The Compton Newsletter July 2014

THE
COMPTON SCHOOL
National Teaching School
“Outstanding” Ofsted
INSIDE:
Message from the
Headteacher
*
Message from the
Chair of
Governors
*
Expansion
Update
*
Celebrating
Achievement,
Excellence and
Hard work
*
Charity News
*
Departmental
News
*
Trips and Visits
*
Students’
Contributions
*
Sports
National
Teaching
School
Newsletter
July 2014
Issue 3
Year 11 crowning glory: 2014 Prom King and Queen Ibrahim and Angelica
Visit the school website on www.thecompton.org.uk
The school website is updated regularly. Please visit for the most up to date information.
Information from the Headteacher
Dear Parents and
Students
The
summer
holidays are fast
approaching and I
have been looking
back over a year of
many changes and developments.
Although it is difficult, in the space of a
small column, to capture all the many
significant events that have taken place in
the school this year, I have picked out
some of these and others are celebrated
in the pages that follow.
2013 - Best Ever Exam Results
We couldn’t have wished for a better
start to the year with our 2013 leavers
achieving our best ever exam results: 99%
of all students achieved five GCSE A*- C
grades, of which 79% included English
and Maths. A fantastic achievement which
was recognised in a letter, for the second
year running, from Education Minister
David Laws congratulating The Compton
on being “one of the top 100 performing
Celebrating
Excellence in
State
Education
On Monday, 12th May, Zoe Merritt
and Jenifer Field, Senior Teachers,
attended a reception event at 10
Downing Street celebrating excellence
in State Education. Part of what was
celebrated was system leadership and
the role of Teaching Schools. David
Cameron and Michael Gove were in
attendance, as well as many teaching
professionals from across the country.
Malcom McGlynn
Deputy Headteacher
non-selective schools (nationally) out of
over 4000 (schools) in England”
Teacher Training at TCS
Undoubtedly, a major step forward for
the school has been our accreditation as a
School Centered Initial Teacher Training
(SCITT) centre – which means simply, that
from September 2014, we will become a
school which trains teachers from start to
finish. We are one of only a handful of
schools in London who, due to their
excellent teaching, have been chosen to
do this.
Mayor of London’s Gold Club
Our profile as a centre of excellence has
continued to grow and I’ve been very
fortunate to be invited to sit on two
national policy groups at the Department
for Education. Our successes have not
gone unnoticed, so much so that Boris
Johnson’s education office contacted the
school recently to invite us to join the
Mayor of London’s Gold Club which
includes as its members the most
successful schools in London, celebrates
their successes and encourages
collaboration between them. So, from
September we will be hosting visits from
other schools to share good practice.
From humble beginnings...
In Autumn 2013 we were 21 years old.
In 1992 the Compton School was founded
and 10 teaching staff, including myself,
plus 150 students moved into a rather run
down former school site. Since then we
haven’t looked back and we have grown
year on year. This year we received our
largest ever number of Year 7 applications
at nearly 1000. As you know, to
accommodate the increased numbers, in
Autumn 2014 we are opening our new
Creative Arts block. Like many of our
students, I find it difficult to come up the
stairs without pausing for a moment to see
what the builders are doing. The outer
shell is now in place and we can start to
see what the interior will look like.
Students and staff alike are all very
excited about the prospect of moving into
this wonderful new building housing brand
new classrooms equipped with some of
the latest resources and technology. This
new building provides another step
forward into the future. However, at the
end of yet another fantastically successful
year it is also a moment to pause to
consider what a long way we’ve travelled
since 1992 and how amazing it is to reflect
on the combined hard work of so many
students and teachers in reaching and
surpassing so many milestones and
achievements along the way.
Fond Farewells
Unfortunately, we will also be saying
goodbye to the following staff; Brigitta
Clifford,
Tony
Kyprianou,
Dina
Constantinou, Hannah Wandless, Hayley
Durkin, Samantha Bridgeland, Hannah
Wray, Lizzie De Klerk and Toby Kirkby
from our teaching staff. They are moving
for promotion and/or to teach out of
London.
Alex Grossman, Niamh Hickey, Ryan
Raymond, Zaman Mohammed, Evanthia
Anastasiou, Shola Savage, Jamie
Preston, Marcella Crivellaro and Chris
Walker are all leaving from our support
staff team. Many of them are leaving to
train to become teachers. We wish them
the best for their future careers and thank
them for all they have given to The
Compton.
Wishing you a very happy summer and
we look forward to seeing all our students
again on Thursday, 11th September 2014.
Teresa Tunnadine
Message from the School Governors
Dear Parents
This time last year I mentioned that we had established a strategic committee,
which amongst other things would look into ways of making us more effective as a
governing body. This remains a hot topic nationally as you will have seen from
continued reports in the media. Having considered Ofsted guidance and
recommendations we are going to undertake some minor changes to the way we
work in the governing body to make sure that we are best placed to manage our
strategic and fiduciary responsibilities in support of the school.
