Issue 9 - Heaton Manor

HM
The newsletter for Heaton Manor School
Autumn Edition
Issue Nine - October 2015
Exam
Heroes
at HM
Inside this issue
9
15
Exams Supplement
Junior Maths Challenge
Young Writers Awards
Welcome
everyone
to the
Autumn
Edition of
HM
Welcome again to
another Heart HM.
It’s already halfway through
autumn term and life at school
doesn’t slow down. Even major
days like GCSE and A Level
results days, which are the focus
of many years work for so many
students and teachers, come into
focus and race into the distance.
A year makes such a difference in our
students’ lives, we see them change
distinctly between summer holidays,
the old student vanishes and a new,
more confident, more worldly-wise
reappears. I think it’s one of the
reasons why teaching is so rewarding
and so demanding, as we try and help
mould these ever-changing young
people.
The whole school community is
simultaneously focused on the
future and the present, building firm
foundations today for tomorrow.
Hopefully most of the time, we get
it right.
Certainly as you can see from this
issue, the range and richness of
activities our students and staff
throw themselves into are always
impressive. I’d like to congratulate all
of the students who received exam
results this year, they are a credit to
themselves and the school community
and I do believe the foundations
Heaton Manor has helped them build
them will return benefits for many,
many years.
Lynne Ackland,
Headteacher.
HM
contents
2
Headteacher’s Message
2
Global Business Success for HM Students
15
WI aye! for One in 100 Music Scholar
3
Community in Action
15
Classic Fantastic from HM to NE
4
Getting Under the Fabric of Heaton
15
Much Merit at Junior Maths Challenge
6
Sixth Form Celebrations
16
Sixth Former Researching Maths Barriers
7
More Motivated Learning
17
HM Makes it Malaysia in World Challenge 2015
8
Geography Trip Update
17
Parents! New Year, New Attendance Goals
10
Architect or Engineer?
17
Jet Set Geordies
11
OLT Summit at City Hall
18
Lit & Phil Love for HM Writer
12
2015 Results
19
Gather Ye Marmalade While Ye May
14
GCSE Results
20
Court in the Act
14
A Level Results
21
WI aye!
for One in
100 Music
Scholar
Heaton Manor Year 13 student
Celia Bouch, has been selected from
100 applicants as the recipient of
the Northumberland Women’s Institute 2015
Bursary, set up to celebrate the centenary and to
support and inspire students to reach their goals.
The aim of the bursary is to provide a girl from Northumberland,
North Tyneside or Newcastle with support for continuing into
higher education this September. Having heard about the
bursary through school, Celia entered the competition with a
letter explaining why she wanted to study Music at Edinburgh,
along with references from Miss Reay and Janet Bennett
(Harp Teacher).
After two rounds of intense interviews, Celia was delighted to
be told that she had won the £2,000 bursary.
Celia is incredibly grateful to the Women’s Institute, which
celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, for this unique
opportunity and we at school are very proud of her success.
Celia now hopes to attend
Edinburgh University where
she will study Music.
3
Classic Fantastic
from HM to NE
Not so many years ago
if you’d have said HM
students will be studying
Ancient Greek, Latin and
the Classics people may
have thought you a bit
of an ἰδιώτη.
However, with the arrival of Clare-Marie Roxby,
our new Classics specialist, HM students are
now able to experience ancient language and
culture as part of their curriculum.
New courses in Latin and Classical
Civilisation at both GCSE and A level are
enjoying their first students and there will
also be opportunities for students from
all year groups to study Latin and Greek
outside the timetable.
4
However, it won’t just be our
students benefiting from a
Classical education. After
Louise Delaney’s successful
bid for funding from ‘Classics
for All’ (an organisation set up
specifically to provide grants to
make Classics available in state
schools), Heaton Manor is also founding
and administering the North East Classics Hub.
The guest speaker, renowned author
and presenter Bettany Hughes
The Hub, which includes both primary and secondary schools across Newcastle and the North East, will
provide opportunities for young people to experience Latin, Classical Greek and Classical culture both
in and out of school.
Cultural events hosted by Heaton Manor are
planned for the forthcoming year and will
bring together students from different schools
and different backgrounds to work on projects,
both educational and
enjoyable.
