HIGH FLYER JULY EDITION
VOLUME 6
2016
High Flyer is Wycombe High School’s half termly magazine celebrating past and present life at school. We are moving towards a fortnightly electronic newsletter for regular news, as well as producing our annual printed magazine. If you would like to advertise in the annual magazine, which is distributed March 2017, please contact Mrs Dana Morgan on 01494 523961 or e-mail dmorgan@whs.bucks.sch.uk. Our Finance Office will invoice you upon distribution of the magazine. We are reviewing our rates for the electronic newsletter and will be in touch with our advertisers with this information in the Autumn Term. ANNUAL MAGAZINE ADVERTISING RATES Items listed for sale: Adverts: Up to £10 = £1.00 £1Small companies ad 11 – 25 = £2.50 (< 10 employees) 25 - 100 = £5.00 100 and over = £2.00 Larger companies ad: Wanted or Miscellaneous = £1.00 (> 10 employees) LAYOUT Full and 1/4/ page - Portrait Half page - Landscape
£15 ¼ page £25 ½ page £50 full page £35 ¼ page £50 ½ page £100 full page
ARTWORK FORMAT PDF or JPEG
PUBLICATION FORMAT High Flyer A5 Colour – Primarily electronic PDF. Annual Magazine A4 Colour – circa 1500 printed as well as electronic PDF. Our magazine goes out to over 1400 local households and thousands of alumnae and is also online at http://www.whs.bucks.sch.uk/ The High Flyer magazine is Issue date predominantly an online publication, distributed by email and Annual Adverts in by: Magazine w / b: published online, the size of the adverts are based on the A5/ A4 format of the finished product. However we are happy to accept A4 (or other) sized PDF or JPG files and will resize March 30 January 27 March these accordingly to fit. The publication incorporates margins and therefore does not require provision for a bleed edge. We are enormously grateful for the continued support of our advertisers. We hope you find their products and services useful. Diary dates - Autumn Term 2016 7 September
Donor ‘Thank You’ Evening, 6.30—8.00 pm, Music Centre, Learning Centre & tour
8 September
Y12 Parents’ Conference, 6.00—7.30 pm, Hall
13 September
Y13 Parents’ Conference, 6.00—7.30 pm, Hall
20 September
Y8 Parents’ Conference, 7.00—8.30 pm, Hall
27 September
PAFA Meeting and AGM, 7.30—9.30 pm, The Forum
27 September
Y10 Parents’ Conference, 7.00—8.30 pm, Hall
30 September
Y7 Family Quiz Night, 6.00—9.00 pm, The Forum
6 October
Y7 Parents’ Conference, 7.00—8.30 pm, Hall
13 October
Y9 Parent’s Conference, 7.00—8.30 pm, Hall
14 October
Open Mic Night, 7.00—10.00 pm 2
Please note: We do not accept educational, tutoring and nutritional advertising for High Flyer.
Inclusion of an advert in this publication does not mean the school or the Parents And Friends Association (PAFA) endorse it. Buying a product or service from this publication is entirely at your own risk.
Table of Contents
News Crew
Cover Art by: Catriona Roberts, Year 11, Austen 8
Heads of News Crew Ellie Tribe Year 12 C1 Emma Wace Year 12 A10 Year 9 Livvie Cornish P10 Victoria Gothard T7 Year 11 Jemima Reeve N4 Esther Levin A10 Cecelia Alexander A6
Advertising in High Flyer
Page 2
Diary Dates Autumn Term
Page 2
Message From Headteacher
Page 4
Art
Pages 5-7
Charities
Pages 8-11
Cygnus Teaching School
Page 12
Development Ambassadors
Page 13-14
Development Office Update
Pages 15-17
Dollin Essay Competition
Page 18-20
English
Pages 21-24
Extra Curricular
Page 25-26
Guild
Pages 27-39
History and Politics
Page 40
Languages
Pages 41
Leaver’s Ball
Pages 42-43
Library
Pages 44
Music
Page 45-46
News Crew
Page 48
Numeracy
Page 49
Original Contributions
Pages 50-53
PAFA
Page 54-56
PE and Sport
Pages 59-67
RS and Thinking Skills
Page 69
Science
Page 70
Technology
Page 71
Lead Staff Member Mrs D Morgan Proofreader Mrs C Edwards Advertisers Chiltern Music Festival LIFE Build Solutions Hawkinsport Starbucks Base-FX DJs Places For People Perton Signs Ingenuity IT Innovate Letting of School Premises ST Autos Cineworld WHS Social Media Imaginations Wild WHS Events Future Fund Gift Form
Page 47 Page 57 Page 58 Page 62 Page 68 Page 72 Page 73 Page 73 Page 74 Page 74 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79-80
High Flyer is an entirely student-led initiative. A team of students of all ages, led by Sixth Formers, known as the ‘News Crew’ take responsibility for this publication. Wycombe High School Marlow Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP11 1TB Tel: 01494 523961 Fax: 01494 510354 office@whs.bucks.sch.uk Should you wish to contact the Headteacher or any other member of staff by email, please do so through the school office at: office@whs.bucks.sch.uk.
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Message from the Headteacher I would like to extend my best wishes to you and your family for the summer holiday period. It has been a pleasure working with you and your daughter this academic year. As always, the year has been busy and action packed. High Flyer is bursting with the achievements and talents of Wycombe High students over the last half term alone. From art work, to robotics competitions, to Mathematics and Chemistry challenges, Biology Olympiads, sports, music, drama galore and original creative writing content. I know you will be impressed. In the last few weeks we have seen Year 10 engage in team building and leadership training with the Army, Year 12 take part in a health and well-being day, our classicists take part in a Latin competition, wished our Year 11s well on work experience, welcomed hundreds of Year 10 students from schools across Buckinghamshire for a ‘taking maths further’ day, and hosted a series of Open Evenings and Mornings. In the last few days alone we have welcomed home our musicians from touring the cathedrals of Edinburgh and are following our hockey and netball players on their amazing tour of Singapore and Australia. In the midst of all this activity, Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 have of course been sitting public examinations and, on behalf of the staff and governors at Wycombe High School, we wish them well for the forthcoming results. A reminder of when and how they can access their results is in my separate letter to parents.
You may find your daughter spends more time on-line over the summer than she might during the course of a normal school week. To this end, the girls have been reminded that social media should never be used to bully, be nasty, intimidate, share publically personal details and / or pictures, or indeed intimate pictures, stalk or spy, read inappropriate materials or watch inappropriate videos, and that they should only speak with people known to them and be discerning and critical about conversations and contact with others online. We have discussed throughout the year difficult issues such as cyber bullying, sexual exploitation and extremism / radicalisation and have ensured they know who to contact should they have concerns. We reiterated in assemblies our school’s commitment to tolerance and mutual respect and the need to show care and consideration to others. At a time when hate crime and intolerance appears to be increasing internationally we work hard to educate our students in the principles of democracy and the core values of respect and tolerance.
We have spent assembly time this week reminding your daughter how to keep herself safe over the holiday period. I am acutely conscious that parents look to school as a trusted source of advice on how to keep young people safe from risk. As such Wycombe High School has a comprehensive age appropriate PSHE programme, as well as assemblies and tutor time activities to support your daughter and ensure she is well-informed and equipped with the skills to keep herself safe from a range of risks. We are teaching our young people to act responsibly and wisely in all aspects of their lives both now and in the future. The work we do in school teaching positive psychology helps with this and the access our students have to a wide range of pastoral staff, including a school counsellor, is also helping Wycombe High School girls to act safely and appropriately.
On a more cheerful note, today we have held our traditional House competitions, end-of-year celebration assembly and waved your daughter off for the welldeserved summer break. We have had the best ever end of year celebration, made so very special by the proposal of marriage from Mr Mackerras to Miss Green. I am delighted to say she said yes, to an almighty roar from 1360 girls! It was a privilege to be part of it. We have told them they have to save up very hard to ensure we can all attend the wedding!
We have also discussed self-esteem and well-being and how your daughter can support herself and others. Sadly, for a small number of young people, school holidays can be a period of loneliness and difficulty. We have reminded our students of the access they have to a range of external agencies during school closure times should they be required, such as Child Line.
And finally, a fond farewell to our departing Year 13 students. They have been a pleasure and privilege to work with and have great futures ahead of them. We will miss you girls - enjoy the summer and every minute of university, gap year or work! Remember, once a Wycombe High School student, always a Wycombe High School student! We look forward to catching up with you again at Prize Giving on 17 December. I wish you a restful, enjoyable and sun-filled summer break. I understand by Tuesday next week we are to expect 28 degree centigrade weather! I very much look forward to working with you and your daughter(s) during the next academic year. A reminder that our new Year 12 students return to school Monday 5 September for their Induction Day from 8.50 am – 1.35 pm. For the rest of the school, term starts at 8.45 am on Tuesday 6 September. Mrs S N Cromie
The summer period is a time when young people are free from the routines of the school day to have other experiences, for example spending time with family and friends, perhaps travelling, or making time for a hobby and days out. If the sun shines, many understandably find themselves drawn to beaches and rivers. We have reminded the girls this week of the need for caution around water and reminded them of key safety facts. Similarly, safety, related to matters such as her physical, sexual and personal health, have been discussed.
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Art Exhibition 2016 The 2016 Art Exhibition, held in the Wycombe High School Learning Centre, was a stunning culmination of talent from students in Years 10, 11, 12, and this year’s outgoing Year 13. It was an excellent opportunity to display the creative and intellectual diversity of the school’s Art GCSE and A-Level students, and a perfect example of how no individual interprets art in the same way: no piece in the room was identical to another, and each student’s own personal journey was laid out through a series of beautifully presented images.
felt no such emotion viewing the work of my peers. To have spent my year watching other art students struggling to meet deadlines, to have heard them express dissatisfaction with what they’d created, there was a certain feeling of pride, and a satisfying finality that came with seeing their hardships collected into such impressive displays, as would be worthy of any gallery. I can only imagine the pride of the art staff, as well as the parents, who guided each flourishing artist through their journey with patience, and were rewarded for such patience with an array of relative masterpieces. The exhibition was, in a word, breath-taking.
My own work was also laid out at the exhibition, though due to a level of self-consciousness I steered clear of it, preferring to focus on the journeys of others rather than my own, which I remember to be more stressful than anything else. It’s hard to truly interpret an artist’s feelings just from their work - this is a given, no two brains work the same - but I find that this is the beauty of art. I’d hate for someone to look at my work and see every moment of self-doubt that I experienced whilst forging it. Individuality is not just present in the creation of art, but also in the interpretation of art: I found myself lingering alone over works that others moved past (if only to come back to them later, I noticed), enthralled by minute detail and bursts of colour.
Ellie Tribe, Year 12, Curie 1, Head of News Crew On the following pages, you will find photographs from the day. For all photos visit: https:// www.flickr.com/photos/wycombehighsch/ albums/72157669771285932 Cover Art By Catriona Roberts, Year 11, Austen 9 I painted this ice cream as part of my ‘Journeys’ project in Art. I used acrylic paint so that I could achieve the bright colours and layer the paint to create depth. I really enjoyed painting it because I got a chance to try new techniques.
When talking to others, about the exhibition, it was clear that I wasn't the only enraptured viewer. The exhibition generated nothing but the highest praise, which was evident not only in the aftercomments, but also in the gentle exclamations of those around me when they moved onto the next piece of art on display. Truly, there is no more pleasing feeling than to know that someone looked at your hard work and reacted with an immediate, “Wow.” Occasionally, when viewing the work of someone with clear talent, there’s an underlying prick of a jealousy, a moment of “I wish I could do that”, but I 5
Art
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Charities Share Your Shirts Campaign Last summer I was fortunate enough to go on the Outlook expedition to Zambia and Botswana, and it was incredible. As part of our expedition we spent a week volunteering at Mulemi community school in Zamia making bricks for their new classroom. It was hard work in a very hot climate however the sense of achievement was incredible: our group alone, Timu Moja, created 428 bricks. We all also had the opportunity to take a morning or afternoon off to help teach the children, most of whom were very mischievous. Yet throughout our time at the school none of us could ignore the huge differences between their working environment and that of primary schools in England. One of the most notable differences was the uniform, most of the children couldn’t afford the uniform and that of those who could was in poor condition: significantly worn through with large rips and tears. Their uniform was mainly comprised of a blue shirt which was very similar to ours, this gave Sophie Richards the brilliant idea of trying to send them some of our old, unwanted ones.
Year 9 Street Fair
Once we had somewhat reluctantly returned to England, Sophie, Mrs Lindsey-Clarke and I launched the ‘Share your Shirts campaign’ which we have run throughout the last academic year, asking for donations of old school shirts along with drawstring bags for the children to put their school books in. Thanks to all those who have kindly donated we now have 190 school shirts and 41 drawstring bags to send to Zambia.