As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, the skills that our governors bring from
their lives outside school are vital in our drive for continual improvement. We have
been particularly successful in attracting new governors with business /
professional skills over the last few years and we have just appointed a new
community governor who will join us next term. With terms of office expiring we
may have some parent governor vacancies arising next term. If you think that
you’d like to be part of our team of governors, please look out for details when they
are circulated. In the meantime, if you have any questions about becoming a
governor, please feel free to contact me on the email below.
On behalf of the Governing Body, I wish you all a wonderful summer holiday.
Sebastian Wood, Chair of Governors
chairofgovernors@thecompton.org.uk
2
Celebrating the Achievers of Spring 2014
AWARDS AND WINNERS
Congratulations to all these students
whose efforts and hard work last
Spring have been recognised through
The Compton School’s Award system
Headteacher’s Award Winners - Year 8
8C - Leila Selmanovic, Sahil Nakrani
8O - Sonal Shah, Lloyd Wood
8M - Sarah Yeboah-Smith, Jaymin Shah
8P - Jessica Musker, Max L'Huillier
8T - Sofia Dellamura, Zachary Leibowitz
8N - Nyra De Souza, Gramos Havolli
8S - Annika Keshu, Anish Sheth
8H - Alexandra Ephgrave, Milan Dhir
Headteacher’s Award Winners - Year 10
Sumeya Ahmed, Asmaa Ali, Eren Ali, Jason Cheng,
Yashil Gopee, Chloe Jakharia, Natasha Joseph,
Anya Mallerman-Bristow, Priya Mandal, Avni Master,
Gabriel Musker, Nella Pignatelli, Ambereen Razak,
Khadijah Sufi, Titus Tan
Headteacher’s Award Winners - Year 7
7C - Anya Nanning Ramamurthy, Joseph Kilduff
7O - Sapna Popatia, Ryutaro Matsumura
7M - Alice Chadwick, Jack Kariya
7P - Kya Appah, Shiv Thakkar
7T - Jessica Adair, Bryan Cantos
7N - Arjun Nanning Ramamurthy, Vanesa Kraleva
7S - Larissa Osbourne, Oliwier Jashanica
7H - Saffron Willett, Pouya Keyvani
Headteacher’s Award Winners - Year 9
Iman Abdulahi Siyad, Jessica Baker, Peter Bruce,
Karishma Chauhan, Bethan Davies, Emma De Duve,
Hemali Depala, Farah Fahad, Chhaya Ganda,
Tawheed Ghafoori, Maeve Gibson, Lewis Hobbs, Mariqua
Keshi-Clunis, Olivia Lynch, Cate Mandell, Olivia Morley,
Amaan Nath, Louis O’Shea, Amir Razak, Urte Sereikaite,
Blessie Simbol, Priyanka Siregar, Stanley Martin, Tiara Wijaya
Headteacher’s Award Winners - Year 11
Sean Beggan, Wajid Chaudry, Deon Cheung, Micha Claydon,
Pooja Depala, Georgie Ephgrave, Bhavnisha Karamshi,
Julia Karpa, Gregor Kosta, Chloe May, Maryam Muktar,
Sepideh Noohi, Hannah Salik, Sonya Soltani Pari,
Chakorn Shipp, Neel Vasani, Katerina Velounias
Putting On The Style At The Year 11 Prom
The Compton School bid a sad farewell to Year 11. Students looked
absolutely fantastic when they arrived at school to celebrate all the hard
work and commitment they put into this year by attending the Prom.
The evening consisted of a delicious three course meal and a disco.
During the night an awards presentation was held where winners, voted
for by their peers, received certificates in categories including nicest smile
and best celebrity look-alike. Congratulations to Angelica and Ibrahim who
were voted Prom King and Queen 2014.
We would like to wish Year 11 the very best of luck in their GCSEs and
every success for the future.
Vicky Cran
Year 11 Manager
Guided Tours Offer A Lesson In Construction
EXPANSION UPDATE
Building work on the new
Arts Wing is now progressing
rapidly and we look forward to
its completion later in the year.
During the month of May the
construction company, Morgan
Sindall, held an Open Day to
which both the school and the
local community were invited.
There were guided tours of the
site where staff, students and
visitors could experience the
space and begin to see the
layout of the interior taking
shape, as well as learning
some interesting facts about
the construction itself. Since
then, all the windows have
been installed and insulation
cladding is now in place ready
for the exterior and interior
walls to be added as part of the
next stage. In the meantime a
lot
of
refurbishment
is
scheduled to take place over
the holidays adapting existing
areas of the school to create an
additional Science Lab and two
new
Maths
classrooms
together with a complete
modernisation of the toilets.
When we return to school in
September we will be very
excited to have these new
areas as well as seeing how far
the work on the new building
will have advanced in our
absence.
Denise Beardshaw
Associate Headteacher
3
Fundraising for War Child
CHARITY UPDATE
Another non-school uniform
day was held on Friday, 4th
July, incorporating a cake sale
in the concourse at lunchtime
and break.
The charity that the Year 9s
chose for this half term was
War Child, a charity that helps
children throughout the world
who find themselves the
innocent victims of war.
