News 08-09 Academic Year
Click here for news from last academic year.Holiday Photo Competition-Reading in Unusual Places
This summer, whether you’re trekking across the Gobi desert, or simply across your back garden, you have the opportunity to win a prize! Take a photo of yourself reading in an unusual place, whether at the top of the Eiffel tower, or at the top of a hill in Wales. (Although remember to stay safe!)
Send your picture to 3874@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk, along with your name and a few sentences describing what you were reading and where, before 10th September ‘09. The best one will win a cash prize and all photos will be displayed around the school during September. Competition open to staff and students only.
Back to School
These are the critical dates for our return in September:
Tue 1st Sept - teachers' training day (school closed to pupils)
Wed 2nd Sept - school opens for pupils in year 7 only
Thu 3rd Sept - school opens for Years 7-12 (Y13 with tutors for P1&P2 only)
Fri 4th Sept 0855-1220 - open for everyone P1-P3 (1220-1535 - school closed to pupils for staff training)
We wish you a restful and enjoyable holiday!
Technology, Design and Innovation Challenge 2009
This term just gets better and better!
At the National final of the 'Technology Design and Innovation' (TDi) Challenge, Emma Elliott (Year 11) won 1st prize in the 15-16 age group. She received a great trophy, a certificate and a Sony laptop computer! The event was held at Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd in Worcester on Wednesday 15th July, and is supported by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA). The judges commented that she was a clear winner, and were impressed by the complete nature of her project, having considered packaging, marketing and manufacturing costs.
Three competitions, three winning trophies, a Rolls Royce 'Innovation Award', a Sony laptop and £1,150 in prize money!
Jeff Draisey, Head of Design & Technology
Tracks from Midsummer Music 2009 now available for download
Balcarras music department has gone live for download! If you enjoyed the music from Midsummer music or were unlucky enough to miss the event, you can now catch up and support the school at the same time.
Click here to download music from Midsummer Music 2009. to download tracks for only 75p each. The money will go into funding the school.
We will be adding more music in the future too, so watch out for your favorites, and some new suprises!
South West Young Scientist and Engineers Fair
Another successful day for Design & Technology! At the 'Big Bang South West Young Scientist and Engineers Fair' held at Bath University on Wednesday 1st July, all three of our entrants were successful.
We were again complimented on the quality of our students work, and the creativity and innovation evident in Design & Technology at Balcarras. We had a lot of interest from an advisor from the ‘Manufacturers Advisory Service’ about bringing our students products to the marketplace, and Simon and Chris are planning to visit a patent lawyer later this week. True Dragon’s Den stuff!
Jeff Draisey, Head of Design & Technology
Dance Fest 2009
Join us for an evening showcasing the school's most talented dancers. There will be a variety of pieces performed including solo, duo and group pieces from across the year groups. The evening takes place on Tuesday 7th July 2009 at 7pm in the school hall. Tickets are £3.50 for an adult and £2.50 for students and concessions and are available on the night or from the school reception. There will be an interval during the performance where refreshments will be sold.
For more info please contact Sue Clemow or Jeanette Hoskins.
Wimbledon Trip
On Monday 22nd June, Miss Bell and Miss McCarthy took ten committed PE students to Wimbledon to watch the fantastic tennis played there. All students had court 2 tickets so were able to see a very high standard of tennis; the first match was Great Britain’s Laura Robson against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Everyone was very excited as the atmosphere was brilliant, especially the number of people that had turned up to show their support for Laura Robson! Unfortunately Laura lost the match so next on was the men’s number 9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or France against Andrey Golubev. This was a very close match with lots of fantastic rallies seen, the speed of one serve reached 131mph!
During the day we all took turns at watching play on centre court where tennis stars such as Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic were seen!
Play didn’t finish on centre court until 8:30pm by which point we were all shattered from the long day; full with strawberries and cream and laden down with numerous souvenirs we headed home.
Everyone really enjoyed the day and it was an experience we shall not forget in a hurry! Thank you very much to Miss Bell for organising the trip and to Miss McCarthy for driving there and back!
Click here to see more photos from the trip.
Year 9 work experience
On Wednesday and Thursday 24/6 and 25/6/09 all the year nine students visited at least three firms on the Kingsditch estate. Some went to large firms such as Spirax Sarco or Ultra electronics while others went to small companies such as Speedy Hire and so managed to do four visits. The days were a great success, with the students taking on the leadership role for the visit. They appointed leaders, scribes, announcers (to negotiate with Reception before the main group entered the building) and people to ask questions. The teachers, support workers and volunteers who accompanied the groups merely acted as facilitators. This worked very well and a number of students rose to the challenge of leadership in a remarkable way in every group.
The group size was a maximum of 10 students and usually they had a tour of the premises, but the main learning was done in training rooms in the companies where the students asked insightful questions that surprised many of the staff.
There was a wide range of experiences for the students who visited SAPA, a traditional manufacturing plant where aluminium is extruded and treated. This was hot, noisy, dirty and a bit scary, but not like anything they had ever seen. This will be a great link for future physics students! They also visited Ultra Electronics to learn how Ultra make switches and power management systems for tanks and fighter aircraft that must never go wrong. They were able to compare the difference between working for a large company such as Spirax Sarco and working for a relatively small company such a Qing. They questioned staff on their quality of life and came to a number of important conclusions! They also saw a number of retail establishments such as Wickes and M&S where they learnt the importance of doing a degree to get into management. Interestingly, both managers there had completed degrees in sports management. They visited a very successful local entrepreneur at Qing Cables and were most impressed by the owner! The variety of the experiences and the independent learning style were the keys to the success of the event.
The students relished the independence they were given and were highly motivated by the experience. They were given 30 minutes on their return to school to give a 3 min presentation to the whole group. Considering this short preparation time, the quality of these talks was very high and all students used a variety of delivery methods including PowerPoint, role play, flip charts and photos. The event was organised by Forest Education Business Partnership and the investment the school made in this was worth every penny, in my opinion.
I would like to publicly thank all the companies involved in this event and list them below. Sainsbury, Regent RS, Qing, SAPA, European School Books, Plastic Centre, Speedyhire, Comet, Boots, Staples, Skellern motorcycles, McDonalds, Columbus Precision Tooling, Worktops, Dreams, Spirax Sarco, Next, C F Roberts, Rochamp and Pets at Home.