The Street Fair’s aim was to organise and run a stall in the hall to make as much money for charity as possible and we managed it! Our stall was an ice cream stall which, unfortunately turned out to be quite messy! We worked well as a team to create three separate stations which included taking orders, scooping and decorating. We found it hard to work out logistics but we managed it in the end. We sold three ice cream flavours, which seemed really popular with the students who bought them. We enjoyed working together and managed to raise £780 as a year, with £90 coming from our own stall! It was great fun and we look forward to seeing the year 9's stall next year! Jemima Copeman, Pankhurst 1 and Hafsah Azam, Bronte 10
Although on the surface it is just uniform, we hope that this donation will bring the school together with a sense of pride and belonging. So thank you very much to all who have campaigned and donated, hopefully it will make a big difference. Catherine Sturrock, Year 12, Parks 7,
Year 9 hosted the Street Fair on Wednesday 15 June. There were many fun stalls from milkshakes to face painting, to a game of ‘guess the teacher’. We were really happy to have raised £780 in total, which is the most that has ever been raised. One stall was a British Tea Party themed stall with food such as scones, this raised £60. Another stall was the milkshakes and cupcakes stall which 8
raised around £70. There were many flavours sold including Oreo and cookie dough milkshakes. Some people got drenched by the rain whilst taking milkshakes from the food room to the hall, unfortunately the weather was not with us that day. Other stalls ranged from waffles to a tombola. 9C raised the most out of the learning groups with over £200. It was a great day and a great fun to have before the start of our exams. Aqsa Hussain, Curie 7 and Talia Staines, Austen 4 The stalls at the Street Fair were very diverse, though there were three main variations of stalls: entertainment, food and craft, but impressively no two stalls were the same! Examples of stalls included: guess the teacher, a haunted house, ice cream and even chips. The day was very successful; as a year group, we raised just under £800 which was an unprecedented profit, the most ever raised! The winning form group 9C raised over £200 and this was distributed evenly amongst the various house charities. The most enjoyable part of this all was selling the different items and interacting with the students who were at your stall. As for the team captains, it really developed their interpersonal skills. Overall, food seemed the most popular- the ice cream stall raised just under £100 altogether! To summarise, the day was phenomenal for both customers and sellers who both benefited in different ways. Meghna Krishna, Parks 1 and Huda Aziz, Nightingale 1 Although it wasn't the best day in terms of the weather, Year 9 successfully carried out the Street Fair creating a brilliant atmosphere within the hall. Although some activities were limited due to the weather all the stalls were amazing; from pizza, chips, cupcakes, waffles, bandanas, tattoos, a tombola, the festival experience, guess the teacher and guess what's in the box, we all raised a huge £780! The turnout was huge and all of the customers enjoyed their tasty treats, fancy tattoos and bandanas making them ready for festival season. The fair was great and everyone enjoyed it, the Year 9s improved their entrepreneurial skills and all the other years were very supportive. We brought our best, setting a huge target for the next Year 9s to beat, so good luck because you'll need it! Emily Lloyd, Bronte 8, Bea Needham, Austen 3, Naveesha Karunanayaka, Parks 2, and Simran Junaid, Bronte 5
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Charities House Charities 2015-16 Summary 2015-16 has been another highly successful year for Charity Fundraising at Wycombe High School. Following the success of last year’s Charity Fundraising structure and the competitiveness of our girls we have continued to support three local and three international charities this year. Our Target has been to raise £1,500 and increase awareness of each of the following charities Austen: Toilet Twinning Bronte: Cinnamon Galle Nightingale: Medecins Sans Frontieres Curie: Buckinghamshire Mind Pankhurst: Padstones Parks: Scannappeal After a year’s worth of baking for cake sales and loose change collections, Christmas and Easter Food and Craft fairs, MUFTI days, car washes and other creative ideas dotted around the calendar, the end of year totals have now been calculated. Austen £2,318.82 Nightingale £2,205.14 Curie £1,995.55 Pankhurst £1,827.87 Parks £1,567.10 Bronte £1,527.09 A fantastic outcome, resulting in every house meeting its target, £11,441.57 being raised for local and international charities and a NEW RECORD for House Charities at Wycombe High School! The House Captains for 2015-16 are currently in the process of counting votes from their Houses to decide on the Charities we will be representing next year. All apart from Curie, who will be the next house to support Cinnamon Galle, a charity close to our hearts which also interlinks with our International Connection with Southland’s College, Sri Lanka. I would like to thank you for your continued support (and baking goods) to raise money for charity, thus helping us to create charitable, active and globally aware students along the way. Miss C Lahmanes, Teacher of French and Spanish and Charity Co-ordinator
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Charities National Charities Once again this year, Wycombe High school has had its eyes set on fundraising large amounts of money to support a selection of charities and the fantastic work they do. In the autumn term, we kicked off the school year with a Jeans for Genes Mufti day for whole school raising £1188.29, followed by a Wear it Pink day, which was organised and run by the Sixth Form students. An event highly anticipated by both students and staff, this years fundraiser was no exception. With activities ranging from creative Henna tattoos and nail design to pin the bra on the body, fun was had by all. Well done girls, you raised £892.95. A special mention and thank you must go out to everyone who collected old and un-used bras - we collected over 1,000 bras, a Wycombe High record! Children in Need saw students and staff dress as their favourite Superheroes and Villains. The Year 10s and Year 11s baked, face painted and watched the SLT dance on the stage all for a good cause. An incredibly creative and successful lunch hour raised over £1400. The Sixth Form girls held a speed dating event with the gentlemen from RGS and JHGS, raising £830.06 for the British Heart Foundation, beating our record from last year. Well done, SLT, I am proud of your efforts! Sport Relief saw the whole school wear sports gear and encouraged everyone to get sporty! A huge thanks to all who helped raise £953.53 for the charity. This year’s chosen charities for World Health Day were The Rainbow Trust and Thames Valley Air Ambulance. Both charities do wonderful work and have helped some of our students out immensely! A huge thank you to all the staff who took part in the annual inter-house game of Rounders. Congratulations to Pankhurst house who are the 2016 champions. The SLT did a wonderful job of selling ice creams, refreshments and face painting in true house spirit. We raised over £123. A hugely successful year for fundraising and increasing awareness of the charities we support. I know that the £6,001 we have raised will go a long way to helping support others. I hope that you will join me in being even more creative and adventurous with your fundraising ideas for the next academic year 2016-17. Miss C Lahmanes, Teacher of French and Spanish and Charity Co-ordinator
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Cygnus Teaching School Action Research Project Presentation Evening
Emma Wace, Year 12, Austen 10, Head of News Crew
On the evening of Tuesday 14 June, Wycombe High School played host to numerous teachers from Wycombe High School, Sir William Ramsey, Bourne End Academy, Monks Risborough Primary School and Iver Village Junior School. This occasion was in order to celebrate their achievements in completing their Action Research projects. The evening saw each participant in the programme talk about their findings from the past 10 months of work and dedication, in the form of a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation. The project is taken on by either Primary or Secondary middle leaders, in collaboration with Cygnus Teaching School. Over a number of months, the teachers form answers to a question that interests them in relation to their teaching field. The teachers have to carry out case studies to give them proper evidence, and then must analyse their findings to identify the outcome of their project. In essence the programme encourages teachers to develop new teaching methods, and analyse their effectiveness and their potential, which is a real test of skill and dedication on the teachers’ part. An example of a question carried out was: ‘Does OneNote have the potential to replace and improve on the traditional exercise book?’ This was carried out by Mr Adam Fazal, Wycombe High School’s Head of Geography. However the spectrum of questions were very broad, ranging from tablet use, to peer mentoring, to Growth Mindsets. It was clear to see, that despite the project being challenging to complete, each teacher seemed enthused about their topic, and their findings were praiseworthy. Following the PowerPoint deliveries, and question and answer sessions on each of the projects, the teachers were finally able to relax, following all of their hard work. To conclude the evening, each teacher was awarded with a certificate to highlight their achievements in their personal Action Research project. Although the process was work-heavy and at times stressful for those undertaking it, the final results were a credit to each of them, and really showed the high calibre of teaching staff there is not only at WHS, but across the whole of Buckinghamshire. 12
Development Ambassador Update Introducing the new Development Ambassador team, lead by Kieren Ghuman Y12 B8 and Ffion Morris Y12 A1. The team includes Rupika Gopalarishnam Y11 P5, Kainaat Qamar Y11 T2, Muniba Jahangir Y11 A2, Haleemah Sadiah Y11 N2, Suzy Garrett Y11 T6, Shanara Blatt Y9 A4, Katherine Smith Y8 1, Aditi Rayama Y7 C1 and Pehrr Ramrakhyani Y7 B6.
Movie Nights and Lunchtime quizzes will carry on next year. We have four Movie Nights scheduled next year for every year group.
This year will sees the return of Open Mic Night Friday 14 October, and participation is key! Since its release, Open Mic Night has increased in popularity and the number of acts and size of audience of always beats the past years attendance. This evening showcases a variety of talents such as singers, dancers, poets and musicians but all talents are welcome. We also welcome family and friends to support the girls in their acts whilst enjoying refreshments provided by WHS.
We’d like to kick off the year with a ‘Big Fat Quiz’ in December followed by ‘Family Fortunes’ in May featuring teams of teachers going head to head and entertaining hosts.
With each year, this event gets better and better. We hope this year’s will be our best one yet. Your daughters are the stars of this event. We need their amazing acts to fill the stage and encourage a huge audience to buy tickets and cheer you on. Singers, dancers, actors, slam poets, musicians, solo and group acts are all welcome. The more acts the better! We are very grateful to the Guild who sponsors our quiz prizes and Movie Night refreshments and to Cineworld who sponsors our Movie Night popcorn and four free Cineworld tickets for the Movie Night raffle. Please encourage your daughters to participate in our events to help us reach our target of £3,000. Once again, we will be raising money for the new all-weather pitch facility. Fffion Morris, Year 12, Austen 1 and Kieran Ghuman Year 12, Bronte 8 Heads of Development
We have a variety of merchandise all of which you can purchase at events throughout the year and from Mrs Morgan’s Office in Room C306. This includes our eco-friendly water bottles which may have contributed to the reduction in plastic usage from an average of 36kg to 15.5kg recorded on Welly Day this year. If you or your daughters have any suggestions for new WHS branded merchandise, please email Mrs Morgan with your ideas. 13
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Development Office Update Another academic year has flown by and it is time once again to report on the financial goals and objectives for the Development Office. This year our goal was to identify the source of at least 100% of remaining funds for the first of two all-weather pitches (£380K) and raise 50% of this figure (£190). At of the time of writing this article we have raised £82,646 or 43% of the target. Development Office Funds Raised 2015-2016 Future Fund (2015-2016) Development Ambassadors Guild Play Your Part Sport News Crew (Sales & Advertising) Concert & Production Donations Sponsors
Amount £ 59,097 £ 3,585 £ 3,435 £ 13,512 £ 2,011 £ 1,188 £ 350 £ 83,177
We have been extremely lucky to have amazing support from our parents to make this school and its facilities as excellent as they are. We continue to be very grateful to the families who contribute to our Future Fund and Play Your Part for Sport Campaigns. We acknowledge that the economic climate is difficult and we all have to prioritise expenditures making your on-going contributions all the more valuable. This academic year we have managed to raise over £59,000 in Future Fund pledges. Over the past ten years £530,000 has been pledged and donated to the Future Fund. We continue to seek parental support whether it be financial – if you feel you can make a donation, it would be very warmly received - equally we would be grateful for your time and expertise. We would love to hear form if you if… You know of a company that may be willing to sponsor equipment or capital expenses You know of trustees who work on the boards of grants, trusts or foundations If you can spare time to work with me to achieve our challenging goals. Parent power is a wonderful thing. If you’d like to have a chat please don’t hesitate to contact me on 01494 897309 or via email dmorgan@whs.bucks.sch.uk. Play Your Part for Sport Campaign Update We are awaiting a decision about our planning application which is with Wycombe District Council and hope to break ground for the first of our two all-weather pitches in June 2017. With the help of WHS’s community of current and former students, staff, parents, governors and headteachers we have raised over £19K this academic year. We could not have achieved this with out your support.
Estimated cost of one pitch - £600,000 Already raised - £239,000 Balance to raise - £361,000 40% of funds raised already! Help us raise the remaining £361k
Recent Events On the 11 June ‘Team WHS’ consisting of Mr Houston, Mrs Williams and Mrs Morgan completed the Stokenchurch ‘Run the Rock’ 10K. Sadly no funds were raised for this event however the profile for the campaign was. /Cont’d... 15
Sports Day - This year all funds raised went to the allweather pitch campaign. Each House and the Development Ambassadors were responsible for a stall, we had a VIP tent and Mrs Nicola Montiero*, teacher of Maths and Nightingale 6 Tutor, cycled100 miles on her bicycle raising £330 in sponsorship. All in all we raised £1,577 on the day. A wonderful achievement.
Any final donations would be greatly received at http://www.justgiving.com/runhoustonrun, or alternatively donations in an envelope (with your name on), can be put on and added as “offline” donations. Sponsor a Square http://www.whs.bucks.sch.uk/PlayYourPart
*You still support can support Mrs Montiero with a donation to her JustGiving page here: https:// www.justgiving.com/Nicola-Monteiro or by text message. Simply text to 70070, using the unique code (below) and your donation amount, i.e. "NMON50 £5".
Our next appeal is ‘Sponsor a Square’. We would be SO grateful if each tutor group would try to raise £50 each to purchase a square in the name of your tutor group. It’s up to them how they raise the funds. They could simply all donate £2.00 each, they could have a 24 hour challenge, a sponsored silence, an egg and spoon race, the options are endless. They will be able to add the name and picture of their tutor group and a small message on the square they have sponsored online and you will be acknowledged on a donor board at the new facility.
Everyone needs to play their part in order for our fundraising campaign and supporting events to be a success. We invite you to run, walk or otherwise exercise with ‘Team Wycombe High School’ by entering yourself in an event and setting up a sponsorship page through our JustGiving campaign . If sport isn’t your thing, please consider sponsoring one of our supporters.
This is a fantastic way to commemorate their time at the school and support future generations of students and the local community. Families, friends and colleagues may also like to purchase a square in honour of the family, a friend, or member of your family. If you run a local business, work in a large corporation or if you know someone who does, they can purchase a square or two which is a great opportunity to advertise at the new facility.
Mr Houston’s Grand Finale – Chiltern Ultra 50km After crunching the numbers Mr Houston has run for over 124 HOURS and clocked up 853 miles in his training / racing for the “4 marathons in 4 months”, he realised that this is the equivalent of running from Wycombe to Palma, Majorca.