Year 9 researched the
charity and believed it to be an
extremely worthy cause as
children are so often the
innocent victims of war and
need support and help to deal
with the consequences they
have to face.
Numerous students paid £1
to support the cause, but
brought along extra money to
purchase something from the
excellent range of cakes and
bakes that were on sale on the
day. Totals to follow.
Michael Barrett
Charity Coordinator
A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
What Being a Charity Leader Means to Me
Becoming a Charity
Leader at The Compton
School has allowed me
to help charities by
working
alongside
others who share the
same interest as me. As
well as helping people
who are less fortunate,
being a Charity Leader
has helped to build my
confidence and social
skills. The Charity
Leaders
plan
the
events; we get together
and plan what will make
money for an agreed
charity that has been
chosen by Compton
students. So far the
fund raising ideas have
included cake sales,
The Compton School Charity Leaders
games and raffles; we
have also sold badges
to raise money.
In school, as a
Charity Leader, I am
able
to
nominate
organisations who I
think will benefit from
the money raised by our
students.
This
academic year,
we
have
supported
Remembrance
Day,
Typhoon
Haiyan
(Philippines), Homeless
Action in Barnet and
Macmillan Nurses. We
also recently raised
money for one of our
own students at The
Compton.
Outside of school for
the past two years, I
have taken part in
charity walks collecting
over £500. This year I
did a 10K walk for
Diabetes UK and raised
£80. Last year I raised
a total of £565 for Kids,
a charity which helps
children with disabilities.
I have also raised
£1000 for Great Ormond
Street
Children’s
Hospital.
Hemali Depala
Charity Leader
The Compton Culture Club Hits London Town
On Friday, 16th May, 15
students travelled into London
to enjoy an afternoon of
culture.
First, we looked around the
National Portrait Gallery. We
4
started at the top of the gallery
looking at very old paintings. ‘I
liked the one of William
Shakespeare – it was painted
in the 1600’s!’ Shayaan
Then, we went to look at
some more modern portraits. ‘I
liked the portrait of Catherine,
Duchess
of
Cambridge
because it was very life like’
Vanesssa
‘The picture of the royal
family was so detailed and
realistic.’ Katie
We then went to look at the
exhibition The Great War in
Portraits which many of the
students were impressed by. ‘I
thought the war portraits were
inspiring’ Daniel
After lunch, we walked
across the road to St Martin-inthe-Fields to listen to a free
lunchtime concert performed
by a vocalist and pianist. The
musicians were very talented
and the church is a beautiful
building.
After the concert, we went to
The Place near Euston which
is a dance and performance
centre. We were fortunate
enough to have a guided tour
and look in on some of the
rehearsals. ‘I hadn’t been to
The Place before but I really
liked looking around the
studios – they were very
modern.’ Natalie.
‘We watched some clips of
previous performances and
they were really cool.’ Muzamel.
There are lots of exciting
performances happening at
The
Place
and
even
opportunities for students to
get involved!
Alice Gray
Co-ordinator of Cultural Literacy
A Leap of Faith, Courage And Friendship
FIRST TIME RESIDENTIAL TRIP TO HINDLEAP WARREN ACTIVITY CENTRE
An amazing and well
behaved group of mixed ability
students from Years 8 -10 took
part in our very first residential
trip to Hindleap Warren activity
centre on the week-end of 20th
June.
All
the
students
enthusiastically took part in a
range of activities including
teambuilding, obstacle course,
archery, rock climbing and
tunnelling.
Thankfully the
weather was dry and sunny
enabling the students to make
the most of this leafy and open
outdoor activity centre.
This enabled the students to
show determination and to
build
confidence
within
themselves and in relying on
other team members be it
when they were helping each
other or encouraging them to
come through the wet, muddy
tunnels!
Well done to James Epstein,
Scott Gayfer, Danny Tooley,
James Chadwick, Presley
Chamberlain, Natasha Foster,
Adam Khokhar, Divine Isles,
Ben Manuel, Kashifa Rahman,
Callum Tilley, Gila Claydon,
Derek Gibson, Ben Holmes,
Marisa Martinez, Jay Patel,
and Zubeen Rehman.
Thank you to Ms Hand, Mr
McDonnell and Mr Marks.
We are looking forward to
running this trip again next
year.
Sharon Robinson
Senior Teaching Assistant
and Linda Joly
SEN Adinistrative Assistant
We went to an activity centre in East Sussex and it was a really fun place to go. I
would go again! There were lots of things to do and although I did not know a lot of people,
I do now and I have new friends.
We all tried lots of things and even though they were difficult, we still managed to succeed
and achieve our goal. The best bit for team work was the stepping stones as we had to
communicate with eachother to get through safely, and the archery was excellent and exciting
as, how fun it was to try and aim and shoot at something!
When we had free time, there was still plenty to do, either playing football or going to the
games room.
I would love to go back again as soon as I can, to try new things and to develop my
confidence and skills even more. It is a great place to go and I would recommend that people
go there. It is a place that brings friends and family closer, by having fun.