I would also like to thank the staff (more than 20 over two days) the volunteers, and the staff from FEBP (Forest Education Business Partnership).
Kevin Clancy, Head of Careers
Headmaster's Challenge Winners
The headmaster's challenge was a success, over 100 people took part. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in the library on 19th June. Congratulations to everyone that took part, there was a really high standard and it was difficult to pick out a winner. The top 3 places all received itunes vouchers, there entries can be seen here;
1st place was a film by Ruth Miller, Phoebe Barnes, Rosanna Lloyd & Salma Elsiad
Click here to see the film.
2nd place was a PowerPoint by Sophie Liggett & Jenny Evans
Click here to see the PowerPoint.
3rd place was Balcarras Green Booklet
Click here to see the booklet.
Year 12 Sport Day - 24th June 2009
It was an event to rival the 2012 Olympics for sporting prowess, courageous effort and ability to balance an egg on a spoon. The final victors, 12 D, won a closely contested victory and all of the tutor groups put up valiant effort. Of particular note were 12C in the four legged race, Jamie Courtney for the shuttle cock toss, and James Ballantine as anchor man for the tug of war.
Thank you to Mr. John and Miss Bell for organizing a seamless event and thank-you to all the students for competing so earnestly, right down to the final scissors-paper-stone competition.
Mr. Baxter
Year 13 last Day - 20th May 2009
We finally have to say good bye to Year 13. They were an outstanding year group and universally liked by all that taught and tutored them. As was typical of the year group the final day was approached with good humor and genuine appreciation by all involved. The videos in the final assembly were superb and no doubt will appear on YouTube shortly. The barbecue was great fun and the final “Musical Chairs” competition was fiercely contested! All of the year group deserve to get some excellent results in August.
We miss you all!
Mr Baxter
Schools Technology Award
Balcarras had a good night at the recent ‘Gloucestershire Technology Awards’, held at GE Aviation, Bishops Cleeve.
Chris Dodds, Emma Elliot, Sarah Ryan and Simon Brookes were all awarded a silver CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology) award for their projects, while Hannah Coppard and Stephanie Zakaritis received a gold award.
The silver award represents 40 hours of project work, while the gold award recognises over 100 hours of project work. Both are awarded to students who demonstrate creativity and innovation in their work.
Simon Brookes (Year 12) also scooped 1st prize in the Post-16 age group of the ‘Schools Technology Award’. He was awarded a trophy, a £750 cheque for the department and a personal cheque for £100.
All of our students were complimented on the quality of their projects, and three were advised to consider applying for patents!
Jeff Draisey, Head of Design & Technology
For Sale!
33 wooden tables and 60 stools are available to buy from two science labs that are going to be refurbished. 'Buyers' need to decide on their orders before the 6th of July. There are also approx. 20 desktop teck drawing boards for sale. The proceeds will go towards funding the transport of computers to our Kenya link school 'St Aloys Gem'.
For more details phone 01242 515881 and ask for Mike Hindley or e-mail site@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk
|
Item |
Cost |
|
Wooden Table |
£10 |
|
Stool |
£2 |
|
Drawing board |
£15 |
Maths Challenge Results
The results for the Junior (Years 7 & 8) 2009 Maths Challenge were in recently, again telling a very pleasing story. Nationally only approximately 30% on the entrants from each school receive an award and yet more than double this proportion of the Balcarras students received certificates. A ceremony was held in the Library where the headteacher gave out certificates to the succesful candidates and they were all treated to sticky buns! The head said that he was delighted to see so many able mathematicians making such good progress in the school and clearly enjoying their maths so much that they wanted to enter a competition, and he encouraged them all to go on to become Actuaries! We would like to congratulate all of the winners listed below.
| Miles | Elliott | 7S2 | RJM | Gold | Best in School |
| Andrew | Crossley | 8S1 | KW | Gold | |
| Owen | Cannon | 7F1 | SCJ | Gold | |
| Peter | Ferguson-Hopkins | 7S2 | RJM | Silver | |
| Joel | Payne | 7O2 | RJM | Silver | |
| Alexander | Coughlan | 8O1 | KW | Silver | |
| James | Vencl | 8F1 | KW | Silver | |
| Louis | Brown | 7G2 | RJM | Silver | |
| Emily | Marshall | 8G1 | KW | Silver | |
| Lewis | Taylor | 7O2 | RJM | Silver | |
| Emma | Perkins | 8F1 | KW | Bronze | |
| Andrew | Bower | 7O1 | SCJ | Bronze | |
| George | Carr | 7S2 | RJM | Bronze |
Mr Bowen, Maths Teacher
School Fantasy League Results
At the same ceremony, the top entrants from each year group in the School Fantasy Football League were awarded medals by the headteacher. This year a total of 104 pupils, parents and members of staff participated in the hotly-contested pursuit of football prediction glory. The lead changed hands many a time during the course of the season. However, in the end it was a parent who edged out our top pupil in the very last weekend of fixtures - Mr Pearson dramatically leapfrogging Fraser White to win the Balcarras League at the death! A very proud Liam Pearson collected the winners trophy on behalf of his dad at the ceremony. After congratulating our winning pupils, the head enquired as who their star players were. Names such as Lampard, Gerrard and Vidic were all frequently quoted, but strangely no Man City players were mentioned, much to Mr Healy's disappointment......... Thanks once again to all who participated, and congratulations to the group winners listed below.
| Group | Comments | |||
| Y7 | Tom | Wassell | 7G2 | |
| Y8 | Fraser | White | 8F1 | Finished 2nd overall |
| Y9 | Will | Naylor | 9S1 | |
| Y10 | Jamie | Martell | 10O2 | |
| Y11 | Chris | Robins | 11S1 | |
| Y12 | James | Blackmore | 12C | |
| Parents | Mr | Pearson | Finished 1st overall | |
| Staff | Mr | Harvey | Finished 3rd overall |
Mr Marshall, Maths Teacher
Year 10 Dorset Trip
At the end of May half term 24 of the most committed Year 10 geographers, Miss Hunt, Miss Niblett, Mr Pearce and Mr Jackson attended a residential trip to Dorset. We stayed at Swanage Youth Hostel and enjoyed three beautiful days. The pupils carried out a range of geographical investigations at Old Harry, Corfe Castle, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door, Kimmerdge Bay and ended up doing a spot of fossil hunting at Charmouth! On the last day the pupils and staff took part in an outdoor activity, either climbing and abseiling at Dancing ledge, canoeing on the river at Wareham or Mountain Biking. The trip provided the students with a superb set of additonal case studies and skills for their GCSE exams but more improtantly provided them with lots of fun and some great memories.