One of the most ambitious ventures, The Britannia Project,
will involve students from the participating schools
researching and documenting life in Roman Britain then
presenting their findings at an evening showcase event
held here at Heaton Manor next July.
The guest speaker for this event will be renowned author and
presenter Bettany Hughes, who has produced a fascinating
documentary on Roman Britain. Students from Heaton Manor will
be there to help make the event a success.
5
Much Merit at
Junior Maths
Challenge
The Maths Faculty is
continuing its run of
success as 39 pupils
gained a merit certificate
in the recent UK Junior
Maths Challenge, a very
prestigious competition
run in schools
throughout the country.
The top 5 who each received a gold certificate are:
Y I H U A
M O
A L A N N A H
Also mentioned were:
Silver
Gerry Nauta Bluer
Amy Smith
Hamish Burr
Neusha Taeei
Jack Dolman
Emma
Summerson
Ewan Wick
Emily Ross
Jacob Cottage
Abdul
Bouchelouche
Laura Wright
D A G L
N A S I R A H
I S H
K H A T U N
A Y M A N
E L K H I N D E R
Reem Ali
Ruby Scott
Jordan Mitchell
B A I N
Ethan Wilson
Isaac Nokes
Ruairidh
Reed-Embleton
6
Bronze
J A C O B
(best in school)
Charlotte Stead
Owen Walls
Benjamin
Butcher
Erin Scott
Noureen Islam
Zara Latif
Frankie Frazer
Can you out-think
our Maths Juniors?
For those who are led to believe that ‘dumbing down’
is an issue, here are a couple of questions that the pupils
had to work through on their own (without calculators of course!)
Flora Burgin
Kate Whitehouse
• T he difference between
1/3 of a certain
number and ¼ of the
same number is 3.
James Wilson
William Jenkins
What is the number?
Oliver Smith
Adam McAndrew
• E
ach of the fractions
2637/18459 and
5274/36918 uses
the digits from 1 to 9
exactly once.
The first fraction
simplifies to 1/7. What
is the simplified version
of the second fraction?
•A
palindromic number
is a number that reads
the same forwards as
backwards (the digits
are just reversed).
W
hat is the difference
between the largest
and smallest five-digit
palindromic numbers that
are both multiples of 45?
Sixth Former
Researching
Maths Barriers
Most students, in most schools, are happy to finish
their A Levels in one piece. However, HM student
Beth Keay extended her studies by completing
invaluable research as part of the EPQ (Extended
Project Qualification).
The EPQ is an extension piece of work to students’ A Levels and the
topic they choose to do their research project on reflects an interest
outside of their studies. Students can either present a written piece
of research or complete an artefact (such as a piece of art or a DT
piece) on a subject of their choice. For her project, Beth researched
whether the language used in Mathematics could be a significant
barrier to understanding for students of different ages.
Beth learned how to research and evaluate
evidence as well as consider how to collect
and analyse various forms of data. To
finalise her project she then had to present
her findings to an audience of subject nonspecialists and then answer various questions
about her research and the techniques used.
We were very proud of the way Beth
presented her findings and the different
skills she learnt through the whole process.
As the qualification is recognised by
Universities because of the research and
application skills it requires, we hope to offer the opportunity
to more Year 12 students next year as part of their ‘Learn to
Learn’ sessions.
7
HM Makes it
Malaysia in World
Challenge 2015
This year, 24 Year 12 students and
four members of staff embarked on
the trip of a lifetime to Malaysia with
World Challenge.
Group One:
This group consisted of 14 students.
After spending one night in Kuala
Lumpur the group travelled to
World
with
This is Heaton Manor’s fifth trip
the Cameron Highlands for the
Challenge, with students responsible for fundraising
‘Trekking’ phase of the expedition.
for their trip before being put in charge of the
All arrangements with regards
budget, accommodation and travelling arrangements
to accommodation and transport
for their group – each student taking a role as group
were made by the students and
everything went to plan. The trek was
leader. We had two groups of staff and students all
arduous and beautiful. The students
learning invaluable life lessons.
completed the trek in good spirits and
demonstrated high levels of teamwork
g day whilst
throughout. Some students decided to complete another trek the followin
on.
Plantati
Tea
others opted to visit the Mossy Forest and the Boh
on the back of a truck!)