Callum Tilley, Year 9
Year Nines Mean Business
In September, Mr Pujara and Mr Marks
put together a ‘Young Enterprise Team’
with 23 students across Year 9. Young
Enterprise is a scheme set up to introduce
young people to the world of work and the
excitement of running a business. Young
Enterprise’s mission statement is “To
inspire and equip young people to learn
and succeed through enterprise.” Its
guiding principle is to do this through
“learning by doing”.
To start things off, we were given the
opportunity to create our own product.
Collectively, we brainstormed numerous
ideas but we finally came to a decision!
YOUNG ENTERPRISE
The general consensus was the idea of
an urban beanie with a detachable and
interchanging bobble! We got cracking
immediately and came up with our
company name: Urbean. In order for us to
start production, all members of the Young
Enterprise team put forward £10 worth of
share capital. We then ran a two day car
wash service for the staff here at The
Compton school. This generated more
revenue for our company! We used the
bulk of the money to advertise the product
and also for production.
After the production process was
finished, we were invited by the Young
Enterprise organisation to come down to
Spitalfields Market to sell our beanies –
we were the youngest there and were in
direct competition with many other
schools... and yes, we did beat many of
them in sales! Judges included last year’s
‘The Apprentice’ entrepreneurs: Jason
Leech and Jordan Poulton. We
unfortunately couldn’t win the competition
as we were under the age required for
entry into the actual competition; however,
the judges still invited us to attend the
Young Enterprise Final so that we could
share our experiences and highlight our
success! This was a massive honour and
we are so proud of everything we
achieved, and the evening was a great
way to celebrate this!
We then arranged to sell our remaining
beanies at school and sold out in less
than an hour! We eventually managed to
generate over £250 via sales and we also
donated most of the share capital, which
allowed us to donate a total of £377 to
Victim Support, a national charity that
provides support to victims of crime and
abuse. Thanks to everyone who
participated in helping to raise money for
such a worthy cause.
Gabriella Kyriakou
Year 9
5
Drama - Act I, Scene I
Year 9 Workshop and Show
In May, 21 students were
taken to see The Believers at
the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn.
Before they watched the tense
and thrilling performance, they
were privileged to take part in
a physical workshop run by
the fantastic physical theatre
group Frantic Assembly to
help prepare them for the
show as well as developing
their
own
group
and
movement skills. The students
thoroughly enjoyed both the
workshop
and
the
performance and have been
keen to share what they learnt
in their Drama lessons.
Maya Patrick De Costa: “It
was very eerie… the actual
play was overwhelming with
flashing lights, it was only after
the performance you begin to
unravel the story.”
Harry Curley: “The play was
based around a flood and one
family inviting their neighbours
in for the night and the
happenings that take place. I
recommend the play!”
Shaelle Twum-Barimah: “The
play was thrilling with a
sinister twist. It left us
pondering over what had
happened. Overall, the play
was spontaneous and aweinspiring with a shocking
Year 11 Exam Performances
Year 11 performed to friends and family in March in preparation
for their final exam. They showed excellent confidence and
adaptability and vastly improved their work for their final exam
worth 40%. Well done year 11, good luck with your results this
summer!
Sarah Tunnadine, Joint Head of Drama
My Hero Is...
In preparation for The Compton World Fair, Year 7 Drama
Club students have been using a poem called 'Hero' by
Nathan Kraft. The Poem has been adapted to reference real
WW1 events, and underscores mimed movement sequences
and scripted scenes. The performance consists of four stories
each assigned to one of the four letters from the title HERO.
story-line.”
May Harding: “The Believers
explored the themes of the
supernatural and death. They
used a harness and a metal
frame for transitions. The
show was riveting and made
the audience question their
The delivery of the poem is interwoven through-out the
performance and the students represent ordinary people and
the heroic acts they performed during WW1. Additionally,
Miss Gray and her talented music students Anthony Brown,
Gabriel Musker, Petar Djordjic, Sofia Stender and Anjali
Depala, have composed original pieces that have helped to
form a sensitive, dynamic and atmospheric performance
providing powerful music for every transition between stories.
Liana Anthony, Joint Head of Drama
6
Emma
DeDuve:
“The
workshop was different and
something I’ve never done
before so I thought it was a
really good experience.”
Sarah Tunnadine
Joint Head of Drama
Year 8 Workshop with Mousetrap Theatre
Year 8 Drama Club have been very busy this term! They
have been on a trip to Covent Garden to see the production,
War Horse and have also been working on extracts of the
play in preparation for our Summer show I’ll be Home by
Christmas as well as partaking in storytelling workshops run
by Nell in association with Mousetrap Theatre. They
performed their stories to two other schools on Tuesday 8th
July in a theatre in Camden.
Sarah Tunnadine, Joint Head of Drama
Well Done Year 10
Well done to Year 10 for
completing 25% of their
GCSE! They have been
studying the Woman in Black
and have written a theatre
review on this. They showed
excellent
focus
and
commitment to the six hour
practical exam.
Sarah Tunnadine
Joint Head of Drama
What’s that stench colonel?... (aside) My Hero is Dirty!
own beliefs.”
