excellent exam results - Church Stretton School

Summer 2 • 2010 • Issue Number 5
Autumn 1 • 2011 • Issue Number 11
A Specialist Technology College
www.churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
Features
Inside this issue:
 Excellent Exam Results
 A taste of University Life
 Sponsored Walk
Read more inside
A Taste of
Uni Life
Unifest is the new name for
University Summer Schools in the
West Midlands.
It is a free
opportunity
for
students
to
experience a taste of university life
and help them make decisions
about their interests and future
plans.
Several
of
our
students
attended
various
universities
organised by Aimhigher – a
National initiative, helping students
into higher education. Students
from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin
were invited to write a journal
about their experience with prizes
being offered for the best entries.
Congratulations
to
David
Mortiboy, Year 11, who was one of
three students selected to win a
Sony camcorder after submitting a
journal account of his university
placement. David said that he
thought the Unifest event was a
great opportunity to learn about
university life and make new
friends. He particularly enjoyed a
psychology lecture which had lived
up to his expectations and found
most interesting. This has helped
him make up his mind about the
courses he would like to do in the
future and he would definitely like
to attend university. When asked
what he would want to change
about the course, David said it
would be the length of the whole
event. He had such a good time
and wished it was a week longer
because it was so enjoyable.
Amazing
Sport
Students Excel:
Inside this issue:
 Peer Mentors
 Booked Up
 Supporting Each Other
 Sports Success
 Duke of Edinburgh
 Autumn Sports Report
Read more inside
Read more inside
EXCELLENT EXAM RESULTS
Excellent GCSE results at Church
Stretton – Third year running
Church Stretton School celebrated
another excellent set of public
examinations results.
Nearly three quarters of the Year
11 students (72%) gained 5 or more
higher grades at GCSE. For the third
year in a row over two thirds of the
year group, (66%) gained 5 higher
grades including English and Maths.
Over a third of the Year 11 students
(34%) obtained A* - C in 5 core
subjects known as the English
Baccalaureate. (This includes English,
Maths, Science, a Humanities subject
and a Modern Foreign Language.)
Headteacher,
Steve
Lunt,
commented “These are excellent
results, well above the national
average. I am particularly pleased
with how consistent the school has
been over the last three years in
posting these excellent grades. The
English Baccalaureate scores reflect
the traditional academic excellence of
the school. These results are
testament to a tremendous amount of
hard work by staff and students and of
course reflect the fantastic support we
get from parents.”
NEW STUDENTS ENJOY SUMMER SCHOOL
Twenty-eight Year 7 students who
started school in September enjoyed a
three-day summer school at the end of
August. The scheme, which is run by
Mrs Blount and Mrs Pugh, aims to
familiarise students with their new
surroundings before the start of the
new term.
During the event the students
enjoyed a variety of activities including
PE, cooking and a treasure hunt to
learn the layout of the school.
Mrs Blount said “Our school prides
itself on its caring environment and
moving from a small rural school into a
large secondary school can be
daunting for young people. The aim is
to help some of the less confident
students feel more comfortable with
the transition and to be a part of the
school from the very beginning.”
photo courtesy of John Corfield
Keeping You Informed
Parents and carers will be aware that
we have been working throughout the
year to keep you up to date with
school life through our improved website.
Winners of £100 prizes with
Headteacher, Mr Lunt.
tions on the Home page we have also
introduced a monthly “blog” from myself which previews events in the
school. The latest covers the settling
in of our Year 7s. We are looking to
www.churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk improve the calendar section so that
parents can be informed of events and
As well as our traditional “Important have added a regular set of Sports
Announcements & Latest News” sec- Fixtures in the News section. Also
here you can find all copies of press
releases and letters home.. We are
also reviewing ways in which we might
be able to post homeworks which I
know would be of interest to parents.
As the winter approaches and
mindful of how early the first snows
came last year may I also remind parents that we will endeavour to post
information relating to coaches and
possible school closure by 07.00am.
on any morning where there is concern about the inclement weather conditions.