Miss Hunt and Miss Niblett
ISSP Engineering Day
On 13 May thirteen of our Year 9 students competed in a Powered Vehicle Challenge here at Balcarras as part of the Independent State School Partnership programme. Budding engineers from six schools across the county were guided by Simon Kettle from STEMWorks and 4 SEAs (Science & Engineering Ambassadors) from GE Aviation and GCHQ. The aim was to design and build a vehicle that could, in theory, be manoeuvred over the surface of Mars and transport boulders by means of motors, pulleys and switches.
The day was intended to give students a taste of A Level studies and beyond, and was part of a wider scheme to encourage students to pursue a career in science, maths or engineering. The SEAs spent much of their time chatting to students about the skills they need in their day-to-day business. Many of the students commented that it was great fun to be able to focus on a problem, try out their ideas, make mistakes, improve their designs and construction and see the project through to completion all in one day.
Click here to see more photos from the day.
Catherine Williams, Co-ordinator for Gifted & Talented pupils
Ski Trips 2010
Provisional bookings have been made for both a Junior and Senior Ski Trip to Austria next Easter ... departing Friday 9th April. Letters have been made available to pupils who have already indicated that they would like to be involved. If anyone else would like to participate then please print off the letter and send in the reply slip with deposit to Mr Dean. Once the trip(s) have been confirmed the finance office will send out standing order forms.
Mr M Dean (Ski Party Leader)
Balcarras in the Good Schools Guide
We have been listed in the Good Schools Guide for about 5 years now and were recently "re-visited". We're very pleased with the report on how the visitor saw the school. He spent the whole day with us and as you will see, he was highly impressed with the atmosphere of the school and the enthusiasm he saw everywhere.
Let's Get Cooking
This new cookery club has been running successfully since January and we would now like to invite parents/carers to come to a community event. This will take place on Tuesday 23 June from 4.0 pm to 5.30 pm.
The theme of the event will be 'summer desserts', where you will view a demonstration followed by the opportunity to practise your skills in making some fresh desserts to enjoy at home.
All the ingredients will be provided for a nominal charge of £5.00 but you will be required to bring containers to take your food home in. Please contact jad@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk for a booking form and further information if you are interested.
Visit from Finnish Teacher and Students
We recently had a visiting teacher and students from Finland at the school. Click here to see what he had to say about Balcarras.
Maths Challenge Results
The results for the Intermediate (Years 9 to 11) and the Senior (sixthform) 2009 Maths Challenge were in recently and they told a very pleasing story. Nationally only approximately 30% on the entrants from each school receive an award and yet more than double this proportion of the Balcarras students received certificates. A ceremony was held in the Library where the headteacher gave out certificates to the succesful candidates and they were all treated to sticky buns! The head said that he was delighted to see so many able mathematicians making such good progress in the school and clearly enjoying their maths so much that they wanted to enter a competition. We would like to congratulate all of the winners listed below. A special mention should go to the Y9 and Y10 students who achieved higher scores than some of the Y11 students with whom they were competing! (There will be a similar event for the Junior Challenge Awards as soon as the results are in.)
Senior Winners:
Intermediate Winners:
Mr Bowen, Maths Department.
Salters Chemistry Festival
On 18th May four pupils from Science Club and Year 8 went to the University of Bristol to take part in the Salters Chemistry Festival. They competed in the Salters Chemistry Challenge, ‘The Mystery of Salty Grange’, where they had to find out who had stolen an emerald necklace.
They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and came 2nd out of 13 schools which was a great achievement.
The pupils were Lawrence Collins, Salma Elsaied, Karla Roe and Jack Taylor.
Mrs Gemma Towers, Senior Science Technician
Midsummer Music 19th June 2009 6pm - 10pm
Tickets are now available to purchase from reception for the annual Midsummer Music festival to be held at Balcarras School on Friday 19th June from 6pm. Tickets to be purchased in advance as they will not be available on the night.
Tickets are priced at:
£10.00 for a family (consisting of 2 adults/2 children (under 16) /concession)
£4.00 for adults
£2.00 for children/concession (under 16)
For those of you who saw it last year, it promises to be a wonderful evening full of music to suit all tastes, from pop to classical, jazz and soul. The Music department have been busy organising the acts for this year, details to follow, as soon as the programme is in place!
It really is a wonderful opportunity for the pupils to showcase their talents.
The PTFA will once again be providing refreshments, there will be a selection of hot and cold food (annual favourites include the pig roast and Paella) a bar serving beer, wine and soft drinks, as well as a variety of refreshments from pupils raising funds for their forthcoming expeditions planned – there’s something for everyone.
Headmaster's Challenge
The Headmaster's Challenge is open to KS3 pupils. You need to answer the question 'how could the school be greener?'
The deadline is 22nd May. Create a movie, song, animation, ppt, letter or poster
To be handed into Pauline: PJ@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk
1st prize is a digital camera!
Click here to see the poster advertising the challenge.Year 11 Revision Sessions
Year 11 students can download a full timetable of exams that includes extra revision sessions that have been put on by various departments across the school. In a lot of cases teachers are giving up their free time to give these sessions and students are encouraged to attend in good numbers to make the sessions as productive as possible.
Young Enterprise Success
On Tuesday 28th April Balcarras had two teams representing the school at the Young Enterprise County Final. The teams included Viva who designed a new soft drink and Genio who have produced an interactive Business revision CD.
The evening was a great success with individual awards for both teams including Best Company Report and Presentation. Viva were overall winners, Genio came second with the Ladies College in third. This was a great result with 27 teams participating and 9 teams at the area final.
The Business Dept.
Berlin Trip
It was no April Fool that the bus left Balcarras at midnight on April 1st, transporting 50 Year 10s across to Berlin in order to experience the colourful history of the city. With packed suitcases and weary eyes, we arrived the next day and although tired everyone looked forward to the packed itinerary ahead of us. Excursions during the week were varied – climbing the heights of the impressive glass dome of the Reichstag, going underground to experience a Cold War bunker to the more sombre visit to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp just outside the city.
The trip gave students a full history not only of Berlin, but of Germany as a whole, as we learned about the country post World War I through to the cultural revival of the 1920s, into the fascinating yet disturbing Nazi era and beyond. It was a busy time, complimented by some impressive bowling and diving in the evenings as well as a visit to see the polar bears and the monkeys at the zoo!