The Compton Loves Maths
MATHS DEPARTMENT
Prize Winning Jaguar Factory Trip
On 25th April students who attend
Maths Enrichment and Maths in Motion
clubs took part in a trip to a behind the
scenes tour of the Jaguar Factory in
Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. This trip
was one of the prizes won by The
Compton School team at the Heritage
Motor Museum last June when we
became National Champions of Jaguar
Cars Maths in Motion Challenge for
Schools 2012/13. It was a fantastic day
and gave us a great opportunity to see
how maths and engineering are used in
the planning and production processes.
Here are some comments from
students;
by Joanna Lewis
“We looked at the
structure of the car and saw how the
aluminium panels are put together. We
saw cars going to be painted and we
were told about the painting process and
how they are kept shiny afterwards by
spraying a kind of varnish. We saw all
the different parts, like seats, being
added and looked at the final cleaning of
the car by hand. The cars are labelled to
keep track of them and go to lots of
different countries. After the tour we ate
lunch and then went to a showroom
where we got to take pictures inside the
cars. Then it was time to go and we
reluctantly said goodbye. Everyone
enjoyed it and hopes to go there again!”
Safi Marsh-Henry
“It was an amazing experience
because we got a chance to tour the
magnificent factory and got to see how a
few bits of metal can get turned into one
of the best sport cars in the world and
finally we got to sit in a jaguar. We were
also told some interesting facts such as
how the factory started as an Aircraft
Factory and made planes used in World
War Two.” Sahil Nakrani
UKMT Junior and Intermediate Maths Challenges 2014
The
United
Kingdom
Mathematics Trust Junior
Maths Challenge took place
on 1st May, with entrants from
both Years 7 and 8. The
challenge question papers are
designed to stimulate interest
in
maths
and
involve
answering 25 multiple choice
questions in one hour, under
normal exam conditions.
Well done to all the students
who
took
part
and
congratulations
to
the
following
who
achieved
certificates;
GOLD: Arjun NanningRamamurthy, Jillian Cheng,
Chihiro
Gong,
Markus
Brighton, Sofia Dellamura,
Anjali Depala, Danielle Cass.
SILVER: Anya NanningRamamurthy, Alice Chadwick,
Jack Kariya, Riam Kaabi,
Josephine Chadwick, Sarah
Yeboah-Smith,
Rebecca
Moore, Nikola Petkov, Ahmed
Haji, Alma Mohamed, Anish
Sheth, Doaa Ahmed, Annika
Keshu.
BRONZE:
Sofia
Stender,
Abdulrahman
Ahmed,
Rafael
Lopez,
Hannah
Dembina,
Ama
Ackon-Mensah, Tara Aye,
Eloise Tagholm-Child, Lara
Taylor,
Harvey
Renkin,
Jessica Musker.
Huge congratulations go to
Arjun Nanning-Ramamurthy
and Jillian Cheng who both
qualified for the Junior
Mathematical Olympiad. This
is a fantastic achievement and
the first time we have
achieved this as a school.
Around 1,200 of the highest
scorers in the JMC are invited
to participate in the Junior
Mathematical Olympiad. It
consists of a two-hour paper
of more in-depth mathematical
problems to which there are
two sections, one requiring
answers only, and the second,
full written solutions. Papers
are set and marked by the
UKMT.
Back in February, Year 9
and 10 students took part in
the
Intermediate
Maths
Challenge. Again, well done
and congratulations to all
competitors and to the
following, who achieved
certificates;
GOLD:
Blessie Simbol,
Jake Taylor. SILVER: Michael
Spann, Iman Abdulahi, Amir
Razak,
Cate
Mandell,
Khadijah Sufi, Gabriel Musker,
Jason Cheng, Zenith Soni,
Isaaq Mohamed. BRONZE:
Sam L’Huillier, Erfan Najimi,
Louis O’shea, Najma Haji,
William
Lloyd,
Shaelle
Twumbarimah, Akhil
Shah, Ellie Haskin, Benny
Debrah, Chandni Thakkar
The ‘Best in School’ award
went to Blessie Simbol. Her
high score meant that she was
eligible for the follow-on round
called the ‘Grey Kangaroo’.
The UKMT has been involved
in Kangaroo activities for
many years and uses the
hour-long
multiple-choice
papers as an extension to the
Intermediate Challenge.
Kangourou sans Frontiè res
(KSF) is an independent
association whose purpose is
to organise the annual
Kangaroo contest promoting
mathematics among young
people around the world. The
name sounds strange but
recognises the fact that the
organisation was inspired by
the Australian Mathematics
Trust.
2014 Regional Final of the UKMT Team Maths Challenge
Back in March, a team of Compton students went to Preston Manor School in Wembley to
compete in the Regional Final of the UKMT Team Challenge. Team members were Year 8
students Jillian Cheng and Chihiro Gon
together with Year 9 students Blessie Simbol
and Cate Mandell. These students were
selected from a number of very talented
mathematicians in Years 8 and 9 who regularly
attend Maths Challenge Club (which runs on
Fridays, 3 - 4pm in NG3). The team did us
proud coming eighth out of 21 schools, many of
which were independent schools.