Grants, Trusts and Funds We are awaiting a decision from Tesco Ground Works in August and are in the process of applying for a grant from Garfield Weston. Having connections on the board of trustees for funding bodies is extremely useful. If you know of trustees who work on the boards of grants, trusts or foundations, we would be extremely grateful to hear from you. Likewise if you have any advice / leads on potential sources of grants, trusts and funds and expertise to help write the applications.
So, as the dust settles from the end of term and everyone has a lie-in on Saturday, Mr Houston will be doing his final event of the challenge and racing 50KM around the Chilterns (finishing at Princes Risborough School between 2.00—3.00 pm (aiming to be under six hours). If you fancy coming along to support, you will be more than welcome!
/Cont’d... 16
Regular Giving By far the best way you can support this campaign, and the school in general, is for you to consider making a regular monthly gift to the Future Fund. Any future pledges and donations you make will raise academic and extra-curricular standards even further. We have ambitious plans for the future including:
Welcome New Development Leaders I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Heads of Development, News Crew and Guild and their respective teams.
News Crew Jemima Reeve Esther Levin Cecelia Alexander Livvie Cornish Victoria Gothard
Y11 N4 Y11 A10 Y11 A6 Y9 P10 Y9 T7
Heads of Guild Hannah Still Chloe Deane
Y12 N6 Y12 C7
Heads of News Crew Ellie Tribe Y12 C1 Emma Wace Y12 A10
Floodlit all-weather pitches and pavilion Year round facilities will support student participation, progress and performance Venue will be available to encourage wider community sports participation
New link teaching block and reception Demolition of the deteriorating Downs-Christie bridge and glass corridor Creation of a new secure reception with improved access for mobility-impaired visitors Five additional large classrooms for teaching English, Maths and Humanities Relocation and improved accessibility of medical room and Student Support facilities
Refurbishment of the Science facilities This forms part of a seven-year rolling programme to modernise and update all laboratories
State-of-the-art recording studio in the new Music Centre
New microphones for drama productions
Heads of Development Ffion Morris Y12 A1 Kieran Ghuman Y12 B8 Development Ambassadors Rupika Gopalarishnam Y11 P5 Kainaat Qamar Y11 T2 Muniba Jahangir Y11 A2 Haleemah Sadiah Y11 N2 Suzy Garrett Y11 T6 Shanara Blatt Y9 A4 Katherine Smith Y8 N1 Aditi Rayama Y7 C1 Pehrr Ramrakhyani Y7 B6
Enhanced outside seating areas for student use Please support these amazing young women who at break and lunchtime will be raising funds for the school through events, sales of merchandise, advertising and magazine Replacement and refurbishment of aging flat sales. Encourage your family and daughters to roofs attend and participate in school events and contribute articles for our new electronic newsletter It is intended that your daughters will benefit from all and annual magazine. of these initiatives during their time at Wycombe High School and indeed, future generations of We wish you and your families a restful Summer students. We urge you to give serious break and thank you for your continued support. consideration and support to us to further achieve our development plans. To make a regular donation Mrs Dana Morgan Director of Development and Alumnae Relations of any amount, please complete the Future Fund Gift Form in this edition of High Flyer. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our development programme, please do not hesitate to contact me at 01494 897309 or dmorgan@whs.bucks.sch.uk.
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Dollin Essay Competition Economics By hosting the Olympic Games, Brazil faces considerable costs and few tangible benefits. Do you agree?
This year’s themes are: Brazil and the Olympics; Syrian refugees; and the EU referendum.
Brazil and the Olympics
Food Does 'carbo-loading' before a major sporting event really make a difference? Graphics How has the use of modern technology influenced Paralympic athlete performance? Maths How can mathematics be used to find athletes who have cheated their way to medals?
Archives How far have PE lessons at Wycombe High School changed over the last 100 years? Use the records in the WHS Archives to provide the evidence to support your essay. (The Archives are open every Wednesday lunch, and are located in the Learning Centre: you will be helped).
Sports Discuss the suggestion that the use of drugs in sports should be treated in the same way as the use of any other training aid such as an oxygen tent. Textiles Do Brazilian carnival costumes degrade women?
Biology Explain why the spread of the Zika virus to more than 20 countries, including Brazil, has caused the World Health Organisation to declare its fourth-ever international public health emergency. Chemistry How would you measure the carbon footprint of the Rio Olympics? Classics How have the Olympic Games, in ancient and modern times, been used for political purposes? Drama ‘The ritualistic aspects of the Brazilian carnival are akin to those observed in the theatre.’ Discuss.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis
English Literature / Geography Writing about Brazil in the 1950s, poet Elizabeth Bishop wrote the following: On the green hills of Rio There grows a fearful stain: The poor who come to Rio And can't go home again. To what extent has life in the Olympics-hosting country changed?
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Art ‘The Kiss’ in Syria. How can art raise awareness of the horror of war?
The EU Referendum
Business What has the EU done for UK business? History Britain: apart from or a part of Europe? Discuss, with reference to any period of your choice.
Drama Can theatre be used effectively and respectfully to tell the story of the Syrian refugees or does theatre take away from the political significance that such issues embody?
Languages In view of the EU referendum, to what extent does language form national identity?
Geography The social and economic benefits of allowing the mass migration of Syrian refugees to the UK far outweigh the costs.’ Discuss.
Physics 'Leaving the EU - a disaster for Science!' Do you agree? [Some of Britain's leading scientists, including Professor Stephen Hawking, have called for a vote to remain in the EU in the June referendum.]
Music How and why is music used in raising awareness and promoting engagement with the Syrian refugee crisis? Your answer should include specific musical analysis of examples from advertising or news reports. Numeracy ‘The UK should grant immediate citizenship to any Syrian who can demonstrate advanced skills in engineering, maths or computing.’ Discuss.
Politics Is it essential for sovereignty to return to Westminster? Discuss with reference to the EU debate.
Psychology Discuss the concept of in group / out group processes in relation to the discrimination experienced by Syrian Refugees. Sociology Media coverage of Syrian refugees has contributed to a false class-consciousness. Discuss. RS & Philosophy Who should count amongst ‘us’ in ‘them and us’? /Cont’d... 19
The judging process: All essays will be marked anonymously to ensure fairness.
Competition Rules: Following last year’s success, we are launching the 2016 Essay Competition. All students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and outstanding writing skills in the subject area of their choice.
Miss Brash and Mrs Miles will select five essays from all the submissions received, which they feel best fit the competition criteria, to put forward to our external judge.
You can read the 2015 winning essays by Becky Howitt and Amelia Kemp, the 2014 ones by Katherine Skipper and Jasmine Chilton, and the 2013 ones by Haydee Thomas, Becky Howitt and Zahra Khan, on the Dollin Essay Competition page on Moodle.
Oxford Historian, Hazel Tubman will assess these five essays to choose the overall winners. A prize of £150 will be awarded to the winner and £50 to the runner-up, thanks to the generosity of Mr Michael Dollin, a school governor.
This competition will reward two essays written by Wycombe High School students which are judged to display the best combination of:
The judge’s decision is final. All essays will be retained by the School for further use. Entrants will not receive specific personalised feedback to their essays.
Talent for expressing complex ideas in simple terms but in a manner that a subject expert would enjoy.
Prizes will be awarded in early November. Regulations: Entrants must write their submissions entirely independently. No consultation with, or involvement of, staff at the school is permitted, beyond a short, initial discussion.
An argument that is logically pursued; it must have a starting point, develop over a series of paragraphs, and reach a clear conclusion. Evidence of enthusiasm for the task.
All research materials and academic sources must be correctly referenced and cited in a bibliography (use the referencing and essay planning on the Information Literacy page on Moodle).
A desire to reach beyond subject syllabi and to show wider understanding and general knowledge. Originality in challenging the question and devising ingenious solutions to tough intellectual arguments.
Plagiarism will result in disqualification. If you fail to follow the guidelines, your essay may be disqualified.
How to enter the competition: Entrants can be from any year group in WHS. Entrants must select one essay title from the range of different subjects which will be listed on Moodle from 16 May, and on display outside the Hall and in the Miller Study Area.
Follow the simple procedure: Pick one essay title from the questions displayed on the Dollin Essay Competition page on Moodle. Write no fewer than 1,000 words and no more than 2,000 words.
Essays must be between 1000 and 2000 words long. They must be word-processed, doublespaced and single-sided. They should include a bibliography and a word count. Please DO NOT write your name on your work.
Make sure any external sources have been correctly referenced and credited in a bibliography.
Entrants must hand their essay in to Mrs Winser in her office in Miller (which is at the end of the Old Common Room on the third floor). Each student will receive from her an identification number. Mrs Winser will be the only person who knows who has written each essay.
Do not put your name on it.
Do not plagiarise.
Print off a hard copy and take it to Mrs Winser in her office in Miller before the deadline of Friday 23 September 2016. Collect an identification number and wait for the results of the competition.
The closing date for submitting essays is 3.40 pm on Friday 23 September 2016. 20
English Year 6 Creative Writing Workshop, 23 May Expression, enthusiasm, enjoyment. These are just three of the many words which could be used to describe the joys of the Year 6 Creative Writing Workshop. Some of the brightest young minds from the surrounding primary schools, united by their love for literature, description and amazing imaginative powers, worked collaboratively to create some truly exemplary pieces of work. Evening Air
The students from eight local schools integrated together to showcase some exciting skill levels in the creative arts, with a focus on expanding vocabulary, using imagery, creating poetry through images and adding traditional twists to stories.
As the glimmering, golden sun disappears in the high horizon, The tranquil tides slowly come in to cool the hot sands, Hiding all the evidence of footprints and sandy marks, The sea sways in and out, sweeping the rubbish away.
A full day of workshops culminated in a showcase of their day’s work. The students shared their choice of work with the whole group, helping to build their confidence and provide feedback and praise to other sharers.
I can see the storming tides bashing wildly against the surface of the cliffs, Leaving wet marks and visible dents to show what they can do, Also helping it crumble and tumble in the ferocious sea below, The unfortunate cliffs are no more.
The event was truly an inspiration for us, with many bright young creative voices evident in the group. Miss C O’Donnell, Teacher of English What follows are three of the poems written by the participants:
I can taste the freshness of the evening air, The gentle breeze is blowing my hair so that it drifts upwards, Then gushes away onto my curious face, Suddenly all my answers are clear.
Hafsa Mehmood
/Cont’d... 21
English Dancing like a falling parachute, Propelling itself along like a plane, No matter how you think it moves, It brings silence, ominous and strange.
The Lonely Castle Everything was quiet, Only the gentle crash as the waves met the shore; Only the subtlest of noises was out there; All was still.
And then you realise what it is, Alas, it is too late, Oh no, it is a jellyfish, Not a halo and some flowers at all.
Everything had colour, The white of the castle all by itself; The green of the trees surrounding it; The hazy sky one huge rainbow.
And then it puts its well-known trait, Into practise once more, It turns, it spins, it swims toward you, And stings you hard with hatred.
Everything was beautiful, The sun sighing as it fell asleep; The rugged cliffs intimidating yet kind; The sickle moon ready before itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time.
Jessica Santley-Dilley Crashing waves
Everything was warm, The air bringing sweet relief; The wind blowing through my hair; My dress swirling around my legs.
As the waves crashed against the rugged cliffs and the lightning whipped across the black sky, the small fishing boat hauled in their first catch. The sparkling sea that they knew, was now a landscape of unknown danger. The trees on the cliff terrain, clasped onto the rock face with their weary roots. The sea was a desert of crashing waves and thundering water. It was like being in a nightmare that you could never escape. Meanwhile, in the small fishing boat. The fishermen, were expecting to find the net filled to the brim with cod, haddock and the occasional herring. What they saw was completely different to what they had expected. It was empty!
Everything was unique, The scene itself like a painting; The sea a caressing blanket; The sky a domed cover. Like fire, Like silence; A darkening horizon; It was nightâ&#x20AC;Ś Olivia McKeon
Maddy Grice Disguised Until the End My Description
A bright, glowing halo, Connected to a string, Of really quite dull flowers, That trailed behind like a child gone shopping.
The clouds of candyfloss slowly drifted away as the ominous scenery appears. The cliffs are perpendicular to the sea ensuring a painful death if you fall. As quick as a cheetah, the tide comes 22
in rapidly against the steel grey beach. The gloomy terrain, unfortunately, stretches for miles across the west of Wales. The thunderous sky warns the villagers that a dreadful storm is coming their way. By Lilli-Ella Scott The Castle The castle towers above our heads The royal family sleep in their beds Eagles and vultures circle the skies As the castle’s guards roar their battle cries Trees camouflage the majestic walls As moats turn into waterfalls Then the queen emerges to greet her fans Who drink from their cans The sun shines over the balcony As the prince boasts his abundance of money The river flows below the bridge And cascades down the ridge Then the time comes to end the glory The glory of this fancy story Enemies charge right through the gates The blood’s a sign of their fates Walls tumble down They lose power of the town What was once a paradise Is only fit for a bunch of mice The castle falls below our toes The royal family sleep in their gravestones Eagles and vultures are overpowered by mice And the castle’s guards have an extreme case of lice Nina Campbell
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English Festival Poems by Year 7 The Lantern Festival The smell of smoke in the air, The light breeze brushes through my hair. Lanterns floating up so high, As I look up at the dark night sky.
The Sun Worshippers Dancing with the dewdrops., The rays of gold showered the land, Breaking the fast from the sunlight, As the dark of the night did disband.
People all around me, gaze up in awe, But I can’t see my lantern anymore. My face light up from the flames nearby, And as I look up I give out a sigh.