It was a great trip, enjoyed by both the students and staff.
Click here to see more photos from the visit.
Elizabeth Gill - History department
Engineering in Education Scheme
On 27/4/09 I took 4 yr 12 students to Bristol for the celebration and assessment day of the Engineering in Education Scheme. There were many other local schools such as The Ladies College, St Peters, Badminton, Clifton school etc. The students have been working on a problem set by engineers from GE Aviation last october. That was to design and build a display item for a science festival. The item needed to show aspects of science and engineering and to interest students specifically in the avaiation industry.
The students Sarah Connolly, Mike Woodford, George Ratcliffe and Laura Stagg have met regularly with engineers fro GE. they wrote a 60 page report on their project and submitted it last monthj prior to the judging process. The judges said informally that their work was outstanding and if this event had been a competition, I have no doubt that they would have won! yesteday the students had to give a 20 min presentation to 5 judges from five different engineering companies ( including an indepedendent one from GE) They also had to diplay their product to members of the public and answers questions from the judges as they toured the exhibition hall. This was the best group I have worked with in the four years i have entered this competition as they have worked so hard and have needed minimal encouragement. They are all so highly motivated and orgainised that I have great hopes for thier futures. Most will study engineering post 18 and a few are now considering Oxbrigde universities now they have seen how they compare to students who traditionally gain entry to these establishments.
Kevin Clancy
Tanzania General Knowledge Quiz
The expedition teams going to Tanzania are hosting a general knowledge quiz this Friday (24th April) at 7pm. As well as the quiz there will be live music, a bar and raffle. First prize will be £50.
The Tanzania Expedition groups
Geography Speaking Competition
On the 10 th March 2009 a team of ten geography students took part in a speaking competition entitled 'Talking about Places Far Away'. As part of the competition the students had to deliver a speech on a subject of their choice, answer questions on their chosen topic and pose questions to the other teams taking part. The subject of our speech was ‘Can Civil Unrest in Zimbabwe ever be Eradicated?’ Although the students did not win the competition they were fantastic in every aspect of the competition and did the school proud. The team of students were: Jake Flower, Georgina Edmonds, Jenny Lewis, Hannah McCarthy, Torin Worthington, Maddy Maguire, Laurel Townsend, James Whistler, Jack Mowat-Maconochie and Dan Mubarak.
Well done to all of those who took part.
Adrienne Niblett (Teacher of Geography)
Expedition Training Snowdonia
On Friday 3rd April 59 pupils and 10 staff headed for sunny Snowdonia for their training weekend for the summer expeditions to Tanzania, Mongolia and Costa Rica. This was the first time that fitness and camping skills were to be fully tested and we were all excited at the prospect of some real team bonding! We headed for a campsite in Llanberis where all 4 teams set up camp for night one. Some pupils headed off to the supermarket to buy food for their teams, the responsibility of buying food for 2 whole days was a big one but the budget was well spent with plenty of chocolate to keep us all going (even if it did take 3 hours to do the shop)!
Day two saw the 2 Tanzania teams separatley aiming for the summit of Snowdon with full backpacks. This was the best possible preparation for Kilimanjaro in July. At the half-way point camp was set up by a lake, and then the 1000 metre ascent to the summit was reached by all in the mid afternoon. The Costa Rica and Mongolia teams set out fully laden to undertake walks to replicate their gruelling treks in the summer, again everyone rose to the challenge and realised just what was required to make the expedition a success.
Sunday morning saw everyone gather back at the original campsite to recover before heading for the final challenge of the weekend - a 100 foot abseil from Angelsea Column! It was pretty hairy at the top climbing over the barrier but well worth it. Most pupils raised money for the expedition through sponsorship and the staff who took part are passing on any funds raised to the team community projects. Any further donations will be fully appreciated! Everyone is now working on getting that little bit fitter for the summer and looking forward to the challenges ahead!
Expedition Teams 2009
The Bookworm
Click here to see the Bookworm Easter 2009 (the library newsletter).
SIXTH FORM DEBATES – 2nd SEMI-FINAL
Congratulations to 12K, who go through to an all-Y12 final at the expense of 13D in a controversial judgement from Mr Leatherbarrow. This was a hard-fought contest with excellent speeches throughout, especially one of machine-gun fluency from Joe Evans. In the end, Jenny Hope’s summary speech was adjudged to have swung the decision and she and James Coates now go through to the final to face 12M. 12K will be proposing the motion – This House is optimistic about the future. The final will take place in the Hall before, we hope, a packed audience, next Thursday, April 2nd, at 1.30pm
SIXTH FORM DEBATES – 1ST SEMI-FINAL
Having already succeeded in two rounds, both teams – 12M and 13A approached this semi-final with confidence. Holly Richards opened for the proposition in her usual very capable way. Harry Marrick then took the floor in his Mr Graham-tribute jacket, trying to gain the favour of the adjudicator! A lively series was continued with Nigel Dundas and Ryan Temple making the supporting speeches. A strong floor debate featured contributions from, amongst many, Mr John and Miss Rogers in unabashed support of their year tutor groups.
The adjudication from Mr Graham was wise and thorough, with victory going to 12M. The 2nd semi-final takes place on Thursday.
MFL Times
Click here to see the MFL Times Easter December 2009 - a newspaper produced by Year 8 pupils.
GE Aviation Visit
On 13/3 Mr Clancy and Mrs Brunt took 16 yr 9 students to GE aviation in Cleeve( Gold Cup Day!!) Thet had a tour of the site and did 3 workshops on supply chain, designing and programming a robot and making a buggy to carry a beaker of water over rough tterrain. The Balcarras students won the supply chain manufacturing task aginst St Peters and The Crypt, which is remarkable as these schools sent top set year 10 students and ours were a mixed group from yr 9 with an interest in solving problems. The aim of the session was to encourage the students to enter engineering in the coming years. Thanks to all the engineers at GE who gaveup so much time and designed such an interesting and innovative session.
Click here to see more photos from the visit.Mr K Clancy, Head of Careers
French Pupils Visit
On Thursday 12 March Balcarras welcomed 100 Year 8 pupils from France. Two groups of Balcarras students spent the day with them doing various activities. They taught the French pupils British songs such as "Head, shoulders, knees and toes", "If you're happy clap your hands"... They also got to know them by asking questions about their school and lives. The French students had also prepared some entertaining activities for our pupils, which enabled all participants to practise both their French and English. The French were very impressed with all the facilities at Balcarras and wished their school was as modern as ours! It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we hope that we can renew such an event in the forthcoming years.