Thank you to all the students who have
attended the club this year; you have all
contributed to our success.
7
Design and Technology
Cooking, Baking, Cakes and Coursework
FOOD TECHNOLOGY
We have been cooking up a storm in Food Technology this
term. The Year 7 and 8 classes have been learning about safe
food hygiene and preparation and are all becoming quite skilled
in the kitchen. A sensory lab was simulated where students
learned to be discerning and articulate when analysing and
describing food they eat.
The Year 9s have been making a range of different cakes
including butter cake, Swiss Roll, Boiled Fruit Cake and
experimenting with vegetables to improve the flavour, colour,
texture and nutritional value of different cakes. They have also
been working with a range of different types of icing and
decorating techniques. The project will conclude with students
making a cake inspired by art viewed on their V&A fieldtrip. They
have been very busy practising their decorating techniques and
designing their final cake to be judged by senior members of
staff.
Year 10 students have been busy beginning their coursework.
They have interviewed consumers representing their target
markets. They have also ventured out in the community and
have been handing out surveys to gain valuable primary
research for their tasks. The students have been working hard
preparing in their planning to begin an intensive term of cooking
in September.
We have said farewell to the Year 11 students who committed
themselves in achieving their best possible grade. They showed
great dedication in attending after school, Saturday and holiday
classes to achieve their best possible result. We wish them well
and are very proud of their achievements.
Class of Your Own
The Year 9s have completed their Class Of
Your Own project which has seen them
create their own model eco-classrooms. The
models and architect drawings, which used
industry standard software, were put together
in an exhibition held at The Compton to
showcase the students’ brilliant designs.
Throughout the course the students were
taught the skills needed to become
architects, engineers, and other specialists in
the building industry.
Rachel Carter, Head of Product Design
and Rob Hall, Senior D&T Technician
Garden Club goes from strength to strength
After the building work
restricted access to the
Compton Garden, the weeds
had taken over and the whole
area had fallen into disrepair.
However, thanks to our
Garden Clubbers, this has
been turned around and once
again the garden is showing
the fruits of their labour.
Highlights from garden club
include:
• A strawberry crop to rival
Wimbledon
• Raspberries that continue
to give a tasty treat
• Rhubarb
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• Herbs, including Mint,
Rosemary, Sage, Thyme,
Lavender,
Chives
and
Oregano which are all
regularly used in the Food
Room
• A new Sensory Herb
Garden which has been
planted up in the Piazza so
the Kitchen can add even
more flavour to their dishes
From this...
as well as attracting bees
• The Wildlife Garden and
Pond adjoining The Compton
Garden which has had its fair
share of insect life and
hopefully the frog spawn will
give us plenty of frogs to help
us keep the snails under
control
• Science using the Wildlife
Area in their lessons
Rob Hall
Senior D&T Technician
Brigitta Clifford
Head of Food Technology
Private View
GCSE EXHIBITION
On 25th June 2014, Year 11
students and their parents
were invited to the Private View
of Year 11 Design and
Technology work .
The work on show was the
culmination of the hard work
and dedication by students and
teachers alike over the past 18
months. The work produced
was of the highest quality and
we are looking forward to
positive GCSE results this year.
The exhibition included
Graphics, Product Design,
Food and Textiles. We would
like to thank parents, governors
and staff who attended and
made the evening special.
Julie Tinsley
Head of D&T
...to this
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Getting To Know Our Spanish Counterparts
On 2nd May, a group of 12 Spanish
students came to visit The Compton.
They had the pleasure of meeting up with
12 of our students and of practising both
Spanish and English. They toured the
school and were very impressed with the
amount of technology used in every
classroom and discussed how different
the educational systems are in both
countries. Afterwards, they spent the
afternoon in the hall doing activities and
getting to know each other better. At the
moment, they keep in contact and
hopefully will be able to meet up again in
the future.
“Meeting the Spaniards was a great
experience as it helped us to develop our
Spanish speaking skills especially as we
are doing GCSE in Spanish” Bianca and
Natasha, Year 10
game as “bulldog””. We hope to see them
soon. Raza, Year 9
“I really enjoyed meeting the Spanish
students because it helped me improve
my Spanish a lot. I got to interact with
loads of the students and learn a lot about
each of them. I hope to see them in the
future. We also played some great fun
games” Sinead, Year 9
“It was great and fascinating that we
had the chance to have an insight about
their lives and the kind of activities they do
in Spain. Now we are in touch with them
and we hope to be able to visit them next
year”. Teddy, Carlota, Nicole and Gilvania,
Cristina Cabezo-Redondo
Head of MFL
Year 9
“Meeting with the Spanish people was a
fantastic experience that I am sure
everyone benefitted from. We played
some great games with the Spaniards
and they were all very enthusiastic and
energetic when we introduced the English
Examining Religion In The Local Community
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
In the summer term, Year 7
students have been looking
into the topic of religion in the
local community. This has
involved looking at what
beliefs people in our local
community hold.