Framing the blazing star-shine, A triathlon of stones stood still, Worshippers watched in pure wonder, As the sun’s blessing caressed Silbry Hill.
Quiet music drifts towards me, But this isn’t all I can see. My village behind me and the clear sky above, As I watch a lantern fly like a dove.
As the merry-making commenced, Giving thanks to the ancestors great, For creating our celestial sundial, Which Sabbats and Esbats doth calculate.
The millions of lanterns shine so bright, Lighting up the cold, dark night. I smile as I know the night has only just begun, And I watch the lanterns disappear one by one.
Branches cascading with berries ripe, And fields abundant with green, River-like trails of grasses, Belong to the Oak King and Queen.
Each year the wheel keeps turning, And festivals come and then go, Reaching the summer solstice again, As the sun shines dazzling glow.
The lanterns are all gone by now, But the sky still feels so warm somehow. I turn as I hear someone call my name, I force myself against the surging crowd, but I get pushed along all the same.
Freya Walsh-Wells, Year 7, Parks 3
Rashini Manage, Year 7, Pankhurst 6
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Extra Curricular 2016 National Schools and Colleges Micromouse Competiton The competition took place on Saturday 25 June hosted by Birmingham City University as part of the TechFest event. We had a change of venue this year and were accommodated in the modern and spacious facilities of the newly built Curzon building on the BCU City Centre Campus. A new record number of 29 mice were registered, beating the 27 recorded in 2014. Regular entrants Claire’s Court School Maidenhead, King Edward VI School Stratford, Tendring Technology College Frinton and Wycombe High School Buckinghamshire were all once again represented in good numbers. New to the competition this year were the Warriors of High Wycombe. Katya Chan, Year 7 Curie 6, gives an insight into the Micromouse Club: “I have always been interested in computer programs and when our DLC teacher invited us to join the Micromouse club I accepted the invitation and joined. The Micromouse club is run by an external volunteer. It has been a long journey. We build our own programmable Micromouse from scratch. That gave us the opportunity to use soldering for the first time. We soldered different types of resistors, switches and other components on to the circuit boards. We went on to install the software on to our Micromouse and customised it for different events. The events include the maze, drag race and line follower. My mouse didn’t always do what we expected it to do, fortunately Bernard was always on hand fix the niggling issues and stop my mouse spinning around in circles. My mouse was made out of 3D printed plastic and a circuit board and many tiny resistors and electronic components. I would definitely recommend this club for new Year 7s as this is a once in a life time experience and you get to meet new friends and learn how to program! A huge thank you from the girls goes to Bernard Grabowski, who ran Micromouse successfully for another year, inspiring another group of students to explore new areas. His report from the Micromouse Competition follows: “The competition kicked off with the line follower event with a record entry of 25 mice. The layout of the track is always different each year and is only decided by the organisers on the day of competition. This year we had an admittedly mouse-friendly layout with no 180 degree bends and only one crossover to negotiate. This resulted in fast times and very few mice failed to get at least one good run in from the three attempts permitted. The drag race was next on the schedule. In this event the competitors have to race against each other in twin lanes of a seven metre long track tightly following a central white line then stop before hitting the end buffers one metre beyond the finish line. Reaction time as the starting lights changed from amber to green was highly significant and, in many cases, accounted for more than 10% of the run time. Five successful runs are needed to win this event so fast mice operating on the edge can be beaten by slower, more reliable mice - a classic “tortoise and hare” scenario. The entrants were all given up to three opportunities to record a qualifying time so the mice could be seeded for the knock-out phase. Wycombe High School pupil Daisy Redrup’s (Year 7 Parks 10) “Ventura” mouse broke the three second barrier. As the event unfolded, and in contrast to the line follower event, reliability was noticeably down on previous years with many otherwise competitive mice hitting the side walls or failing to stop before hitting the buffers at the end of the track. The final which was eventually contested by “Ventura” and another WHS mouse “Mad Max” entered by Pehrr Ramrakhyani, Year 7 Bronte 6. “Ventura” came out on top with “Mad Max” just as fast but unfortunately crashing and incurring a time penalty. The third place play off was won by another WHS pupil Kat Smith (Year 9 Nightingale 1) whose 750 gram monster “Laoshu” was notable for being five times heavier than any other mouse in the contest. /Cont’d... 25
Extra Curricular The wall follower was the final event of the day. As has been the procedure for several years, all mice entering were given three runs in the maze to produce the top six finalists who would compete for the three trophies. Rahaf Mohammed, another WHS pupil, left her mouse “Alfyiz” (Arabic for Good Luck!) exactly as it was and pipped the favourite to finish in top spot in the final. 17 medals were awarded for successful course completion, easily the best ever turn out in this event.
Anaphylaxis
Hypo/Hyperthermia
Burns
Broken Bones, Sprains & Strains
Meningitis & Septicaemia
Poisoning, Bites, Stings & removal of Foreign Objects
In addition to the requirements of the course, they are also taught about:
As ever thanks are due to Duncan Louttit who ran all the Schools events and also donated the medals and trophies. Staff and parents who accompanied the entrants to the competition were often seeing their children under real stress and extremely focused for the first time and we thank them for their support. And finally we are indebted to Tony Wilcox, Chris Evans and the BCU team for providing us with such excellent facilities.”
Heart Attacks
Stroke
Since 2012, 450 students have passed the course, with 360 having optional certificates issued. It is by far the most popular XPG course and has consistently excellent feedback from the students who make comments such as: “A brilliant course where I learnt how to do CPR” “lots of fun with the videos and practicals” “I have learnt so much – I particularly enjoyed learning CPR” “Best XPG course by far!” The certificate is valid for three years and is a nationally recognised qualification which is hugely beneficial when students are applying for jobs, babysitting or are simply surrounded by younger children. Many students go on to share their knowledge with their parents or siblings in the hope that they too can help someone in need.
XPG First Aid Course Since September 2012, Wycombe High School have uniquely offered the Level 3 Paediatric First Aid Award to students in Year 11 who have a ten period gap in their timetable due to Early Entry examinations. The course runs over a period of six weeks and is taught by Director of Sport, Miss Saint-Smith, who is a qualified First Aid Instructor. The students are taught practically the following topics:
Many students have reported that since their course they have administered a form of First Aid as taught by the course, including CPR, bandaging, the Primary Survey, slings and choking incidents.
The role & responsibilities of a First Aider
Primary Survey
Secondary Survey
Resuscitation – CPR & calling for a defibrillator
Airway Obstruction
Epilepsy
With over 140,000 tragic deaths per year relating to first aid incidents, the teaching of such a valuable skill can only serve to try and reduce this number and make students’ school and home environment a safer place to be.
Wounds, Bleeding & Shock
Miss T Saint-Smith, Director of Sport & OAA
Head & Spinal Injuries
Diabetes 26
Subject Guild New Heads of Guild 2016-17
Guild Sponsorship
First, we would like to thank outgoing Heads of Guild Kelsey Farrell Year 12 Parks 8 and Sophie Richards Year 12 Parks 3 who did an amazing job writing articles and helping to produce the ‘Inspire’ Lunchtime Talks and the inaugural ‘Inspiring Women’ evening
The Guild sponsors all of our major school events including concerts, plays and the Development Ambassador Movie Nights and Quizzes. So far this year, the Guild has helped us to raise over £7,553 for the school. A big thank you to everyone who has been involved in any of the events this year, and there are lots of exciting things to look forward to next year!
Our new Heads of Guild are Hannah Still Year 12 Nightingale 6 and Chloe Deane Year 12 Curie 7. Their goals are to…
Help promote the aim of the Guild, which is to promote fellowship between students and staff of the school.
Create stronger links between current and former students.
Engage former students to assist with mentoring, work shadowing, work experience, career and university talks.
Host and sponsor school events.
‘Inspire’ Lunchtime Talks This year, The Guild have produced five talks including: a Deputy Editor of an International Fashion and Travel Magazine and Scriptwriter; a Dentist and Dento Lawyer; a British Airways Captains; a Project Manager for Sentinel-3 Satellite and our own Miss Forbes who spoke about ‘Pathways to success in Psychology’.
Our first ‘Inspire’ Lunchtime Talk speaker next year is Paula Lee who was a councilor and the youngest female Deputy Mayor of High Wycombe. She is hoping to stand as an MP in 2020. Please save the date for this event: 13 October 2016. /Cont’d... 27
Guild Inspiring Women Evening
lunch or brunch visit Tin Kitchen at 2 The Quadrangle, High Wycombe HP13 7QR. We suggest making a reservation in advance by calling 07794 742223 More speakers will be joining Aimee. If you have any recommendations please contact Mrs Morgan on 01494 523961 or dmorgan@whs.bucks.sch.uk.
This year, The Guild also produced our first â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Inspiring Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Evening which was very well received. Please save the date for our second Inspiring Women Evening on Wednesday 1 February at 7.00 pm. Once again we will have a mixture of former students and those that did not attend WHS. We have booked two speakers already which we are very excited about! First of these is Sue Knowles, a marketing director for Costco Wholesale UK, and Charmain Brenyah, a detective in the Metropolitan Police.
Careers WHS is looking to introduce subject careers talks for every subject at GCSE & A Level. The aim is to invite a professional to come and speak to students about career routes, jobs, skills, qualifications related to a particular subject. This could be incredibly powerful in inspiring and motivating WHS students to understand the choice of jobs available when they leave school and routes into those careers. If you feel this is something you would like to be a part of, it would be great to talk to you!
Summary We are both really excited to embrace the roles of Head of Guild this year, and we are determined to make our time in these positions count. We hope that the content we develop is interesting and new, and most importantly, we hope to make the existence of the guild more well known! Chloe Deane, Year 12, Curie 7, Head of Guild New Female Entrepreneurial Evening We are introducing a new event this year all about female entrepreneurs, on Thursday 27 April, at 7.00 pm. We have booked our first speaker Aimee Hunt, a former student of WHS, who owns and runs Tin Kitchen here in High Wycombe. For a tasty 28
Guild In Memory of Georgia Betteridge
The song ‘Georgia On My Mind’ is now available online to purchase for any donation (minimum £1.00). All of the proceeds will go directly to Teenage Cancer Trust. For more information please follow this link: https://www.musicglue.com/finding-hope-in-song/ Please donate and help to make a difference to teenage cancer sufferer’s lives, and to remember a very special, talented young lady. Teenage Cancer Trust
We were very saddened to learn about the death of one of our former students, Georgia Betteridge, in October 2015. Georgia left Wycombe High School 2013 and went on to succeed as an undergraduate at Cambridge for a short while, before her illness brought her life to an unfair end. She touched all who knew her in a very positive way, described by Sheila Cornall, former director of music at Wycombe High, as charming, lively and a remarkable young lady. The full tribute to Georgia can be found in the October 2015 addition of the High Flyer online: https://issuu.com/wycombehighsch/docs/ high_flyer_october_2015.
“We are dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for young cancer patients aged 13-24. We fund and build specialist un its in NHS hospitals and provide dedicated staff, bringing young people together so they can be treated by teenage cancer experts in the best place for them.”
Charity Single Ellie Robinson (a primary school friend of Georgina) has released a song to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of Georgia. Ellie, together with another friend of Georgia’s, piano player Nicholas Cossins, recorded the song at a studio in Brighton which is run by one of Ellie’s university tutors. Ellie’s uncle produced the album artwork. This conveys how Georgia impacted those around her, with her friends and their family coming together to create a song in her memory and raise money for a cause that can prevent tragedies such as this happening. Through the inspiration of music they aim to create a positive light in a time of darkness, and support to those still suffering.
Hannah Still, Year 12, Nightingale 6, Head of Guild
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Subject Guild Paula Lee (née Harmsworth) Attended WHS 1992-1996
What did you do after school? I went straight to work for an electronic component company whilst studying my GNVQ levels 3 & 4. I then became purchasing manager for a mobile data company overseeing large accounts and purchasing components for mobile data terminals used in emergency vehicles. After giving birth to my son three months prematurely in 2011, I decided to concentrate on Politics / Event Management to enable me to spend more time at home caring for him as he is registered disabled.
What did you get up to at WHS in terms of study and extracurricular activities? I was in the Netball Team (GA), Hockey Team (Goalie) and the Athletics Team (I ran for Wycombe Phoenix at the time). I was also part of the school choir, having the opportunity to sing at Westminster City Hall, and was involved in Drama, taking part in a production of Grease.
How did you get into politics? I have been a “community champion” for many years, always involved in community groups and local causes. During this work I met Dr Frances Alexander (former WDC Chairman & Mayor) who advised me I should consider a career in politics as the Council had so few elected women. I joined the Liberal Democrats and started helping delivering leaflets and canvassing locally in my spare time. In 2011, I was elected as Councillor for Micklefield ward (by just 1 vote) and in 2013 / 14 was selected as Deputy Mayor of High Wycombe.
Paula (in the centre) in Year 10
As Deputy Mayor it is your responsibility to represent the Mayor at engagements across the town. During my year I attended nearly 100 engagements, including a tree planting ceremony at Wycombe High, and raised over £30,000 for our two charities: One Can and Child Bereavement. This year was a real eye opener for me as I got to meet so many volunteers who go unnoticed, but do so much for the local
Do you have any fond memories you’d like to share? I will always remember the day the Queen visited the school to open the new sports facilities and I had the opportunity to speak with her. I was amazed at how small she is in real life!
Queen’s visit in 1994 Paula weighing in as Deputy Mayor in 2013 30
Guild What are you doing now?
What do you know now that you didn’t in Year 13 that you’d like to share with current students?