On leaving the Cameron Highlands the group headed to Gopeng (partially
country is very green
the
of
area
This
ce.
experien
rafting
ater
and participated in a thrilling white-w
ns.
plantatio
rubber
and
palm
with many
at the United Learning
Back in Kuala Lumpur the ‘Project’ phase began. The project was based
currently has 85
school
The
.
(Burma)
Centre, a school for refugee children from Myanmar
school as their
the
at
live
students
the
of
30
years.
18
to
3
students, the ages ranging from
take place in the morning
Lessons
reasons.
of
variety
a
for
them
of
care
take
to
unable
are
parents
took the morning lessons
and then in the afternoon the children learn through play. Our students
was a very humbling
It
ns.
afternoo
the
during
crafts
and
arts
with
out
then painted and helped
smiles for us but had
beaming
experience working with these children as they always had huge
tears were shed.
many
and
al
emotion
very
was
children
the
very little in material terms. Leaving
support.
ongoing
offer
and
school
the
with
touch
in
keep
to
The group intends
Pangkor. Transport to
Next came the very well deserved ‘Rest and Relaxation’ phase at Pulau
arranged entirely by
was
again
once
the island involved two coaches, a ferry and a taxi which
the students and went without a hitch. The students
had managed the budget so well that they had enough
money to book into a hotel, a luxury after so many low
cost hostels. The hotel was a short walk away from Coral
Beach, with white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters,
hammocks palm trees and monkeys!
Back in Kuala Lumpur, the group and took a ride on the
monorail to the Petronas Towers. Some of the group who
had a head for heights travelled to the top of the Towers,
taking in superb views of the city. After some last
minute shopping for gifts the group headed back to
the airport with mixed emotions and memories which
will last a lifetime.
8
Could do with the content editing a bit so there is sufficient of space to include the quotes
Group 2:
This group of ten students headed straight to
the Jungle in Tasik Chini. Group Leaders had to
organise travel and liaise with Ruth, the owner
of the Rajan Jones guesthouse where we were
staying. Situated in the heart of the jungle, the
students’ first adventure was riding in a pick-up
truck to the guesthouse before being acquainted
with the long house dwellings of the Orang Asli
people in whose village we were staying.
We felt incredibly fortunate to visit the village school and Tribe Leader before learning the art of palm
weaving and
using a blow-pipe. Students were taken on a jungle trek where Ruth kindly pointed out the different
trees, plants
and animals, as well as an exhilarating boat ride deep into the jungle and to a remote village.
Leaving the jungle behind, the group returned to Kuala Lumpur and having sourced travel and accommod
ation,
arrived in Buckit Bintang ahead of the project phase of their trip. Group Two’s project was based at
the House of
Peace, an organisation which works with orphaned, abandoned and abused girls.
Under the guidance of Justine, who set up the organisation and runs the project, girls are looked
after at the
home, are home-schooled and are provided with funds for university education or helped to locate
work. The girls
here are happy, very well educated and good fun. Here our students carried out maintenance tasks
like painting
and re-varnishing furniture, painting fences and cataloguing library books. Students were also encouraged
to
read with the younger children and to play games. Many of the boys in the group surprised us all
with their ballet
dancing skills when prompted by Ruth aged four – who knew?
After a very happy and emotional time at the home, the group then left and travelled for four hours
to the
Cameron Highlands having again organised the accommodation and travel. Here we completed an
adrenaline
charged trek where we climbed 6666ft up jungle terrain before walking a further 5K to the Boh tea
plantation
where we saw how the tea was processed and manufactured. Whilst incredibly difficult, the trek
was worth the
views and the massive sense of achievement (and relief) we all felt once completed.
Having bid farewell to the Highlands, we headed next to Ipoh where we participated in white-wate
r rafting, a
brilliant experience. From Ipoh we headed to Lumut and took the ferry to Pankor Island, an idyllic
beach resort
where we spent two days of rest and relaxation. Here we met the formidable character of Mr Tan
who owned the
resort we were staying in. Mr Tan was a fabulous personality who knew everything about the island
and was an
excellent source of advice to our students. It was here that the teachers’ rooms
were broken into by a group of monkeys who managed to steal
Ms Delaney’s Boh tea as well as break into the First Aid box and
eat several packets of laxatives!
Fully refreshed we then headed to the final destination of Kuala
Lumpur where we visited the Petronas and KL Towers. Students
here had the opportunity to put their bartering skills to the test
in China Town and the visit the fabulous Batu Caves as well as
the Hard Rock Café before heading home on an overnight flight.