Some students took this
further by visiting a church and
a mosque. Here is a report
from Meena who went on one
of the visits:
Our RE class visited a
mosque (North Finchley) and
then a local church (Christ
Church). Just before we
entered the main section of the
mosque we had to remove our
shoes as a sign of respect to
the mosque. The head of the
mosque was called Imam
HISTORY
Mohammed. He taught us
about the five pillars of Islam
and what each one meant. We
were able to ask the Imam
anything about the five pillars
A Visit To The Jewish Museum
To celebrate the Centenary of World War
One, 14 fantastic historians from Year 9 were
given the opportunity to go to the Jewish
Museum in Camden to find out more about
how life in the trenches affected the lives of
ordinary Jewish Londoners. Working with a
range of artefacts, including medals of honour,
census records, decorated shell casings and
other personal belongings, the students put
together and presented their own exhibitions.
Each individual's story came to life through the
workshop and the galleries and all students
were able to build on both knowledge and
empathy skills, culminating in an outstanding
group presentation!
Elizabeth de Klerk, Teacher of History
and the mosque. Near the end
of our mosque visit, we were
quizzed on the five pillars.
After our mosque visit, we
went to the church. The church
was crammed with stained
glass depicting Jesus and
Mary. The vicar (head of the
church) was called Reverend
David Walker. We were given
a worksheet with different
symbols that were dotted all
around the church. We had to
identify where we found the
symbol and what it meant to
Christianity. Reverend Walker
asked us a few basic
questions about Jesus, for
example, what did the three
wise men bring to Bethlehem?
Overall, our entire form
learned a lot about both Islam
and
Christianity
and
thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Meena Azim,
Year 7
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STUDENT JOURNALISTS
A Good News Year for TCS Journalists
Student Journalism: who are
we? The Compton’s finest
group of journalists, reporters
and broadcasters, responsible
for every form of media open to
you. Any event that’s going on
at The Compton goes through
us and every piece of news
coming out gets reported by
us. Our team is full of many
budding journalists ready for
any slight action to spark our
entertaining and informative
articles.
This year, Ms Peel and Ms
Rambaut were determined to
open doors for students in the
club and to boost the
of
anyone
experience
encountering our media. This
enthusiasm was mirrored by
our members setting up for a
year to remember. And indeed
it was, with plenty of stimulus to
boast our reporting potential.
The year kicked off with a
bang with more journalists than
we have ever had before! Early
in the year, the BBC visited The
Compton in order to interview
us for a Radio 4 Woman’s Hour
special for Christmas Day.
Also, some of our fortunate
reporters were able to visit the
BBC building, interview famous
figures, such as John Waites
and Steve Hermann and
get the once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity of writing an article
on the BBC website, all in a
practice BBC School Report.
Mid-way through the year,
we presented an assembly on
the
topic
of
Student
Journalism. This was followed
by the real News Day, for which
the theme was education and
four expert guests came into
The Compton to be interviewed
for us. We were also able to
supply coverage on The
Compton’s new building when
we toured on the site. Finally,
we are looking forward to
visiting the Regent’s Park
Outdoor Theatre to report on a
special
performance
of
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
All in all, this was an extremely
eventful year for the Student
Journalism team, erupting with
articles and news reports. All of
these interesting articles can
be accessed via our school
magazine, the Compton Catchup, on the school website.
Amir Razak
Year 9
There’s No Debate About It; The Compton’s Debaters Are Amazing
This year we introduced The Debate
Mate Club at The Compton and what a
pleasure and success it has been. The
team has met every week to take part in
games and debates that have really
helped to improve their public speaking
and debating skills and developed their
understanding of contentious current
affairs. The group were led by two
University students who are, themselves,
champion debaters and who really helped
students hone their skills.
We started the year by going to
Westminster in November 2013 to
partake in the launch of this year's
competition and watch World Champion
Debaters in action.
Throughout the year we have put our
skills to practice in The Urban Debate
League - a series of inter-school debate
rounds. In January, we visited Bishop
Douglass School in Finchley and
victoriously made it through to the next
round. Following this, in March, we
hosted the event and it was our pleasure
DEBATE MATE CLUB
to invite debaters from other schools in
order to compete in an atmosphere of
mutual respect and fair-play.
The year was rounded off with the
Deutsche Bank Debate Mate Cup. This
time we visited the campus of the
prestigious London School of Economics
to gain more experience in public
speaking. The students made Ms Wray
and Mr Tokarz incredibly proud by
displaying their impressive debating
talents.
If you would like to become a Debater,
remember to join in next year!
Hannah Wray, Oracy Coordinator and
Luke Tokarz, English Teacher
Year 8s Investigate Coastal Erosion
GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP
One hundred and ninety six Year 8 Geography students visited
Walton on the Naze in June to investigate what life is like for people
living on a rapidly eroding coastline.
The students explored the crumbling cliff sides and collected
fieldwork by measuring sea defences on the beach. They climbed to
the top of the local Grade 2 Listed tower and from the top of the tower
were able to identify how coastal erosion is affecting both historical
features and land of environmental value. All the data collected formed
the basis of their Year 8 end of year assessment.