Thank you to all parents and carers
for your ongoing support.
S Lunt, Headteacher
What the students say • friendships • cool • happiness • self belief • empowering • scenic • enjoyable • understanding • fun
NEWS
send your news in to: susan.fletcher@churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENTS
A SPLASH OF COLOUR ON THE LONGMYND
CAN YOU HELP THE ORGANISATION
SAMARITANS‟ PURSE TO FILL A
SHOEBOX FOR A CHILD IN ANOTHER
COUNTRY WHO WILL RECEIVE NO
OTHER CHRISTMAS GIFTS?
Complete shoe boxes should be coveredpreferably in Christmas wrapping paperand left open
- OR Individual offerings can be brought in and
we can put them together and make up
shoeboxes.
Donated items must be NEW and could
be suitable for boys or girls any age
between age 2- 10 (You can choose
which).
Gifts could include:
- Packet of sweets (but NOT chocolate) –
Sell by date must be March 2012 or later
- Small cuddly toy (no sharp parts)
- Writing equipment: ball point pen/
pencil/ rubber/ crayons/ felts/ pencil
sharpener/ pencil case/ note book (with
ruled lines or blank pages)/ ruler
- Stickers, Small balls.
- Small safe toy eg. little car/ truck/
wooden yo yo, etc.
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Small hair brush or comb
- Woolly hat or scarf or gloves (but no
other items of clothing)
- Colouring book ( but not books with
words)- Hair bobbles
Please bring donations to Mr Wright‟s
Office – Boxes have to go by early Nov!
Our annual sponsored walk took
place in glorious sunny weather on
Friday 30th September. All members
of the school community took part
and as usual student dressed in a
variety of colourful inventive outfits,
representing their new house colours.
Hazler were first to set off dressed in
blue. They were followed by Lawley
dressed in green and after them was
Ragleth in yellow Last but not least
was Caradoc in red.
Students and staff followed a route
along the Carding Mill Valley up to the
Long Mynd and returning to school
SUPPORTING EACH OTHER
via Batch Valley.
After the final
checkpoint
at
school
students
enjoyed free hot dogs.
Our overall target for the walk is to
raise £10,000 to provide more
computer facilities for the school.
This will benefit all students – both
now and in the future. As usual we
will also be using funds raised to
support our charities.
This event always proves to be an
extremely popular fun day for all
involved.
(Photos courtesy of John Corfield)
FREE BOOKS FOR STUDENTS
Many thanks for your support.
Mrs Moor
Coming soon, Peer Mentors. Mr
The Mentor’s Role:
Smith is delighted to have over 30 To not judge, To listen; To help you
Year 10 students express an find solutions; To be reliable and
interest in becoming Peer Mentors. trustworthy; To be open-minded; To
be friendly and approachable; To be
What are Peer Mentors?
supportive.
A mentor is someone who you can
Some of the things you can talk to
talk to about any concerns that you
a peer mentor about; Settling in at
have both inside and outside
school;
Worries
over
work.;
school.
Difficulties with friends; Bullying;
A mentor is a student who will
Exam
or
revision
support;
listen to you, they can‟t make
Difficulties at home. The peer
decisions for you but can help you
mentors will be given training in
think through options, problems or
listening skills and confidentiality so
concerns.
that they will be confident and
They support, lead by example,
skilled in helping you. Information
they listen and can assist you when
on how to contact a peer mentor will
you are experiencing difficulties.
available soon.
SHREWSBURY SHIRT
RAFFLE
Win a signed Shrewsbury town football
shirt. Tickets only £1.00 each Available
from Housmans bar/restaurant. All
proceeds going to Stretton Magpies
football club.
Raffle to be drawn on
28th November 2011
2
Lucy Walker, Lily Tilson, Molly Wright
Year 7 students at Church Stretton
School have been choosing free
books as part of the Booked Up
programme. Students choose their
books from a list of specially
selected titles.
aim is to encourage reading for
pleasure and independent choice.
Titles chosen by students include
“The Truth about Leo”, “Kick off” and
“Why is Snot Green?”