The trip was exciting, adventurous and required students to
react to different situations, compromise and plan for the needs
of a whole group. On the return flight it was commented by
British Airline staff that our students were a real credit to
our school – a sentiment agreed upon by the staff who
accompanied them.
Next Stop: Ecuador 2016!
main image credit: Rat007 / Shutterstock.com
9
Parents! New Year,
New Attendance Goals
Get off to the best start.
Make sure good habits begin from day one!
Ensure your child attends school
every day school is open - on time.
Attendance is important because
it will help your child:
• Keep up with their work
• Make the best of all the academic and extra-curricular
opportunities that are available.
Punctuality
It is important your child is on time:
• So they don’t miss the instructions at the start of the lesson.
• So we know your child has arrived safely in school.
• If you know your child will be late or absent, you need to
ring the school first thing in the morning to let us know.
Did you know?
90% attendance sounds good and most of us would be pleased
if we achieved this in a test; however it means missing half
a day of school every week and is deemed as a Persistent
Absence.
The Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence during
term time unless there are “exceptional circumstances”.
If you would like to
meet with the school to
discuss any attendance
or lateness difficulties
you may have with your
child, please contact us.
Together, we can usually
come up with a solution
and offer the right
support from the start.
10
Jet Set Geordies
In the summer HM students joined selected pupils from thirteen North
East schools for a day of Aeronautics, Maths and Engineering.
As guests at the Aeronautical
Engineering Enhancement
Day at Hartlepool Further
Education College, our
students (Danielle Lant,
Jonathan Howard and
Matthew Harding, all
studying Mathematics
in Year 12,) used their
Mechanics knowledge to
design and build their own
model aeroplanes.
During the morning activities
each group was given a
broken ‘chuck glider’ which
they had to repair. The glider
they were given was too
tail-heavy but using some
‘moments’ calculations they
were able to apply a specific
amount of ballast to the front
end and the right wing to ensure
the plane flew - and flew in a
straight line.
The students were then given a
lecture on different types of
aircraft and how mathematical
modelling could be used to
ensure they stay in the air.
They were then set a
challenge to design and build
a working model plane from
scratch using the materials
provided, in just 3 hours.
Our students excelled
and produced a fantastic
Styrofoam plane - this was
good enough to win us 2nd
place.
The group were also given the
opportunity to walk around
the aeroplane hangar they
have on site at Hartlepool
College. This allowed them
to see how planes work in
intricate detail. Both Jonathan
and Matthew were also given
the privilege of having a go on
their in-house simulator. Both
students completed a barrel-roll,
however Matthew crashed when
he attempted the “loop-the-loop”.
The students were exceptional throughout the day and congratulations
to all of them for representing Heaton Manor in such a positive way.
11
Lit & Phil Love
for HM Writer
Jessy Jones, a Year 9 student, recently won the prose category at the inaugural
Lit & Phil Young Writers’ Awards for her age group (11-14). The Lit & Phil is
Newcastle’s legendary library, the biggest independent outside London, formed
in 1793 and home to real history and 160,000 books. Here’s her winning entry:
Sweet dreams? It will remember that...
By Jessy Jones
I love the feeling of air beneath my feet;
light, endless, liberating. I can do it all the
time, relying not just on my eyes, but on my
other senses. Freezing air grates through
my silicon throat as I leap through the pitch
black night, inhaling and processing the
vague chip shop scents that have grown
faint at this altitude. My pistons burn with
friction heat as I ascend, breath growing
ragged and hard pressed. Scaling the outside
of a building, I ascend to the 5th floor. I
enjoy looking into people’s lives through
their windows – today I can see a frustrated
dog yapping incessantly at his owner as the
man attempts to get into bed, a grim look
on his face. I hope to change that sadness
someday for all. Higher, higher, icy gusts
of wind bite my fingers and shred through
my chilled plates, and I – and I – and I – am
frustrated as I have to stop what I was about
to do to check my gears. As much as I love
the freedom of skyscrapers, the ice creates
breaks in my circuitry. Quickly returning to
my climbing, I victoriously drag my whirring
body up onto the roof of a ten story building,
examining the wide field of possibilities. After
the pitch black of the backstreets stretching
from building to building, the maze of street
lights look like fireflies dancing on water. I
set my last sense free, feeling for something
fascinating. Something catches my attention,
and I turn. I‘m curious. Whose memories will I
visit tonight?