This is what some of our Year 8 said after the visit of the French pupils:
Toby - it was very good and learnt lots of new French words
Ed - it was interesting to meet people from a different culture
Alannah - It was an awesome day and I'm going to stay in touch and e-mail some French pupils
Ellie - It was awkward at first but then we soon got to know each other
Mike - it was very good for practising French
James - It was interesting to see what French students are like
Hannah - it's great to see what French people are like and in fact they are very similar to us
MLF department
Visit of Author Chris d'Lacey
On Tuesday 10th March 2009, the Children’s Author, Chris d’Lacey came to the school library and talked to three groups of year 8 pupils. He spoke about his life and how he started writing books, and then talked a little about the books he has written, and then followed up by signing autographs and any books bought by the pupils. He is best known for the ‘The Last Dragon Chronicles’, a series of soon-to-be 5 books beginning with ‘The Fire Within’. An enjoyable day was had by all involved.
Mrs Springer, Head Librarian
Enterprise success at Trade Fair
On Tuesday 3rd March over 30 local schools competed at the Young Enterprise Annual Trade Fair. Balcarras had two entries for the first time and both teams had an outstanding performance. Genio who have produced a GCSE Business Revision CD won the prize for most innovative product and their MD James Ballantine is very confident of success in the upcoming area final. The other team Viva have manufactured and produced a new soft drink and they picked up several prizes including marketing, best stand and overall event winners. If you are interested in the new soft drink then look at their website on www.vivadrinks.co.uk
The area final is in April and the winners go on to represent Gloucestshire in June.
Click here to see more photos from the fair.
Mr Perry, Young Enterprise
FairGame Theatre Company tackle bullying
Year 7 have been tackling the subject of bullying in drama workshops this week, led by local theatre company FairGame. Students were asked to analyse why it happens, looking at the issue from the point of view of the bully and the bullied. After some fun warm-up activities, brain-storming took place, leading to some interesting discussions within groups. Finally, the students were asked to design a 'freeze-frame' of a bullying scenario, followed by an in-depth discussion led by Lewis and John about each individuals' role in the scenario and how situations like these might be avoided. It was great to see an important issue like this one approached using drama, and the students discussed it with enthusiasm and sensitivity.
Click here to see more photos from the workshop.
Elizabeth Gill - Head of PSHE
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ NIGHT - POSTPONED
FUND RAISER FOR BALCARRAS STUDENTS TO CARRY OUT A LIFE CHANGING IRRIGATION PROJECT FOR AN AFRICAN COMMUNITY IN TANZANIA
INCLUDES BAR AND RAFFLE AND LIVE MUSIC
£3.00 FOR CHILDREN
£4.00 ADULTS
TICKETS AVAILIBLE ALL WEEK!
Year 7 Goodrich Castle Trip
Luckily for Year 7, our trip to Goodrich Castle happened a couple of weeks after the arctic weather, although it was still pretty cold at the exposed ruins overlooking the River Wye! Each tutor group toured the castle with their teachers, observing the defensive methods employed by the original castle-builders, and thinking about what life might have been like when the it was in operation up until the Civil War. The castle is said to be haunted by tragic young lovers as they fled the castle during a seige in the Civil War. A number of Year 7s reported being visited by the ghosts of Alice and Charles. It was an excellent visit and provides a great backdrop for a castles project currently being undertaken in history.
Click here to see more photos from the trip.
Elizabeth Gill - History Department
Sixth Form Extension Opening
The new extension to the Sixth Form was officially opened on Friday 30th January 2009. The new facilities are fantastic and add further to the wonderful environment that sixth form students work in at Balcarras.
The extended study room has added an additional 40 computer stations (taking the total number of computers in study rooms up to 120) that can be accessed any time when students have a study period. The common room is much larger to accommodate the increasing numbers of students in the sixth form and the leather sofas are very popular with the students. There is also a sixth form shop and a conference room. The opening was attended by all three heads of sixth form that have taught at Balcarras since the sixth form opened in 1998 as well as student representatives from Year 12, Year 13 and Year 11 and many invited guests. The event was a great success.
Mr N Baxter, Head of Sixth Form
UCAS Roadshow
On 9/2/09 Mr Clancy took 10 year 11 students to the diploma roadshow at the UCAS headquarters to look at the level 2 and three diplomas on offer in the cheltenham partnership for post 16 students ( for more info and the area prospectus.). The pupils watched a dvd on the format and ethos of diplomas, they then did a computer interactive session answering questions. After this there was a question and answer session followed by a talk by UCAS on the worth of diplomas in UCAS applications. The students learnt about the ICT diploma on offer at Christ College and Glos College and the hospitality one on offer at Glos Coll. The picture was taken by The Echo .
Click here for more information and a prospectus.
Mr K Clancy, Head of Careers
Pablo Hortiguela joins Parachute regiment
Pablo Hortiguela who left Year 11 last year has just passed his training at Harrogate for entry into the Parachute regiment. This is something he has wanted to do for a long time and a great passion for joining the armed services. He has joined one of the elite regiments and this is something to be very proud of.
Year 10 and 11 girls compete at National Swimming Finals
Following the regional swimming championships the Intermediate girls (year 10 and 11) qualified for both the freestyle 4 x50m relay and the medley 4 x 50m relay.
Emma Brignall, Maddy Maguire, Hannah McCarthy and Amy Imeson achieved a team personal best time of 1minutes 59:19 seconds in the freestyle relay but finished 9th out of 16 in the heats which left them just out of the final race.
Emma, Maddy, Hannah were joined by Liliana Benjamin for the medley relay where again they achieved a team best time of 2minutes 14.61seconds and the finished 12th from the 16 schools who qualified for this event.
Thanks for all the parents and staff who came to support this event. It was a fantastic achivement for Balcarras to be represented at this event and great experience for all the girls who hope to reach the National finals again next year! Keep training!