The scheme, which was launched in
2007, is run by the national charity
Booktrust which aims to give a free
book to every child starting
secondary school in England. The
Bright Student Switched On
Year 11 student, Jonathan Aze,
enjoyed a unique work experience
course at the end of last term. The
course was run at the National Grid
Training Centre near Newark,
Nottinghamshire in partnership with
the
independent
charity,
The
Smallpeice Trust. These courses are
part of an engineering programme of
residential courses to help students
learn
and
develop
skills
in
engineering, design, technology and
manufacturing.
During the five-day course Jonathan
worked with engineers from the
National Grid to see first-hand how
the supply of energy works. He also
had the opportunity to explore the
scale of „hardware‟ used to keep our
lights on and our gas flowing. This
included a tour around a major power
station and a visit to a gas
compressor site. The course ended
with a conference style dinner with a
guest speaker.
Autumn 1 • 2011
NEWS
SPORTING SUCCESS
COMMUNITY ISSUES
TOWN COUNCIL NEWS
SILVESTER HORNE INSTITUTE 27TH
OCTOBER 2011
Not to be outdone Katie Cooke's U13
Girls have also made it through 2
rounds of the English Schools having
beaten Nunnery Wood, Worcester (3
-1) and Hadley Learning Centre (20). A tough home tie against the
winners of Thomas Telford or
Madeley
Academy
awaits.
PE Report Autumn Term
By Mr Ward
Since returning in September the
students
of
Church
Stretton
School have really hit the ground
running! In my four years here I
have never seen so many fixtures
being played, and happily I have
never seen so much success.
On the football front we have won 13
Our biggest scorers have been our
U15 Boys. Jordan Wells' boys have
been in inspirational form racking up
a 10-0 win away at Shrewsbury
School before hitting 14 past
Abraham Darby Academy. A recent
of our 14 fixtures so far making 6-2 win over William Brookes has
progress in 8 different competitions moved us up to 30 goals over 3
on a county and national stage. games.
Not bad at all boys!
Connor Leask's U13s have made
most
progress
having
made Our new U12 boys have also shown
it through to the last 64 of the real promise. Joe Ashley and Will
national cup, beating Abraham Darby Griffiths have already shown their
Academy (6-0), Oswestry School (6- potential by making the U13 team.
1) and Ludlow (3-2) so far. A win Fixtures will come thick and fast after
against Priory after half term could half term for Ben Crump's new boys.
lead to some long away trips in
our quest for national glory. Although the Rugby county cups are
yet to begin our boys have started
the year in good form with Regan
Jordan's U15s putting 50 points past
the Marches School. The reward for
the win was a tough match against
Ellesmere
College
and
although Stretton lost out on that day
we bounced back to beat Bridgnorth
Endowed by 60 points a fortnight
later.
But who said Rugby was for boys? In
the recent British Army County
Championships our girls ran out
winners at Telford Rugby Club and
after
being
crowned
County
Champions
we
were
asked
to represent Shropshire at the West
Midlands Champs. We entered a tag
and contact team into the tournament
and although the tag team lost out in
the semi finals the contact team went
on to win the competition and were
crowned West Midlands Champions.
Chrissie Schlank's team were
unbeaten throughout the day and a 5
-0 victory over the Alrdridge School,
Walsall in the final sealed the deal.
Well done girls!!
opportunity of learning about
engineering through a series of
presentations
and
practical
workshops.
ENGINEERING
EXPERIENCE
Music
Success
At the end of last term nine of our
students benefitted from a unique
hands-on learning experience at
Harper Adams University College
in Newport.
The four day
residential
programme
was
organised by The Smallpeice Trust
who provided them with the
Students attending the course
were Tom Crump, Joe Butler,
Henry Gibbs, Tom Lewis, James
Griffiths, Owen Hotchkiss, Robyn
Beaumont, Lydia Powell and Josh
Sansom. Working in teams, the
students worked on real-life
challenges organised by BMW,
Rolls Royce, the Royal Navy and
Jaguar Land Rover, giving them an
insight into careers in different
engineering industries.