He lifts his mask and pulls over his hood.
Turning with a dark purpose, he faces the
flat complex. He is situated in a small grassy
area outside the building, sheltering behind
several larger bushes. Leaves tickle his face,
and he turns round with effort to bush them
off, attempting to remain in his crouched
position. Carefully, he treads forward,
seemingly uncomfortable in the bright
yellow glow that seeps through the glass
12
doors, so much unlike the shadowy, covered
backstreets which his black clothing blends
into. Looking left and right, he emerges
from the shrubbery, slowly standing up.
Passing traffic masks the sound of a metallic
mechanism clicking; he tilts his head to
check the progress of the object in his pocket.
Pauses. Proceeds to open the door and step
into the building. The light that flooded
the reception may have seemed warm and
welcoming to one, but is glaring and exposing
to him, as if it were suspicious of his malicious
intentions.
The world continues to act like nothing has
changed.
You turn, anxious. Pulling up your covers,
the mattress grows warm beneath you,
and not with your own body heat. Whoever
invented these stupid things? What with the
capabilities of computers growing you would
think they’d invent something useful, but no.
Poeple invent these stupid AI monstrosities.
You can remember your own dreams! Why
do you need a computer to store them? Why
do you need your bed to help you to come to
terms with your dreams? But you know why:
because those idiotic companies can make
more money that way. Oh, you almost smile in
bitter hatred. Help sessions, that’s what they
called them. More like forced sessions in hell.
Lying down, you wait in the dark silence that
echoes around your cramped bedroom. It’s
been a long time since they’ve sold normal
beds, and if you don’t have the money for a
posh dream bed, what do they do? Make you
buy a cheap, hacked one that blackmails you
every night until you spend your life away on
a high cost piece of rubbish you don’t want.
The feeling of dread increases in intensity as
you await unconsciousness... well, actually,
after your initial, natural dream you are going
to be forced to be conscious to talk about
it with the bed while still in your still state.
If only you could find the epicentre of your
dreams, find the part of your mind that the
bed tampered with to make you return here
again and again then you could be free, but
no. Once you’ve slept in one, you really can’t
get out, nor can you try to warn others. You
tried once to break the program, but that
made your situation even worse, both in real
life and in your sleep. It made them feel that
they had to give you more talks, feel that
they had to face your so-called problem.
However, tonight you will have to leave your
true dreams of freedom behind to be replaced
with your subconscious’ swirling thoughts
and the bed’s monotonous AI. They’re not
dark or horrifying, but the fake cover of it
all, the automated smiles that force you into
insipid fun activities, kill you slowly. The bed’s
simulated doctors and carers try to make you
happy, but don’t understand that what’s best
for you is to leave. You have no choice but to
face your twisted nightmares, literally. But as
you drift off into oblivion, you pledge to try to
be resistant to its ideals as possible.
Listening to my senses, I hear your cry for
help. Scanning the network, I connect to your
bed in particular, a spike against one bed’s
program that it is struggling to control. I link
myself to you, and though I can feel you now,
find you, you still can’t understand me or
hear me. I feel sadness inside, for when I let
loose my last sense, the electrical pulses that
return to me reveal the despair that echoes
through the unforgiving night, but I can only
help slowly. Tonight, I help you. Venturing
forward, I spring freely towards you, hoping
to make you happier like I made those others
smile again. My final sense can find you,
and it’s pulling me toward you. I just want
this difficult, confusing world to be better.
Tonight, I help you. Nearly there, I run quickly,
for there is not enough time in the night for
the healing actions I wish so desperately
to share. Here. Here you are. Scraping my
metallic nails down the side of the brick wall,
I peer in through your 7th floor bed room
window. I raise my fist, pull it back, and then
with my mechanical strength push it forward.
The glass cracks. I can talk to you now.
He jerks at the sudden crash of a window
as it shatters. Having passed through
the reception, he makes his way up dull
grey stairs, hurrying slightly to satisfy his
bloodlust. Thud thud thud go his feet, though
he doesn’t care, and appears to be more
preoccupied with looking out for anyone and
everyone, hoping nobody sees him. The dingy
staircase goes on and on, working upwards
in a constant motion, up and along, up and
along. He scuffs his feet, stalking towards
the door of the person who wronged him.