Bricklaying Workshop
I took 13 students to Glos Coll on 12/2 for a 2 hour workshop. Half of the students learnt how to build a brick pillar with a lecturer from the construction school and half did some metal work in engineering department, using a computer to etch a design first then used drills and other equipment to finish the product. This was to give them a taster session for the courses at the Gloucester campus. Many of the students were quite able and will get 5 C's at GCSE but wish to do a vocational course next year. The higher level versions of these courses are taken at the site by the docks in Gloucester. The students saw the new buidings and were impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the extensive facilities at Glos Coll. Many of these students will apply to do a level 2 or 3 course in construction or engineering and were grateful to get a chance to see the college on a working day. They said they would have prefered to go a few months earlier so the session will be organised before Christmas next year.
Click here to see more photos from the workshop.
Mr K Clancy, Head of Careers
Congratulations are due to Balcarras' Flying Start Challenge team
"Ice Glider" team members Azahra Almaghrabi, Jess Goodridge, Jon Connolly, Alice Perkins and James Lisk, with their hand-built recycled and recyclable glider took part in the Regional Finals in this STEM competition on February 11th at GE Aviation. We are just one out of four schools from the area through to the National Finals at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton. Despite the fierce competition the "Ice Glider" team came 1st out of 25 teams with the Knowledge of Flight quiz, and 3rd with their presentation.
They all had a great day at the Regional Finals, and are looking forward to the activities and the Grand Fly-Off in March!
Miss Venetia Neal
Year 7 & 8 Valentines Disco
Year 7 & 8 VALENTINE DISCO is on this Wednesday 11th February 7-9pm in the Main Hall.
Ticket price: 2.50 advance. 3 on the door.
Chinese Visitors
Balcarras are happy to welcome Mr Du Shaowu and eight students from The Shuzhou Foreign Langauge School following the successful visit of 28 of our students to China last October. They will be visiting local schools, Gloucestershire University as well as the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge during their two week stay.
Click here to view a blog written by the Chinese students about their visit.
Irish ceilidh night - Saturday 7th March
7.00pm until 11.30pm
Tickets now on sale priced at 9 per person (to include live music and dancing to top local bands and ploughmans supper.)
Credit Crunch PSE
On 28/1/09 representatives from the Cheltenham branches of Rotary, RBS, Chelsea Building Society, Ashleigh Financial Planning, A Plan, Zurich, RA Bennett, Citizens Advice Bureau came into school to talk to year 11 about students about a range of financial issues, but most ioportantly to try to help them make sense of the present financial crisis. They each ghave a seminar lasting 30 mins. This included in all cases a task or number of tasks to make the sessions interactive. This was a great success and the pupils made the following comments in an evaluation session.
"The case study gave us lots of data to work on."
"I found the insurance talk the most useful and did not expect that."
"The stocks and shares talk was very interesting."
"Good to have active things to do rather than just speaking."
"The insurance speaker was excellent."
"On Financial Planning: It was really interesting. I never really thought about it before. You could make a lot of money."
"On the banks: Organised and detailed enough to make it useful."
Click here to see more photos from the visit.
K Clancy, Head of Careers
Hitler on Trial
On Tuesday 20th January 45 Year 11 history students attended the annual revision conference in Bristol. They spent an hour with one of the chief examiners, Josh Brooman, who attempted to explain what the examiners are looking for in the exam. In the second half of the conference students watched a play which imagines what Adolf Hitlers trial would have been like had he not committed suicide in 1945. He is charged with starting the Second World War. The prosecution gave a lively case looking at all the decisive moments in Hitlers foreign policy. Hitler defended himself and pointed to the reasons why he had to pursue an aggressive foreign policy and claimed that Germany was not the only nation involved in empire grabbing. The students had to act as the jury. You will be pleased to know that Hitler was found guilty by 188 votes to 86. At the point at which the verdict was announced a man burst into the courtroom and assassinated the Fuhrer with a gun which looked like it was made out of cardboard but did in fact make an impressive bang. The acting is unlikely to win any awards but the conference was, as usual, a lively and interesting way to begin preparations for the exam.
Dominic Burke, Head of History
PTFA Quiz Night
Tickets are now on sale at reception for the quiz night on Friday 30th January
2.50 per person admission only
6.00 per person admission and fish and chips (6 tickets must be bought in advance because we need to give the order to the fish and chip shop)
Doors open at 7.00pm Quiz starts at 7.30pm
Cyberfraud
Balcarras was visited by a Member of Parliament on Thursday 15th January, as part of the launch of a new advisory website www.cyberfraud.org.uk. The site aims to provide news, advice and research on the latest threats to computer users. MP James Brokenshire (Shadow Crime Reduction Minister) and the Conservative's prospective Pariamentary candidate for Cheltenham, Mark Coote, accompanied Dr Caroline Constantinou as she spoke with students about the aim of her new website and her own experiences with cyber-crime which prompted her to take action.
Around 30 Sixth Form students met with Dr Constantinou, and appreciated the opportunity to quiz all three about what they could do to protect themselves against internet crime, as well as what the government's long term plans are to protect Britain against this ever-growing threat.
Elizabeth Gill - Head of Citizenship
Visit to Kenya October 2008
In October Miss Foster and Miss Preston went out to Kenya to visit our partner school St Aloy Gem in Katito.
see more photos from the visit.
Year 8 History: Visit of David Lord
On Wednesday 26th November David Lord came to Balcarras to give Year 8's an impression of what it was like fighting in the English Civil War. He brought many weapons and other artefacts that were actually used in the war. He dressed up some of the pupils in some of the uniforms used by Civil War soldiers. Everybody had the chance to try on the clothes at the end of the presentation. He told us some gruesome stories about life during the war and he was really funny.
Ruth Miller, Rosanna Lloyd Phoebe Barnes and Phoebe Brunt.
Top 10 Tips for a Green Christmas
Why not have yourself a green Christmas this year with Balcarras Eco-School committees Top 10 green ideas:
1. Buy presents that can be reused over and over. Avoid buying plastic throwaway toys
2. Decorate your tree with homemade decorations, such as paper chains or old CD’s
3. Wrap your presents in alternative paper, use magazines or brown paper. Every year 83 square km’s of paper is thrown away in the UK
4. Encourage your parents to get a Christmas tree in a pot, that can be used year after year. In 2006
6 million trees were chopped down for Christmas
5. Make your own Christmas cards, or buy charity cards. Every year 1.7 billion cards are thrown away in the UK
6. Buy someone an alternative present such as a goat or chicken for someone in Africa, see the Oxfam unwrapped website
7. Decorate your house with natural greenery, such as holly, ivy, pine cones and fir branches
8. Turn off your Christmas tree lights when you are not in. Around 15% of household’s energy is used on items on standby
9. If you have a present that uses batteries, buy rechargeable ones
10. Recycle your unwanted gifts, either at a charity shop or www.nigelsecostore.com/forum
The Eco-Schools committee are looking at ways reduce the environmental impact of Balcarras School, if you are interested in joining or would like any further information please contact Mr Pearce.