The social programme included
a film night, sports activities and a
formal dinner and disco.
Joseph Hearle – Grade 3 Jazz Piano – Merit
Lottie Jones – Grade 5 Piano – Pass
Megan Marshall – Grade 4 Piano – Merit
Henry Gibbs – Grade 5 Trumpet – Pass
William Hunter – Grade 6 Trumpet – Pass
By Joe Derry & Charlotte Ruscoe
Year 11 English students are
studying „Of Mice and Men‟ by John
Steinbeck. This powerful story is
very effective as a stage play and
Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury
recently hosted a production of it
which Year 10 and 11 students were
invited to attend. This brand new
version of the highly regarded stage
adaptation was directed by the
National Theatre‟s Alan Cohen. This
classic tale is set against the
backdrop of the Great Depression,…
George and the slow-witted Lenny
are good buddies desiring only to
own a farm and live off the fat of the
land. With the Great Depression
leaving its indelible imprint on the
lives of American people, living the
dream proves to be even harder than
the two pals imagined…….
Bob Welch, Mayor of Church Stretton with the Duke of Edinburgh students
For more details or booking enquiries
please contact the Town Council on
01694 722113.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND FAYRE
19TH NOVEMBER 2011
Parts of the High Street, Square and
Churchway will be closed to traffic on the
above date to facilitate Christmas stalls,
hot food and drinks. Between 12 noon –
4.30 pm street characters - Reindeers,
Snowman, Christmas Pudding and the
Elf will circulate. The Sabrina Brass
Band
and
the
Church
Stretton
Strummers will provide entertainment in
the square along with an old fashioned
barrel organ in Sandford Avenue.
This year the Christmas Grotto will be
located in an area at the rear of Stretton
Outdoor Camping (next door to Wrights
Estate Agents).
St Laurence‟s Church will host the
Christingle service at 4 pm. Children will
parade to the Market Square at 4.55 pm
and at 5 pm Father Christmas will switch
on our Christmas lights. This will be
followed by carol singing for all.
Tom Beaumont, events co-ordinator,
thanks everyone involved for giving so
much of their free time to make this very
special event enjoyable.
If anyone would like any further
information on anything on which the
Town Council is involved please contact
Eileen Roberts on 01694 720086.
There is also an opportunity for
students to see another play that
Year 11 English students are
studying, „Journey‟s End‟ by R C
Sherriff.
This is at the Grand
Theatre, Wolverhampton.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS
We were delighted to welcome the
Mayor of Church Stretton, Councillor
Bob
Welch
to
the
recent
Headteacher‟s Afternoon Tea. He
presented the Duke of Edinburgh
participants
with
their
Bronze
certificates and congratulated them
on their success. To achieve this
award the students completed an
expedition in the Long Mynd and
Stiperstones area. The students
spent two weekends walking and
carrying all their kit and supplies.
Many of them have also just
completed the expedition section of
their Silver Award.
Former Church Stretton student,
Hannah Fox, recently achieved her
The Town Council has overseen a major
refurbishment of the Silvester Horne
Institute.
New seating, an energy
efficient heating system, updated kitchen
and an extension to the rear of the
building have been added to give
additional space.
This upgrade allows more flexible use
of the building for conferences, private
functions, weddings, dances, concerts
and plays plus better facilities for local
clubs and organisations.
The relaunch of the Institute will take
place on 27th October 2011 between
4pm-7pm, with formal cutting of the
ribbon at 5pm.
Everyone is most
welcome to pop in and see what we have
to offer.
CHURCH STRETTON SCHOOL NEWS
gold award. She was presented her
award by Prince Philip at St James
Palace. Hannah spoke to the Duke
and told him about the floods she
experienced when on her Gold
expedition in Wales.
A new Bronze group is now being
set up at the school with meetings
due to start after half term.