I am currently the Chair of the Liberal Democrat Conference Committee. I run a team that organises political conferences for the Liberal Democrats. This means we run the entire conference from start to finish (venue booking, marketing, ticket sales, booking speakers, formatting the agenda, booking stands, running fringe events, organising catering, overseeing stewards, etc). I get to speak to MPs, Peers and at one point the Deputy Prime Minister to enable me to put together a successful agenda that will entice people to attend. This role has also enabled me to organise other high profile events for senior figures and I hope to start my own events management company once my son is at school full time in September.
Success is a journey, not a destination. The difficulties we face along the way make us wiser, stronger and more determined. Never give up, you really can do anything you put your mind to! Please ‘Save the Date’ for Paula’s ‘Inspire’ Lunchtime Talk entitled ‘Women in Politics’, Thursday 16 June at 1.45 pm in the Learning Centre. All are welcome. Please RSVP to guild@whs.bucks.sch.uk.
I am also the Chair of Wycombe Local Party for the Liberal Democrats. My role is to chair all General and Executive Committee Meetings (in the event of a tied vote the Chair shall have an additional casting vote) and to be jointly responsible with the Treasurer for the Local Party’s compliance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. I also sit on the candidates selection panels. My other roles within the party include committee room organiser – running successful polling day operations for target seats during elections. From operating our election computer system, organising a team of volunteers, getting correct leaflets out on time, organising the candidate and complying with election law.
Current photo of Paula
This means I can get sent to other areas to run polling day and enable the candidate to be successful. On 5 May I was sent to run a committee room in Milton Keynes and I’m pleased to say we won both seats!
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Guild Former Student Current Staff Profile Sophie Mann Attended WHS 2006-2012 What did you get up to at WHS in terms of study and extracurricular activities? When I was at WHS I was a big fan of all the choirs and drama productions! I took part in Oklahoma, The Grimm Tales and Daisy Pulls it Off which were all great fun. I also took part in Bailey Murphy twice and managed to win a category but I can’t quite remember which one it was! I also was very conscientious and always wanted to do well. Even though I wasn’t always top of the class I always worked hard to try and achieve my best! I don’t think I would have got where I am today without going to such a good school like WHS. I really don’t have a bad word to say about my experience when I was a student. Do you have any fond memories you’d like to Sophie in Oklahoma share? One of my fondest memories was getting the role of Deputy Head Girl as I was so shocked and pleased that I had been given the role - I was not expecting it at all! Also the Harry Potter SLT video that we managed to put together has to be one of my finest moments…
Where did you go and why did you choose it? I went to the University of York and studied English. I chose York because it was very highly recommended for the course I wanted to do and was such a beautiful place! I wanted to explore somewhere that was away from home so I could gain independence and appreciate a different city.
Sophie and Mrs Lally at the staff Christmas meal What brought you back to WHS and what is your role? My role now is a Drama Teacher. I was drawn back as there was a need for a teacher of Drama and thought I would give it a go! I’d always loved drama at WHS and am always looking for new opportunities to be around Drama as it is something I am very passionate about! What is it like being a teacher in your former high school? It was a bit strange when I first started! Having people call me Miss Mann was something that I definitely had to get used to. Also, having to work with some of the teachers that used to teach me was a bit of a weird experience - especially having my old Drama teacher as my boss! However, I absolutely love it! The girls are fantastic and I feel so privileged to be working in such a great school that I loved and enjoyed so much!
What did you do after school? Gap year, straight into business or Uni. After school I went to straight to Uni.
What has changed? Not too much actually! The pasta at the canteen is still the same pasta I knew and loved but the new music block is certainly something that wasn’t around when I was here - it’s amazing! 33
In the News Ex WHS Student awarded the Edith Cavell Leadership Award. Lucy Gladwell (Class of 2013) is at Birmingham University studying midwifery and completes her degree in September of this year (2016). Lucy, a finalist in the Cavell Nurses’ Trust Wards, was awarded the Edith Cavell Leadership Award presented at the Royal Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden with Sally Gunnell OBE on hand to help with the proceedings. Lucy is looking forward to an international placement at a hospital in Candy, Sri Lanka in August.
trafficked in Nepal and says as an international relations student, will be looking at the impact of the natural disaster. She is training for the epic climb, which involves a six-day ascent and five-day descent, by swimming and running to strengthen her lungs, and hopes to raise £2,895 for the trip which will include her travel. Teachers and students at The Highcrest Academy said they are planning to support her in her efforts to raise the funds. She is fundraising through various activities, including bake sales and a non-uniform day in the sixth form at Highcrest. She added: “If we all choose to do our bit for Nepal, that investment becomes the difference between a strengthened country or one which forces people to migrate elsewhere in search of opportunities.” “We have the opportunity now to come alongside the Nepalese people and help them rebuild the foundations of their country, so young and old can once again have the opportunity to make life decisions not based upon lack and poverty, but on choice and freedom.”
Ethel Tambudzai, Cressex, High Wycombe Previously published 16/6/16 on the Bucks Free Press website By Shruti Sheth Trivedi, News reporter. A High Wycombe student is spearheading a mission to climb Mount Everest in a bid to help Nepal after a devastating earthquake last year killed thousands of people and destroyed much of its architecture.
Ms Tambudzai also paid tribute to her teachers at Highcrest and said the school's motto of 'aspire and achieve' has spurred her on in life. She said: “I would not be here without the support of so many brilliant teachers at the school who continually believed in me through my education at Highcrest.” Ms Tambudzai has raised 13 per cent of her target. To donate, go to https://mydonate.bt.com/ fundraisers/etheltambudzai1.
Ethel Tambudzai, 21, from Cressex, who attended The Highcrest Academy on Hatter’s Lane and Wycombe High School and is now studying international relations at the University of Westminster, is planning to reach Base Camp with three other people in September. She is raising money and awareness for children’s charity Childreach International as well as helping victims of human trafficking in the country. She said: “I am really excited and nervous, and really apprehensive. Climbing Mount Everest is an amazing thing but I am still cautious because they have just experienced an earthquake and there is a lot to be done in Nepal.” While there, Ms Tambudzai will also be working with a charity for local women who have been 34
In the News Former Student Makes Professional Debut
then at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Jenny Jones, who left Wycombe High School in 2013, is making her professional debut in the Cameron Mackintosh/ Julian Fellowes revival of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Half a Sixpenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which opens in Chichester on 14 July.
A committed Socialist and sometime member of the Communist Party, her initial interest was in the field of criminology. On her return to England, she begun studying and writing about the sociology of homosexuality. Her paper "The Homosexual Role", published in 1968, argued that homosexuality was not a clinical pathology and that historical and cultural influences affected same-sex relations, changing them in meaning and practice. Much of her work was based on questionnaires and notes of meetings with gay men interviewed in Leicester and London. Professor Miriam David, a leading member of the Gender and Education Association, first met her in 1973 at Bristol University. She recalled the effect that she had: "She was incredibly inspiring when she came to give a talk. She was at the forefront of the new wave of feminism. 'The Homosexual Role' became one of the classical and foundational arguments for the development of the sociology of deviancy, homosexuality and also feminist sociology." She was also the only woman present who knew how to change the tyre of a broken-down car parked outside. In 1968, McIntosh, along with the late Stan Cohen and Laurie Taylor, helped establish the National Deviancy Conference, a radical criminology group; and in 1975, she published The Organisation of Crime. The following year she became a member of the policy advisory committee to the criminal law revision committee dealing with sexual-offences issues, and played a major role in getting the homosexual age of consent lowered from 21 to 18.
The show runs through to the 3 September. Please support Jenny by spreading the word and purchasing tickets at: https://www.cft.org.uk/ whats-on/event/half-a-sixpence
Mary McIntosh: Sociologist, writer and pioneer in the feminist and gay movements. Exerts previously published on 21st February 2016 in the Independent Online. McIntosh: at the forefront of the new wave of feminism Mary McIntosh, the leading feminist sociologist and academic, was not scared of breaking boundaries. She was looked on as being one of the leaders of the "second-wave" of the feminist movement, and was also one of the founders of the gay and lesbian movement. McIntosh fought for equal rights, and both sexual and legal recognition for all. She was instrumental in making the academic world reconsider the sociological lives of gays and lesbians. McIntosh, a strong, caring woman, who was born in Hampstead in 1936, was the daughter of socialist parents. Her brother Andrew McIntosh would become a Labour peer, and leader of the Labour Party on the Greater London Council. She was educated at Wycombe High School, and
She helped to found the socialist feminist magazine Red Rag, and in 1970 became a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, eventually working towards creating contacts between the women's and lesbian movements. She played an active role in the campaign for women's legal and financial independence, too, which led to the 35
In the News Why Be a Wife? campaign. She also became involved with other campaigns for the right to define one's own sexuality. She was very active in the British Sociological Association, helping to set up the women's caucus, and the first conference on sexual divisions and society in 1973. In 1972 she had become the first editor of Economy and Society, which she had helped to found, serving on it for the next six years. She was also part of the collective which established the socialist Feminine Review, bringing together political action and theory research.
On her retirement, McIntosh took up a new position, one well honed to her skills, at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Islington, North London. Her papers were donated to the London School of Economics, where many years previously she had helped to set up the UK Gay Liberation Front.
Mary McIntosh, sociologist: born London 13 March 1936; died London 5 January 2013. 36
Guild AGM Wycombe High School Guild Annual General Meeting
Rachel Sutcliffe reported that work continued in the Archive though the year, when volunteers were available. She thanked all those involved, especially Jill Boyd and Liz Taylor, as well as Janet Paterson, Kathy Piercey, Penny Waterfield and Muriel Pilkington for the times they were able to help. She was also pleased to report that Hilary Brash had recruited three Year 9 History students as Archive Volunteers. They were very enthusiastic and had been transferring student data from admissions registers to the student database.
Monday 27 June 2016 at 1.35 pm After a pleasant buffet lunch and chat, 12 members of the Guild, including the President, Sharon Cromie; the Vice President, Rachel Sutcliffe; committee members Marian Brocklesby, Lynda Arnold, Dana Morgan, Branwen Kelly, Liz Taylor assembled in the Conference Room for the AGM. However, it was disappointing that so few, including the Treasurer, were able to attend, owing to employment commitments. It would have been good if some of the younger members had been able to come along, too.
The meeting finished with news from the School. Sharon Cromie reported that WHS had held a mock EU referendum on 23 June, voting day, and had voted overwhelmingly for “Remain”. Building and refurbishing work included refurbishing the Careers Library; a new Sixth Form café and new Sixth Form study space and offices in Miller; a refreshed Forum; additional outside seating and umbrellas; a new shade sail in the amphitheatre and new external signage. Sport continued to go from strength to strength. As a teaching school, WHS had trained 24 teachers this year and carried on its role as a Maths Hub. A new School Website had been launched last September. All students now had personal tablets and e-mail addresses, while staff had either tablets or laptops. Last summer’s examination results were excellent and the school maintained its place as one of the top schools in the UK. A highlight of the year was the official opening of the Music Centre Duke of Kent on 2 March 2016.
We were also sorry to receive the resignation of Branwen Kelly from the committee, owing to her commitments in Wales. We should like to thank her very much for her contribution to the work of the committee. However, we are pleased that two new members have joined the commitment, Ann Marie Pringle and Susie Clark, though they were unable to attend the AGM. Kathy Piercey, the Guild Treasurer, reported by email that The Guild finances for the year ending 31 December 2015 continued to be in a healthy state. Membership was currently 2,173, 700 of whom are school members. The Guild continues to support school events such as drama performances, concerts, movie nights, quiz shows and the Inspire series of lunchtime talks. In her presentation, Dana Morgan gave more details of these and the fundraising activities, Play Your Part for Sport, for two All-Weather Sports Pitches. 39% of the funds required had already been raised.
It was agreed that the next AGM would be at the Grand Reunion to be held on 24 June 2017. By Rachel Sutcliff, Vice President of the Guild
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One Year On Francesca Manzin Class of 2015 Francesca was recently back at Wycombe High School to help with displays for Open Evening. She recently completed a year at Oxford Brookes for an Art Foundation Diploma. This one-year foundation course is an entry route to all BA Art and Design courses in the UK. Here’s what Francesca said about her course.
“The work I produced at Oxford Brooks is very different from my work at WHS. I would recommend a foundation course to anyone. I would also say though that it’s really down to you to utilise it fully. Some people don’t try anything new and they end up no better than when they started. The course is really for experimenting and trial and error. I began the course wanting to find some kind of niche or style, but also knowing that sculpture was my biggest interest, and I do feel much closer to it since the final project where I just went a bit mad really!” The maquettes, mugs, and torso were all for separate projects in the middle of the year.
Francesca is now off to Newcastle which is ranked 3rd in the country for Art by the Guardian! Very exciting news. We wish her all the best. You can see more of Francesca’s work here: https://www.instagram.com/manzinfrancesca/
This was her Franz West / Henry Moore inspired final piece. 38
Mia Vaughan-Smith, Class of 2015
Mia also completed a year at Oxford Brookes for an Art Foundation Diploma and recently came in to school to help set up the Art Exhibition. She was hugely impressed by the breadth of the work, and the way that so many of the students have been brave enough to step out of the realms of painting and pursue subject matter and processes that aren’t necessarily traditional and safe. She and Francesca had their final show at Oxford Brookes and are now off to university in September. Mia has a place at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London to study a degree in Fine Art. Below please find images of her very latest piece, which was part of her final major project, and was shown in our exhibition. 3:1, 2:1 Cement and plaster Concerned with mass, material alteration, and the relationship between objects and the space that they take up, this collection of sculptures questions our idea of comfort. These sculptures unequivocally alter the original purpose of an article associated with the everyday – the pillow. This example of transmutation refers also to the creation of a physical representation of negative space, once intangible, given a solid positive form. Looking to the process of making, the work is intended to highlight concepts involved with the viewer’s perception of their own physical presence.