ICT & Business Studies Trip to London
Sunday 16th –Tuesday 18th November, the ICT and Business department took 44 AS level ICT and Business students to London for a 3 day educational and residential trip. The trip was a really big success and thoroughly enjoyed by staff and pupils alike.
Over the course of the 3 days we visited the new Wembley Stadium, The BBC TV Studios, London Metal Exchange, Bank of England and Fullers Griffin Brewery. We had a guided tour of each organisation and the students gained valuable insight into how ICT is used in the day to day business operations of each of these companies. The BBC tour allowed the students to be very involved in the tour and learn a lot about the daily operations and different departments within the BBC. Students also had the opportunity to present the weather forecast for the day ahead; read the 6 o’clock news and some even had a quick game of The Weakest link! Not to mention the celebrity spotting in between, as we were give an exclusive tour of some of the recording studios and saw some popular BBC shows in rehearsal.
We also managed to fit in visits to Covent Garden, Leicester Square and of course a spot of Christmas shopping down Oxford Street!
Can you plant a tree for the school?
The EcoSchools club have been looking at the amount of Carbon Dioxide the school gives off from heating and lighting. Over the last 6 months of 2008 we have produced 154 tonnes. That would mean we would have to plant 116 trees to absorb this amount of gas. To offset this it would cover the school playing field with trees and so we are trying to encourage families to plant a tree for the school, if 3 pupils in each class planted a tree in their garden it would absorb the gases we are putting out for heating and lighting the school. If you plant a tree let us know and contact Mr Pearce on jwp@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk
In 2006 the school produced 500 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide for the year, so far this year we are managing to reduce the amount of energy we are using. This is from closing doors, switching off lights and computers and installing more double glazing. "
Year 9 Enterprise Challenge
On Tuesday 18th November four teams from Balcarras took part in the national 'Make Your Mark' Challenge. This year the challenge was to design a business idea that was based on the 7 olympic values of Friendship, Courage, Respect, Excellence, Inspiration, Equality and Determination. Each house performed extremely well and each of the four business ideas could have won. It was Selvey who took the prize with a House exchange website which would help build houses in third world countries. Both Selvey and Ottewell will be representing Balcarras in the national competition and they hope to be selected to represent the school at the regional finals which will take place on Friday 28th November.
Good Luck to both teams & well done to all.
Mr Perry
Balcarras gains two major awards at national ceremony.
Balcarras School received lavish praise and two major awards at the annual SSAT ( Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) Awards dinner, held at the Café Royal, Piccadilly, London.
Balcarras is one of only seven schools in the country which holds the title of Advanced Consultant School , awarded by the SSAT for its work in supporting other schools to raise their performance. In addition to this accreditation, headteacher Chris Healy received the Consultant Head Award for his work in helping four schools in the South-West to improve their standard.
“Both of these awards are great honours” said Chris Healy “and much appreciated. We thoroughly enjoy working with other schools and it is hugely satisfying when they make considerable improvements, as they have done over the last two years.”
The picture shows Mr Healy receiving his award from Dr John Dunford, who leads ASCL, the Association of School and College Leaders, at the Café Royal.
Skittles Night
The skittles night, in aid of the Mongolia expedition, will be taking place at the Beaufort Arms on the 16th December, from 7 o’clock til late. Entry tickets will be priced at £5 including a buffet. There will also be a raffle, followed by other fun and frolics. Tickets will be available from 3A2 and from the Maths Foyer at lunchtimes.
Many thanks
The Mongolia expedition team
Geography year 12 trip to Snowdonia
The geography department have just returned from a weekend in Snowdonia. A convoy of 4 minibuses including 51 students and 5 staff set of for 4 days of geography fieldwork.
We studied tourist patterns in Betws Y Coed, river channel processes, glacial features at Cwn idwal and Nant Frrancon and flooding on the River Conwy. We stayed at the field studies council centre Rhyd Y Creau and battled 4 days of persistant rain, wind and hail but the trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all (well most!). We would like to thank everyone who made the trip happen and the students for making it such a pleasure to attend.
Miss Hunt, Mr Pearce, Miss Niblett, Mr Jackson and Mrs Coletta
BBC Radio Gloucestershire Visit the History Department
On Tuesday 21st October, the history department was visited by BBC Radio Gloucestershire, who have been researching the ways in which young people in the area learn about the First World War. As we near the 90th anniversary of the end of the war, Year 9 students at Balcarras have been studying how the area of Charlton Kings was affected. 112 men died during the conflict, which had far reaching effects upon the community as a whole. The feature has been scheduled for broadcast on BBC Radio Gloucestershire on Wednesday November 5th. It'll run in the Mid-Morning Show (between 9 and 12) and the Drivetime Show (5-7pm). There is also a write-up on the BBC Radio Gloucestershire website, where you can also listen to the recordings: click here
Well done to Katie Smith, Peter Thomas, Fabio Thomas, Cicely Elliott-Berry, Mille Bruce-Watt and Sam Forbes for taking part in the feature, as well as Amelia French and Carys Brown (Y13) who also gave their views on remembering the soldiers that lost their lives between 1914 and 1918.
Elizabeth Gill - History department
BBC Radio Gloucestershire Visit the History Department
On the 20th of October I was called to a meeting at lunchtime with Mr Burke and Miss Gill. I arrived at the room of 3B3 to find five other pupils sitting at desks with an appealing lunch provided by Miss Gill. My two teachers explained that we had been selected to talk about our study of the First World War to a radio reporter who was due in school the next day. During our studies we look at the history of the First World War but we also look at the local impact that the war had on the families of Charlton Kings. The reporter is creating a series of articles to be broadcast during remembrance week. In particular she wanted to talk to us about what we were taught in school.
The following morning we were due to meet in the library. The pupils arrived promptly and we found ourselves waiting for the teachers, as per usual. Miss Gill then arrived with a huge book entitled “Leaving all that was dear”. This book contained information about the First World War soldiers from Charlton kings. We all gathered around a table and stated looking for the Soldiers we had researched during our lessons.