Photos courtesy of John Corfield
Hannah Fox outside St James Palace
www.churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
Shrewsbury Road, Church Stretton,
Shropshire, SY6 6EX
Articles to:
susan.fletcher@churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
Phone: 01694 722209
Fax: 01694 722417
PTA: office@churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
Headteacher: Mr Steve Lunt
Chair of Governors: Mrs Trudie Blackburn
Designer & Editor: Muriel.R@shropshirelg.net
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3
MORE NEWS
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Update from your Parent Teacher Association
Church Stretton School Parent
Teacher Association (PTA) welcomes
all parents and carers to our busy
school community.
We are an
informal and friendly group who raise
valuable funds and offer assistance to
the school and its pupils.
In the past we have raised enough
money to buy the school‟s red
minibus, paid for digital cameras,
funding
for
the
Headteacher‟s
Afternoon Teas, plus much more. We
also make financial contributions to
many activities such as the Summer
School for new pupils, which some of
your children might have recently
attended. It was a great success.
of years ago – watch this space for
further details.
As you can see there is a lot going on
but we are always looking for new
fundraising ideas and/or a bit of help,
even if it‟s only baking a cake or
spending an hour or two serving teas
at one of the school concerts. We
meet on the second Wednesday of
each half term, usually at a local pub,
or sometimes we just go out for a
curry. Our next meeting is on 9th
November, 7.00 pm at the Bucks
Head, Church Stretton. I joined the
PTA five years ago when my daughter
started Church Stretton School
because I live outside of the town and
I knew very few people involved in the
school. I have made some good
friends. You are more than welcome
to come along and just say hello if you
feel that you don‟t want to make a big
commitment. Any of the committee
members can be contacted via the
school office or go to the school‟s
website for more information.
October
24 - 28
31
Half Term
SCHOOL STARTS (Week B)
November
9
12
25
30
PTA Meeting ( 7 pm Bucks Head)
PTA Craft Fayre
Headteacher‟s Afternoon Tea
Full Governors Meeting
December
1
8
12
14
16
Year 10 Progress Evening
Winter Wonderland Concert
Headteacher‟s Afternoon Tea
Leavers Presentation Evening
End of Term (early finish)
———————————— 2012 ————————————
January
You should have had a letter from the
school inviting you to join our 200
Club, or renew your membership if
you already own a number. This is
your chance to win some money and
raise funds for the school at the same
time. On the 12th November the PTA
will be hosting our main fund raising
event of the year which is the school‟s
annual Craft Fayre. Also, in the near We look forward to meeting you.
future we hope to organise a Band
Night which will be a repeat of a very
Alison Themans (Chair)
successful evening we held a couple
3
4
Professional Development Day
Start of Term (Week A)
Year 5 Activity Day
It is very important that the information held
in our computer system regarding your
son/daughter is up to date. Can you
please make sure that you inform the
school office of any changes to your
address, telephone number or any medical
details. Thank you.
ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
We would like to remind parents/carers:
On the first day of pupils absence parents/
carers must telephone school - 01694
722209.
We now have an answering
machine service to prevent delays.
ON THE DAY OF RETURN please send a
note to explain absence.
Hospital and dental appointments should
be accompanied by appointment cards or
letters.
Where
possible
dental/doctors
appointments should be made outside of
school hours. If this is not possible pupils
should report to office with appointment
card as proof of treatment and return to
school as he/she is able to do so.
YOUTH CLUB OPENING TIMES
homework and assignments. Open to
Years 7-10. No need to book
computers;
experienced
adult
guidance, printing facilities and a free
At the Discovery Centre Craven Arms.
snack! Meet your friends or bring one
Monday & Wednesday
4.00 - 6.00
along with you. Need more details?
pm. Drop in at a time to suit you, we
Telephone 01588 676060
meet in the Craft Rooms. Support with
Former student, Michael Monteith has
been named Apprentice of the Year
by his college tutors thanks to his
effort and commitment. Michael, a
trainee electrician, is an apprentice
with Total Response Ltd, the property
maintenance arm of Shropshire
Housing Group.