Still the mechanism clicks and whirs, a faint,
light blue, neon light shining through the
thin material of his jacket. His vengeance
won’t be physical, no, that would be too
short-lasting and too brutish. Slipping his
hand in his pocket, he comforts himself with
the machine’s presence. The stairs stop. He is
at the 7th floor entrance. He steels himself,
swallowing any doubt. He can’t think about
it going wrong now, even though he’s not
completely sure how his machine works....
no. He pushes on the door and enters.
Yet again, you are cornered by the smiling
workers and doctors, ready to talk about
your most recent dreary dream. Your natural
dream has been and gone, it was short lived
today. You look at the exit that never opens,
the fake sun shining into this bright yellow
examination room that never changes, and
once again resolutely ignore the things trying
to talk at you. You hate them.
CRUNCH
I jump down onto the shards of glass that
litter the floor to aid you in your time of need.
BANG
He strides purposefully in, machine ready in
hand.
What?
You turn your head in panic. Nothing has ever
changed before, why has your dream been
interrupted by these source-less, echoey
sounds?
He spins about, shocked. Who is this? Who, on
the night that he has planned for so long, has
come in and messed up his ambition?
I fall through the sharp glass into the
cramped, dingy apartment. I see you, asleep,
and I see him. I scrape my plating on several
glass needles, but only notice when one flies
int- int- int- into my head as it knocks the
floor. Frustrated, I ignore it. I have to help you!
I look down at the bed, and run for the port
that will allow me to directly connect with and
influence your dreams.
He sees the newcomer and
watches it as it moves, almost
in slow motion, towards the
bed port. No! He can’t let
them interrupt the dream,
on this night of all nights. He
pulls out the furiously whirring
mechanism and runs for a port.
All you can see is a hazy mess. You’re
still stuck in the counselling room, but
through the frosted wall of glass that
the sunlight previously filtered
through you are aware
of two people running
quickly towards you.
I must reach you.
I reach out my arm,
snapping my wiring
into place and plug
myself in, connecting
myself to your bed.
He pushes in his
machine, and as
he establishes
a connection a
shocks jolt the
bed.
Now you see
them both.
They appear
in your cell.
The
drone
was
sent to
take you into
an endless sleep
and destroy any trace of you,
but it came thinking it was
doing good, just another slave of the
company, however, the man is different.
The man who you used to work with is
fuelled by anger. You went to the man’s bed
and sold his dreams, his life, for a chance
of escape, and now he has come to
completely destroy yours. All that his life
got you was more lucidity inside your
dreams, a slightly larger chance of resilience,
but nothing else. There is no turning him
back. The ever smiling characters begin to
glitch and crack apart. The dream falls apart,
mixing with your old ones. Regular, confusing
dreams warp the characters, and the drone
and your colleague look about in panic.
He doesn’t know what he’s doing; he didn’t
know that the virus would work like this.
He thought he knew what he was doing,
but he was never sure, he could never
be certainThe ground shakes, and you fall into the
mess of colours and images and warped
ideas. You see a black cloud emerge, the
virus, and it heads for the drone. Crawling
forward in a broken, pixelated haze it
lunges suddenly at the drone-
BANG
TSHKAK
The bed can’t cope with this
stress. Electricity cracks and
sparks as it tries to subdue
the virus furiously. Both the
bed and the drone begin to
malfunction. All three
figures twitch in the
apartment, only
vaguely aware of
the real situation,
struggling to get
out of the dream
and escape
the building.
The bed nears
critical usage, and
as the virus completes its
last act the drone awakens.
BAM
Crackling... softly...
Looking over my shoulder, safe on the roof of
an adjacent building, I see the truth of it all.
I used to think that I helped people, forcing
them into submission when all they were
doing was denying the company’s idea of a
perfect world, but now I see the truth. The
cages must break. I think back to the bodies
lying on the floor of the wrecked apartment.
I have already given them an uncontrolled
and unmanipulated sleep. Still, I can hear
the wailing of the lost. I have freed two, and I
can free more. The port that used to lie in my
hand is now cracked and mangled, a mark of
the upcoming revolution. I can get the beds to
work with me. I can enlighten other drones.