I had chosen a family called the Williams family. The mother and father of the family, Andrew and Emily, had four children. They were called Lewis, Fredric, Frank and Lavinia. Lewis, Fredric and Frank all sadly died in the war. Before the war they were living at 1 Mansfield close, which is just down the road form the school. Lavinia also had a husband named James Jeffery. He also died in the war. This must have been very hard for her to take.
At ten o’clock the journalist arrived to interview us. They started with the sixth formers who talked about the battlefields trip they went on. She then talked to Mr Burke and Miss Gill. Our interview took place outside the Charlton Kings War Memorial. When my turn arrived I talked about the family that I had researched. I talked about the terrible impact the deaths must have had on the life of the family and indeed on the community of Charlton Kings.
I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and was glad to miss Maths! It was really interesting to see how radio interviews are conducted. Thank you to Mr Burke and Miss Gill for organising the event. The programme will be shown on the week leading up to November the 11th.
Fabio Thomas
Click here to visit the BBC Gloucestershire website to see the article written about the day.
Race Night
The Young Enterprise group, Viva, are holding a special event at Balcarras School.
On the 7th November 2008 we are holding a Race Night, this will take place in the hall from 7.30-10pm. The event includes live bands, a full bar and free bets!
Prices will be rewarded at the end of the night to the punters with the most winnings. It will be a great experience and is at a good value of just £5 per ticket!
Sponsored Walk 2008
Despite rain dashing our hopes of an Indian summer and worries that this year's Sponsored Walk might have to be rearranged, we needn't have worried. The annual 8km event once again ran smoothly, with some impressive finishing times for many of the runners. Well done to Laurence Hughes in Year 12 who finished in just under 33 minutes. Much of the money raised from the walk this year will go to Red Cross and CLIC (Caring For Young People With Cancer). It was a great afternoon - thanks once again this year to Mrs Moore and Mr Perry for making it happen.
Young Enterprise 2009
This year there was a record number of applicants for the Young Enterprise company. All the candidates that applied were of a high quality which resulted in Balcarras entering 2 teams into the competition. Mr Perry & Mr Waterhouse will be advising the teams over the next year.
Team Perry has appointed Felix Elliot-Berry as MD and the team are looking to design and produce a new soft drink. Team Waterhouse have appointed James Ballantine as MD. The team have a number of ideas which are all top secret at the moment. There shall be regular updates throughout the year so watch this space!
Mr Perry, Enterprise Co-ordinator
Operation Christmas Child
For the fourth year running we are supporting Operation Christmas Child. Students, parents and their families are invited to fill a shoe box full of gifts for a girl or boy between the ages of 2 and 14. Last year 1.24 million boxes were sent to victims of poverty, war, famine, disease and natural disasters. Balcarras has regularly collected over 100 boxes. This year we would like to beat this record and would very appreciate your support. Instruction leaflets will be going out to all tutor groups and pupils will receive further information in assemblies. Please bring your completed box to 1A5 by half term. Thank you for your support.
New Department Videos
There are now available some video clips showcasing the work of various subject departments in Balcarras.
Click here to go to the departments index and then navigate to each department page to see the videos.
35 years of loyal service
Mrs Marion Simpson receives thanks from Mr Healy for 35 years loyal service in the kitchens
Shakespeare Schools' Festival
Selected students in years 9 and 10 are currently hard at work rehearsing a production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing to present on Wednesday October 15th at The National Shakespeare Schools' Festival. This nationwide initiative provides school children with a unique opportunity to perform an abridged Shakespeare play in a professional theatre. We are performing in compilation with three other schools from The Midlands at The Artrix Theatre, a 300 seater theatre in Bromsgrove. The students recently attended a workshop day, working with acclaimed theatre directors and practitioners from across the UK.
Here is some of what we got up to...
Local Student Amongst Top Ten In Country
Local student Chloe Barnes was amongst the top ten students according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body.
Chloe sat the AS Russian exam earlier this summer at Balcarras School and the results, issued last month, show that out of all the candidates, Chloe achieved one of the highest overall marks.
Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s Managing Director, said “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulations to Chloe."
Her teacher, Alison Bird, said that Chloe showed real flair and had enjoyed the language right from the start. “We’re delighted she has achieved the success she deserved”, said Alison “and we’re confident she can do just as well at A2-level, which she has just started.” Chloe hopes next year to go to Oxford University to study Languages.
Homestay 2008
Au mois de juillet 44 étudiants de troisième (Year 9) sont allés à Reims et sont restés chez des familles françaises pendant quelques jours.
Le premier jour nous avons visité la cathédrale de Reims et l’après-midi nous sommes allés à une maison de champagne. Nous avons même eu le temps de faire un peu de shopping!
Nous avons passé une journée à Paris et sommes montés jusqu’au sommet de la Tour Eiffel. Nous avons aussi fait une promenade en bateau sur la Seine et Nous nous sommes promenés le long des Champs-Élysées.
Le dernier jour nous sommes allés à Disneyland….formidable. Regardez les photos!
Barcelona 2008
During activites week, The MLF department organised a trip to Barcelona for Year 8 . We took the plane and both staff and pupils were relieved not to spend 30 hours on the coach! The students had an unforgettable time and enjoyed themselves in Port Aventura! They also spent time on the beach playing football and making sand castles! They visited Nou Camp stadium, had a stroll on Las Ramblas, admired the amazing architecture of Park Guell and were stunned by the beauty of Sagrada Familia! They practised their Spanish by ordering food and getting to know the locals! We also visited a resort called Salou where we saw some Flamenco and found out more about Spanish/Catalan culture. We now have fond memories and nice pictures and we hope that more Year 8 will join us in 2009!
Miss Iskra
Work Experience
In the penultimate week of the summer term, all of year 10 went on work experience to placements in Gloucestershire. The students went to a wide variety of employers some such as GE aviation that have always taken students every year and many new companies such as Slipstream Organics that sell boxes or organic vegetables.
We are grateful to all the employers and companies who helped as we realise how much hardwork it is to look after a trainee. The students benefit from this greatly and come back to school more mature and with higher levels of self motivation. The students attended a debrief session on the first Monday back at school and many students shared their experiences in their tutor groups, about 20 students spoke to the whole year group about their time and six students prepared a short speech to the whole school to describe the skills they had learnt.
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Charlton Kings,
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