PERSONAL INFORMATION/
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
(Term time only)
Wednesday
Shropshire Youth 3.30 - 6.00 pm
Spanish Lessons 4.00 - 5.30 pm
Homework Help
6.00 - 7.00 pm
Reach (ssyf)
7.00 - 9.00 pm
Friday
Open session DJing lessons, Table tennis
coaching 3.30 - 5.30 pm
SSPIN (SSYF) Girls Group 5.30 - 7.00 pm
FREE STUDY
SUPPORT
APPRENTICE
OF THE YEAR
NOTICE BOARD
Michael also attends day release at
Shrewsbury College of Arts and
Technology where he has been
chosen as the star performer among
the first year apprentices on his
course. Michael‟s tutor commented
that he had worked hard and with
much enthusiasm.
“He is a fine
example of how a young person can
take on an apprenticeship and run
with it to create their own path to a
hopefully
long
and
successful
professional career.”
BAG2SCHOOL
At the beginning of term, over 200
Year 5 pupils from 13 different primary schools attended an action
packed Activity Day at Church Stretton School. Pupils took part in a
wide range of activities including
African drumming, a circus skills
workshop and science show, indoor
athletics and activity run by RAF
Cosford.
Forty of our Year 9 students acted as
mentors during the Activities Day
which was organised by Mrs Sam
Jones. Primary schools taking part
were Stokesay, Condover, St Lawrence, St George‟s (Clun), Longnor,
Wistanstow, Dorrington, Rushbury,
Longden, Church Preen, Clunbury,
Onny and Oakmeadow.
Our last Bag2School collection raised £260
for the school. A big thank you to everyone
who donated items. Bag2School is a free
fundraising scheme established in 2001.
They operate throughout the UK, collecting
and selling unwanted textiles to importers
and wholesalers in many countries of
Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and
Asia.
SCHOOL WEBSITE
Exam timetables and potential employers
for work experience are on the school
website at:www.churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
(Photo courtesy of John Corfield)
For advertising please contact: debbie.lowther@churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
MYND D.I.Y
OPEN TO THE TRADE & PUBLIC
FOR ALL YOUR DIY PRODUCTS
E.J & G.J GROOM
BUILDING CONTRACTORS
OPEN:
PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL ITEMS,
PAINTS
SILICONES, NAILS SCREWS,
HAND TOOLS,
TIMBER AND MUCH MORE...
Mon, Tues, Thurs &
Fri
8:30am—5:00pm
GROOM THE BUILDERS YARD
MYND INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
CHURCH STRETTON
TEL/FAX 01694 724427
Wed
8:30am-1:00pm
Starts January 2011, Tuesday evenings, fortnightly
3.35pm – 5.30pm
See school website for latest film details
Open to members only, to join collect your application
form from the school office or the English
department .
Free membership
& entry to all students
Brambledene, Mynd Industrial Estate,
Est.1983, employing local
Church Stretton SY6 6PG
highly skilled craftsmen.
Our attention to detail has
Tel:01694 723436 Fax: 01694 724564
seen us presented with
VAT No. 404 1040 24
prestigious awards includEmail: office@groombuilders.co.uk
ing ‘Builder of the Year 2008’
Web: www.groombuilders.co.uk
best commercial Building.
All enquiries phone or visit our website
Works undertaken:
Renovations, Extensions,
New Builds & General
Maintenance, Purpose made
Joinery, softwood & hardwood.
Church Stretton School
Peppers clothing shop in Church Stretton will now stock
the entire range of the Trutex uniform
approved by the secondary school.
Uniform prices will be the same as Trutex Direct.
For more information contact Peppers:
tel: 01694 722724 or email rjdpepper@btinternet.com
22 Sandford Ave Church Stretton Shropshire SY6 6BW
Music Lessons including
guitars, woodwind,
all brass,
all strings, percussion.
Enquiries to Mr Womble, Head of Music
Tel 01694 722209
office@churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
CHURCH STRETTON NEWS www.churchstretton.shropshire.sch.uk
challenging • supportive • passionate • sports • laughter • caring • opportunities • celebration • rugby • individuals • fun