intellectual curiosity, our students are increasingly spurred on by the desire to match offers for courses of study at top universities which they can justifiably expect to achieve. Internal grades at all year group levels also augur well for the near future as we continue to make year on year academic growth. Long may our students and our school continue to flourish!
David Iddon Headteacher
BISHOP VESEY’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Spring 2009
We are flourishing this spring at Vesey’s!
Staff News
Academic Profile
Internal promotions for next term: Matthew Phillips will assume Senior Leader responsibility for the Specialist Schools Language College status, with Rüdi Götschel in the role of Lead Practitioner in Languages. Bev Gilbert becomes Senior Head of Year and Ruth Hearn Senior Leader i/c Personalised Learning & Child Welfare. Hannah Lockyer will assume responsibility for leading History and Sarah Sangster will assist with the leadership of Biology. We wish them all well in these exciting and formative new roles which will bring further benefit to the school. Our deepest sympathy was extended this March on the news of the death of former Chemistry teacher Richard Ormond. Joining the school in Jan. 1980, retiring in 2005, he remained as keen as ever to help out in the classroom and to support the extracurricular side of the school, so dear to him, until his health began to fail.
Dr Barrie Fleet, Schools Liaison Officer for Corpus Christi College, Cambridge visited us once again this March to address an audience of Yr 10 & L6 students, offering sound advice about application to top universities and emphasising how important the one hour interview is in the admissions process. We have already begun the warm-up for Oxbridge 2009/10 with 20 students benefiting from a session on interview confidence building and neuro-linguistic programming, along with other seminar sessions and of course departmental support to reach top flight academic levels.
Parents’ Association Tickets for the Gala Dinner Dance at The Old School House, Weeford on Sat. 16th May are selling quickly for what will undoubtedly be a highlight of the Vesey social calendar. Please contact organiser David Jupp on Tel: 0121 311 1309 or david.jupp@btconnect.com
Headteacher’s Forum
On 4th March members of Year 8 joined Quakers John & Diana Lampen over lunch for a exploration of faith in action, learning about The Hope Project and discussing the peaceful resolution of conflict, before an assembly with the rest of Year 8 and Year 7 in which we learned more about Quaker beliefs and worship.
Friendship groups of students in Year 10 and (centre) Year 7 enjoying their lunchtime break in the dining room and around our site.