The Geography Department are delighted with the assessment
projects completed so far. Many students have shown a real flair for
writing independently and have demonstrated excellent geographical
skills.
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Lucy Bevan
Geography Teacher
SPORTS News at The Compton School
Enthusiam and Commitment Bring Sporting Success
Many new sports have been introduced this year and the students have
embraced them all with exceptional enthusiasm and commitment.
We have had numerous individual and team successes. Our Athletics teams
have excelled in their League matches all season. Well done to all 70 students:
Year 7 Girls - Champions
Year 8 Girls - 2nd
Year 9 and 10 Girls - 2nd
Year 9 and 10 Boys – 3rd
Rugby, Girls’ Boxing and Handball have also been prominent this year. Many
thanks again to all our additional PE Staff – Ms Kelly, Ms Silva, Ms Savage , Ms
Anastasiou, Mr Hinchliffe, Mr N Clark, Mr K Clark, Mr Civan and Mr Taylor for all
their invaluable work with the running of extra curricular clubs.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Some of the Year 10 Students who successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh
weekend expedition at Screens Park in Chelmsford.
Handball
Five-a-side Football
Year 8 Winners
Year 10 Students
represented Barnet
in the London
Youth Games held
at the Copper Box
in the Olympic
Park. Many thanks
to Ms Munoz (team
manager) for
organising this.
by Nikki Chodurek
Old Comptonian
Claims Golfing Title
Ex Compton student Andrew Johnston is
making his mark on the golfing world. The
25 year old, who left The Compton in 2005,
has just claimed his maiden European
Challenge Tour title at the Scottish Hydro
Challenge at the Macdonald Spey Valley
Golf Club in Aviemore. His three-shot
victory means he is now third in the
Challenge Tour Rankings.
New Kids on the Course
Rugby Blast
Winners of the Tudor Park Golf Club ‘Open’
Year 8 Winners
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SPORTS News at The Compton School
Watfor d Wonder
Continuing our series of sporting
interviews, this term we talk to Sofie
Georgiou, Year 11.
NC: Do you play for a club?
SG: Yes, I play for Watford Ladies.
NC: How often do you train?
SG: I train two to three times a week, not
including matches.
NC: When do you play your matches?
SG: I play my matches on a Saturday and
sometimes night matches during the week.
for a year or two studying in the States but
also playing football for a year or two and
then hopefully play out there in the future or
come back to London and try and play for
England.
NC: Do you coach any younger students?
SG: Whenever I have free time I coach a
big group of young children aged 6-13 boys
and girls at the Ministry of Sound. I was the
first girl to coach the girls which made me a
by Nikki Chodurek
Year 7’s Summer
of Success
Congratulations to the Year 7
Girls' Rounders team who played
in the Barnet Schools Rounders
Festival this term and won! (Nine
schools competed). They are now
Barnet Schools Champions.
NC: What position do you play?
SG: I play striker (centre forward) or in
midfield (centre or right wing)
NC: How long have you trained there?
SG: This will be my second season at
Watford if I get in. Each season they re-trial
to find the best players possible. Even if
you’ve been with the club all season, you
must re-trial still. However, they know your
ability from the season before.
NC: When do you fit in your studies?
SG: I always make time for studies.
However football is almost like my therapy
to help me get my mind off everything for a
while. Without football I’d find most things
stressful, especially this time of my
education as there’s so much being
demanded. So I’d definitely recommend
taking part in a sport or hobby, particularly
during GCSEs.
NC: What is your long term ambition?
SG: I’d love to get an American scholarship
little nervous if I’m honest but the feedback
I got from the parents there gave me a lot of
confidence. It was also good for the Ministry
of Sound as they had a girl helping out too.
I am normally there for about 2 hours.
...STOP PRESS: Sophie is waiting to hear
if she will be selected for the England U18
Ladies’ Team. Watch this space!
National Schools Sports Week
A
highly
successful
National School Sports
Week (NSSW) was held at
the end of June.
The PE Department
collapsed the PE timetable
and gave students an
The Girls' Athletics team have
competed in three Barnet Schools
League matches and performed
with
superb
talent
and
determination. They won the Barnet
Schools Athletics League, a
fantastic achievement.
opportunity to experience a
range of different sports and
activities. Sports included
Zumba, Ultimate Frisbee,
Softball and Golf. The
students all thoroughly
enjoyed this week and it
enriched their sporting
experiences
through
competition and social
sporting events.
The Tug of War Interform
is extremely competitive
and thoroughly enjoyed by
all (winners - see photos).
‘I really enjoy NSSW as I
can try out new sports’
These girls have all shown
outstanding commitment, leadership,
and teamwork.
Well done Year 7 Girls.
Emma, Year 9
‘I can participate in lots of
Zabehullah,
competions’
Year 7
‘I can mix with lots of new
people and make new
friends’ Aneesha, Year 8
‘It’s fun’ Safia, Year 8
‘It helps me keep fit and
healthy’ Mohammed, Year 8
Students return to school on Thursday, 11th September 2014, Week 1
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