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History and Politics Year 9 Battle Fields Trip This is the grave of Wilfrid Brash, the brother of my grandfather Frank. Wilfrid was the brightest and second youngest of a large, musical family (I think there were nine children?) from the Lancashire/ Westmorland border. He stayed on at school (my grandfather left at 14) and trained to be a teacher. He taught a while, then the war broke out and he volunteered. His ability was spotted and he was commissioned (made an officer) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the only one of six brothers to be so. He left a lot of letters and what really comes across is how warm and good humoured he was, even in the trenches, and how much he cared about his mother. He was also a great singer and behind the lines he ran a choir. He was killed in March 1917, shot in the thigh. Had he not been in No Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Land at the time, he might have survived. My grandfather always said that Wilfrid was the best Brash; when his mother (my great grandmother) heard that Wilfrid had died, she stopped singing, and never sang again. Miss H Brash, Assistant Headteacher and Teacher of History
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Languages Latin Reading Competition On Wednesday 6 July, Year 7s, who study Latin as a compulsory subject, as well as Year 8s taking Latin as their optional second language took part in the annual Latin reading competition. The performances ran over the course of two hours, with many groups taking to the stage in the main hall to impress and entertain their peers with their acting and linguistic skills, in the form of different short Latin pieces. Despite some lines being missed or stumbled over, the general quality of the recitals was great, with each piece being met by laughter and applause from the audience. The competition was judged by a panel of judges, which included one of the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s governors, Colin Baker. There were prizes for the best group in each year, and in addition, there were special commendations for individual students who were notably fluent and confident. The competition seemed to be a fun way to immerse the students further into the Latin language. The morning was exciting for all involved and the costumes of the participants added an extra element to their performances. It takes a lot of confidence to perform on stage, let alone performing your lines in another language, therefore all the participating students should be congratulated. Emma Wace, Year 12, Austen 10, Head of News Crew
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Leavers’ Ball Leavers Ball 2016 After a long few weeks of gruelling exams, what better way to cut loose than a large disco with your friends? Leavers Ball was such a lovely night for everyone involved, and I’m sure everyone in Year 13 would like to extend their thanks to Tomi Oludemi and Mrs Green and everyone else who helped to pull out all the stops that night. The evening was such great fun! Dressing up, of course, is always a delight and everyone looked incredibly stunning in their formal wear. We all turned up after travelling in style (some of us in limos, some of us in the classic coach) and were delighted to see how much effort had been put into setting everything up. Both Emilie Kraft and Lucy Entwistle had put a lot of hard work into the place settings and decorations for the evening and it really paid off. Everything looked gorgeous!
Finally, of course, there was the fabulous dancing. A great array of music awaited on the, admittedly fairly small, dance floor. It was so much fun to have a last hurrah with all our friends, and some of our teachers. I cannot tell you how much fun I had reconnecting with everyone and partying with them for a final time as a whole year. I’m so glad we have this opportunity and, to younger years, believe me: it’s worth the wait. Emily Morgan, Year 13, Austen 3
Of course, no party would be complete without food and what wonderful food it was. All the options looked delicious and I think we definitely all left that night very satisfied. Dinner was a lovely affair, during which time we voted on some very special awards. Congratulations to all the winners, very well deserved!
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Library Author Talk Marianne Levy Lunchtime Talk Marianne Levy, author of the book ‘Accidental Superstar’ visited Wycombe High School on Monday 6 June, to give a talk in the library. Marianne was a bubbly personality who inspired creativity in the students. The talk gave insight into not only the background and the inspiration for the book, but also into what it’s like to be an author, and some great tips for creative writing were unveiled. Marianne was very passionate about her writing and when asked how she comes to form story ideas or character concepts she said she likes to put ‘a part of me in every character’ a notion that the attending students seemed enthused about. The lunchtime event was not solely a lecture from the author; it also gave the students a chance to come up with their own creative ideas for stories and characters, guided by Marianne. When asked what the most challenging part of writing is, Marianne admitted it can be as simple as ‘formulating ideas into a book’. She offered some valuable tips for how to come up with a story in the first place. For example, she asked students to create a brief back story for a made up character of their own. Then she asked the students to give their character an aim or ambition. Next they were told to come up with a barrier that stops their character from achieving their desires. This, Marianne said, is a great way to come up with an initial basis for a story. Overall Marianne Levy seemed to be a great hit with students. Her positive influence allowed for a creative atmosphere and the students now have some great methods for coming up with their own stories in the future! Emma Wace, Year 12, Austen 10, Head of News Crew
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Music Tea Concert 25 May T is for terraced dynamics, the word of the day E is for Evie Harper, playing the musical cats A is for Alice Mclver, with her little brother Tom C is for Cajon, a new instrument we heard O is for on my own, performed by Kimberley Andrews N is for number two, and Bouree on the piano C is for Cordelia Thompson, who played not once, but twice E is for encouraging teachers, giving help and feedback R is for Red jumpers, all playing strings T is for Tea and cake, and all the acts who made it happen
‘Wicked’ Trip 2016 9 June 2016 This year, Wycombe High School girls in Years 8 and 9 had the opportunity to go see the award winning production of ‘Wicked’ at the Victoria Theatre if they were taking music GCSE the next academic year. We first visited Pineapple Studios to have a vocal workshop from the assistant musical directors of the show. It helped us to develop our harmonizing in big groups and gave us our own first real taste of showbiz and performing in musical theatre! The show itself was amazing and Elphaba had the most stunning voice. We left the first half with our jaws dropped ready for the second half, it was just as good and some people were left leaving the theatre crying. On the way back, the excitement of the day made everyone feel a bit sleepy as we drove through the beautiful streets of London where all the bridges were lit up. ‘Wicked’ was absolutely amazing and although that was my third time seeing it, I would love to see it again. I think it’s fair to say everyone had a very enjoyable time and thank you to the music department for looking after us! ‘Wicked’ summed up in one word was Wicked!
The poem above was written by Beth France Year 9, Parks 9 and Sophia Ahmed Year 9, Curie 3. The Music Department would just like to thank all the performers, audience members, site services and the catering staff for everything they have done in helping to make the first year of Tea Concerts such a success! We look forward to hearing more from you next year! Mr Matthew Snodden Teacher of Music
Anna Ricketts Year 8, Curie 10
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Music Pre-Tour Concert The annual pre-tour concert took place this year on Tuesday 5 July in the music centre. The concert showcased the wide variety of repertoire that students and staff will be performing on the music tour to Edinburgh. During the concert, audience members enjoyed listening to music from the choir, woodwind ensemble, flute group and string group. They were also treated to a beautiful solo piece, ‘Ballade’ by Reinecke, performed by Drew Smith (Year 12, Curie 6). To begin the concert, the tour choir, consisting of students from all year groups, beautifully sang two complex pieces, composed by the late John Tavener; ‘The Lamb’ and ‘Song for Athene’. Next came Drew’s solo, one which had the audience mesmerised due to her astounding control and ability. Then the Woodwind Ensemble conducted by Mr Snodden, which consisted of clarinets, saxophones and a trumpet, brilliantly performed the well-known tune ‘Defying Gravity’ from the musical, ‘Wicked’. To bring an end to the first half of the concert, the flute group performed ‘Puzzles’ which was arranged by Drew Smith. The second half was opened by the string group, conducted by Mr Snodden. The group played two pieces. Firstly, ‘Canon in D Major’, originally composed by Johann Pachelbel however was arranged for this concert by Bhavina Chandramohan and secondly ‘Palladio’, composed by Sir Karl Jenkins. The concert was brought to a close by the tour choir, who sang ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’ in a brilliant end to a fantastic evening of talent. Emily Rints Year 11, Parks 7
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News Crew First of all, a huge thank you and congratulations to the previous News Crew. Led by Emily Morgan and Saoirse Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor, the entire team did a great job in updating our High Flyer look and feel, making it fun to read through their clever idea of using themes and making ÂŁ1,781 in Magazine and Advertising sales.
We will include features which is the perfect opportunity for students to send in original contributions, be it art, graphics, stories or poems. Additionally, we will be including departmental showcases, which will highlight impressive achievements of students by subject. In essence this year is all about change, making the school feel more like a community through regular news updates and making our news available to the world.
Introducing the new News Crew team, lead by Ellie Tribe Year 12 Curie 1 and Emma Wace Year 12 Austen 10. The team this year include Victoria Gothard Year 9 Pankhurst 7, Eshter Levin Year 11 Austen 10, Cecilia Alexander Year 11 Austen 6, Livvie Cornish Year 9 Parks 10 and Jemima Reeve Year 11 Nightingale 4.
In terms of the Annual Magazine, 2017 marks the centenary of the death of Mary Christie, the founder of Wycombe High School. The 2017 edition of the magazine will be dedicated to her memory. Given that the High Flyer is now becoming a predominantly online presence, the magazine is now the only magazine that will be printed and sold next academic year. This year we will be holding essay competitions, as well as short story and poetry competitions. We will also be including, as per usual, original contributions as the magazine is, first and foremost, a celebration of the achievements and talents of Wycombe High School students.
Next academic year, High Flyer is changing. Currently, the WHS News Crew produces a copy of the High Flyer once every half-term. Starting the Autumn term, the conveyance of news will be a lot more regular. As soon as events occur, they will be written up and posted to the school website. We hope this will make people feel more informed, as well as bring High Flyer into a more modern age. The team will then compile all written articles in a fortnightly electronic newsletter, which will be emailed to students, staff and parents.
We look forward to receiving your contributions in the new year. Ellie Tribe Year 12 Curie 1 and Emma Wace Year 12 Austen 10 Heads of News Crew
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Numeracy Medals for Mathematics
Primary Team Maths Challenge
The UK Mathematics Trust run a national competition which many of our students enter. In either the Junior, Intermediate or Senior level, lots of girls have won Bronze, Silver or Gold certificates. Those who qualify take follow on rounds (Grey Kangaroo, Pink Kangaroo, Hayley or Maclaurin to name a few) and sometimes a student will qualify for the highest follow on round: the Olympiad. Usually around 1200 students from across the country are invited to take part at this level.
The Primary Team Maths Challenge, which took place on Monday 4 July, was an all-day event held at Wycombe High School for teams of budding mathematicians, and a credit to the school’s status as a maths hub. The challenge was for teams of four Year 6 students, who throughout the day were involved in a variety of mathematic activities and puzzles. The event was resourced by the United Kingdom Maths Trust who provided excellent materials for the young students.
In the past, on three separate occasions, students have won Bronze medals at this level. This year, in the Junior Olympiad 2016, a new record has been achieved: two students have won medals. Kira Dhariwal (Year 8, Bronte 8) has won a Silver medal and Rosie Coward (Year 8, Austen 9) a Bronze medal. Both achieved a Distinction, which puts them in the top 25% of Olympiad results in the country and they should be very proud of themselves. Only 60 Silver medals and 120 Bronze medals are awarded nationwide. Kira can add hers to a growing collection as she won a Bronze medal in 2015.
There was healthy competition amongst the groups, and each team was incredibly able and capable, but it was the team from Holtspur School who, at the end of the morning, were leading the competition. However, disaster struck for the Holtspur team when, sadly, they had to leave before the afternoon session due to the rescheduling of their sports day, meaning the leaders were suddenly out of the competition, which they were fairly upset about. The day ended up being won by the Danesfield School team, who were followed by St John’s C of E Combined School, and Courthouse Junior School, who came in joint second, after vigorous competition.
Below are two examples of Olympiad questions see Kira or Rosie for solutions!
By Ellie Tribe, Head of News Crew, Year 12, Curie 1
"A large cube consists of a number of identical small cubes. The number of small cubes that touch four other small cubes face-to-face is 168. How many small cubes make up the large cube?" "In a certain triangle, the size of each of the angles is a whole number of degrees. Also, one angle is 30° larger than the average of the other two angles. What is the largest possible size of an angle in this triangle?" Charlotte Fell Subject Leader of Mathematics
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Original Contributions Beginning to End
dislike. I didn’t ASK to be born. But that didn’t make me any better than I was. I had to become Useful.
Now There’s no way out. Everyone knows it. I am surrounded by destruction, hatred, death. It is over now. My life is over. People are running from the booms and crashes that are all around them, hoping to survive, but it is useless. We are stuck. Mother calls me to come, to live. But I can’t. And then there’s darkness.
The war wasn’t far off. The Russians had already conquered Ukraine, Germany and Italy and word had it that their troops were planning a raid on Spain soon. We were next after France. That was where Immortality came in useful. Not only did it stop people aging but it rejected gun shots. Which was why Russia wanted Britain. We had Immortality. The other countries were for energy coupons, power. But WE were who they really wanted. So they could live forever. All the boys born were trained to fight for Britain. As a girl, I thought I’d be far away from the fighting, destruction. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Before – Part 1 The year was 2140. And I had awoken. But I could sense it wasn’t the first time I had awoken. But I was older. Mother explained to me later that they had used Aged when I was just a tiny baby. Aged was an injection that parents could use on their children to make them grow up quicker. They could choose what age their child would become and they grew, suddenly, to that size. I became eight. So, as I had sensed, it was the second time I had woken up. But that didn’t matter. It was what happened later.
Mother desperately wanted to educate me but the Government wouldn’t allow it, I had to be taught to farm, sail, and defend myself. But Mother found a way around that. I was taught to hack into the Russians’ communication systems and be a spy. I found this terribly exciting as I was only twelve. But I soon learnt it was no game, it was real, and it was dangerous.
Everyone knew it was coming. The war. The war that would destroy my childhood. The war for energy coupons, power, land and, most importantly, more Immortality. In 2016, an extraordinary scientist called Diana Will found the cure for death. It could cure disease like Cancer and Heart Failure but, more crucially, old age. People took the drug, immortality, every day and their cells were reborn. People living forever meant that they could work for a longer time (which pleased the Government) but they were left with the problem that there were too many people. Energy started running out – which was where energy coupons were invented- water, the polar icecaps were melting drastically and the world was a MESS.
The Russians took longer than expected to arrive in Britain. Not that anyone complained. It took them three years to conquer Spain but they stole France with ease. It reminded me of a game of Monopoly, we kept hitting on Free Parking but we all knew it was only a matter of time until we rolled a ten and were sent to jail. Meanwhile, Russia had a Hotel on Mayfair. It was 2144 when Russia crossed the channel. Father worried that a 12 year old could not cope with a war and tried to Aged me again. But I wouldn’t haven’t it and nor would Mother so I entered the world of war as a small, meek, 12 year old with only her hacking abilities to show for herself. I remember thinking to myself as we listened to the war declaration on the radio that it when it was all over, the war would be named World War 3. * Before – Part 2
So the Government banned childbirth. That was until the war started looming. The country needed young soldiers not 150 year olds! So childbirth was introduced again. But, obviously, children didn’t grow up overnight. Yet. Scientists researched and, eventually, came up with Aged. So that’s how I existed.
I was soon requested by the Government because of my hacking abilities and was allocated a workhouse to try and crack the Russians’ communication codes. I was easily the youngest
But I was useless. I was a girl. But that wasn’t my fault, I told myself whilst I grew up in a town littered with old people and fear and looks of 50
in that warehouse. Obviously, I was used to being a small fish in an OLD pond but my home town were used to me by then so I had forgotten how brutal some of the looks I could get were. Mr. Edwards – my supervisor- (who, if he wasn’t old, I would have liked very much) explained that some of the people were frightened of me because children hadn’t been around for decades and that most people are afraid of new things. That had surprised me; that the looks of hatred that were doled out to me were because of FEAR.
that sits in front of me produces the translation on its screen.
I knew that that couldn’t distract me though, I was determined to prove to those oldies that youth are better than age. Which is why I made the idiotic decision to join the Underground’s raid. The decision that caused all this…
“We don’t use kiddies on our missions. But I suppose all the rest of their citizens are one hundred and fifty so can you blame them?” Mr. Smirk remarks.
“Only a child” “I’m twelve, you know” Mr. Smirk tuts. Mr. Shake just sighs. I don’t get it. Everyone thinks that being twelve is the same as being three! I’m almost a teenager! Why is youth so bad?
I want to bare my teeth but I know it won’t help my situation.
My manager looked surprised when I told him I wanted to be the decoder on the Underground’s raid. The Underground was an organisation that spied on the Russians. Some members pretended to be Russian and joined the troops to get inside information but the raid I was going to be a part of involved stealing one of their telecommunication systems to intercept the Russian troops’ conversations. Which is why they needed me. I had to decode their messages to each other. My Boss said no at first but I argued that I was small and had more energy than anyone else at the warehouse and eventually persuaded him. We travelled to Cornwall to complete our mission. I felt exhilarated as we silently drove there in the pitch black van we were forced to travel in. It was a plus that I lived in Exeter, not far from where the theft was taking place so I felt not too far away from the safety of my parents. But I couldn’t help feeling slightly agitated. I was in danger. But I was determined to carry on. For my Mother and Father. The head of troop called and we got off the bus. ‘This is it,’ I told myself. ‘Life or Death.’
“I’m very useful you know” They both snort. “A twelve year old?” Mr. Shake teases. “Right.” They’re so infuriating. I wonder if the translator can read my mind? No. That’s impossible. I look up as another Officer enters. Both the Russians stand and salute. “Сэр” No. It can’t be? Sergei Lomtev. The most wanted Russian soldier there is. No way. I know now that I’m dead. For sure. I look back around the room, for an exit but there isn’t one. I’m trapped. Herr Hauptman grabs me and I think, this is it, but he only grabs my identity card then wraps a scarf around my mouth. I feel faint and woozy. It takes me precious seconds to realise what’s happening. Then there’s Darkness. I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder. “She’s awake!” the ‘shoulder man’ declares.
Now “Awake?” A man walks out of the shadows and his large looming figure is reflected onto the bleak walls and I finally see his face. Sergei Lomtev. Or Stupid Loser as everyone calls him.
I can’t disguise my fear. My face is panic – stricken. I think that’s making the officer smirk more. The other one just stares at me and shakes his head. I want to cry. I want Mother. I want a hug. But I’m 12. I’m not a baby. ‘Stay strong,’ Mother’s voice inside my head tells me, ‘you can do this.’ And, surprisingly, it helps. I feel slightly better. I look around. There’s not much to see. To note down for future reference. It’s just a bleak dark warehouse. But I think that freaks me out even more. There are no windows at all. Creepy. I believe in light everywhere. Mr. Shake mutters something to Mr. Smirk in Russian and I snap back to the real world. The translated machine
“Then let’s GO! I want them all dead by the end of the day! NOW!” He roars. Gosh, he DOES have a temper. The two men hurry towards me, in fear, and grab me and shove me to the door. Now I am scared. I’ve got so many questions. WHO are they going to kill? WHY? Is it MY fault? It can’t be, surely. But with Russians, who knows? Mr. Smirk grabs my left shoulder and Mr. Shake seizes my /Cont’d... right. Their hands are hard, cold, like their faces 51
Original Contributions and unfortunately, they’re strong too, stronger than my struggles and wriggles.
Mother calls me to come, to live. But I can’t. And then there’s darkness.
“Where are they going?” I ask but they just ignore me and tighten their grip.
Mum shakes me frantically and I come to my senses again. And then I remember. Mustn’t cry, MUSTN’T CRY!!! I can’t help it. Mother is pulling me now, getting me to run. Fire bombs surround me, trap me, imprison me and kill me, fatally. This is it. But then I look again and I see that some of the English Soldiers have arrived and so have the Exeter Firemen, the bravest people in Britain. I know we are safe. For now. I see Mr. Smirk and Shake running, fast and, strangely, I’m glad. I didn’t want them to die. Mother drags me home, onto my soft bed. She strokes my hair and soothes me, telling me we won, we’re safe and that I’ll never go away again. I hear a knocking at the door. Father answers it and shrieks. It’s a soldier and mother runs towards him.
“Please tell me” I plead using an extra sweet cute voice that I use whenever I want something. It always works. Always.
The guards exchange glances and Mr. Smirk sighs. “I’m going to get in trouble over this…” Mr Smirk starts; but then he sighs. “We’re taking you home.” (Told you, the voice does anything!) That gets me confused. “Just tell her properly!” Mr Shake sighs. “You do it then!”
“Tommy! Son, you’re HOME!” SON? “No, YOU!” “Who’s this?” I ask? “Scared of a twelve – year – old?” Mr Smirk challenges.
“This is your brother, your long – lost brother” Father says in amazement.
“No! Are YOU?” “Anna?” He asks, “I’ve been sent to kill you.” “WHAT, ME? I… I mean…” By Cordelia Thompson, Year 7, Curie 6 “ENOUGH!” I shriek, “Can one of you just tell me?” I don’t think they understood but they got my gist.
Runaway Island Chapter 5 The Raft
“Well,” Mr. Shake says in broken English, “Сэр Sergei Lomtev read your ident…identi… card and finds out you live in Exi...eter… he think we should make your parent and other persons in the villi kill because of your THEFT!
The sun retreats behind the clouds, darkness creeps into view and rain begins to spit down and dampen the ground. I’ve been sitting here for a couple of hours now, a couple of hours just sat here, thinking about what I’ve done, how far I’ve come and how far I still need to go. I’m procrastinating, I should’ve been ready to leave this island by now, but I’m not, I feel as though my initial excitement and need for change brought me this far, but now it’s gone and now my mind has gone to a faraway land, my mind has finished my journey without me and left me to fend for myself back here.
WHAT? NO! I can feel my eyes having a meltdown. I don’t think even the Sahara desert could dry my eyes right now. It’s MY fault, no theirs! And I’m guessing they know how to kill Immortality users. Fire. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! There’s no way out. Everyone knows it. I am surrounded by destruction, hatred, death. It is over now. My life is over. People are running from the booms and crashes that are all around them, hoping to survive, but it is useless. We are stuck.
I’ll need to build a raft or at least something 52
similar to get off of this island and on to the next since my dingy is long gone, it’s at moments like these that I wish I’d paid more attention in raft building sessions on all those residential trips I went on with school, but I had other things on my mind then, now this is the only thing I need to know, back then how was I supposed to know the rest of my life would depend on being able to build a stupid raft! All I really know is that the raft needs to float and support my weight, I just need to figure out how to do that, the beach should be a good place to look for materials, I’m sure a lot of stuff must wash up there, I can only assume that some of it will be useful, but I think I’ll find an easier way down to the beach this time, rather than scaling that cliff again.
It takes me a while to finish and get past my anger, but I do and I am ready to test my raft, it doesn’t feel particularly stable, but if it works, I do not have the time or energy to make it any stronger.
It’s still quite early here, so the island’s residents won’t be awake yet so I don’t have to be so cautious. I sling my backpack over my shoulder and walk.
I slide off the boat and grab hold of it, I lug it back onto the beach
I have to push my boat to the shore as it is quite heavy and awkward to carry, although when it catches the waves it is a lot easier to move and glides into the deeper waters, I roll up my trouser legs and set my bag down on the beach before I clamber onto the raft, it rocks a bit and dips under the surface as I get on, but it soon evens out and floats gracefully on the waves. I don’t believe it, I made a raft and it works, I might actually get out of here!
So that I can collect my bag and ores, then I push the raft slightly further up the shore and mount it once more. Physically, I am ready to go, my mind however, is not, but I must fight through this to have a chance, if I don’t leave now I’ll never leave, so it is time, time to use my only chance, my only way out, and so, I push the raft away from the shore and begin to row, begin to finish this journey that I have started.
I’ve always enjoyed the smell of damp soil, it calms me down and helps set my mind straight, exactly what I need right now. As the soft breeze hits my face, I begin to jog and it feels good, so good, I finally feel independent and most importantly, free. I feel free. I pick up my speed and so does the wind, but soon enough I find myself at the edge of the cliff. It only takes me a few minutes to find a spot where the cliffs even out and become less steep, it’s just a simple, rocky descent, and then I can begin my raft, if I know how to begin my raft. I hop quickly from rock to rock as I go down and soon I can see the murky grey sand that we seem to have in Britain.
Libby Hart, Year 7, Bronte 4
The beach is covered in litter, which shouldn’t please me and it doesn’t really, but at least I know there’s enough material to get me out of here. It’s only now that I am here, on this peaceful island, that I realise how much of a threat humans are to our planet, how much we’re ruining the lives of every other living thing on this small planet and it makes me sad, so very sad, but so grateful, grateful for all the litter that does get dumped and washed up here, grateful that I still have a chance of escaping my life. Just grateful. I shake my head and begin to gather materials, first plastic bottles and other things to help my raft float, then I gather some pieces of rope and old fishing net to keep the raft together, finally I pick up a few bits of wood, a few logs to help attach the materials, some flat pieces to provide a place to sit on the raft and a couple of long pieces to act as ores. I fall to the ground next to my pile of materials and begin to fix them together. 53
PAFA PAFA Update July 2016
Tuesday 27 & Thursday 29 September - Sunny Afternoon The Kinks Musical – Aylesbury Theatre – PAFA have secured a limited number of terrific seats at discounted prices! Sunday 9 October - Family photo shoot with professional photographer Lisa Gill - the perfect Christmas present for family and friends!
PAFA is the Parents & Friends Association for Wycombe High School. All parents automatically become members when your daughter joins the school, and everyone is always very welcome to join our meetings. Our role is to organise a wide variety of fun events for parents and students, and to help raise money to support facilities the school is unable to fund.
This will be my last contribution to High Flyer as Chair of PAFA, as I too will stand down at the AGM in September, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on the Committee for the huge amount of work they have put in to organising events over the last school year, and to the parents and friends who have supported and joined us at events.
I am delighted to give you an up-date on PAFA’s very busy last half term of the school year. Thanks to your fantastic support, the Grand Raffle raised over £6,370 which I am sure you will agree is an amazing result, and the best in three years! In all, 330 teachers, governors, parents, guardians and friends bought raffle tickets and a further 36 kind people made donations. The Tutor groups who sold the most tickets were treated to a delicious box of Krispi Kreme donuts, which I understand from the Teachers were speedily devoured!
Sonia Holloway, Chair of PAFA
Our last PAFA meeting of this school year took place on Tuesday 7 June where we were delighted to welcome a number of parents, both current pupils and of girls starting in September, who are keen to help organise PAFA events and raise money for the school. New ideas suggested for the future include cookery courses for parents and a Bollywood evening, so watch this space for more details! At the meeting, we were also able to thank Tracy Moore, Vice Chair of PAFA, who has provided invaluable marketing support for countless PAFA events over the last few years as well as organising events and helping to guide the Committee. Tracy will be standing down as Vice Chair in September due to increased work and family commitments, but I am delighted to say she has kindly agreed to continue to support PAFA events when she is able. Our PAFA stall at the new student Uniform day on Saturday 18 June enabled us to meet lots of new parents and their daughters were delighted to receive their bag of ‘Welcome Treats’ from the PAFA Committee. Confirmed diary dates for next term include: Tuesday 27 September – Next PAFA meeting and AGM, 7.30pm in the Forum, everyone welcome! 54
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PE and Sport Sports Tour Netball Match Report
- The lazer maze and 'Grid of Stones' - Archery - Campfire games - 'Wide' games
On Saturday 21 May, the girls on the UK Sports Tour played some fantastic games of netball. We were hosted by William Brooks School in Shropshire. The B team, a full year 7 team, played extremely well, despite some tough opposition of year 8’s and a height and age disadvantage.
These activities required nerve, precision, breath control and, well, quite a lot of motivational singing! But of course we were also there to play hockey and netball so if you can believe it, we also squeezed in a two-hour training session for each sport and fixtures against local school, William Brookes. Our best success coming from the A team hockey - well done!
For the first quarter of the game, William Brooks School took control with lots of set moves and quick, sharp passes. Although our team gave everything and tried our hardest, we didn’t manage to get a good result after the second quarter and unfortunately suffered two injuries – Carly Allen with a sprained ankle and Madeline Lock with a sore knee, which kept them both on the side-line.
We experienced rain and eventually some nice sunshine, but temperatures were pleasant and it mattered not - the weekend was so much fun regardless! Thank you to Condover Hall, the instructors and the WHS teachers and support staff behind the scenes for a fantastic weekend!
However, we started to fight back in the third and fourth quarters, linking up our passes well and scoring more goals. We looked more like a team and started to find each other more around the court. Coach’s player of the match went to Annabelle Middleton-Hill and Lily Burneston was voted as the players’ player, as both girls played some superb netball.
There was many a difficult moment; tears, fear and joy... and that was just the staff! Well of course, it was one big Team WHS effort and we all supported one another. I often say that when you travel, whether home or abroad, excursion or holiday, you travel back a different person than the one who left. In this case, the girls came back stronger, more resilient and healthier for it. Experiences like the sports tour and all the activities within, shape a person. Team skills, interpersonal attributes, decision-making capabilities, behaviour, mindsets and caring for others all play an important role. Team WHS has been strengthened - our future opponents better watch out!
Everyone in the team played brilliantly and although the final score of 10-24 to the opposition wasn’t what we’d hoped for, there were many positives to be taken from the match – great teamwork, supporting each other and definitely lots of laughs. Emily Gillespie 7A N5 UK Sports Tour 2016
Miss Snook (Visit Leader) Accompanied by Mr Houston (Deputy Visit Leader), Miss Saint-Smith, Miss Harris and Miss Paice
On Friday 20 May 73 students from year 7 and 8, accompanied by five members of teaching staff, hopped on a coach during break time headed for the Shropshire countryside.
Supported by Mrs Jordan, Mrs Corker, Mrs Ruler and Mrs Jarrett
We had a marvellous time, as you will know if you saw the Tweets @WycHighSports, participating in the following activities: - 40 ft high 'Ariel Trek' - The 'Fan descender' - High ropes - Gladiator wall - The trapeze, known as the 'Leap of Faith' - Circus skills - The 'Conquest' lazer battle
See photos on adjacent page.
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PE and Sport UK Sports Tour 2016 photos
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Sporting Success
We are pleased to report of a great achievement by one of Wycombe High’s Year 9 students, who has been very successful in a judo championship. Alisa Sydykova participated in Kent Judo international. It was a close match and lost by a mere point, however she successfully won all her matches towards ‘bronze’. Additionally Alisa had been chosen to represent Northern Home Counties, with some other girls in pre-cadet section at British National Teams judo championship, which is a huge recognition of her sporting ability. The team fought well and reached the final, but lost out on first place. They came away with a well deserved silver. Alisa is currently 5th in the ranking list of British Judo, pre-cadet girls under 57 kg weight category group, a big achievement. Tasha Phimister, Y9 N2 has been selected to dance with the English Youth Ballet - well done! Founded in 1998, English Youth Ballet presents full-length classical ballets in the regional theatres of England, Scotland and Wales. Bringing opportunity to young dancers outside London aged 8-18 years to perform within a professional setting.
Each year the professional principal dancers are joined by 100 young dancers to present eight productions in cities and regional areas throughout the UK. See more regarding auditioning yourself at http://www.englishyouthballet.co.uk/ Volleyball Success Isabelle Tucker and Lily Bowen, both year 7, were two players on a 4 person team which came in 2nd in the U14 division of the annual Ashcombe volleyball tournament over the weekend. Congrats to the girls!
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PE and Sport British Fencing Achievement Awards
Over the last few weeks nine girls have passed their British Fencing Grade 1 Achievement Awards in Foil. They all worked hard. The girls are: Leeloo Creed, Year 10, Parks 3 Khushi Suri, Year 7, Austen 10 Simran Suri, Year 9, Austen 6 Samantha Grice, Year 7, Nightingale 3 Daniela Grice, Year 7, Nightingale 5 Elisa Dibb-Fuller, Year 9, Pankhurst 5 Aaysha Ahmad, Year 8, Austen 6 Freya Humphries, Year 10, Nightingale 6
Charlotte Humphries, Year 10, Nightingale 7
Jacky Faulkner, Fencing Coach www.jfaulknerfencingcoach.com
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Sports Day 2016 Sports Day On Friday 8 July the whole school gathered around to take part in its annual Sports Day. The day had a Latino theme this year due to the fast approaching Rio Olympics. As usual there were a variety of events in both the track and field categories, however as per WHS tradition there were a few more exotic events. This year not only was there the hula-hoop relay, there was also the tropical crush event which even involved dressing up! Despite early weather forecasts predicting a day of rain showers, the weather held out allowing for a dry day of sport. There is always such a positive and enthusiastic atmosphere at sports day, and this year was no exception. Additionally, through charity stalls and the VIP ticket sales a fantastic ÂŁ1,577 for the Play Your Part campaign. The following is a table of results from the day:
Sports day exemplifies both school and house spirit, with everyone being in such a positive mood even if they were not part of Nightingale the winning house. Wycombe High School should not only be proud of its incredible array of sporting talent amongst its students, but also their willingness to take part and be part of a team. Emma Wace, Year 12, Austen 10, Head of News Crew
For the full sports day album visit: https://www.flickr.com/ photos/wycombehighsch/albums/72157671004199145
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Sports Day 2016 Sports Day Photos
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Sports Day 2016 Fundraising Results Thank you for helping us raise
£1,577 for the first all-weather pitch! Bandanas & Flower Crowns – Austen - £126
Cakes & Biscuits – Bronte - £87 Donuts – Curie - £61 Ice Cream – Nightingale - £92 Pick n Mix – Drinks – Parks - £268 Face Painting & Branded Merchandise – Development Ambassadors - £217 Mrs Monteiro’s 100 Mile Cycle - £330 VIP Ticket Sales - £180 66
Thanks to our wonderful Sports Day sponsors!
Jaydees News
Progress Bakery
Tin Kitchen
Miss D O'Shaughnessy Mrs H Lindsey-Clark 67
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RS and Thinking Skills Year 8 Spirited Poetry Competition
through the stunned silence of the Lecture Theatre. When I asked Aaysha about the inspiration behind her poem, she told me she had ruminated on the meaning of individual human existence within the infinite universe, before realising that whilst the individual may appear, superficially, to be merely a single tapestry, she was herself “the bigger picture”.
The Year 8 Spirited Poetry Competition, which took place on Tuesday 14 June was an excellent opportunity for the girls of Year 8 to both perform and be inspired by the shortlisted poems. Indeed, as a spectator, I myself was swayed by the quality of the work, as well as the incredible conviction and confidence with which each poem was delivered to what must have been a formidable audience: the entirety of the year group, as well as a panel of judges: Mrs Cromie, Mr Jones (a school governor), Jacqueline Jacob and Madeleine Lewis (Year 12 students). There was a stunning array of poetic talent on display, and the lyrical poetry that was presented spoke clearly of deep thought and an earnest consideration of spirituality, and hinted to a wisdom that belied the age of the authors. The performances, which inspired awe throughout the audiences, were beyond merely reading from a page. I had expected timidity from the girls whose poems had been shortlisted, and a shy, halting delivery, yet the poems were delivered much like dramatic monologues, with measured pauses and attention to tone and volume. To my mind, these performances were not unlike a recently popular style of ‘Slam Poetry’, a type of poetry that often expresses the author’s personal story and/or struggle, usually in an intense, emotional style, which is very powerful, sincere and moving.
Whilst each poem was uniquely brilliant, a decision had to be made. Of the six girls who performed, the judges awarded third, second and first place to Ashley Haldane N7 8C, Niamh Duncan T4 8E, and Aaysha Ahmed A6 8F, respectively. The runners up were Sabah Ditta N8 8A, Dasha Jevsejenko N2 8B, Juliette Morgan N1 8D. The judges reported that they’d enjoyed Niamh’s originality, and felt that Aaysha’s was very well performed (a verdict I couldn’t agree more on), and exhibited the most spiritual depth. By Ellie Tribe, Year 12, Curie 1, Head of News Crew
A performance that I found particularly enrapturing was that of Aaysha Ahmed – and indeed, it seemed this view was shared by the judges, as Aaysha went on to win the competition - the lines of which were deliberately short, placing powerful emphasis on the profound thoughts of the speaker. The poem ended on the particularly potent consideration of “Are we / More?”, which reverberated
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Science ‘Inspire’ STEM Talk ‘Living on Mars: A Beginner's Guide’ Ryan MacDonald is a Theoretical Astrophysicist, Science Communicator and one of the final 100 Astronaut Candidates for Mars One’s proposed 2027 mission to the Red Planet.
Society of Biology. It is an online, one hour long multiple choice exam paper, with questions related to any topic we could have learnt about at AS level or even GCSE biology. It was a great opportunity to use all the knowledge we have learnt to try and apply it to a mixture of biological, interesting questions and to try and compete to gain a Gold, Silver, Bronze award, or Highly Commended or Commended recognition from completing it. Taking part in the Biology Olympiad entitles all participants to claim a free year’s membership to BioNet: which is for students interested in Biology, aimed at 14-19 year olds and looks at many biological issues including food security, energy sources, healthcare and climate change; as a result of taking part in the competition regardless of the score achieved and is an opportunity to enhance our UCAS applications! In the results from the intermediate Biology Olympiad: 1 student gained a Gold certificate, 2 gained Silver, 4 gained Bronze, and 18 of the 23 got at least commended!
After completing a Master’s Degree in Physics at Oxford University, Ryan joined the exoplanet research group at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. His current PhD research focuses on deducing the physical conditions and chemical compositions present on planets orbiting other stars, with the long term goal of assisting the search for life elsewhere in the Universe. In 2013, the Dutch organisation Mars One opened a global Astronaut Selection Programme, with Ryan one of the first to sign up. In the years since, the initial 202,586 people who expressed interest in the programme have since been whittled down to just 100 – of which Ryan is one of four representing the UK. In 2017, he will spend 2 weeks isolated in a simulation Mars habitat to decide if he will become one of the 24 candidates accepted to train as Astronauts for the mission.
Isobel Burton, Year 12, Austen 6 Cambridge chemistry challenge On Wednesday 15 June, 19 Year 12 chemistry students sat the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. This is a competition aimed to stretch and challenge students interested in chemistry, and an excellent experience for anyone considering taking their studies further. It is designed to be accessible to all Year 12 students but will take them significantly beyond the syllabus and encourage them to think about science in the way they would at university.
Ryan has spoken about the mission at international conferences, schools, colleges and Universities around the world, seeing it as an excellent opportunity to promote the potential of STEM education and careers. He has appeared on both national and international TV and Radio, discussing the unique challenges of human spaceflight and life on Mars. Ryan believes passionately in the inspirational potential of human spaceflight, and seeks to demonstrate first-hand how far science can take a person. More than anything, he strives to show young people that if they dare to believe in their dreams, then even the stars themselves are within their reach.
There were 7229 entrants nationally and WHS gained seven copper awards putting these students in the top 36% nationally. These students were Sana Ditta Nightingale 10 Alex Fraser Pankhurst 10 Aimee Hetherington Parks 5 Ellie King Austen 1 Sophie Millen Parks 7 Athena Peberdy Parks 5 Samantha Workman Nightingale 5
SAVE THE DATE for Ryan’s talk on Friday 7 October @ 1.40 pm in the Learning Centre Biology Olympiad At lunch on Wednesday 22 June, 23 Year 12 students took part in the Intermediate British Biology Olympiad: an new exciting competition open to all Year 12 biology students in the UK and the first time it has been run by the Royal
Congratulations to them all. Miss A Dziewulski, Head of Chemistry 70
Technology Wycombe Library Technology Display As part of a wider promotion campaign for Technology at Wycombe High, GCSE and A-Level Graphics and Textiles work is now on display at the Wycombe Library in the Eden centre. Students work can be seen in a beautiful array of glass display cabinets with work that includes: Graphics: Year 13—Architectural Models Final Design Year 12—Interior Design Café and Perfume Bottles Year 10 & 11— Board Game Models Year 9—Point of Sale Stands Year 9,10 & 11—Pewter Cast Jewellery with Packaging Textiles: Year 13—Carnival Costume and leather work Year 12—Felt making and recycling wool Year 11—African Wall Art and 1960’s Bag Year 9 & 10— Little Girls Dress Within five minutes of the display being put up, Library users were intrigued and began viewing the displays up close. The displays have been a huge success so far and are being promoted further through the Libraries Twitter and Facebook accounts: For the full set of images, visit the Wycombe High Technology Twitter page @WycHighTech
You can also see the full range of images on the Bucks Free Press website @ www.bucksfreepress.co.uk
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Letting of School Premises One way in which we can raise funds is to hire out various areas and facilities of Wycombe High School, for example, Sports Hall, Lecture Theatre, Conference Room, The Forum, classrooms etc. For details of availability, charges and a booking form, please contact Reception on 01494 523961 or email Reception@whs.bucks.sch.uk.
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