The more I free, the better. Time to release
the world.
13
Gather Ye Marmalade
While Ye May
playing at the
famous Hexham
Gathering
Folk Marmalade, Heaton
Manor’s exceptional folk
ensemble, recently had the
honour of playing the now famous Hexham Gathering. Marmalade
member, Year 10 student Etta Faraday-Smith, describes the day.
The Gathering is organised by Sage Gateshead
and has lots of local folk groups performing
throughout the day, ranging from primary
schools to some of the country’s most wellknown professional folk musicians like Eliza
and Martin Carthy, as well as international
artists like Tim Eriksen.
We set off at the ridiculously early time of 8.30
am from the Central Station. Starting at 10.15
am, we played 7 different slots in total, from
outside Hexham Abbey to the Queen’s Hall. We
took part in an outdoor Ceilidh at the bandstand
in Hexham Park, had a bit of a wander around
Hexham market and bought delicious pies.
All in all, we had a ‘fabulicious’ time. Photos
and video clips to prove it are on the school
website.
If you want to come and see what we do, or
perhaps even join us in time for next year’s
Hexham Gathering, we rehearse every
Wednesday in MU8 from 2.40 pm until 4pm.
Any instrument welcome – at the minute we
even have saxophones.
Court in the Act
As part of the Advanced Sociology course students study a module focusing on crime and
deviance. To help students gain insight into how the Criminal Justice System operates, HM
Sociology students visited Newcastle Law Courts on the Quayside and had the opportunity
to observe morning court proceedings. Being a Crown Court, the trials in session were
dramatic and students found the experience enlightening to say the least.
In the afternoon, students attended workshops organised by the Sociology Department
at Newcastle University. As well as meeting Sociology students from another
college, students learnt about embarking on a Sociology degree,
as well as participating in interactive workshops
on childhood and social
stratification.
14
Global Business Success for HM Students
KPMG is one of the ‘Big Four’ international consulting firms and one of
the most sought-after employers in the world. Eversheds is a ‘Global
Elite’ law firm. Both have recently recruited Heaton Manor Sixth Form
students into their talent development programmes.
Luke Clark joins KPMGs Audit School Leavers
Programme and Jake Bell, Eversheds’
Unlocked Academy. As you can imagine, Luke
and Jake faced stiff competition from a high
number of applicants, yet their maturity, raw
talent and preparation resulted in their new
jobs that will lay the foundations for what we
are sure will be stellar careers. The KPMG Audit School Leavers Programme
will provide Luke with employment and
training which will equip him to become a
fully qualified Chartered Accountant. The
Eversheds Unlocked initiative will assign
Jake to an Eversheds partner as a mentor
throughout his University studies. This
will enable him to benefit from regular
Community in Action
We talk often about the importance of the wider community to our school
and our ethos of helping everyone, regardless of their ability. Recent work by
our students exemplifies this approach admirably.
HM students have been working closely with
Elim Pentecostal Church and the Trussell
Trust Newcastle East Foodbank to help local
people in need.
After working on projects around
homelessness and poverty, the students really
wanted to make a difference in their own
community. Admirably they chose to help
local people that are in crisis and who would
go hungry without the support of a foodbank.
A group of students contacted the church to
find out how they could help. After meeting
with Alex Morgan, the Youth and Young Adults
Pastor at the church, they were horrified to
find out the extent of the poverty in the area
and more widely. They learned over 13 million
people in the UK are living below the poverty
line and, from 2013-2014, 913,138 people
needed a three-day supply of food from
Trussell Trust foodbanks to be able to eat.
They were even more upset to learn that this
included 320, 205 children.
learning and
development
activities
designed
to give him
access to a
career in law.
< Jake Bell
We wish them
both every
success in
their chosen
routes.
Luke Clark >
just four weeks and hope to do this again in
future. We’d like to say thank you to everyone
that contributed and helped us.”
Students plan to collect for the foodbank
twice a year so they can continue to help
vulnerable people in the local community.
Our Year 12 BTEC students also worked
during ‘Learn to Learn’ on a community based
project organising and marketing a series of
football matches in order to raise funds for
the Heaton Manor School Community Food
Bank. The students raised over £100.
Philippa Major, a Year 8 student who
led the project said: “When we found
out how many children were going
hungry through no fault of their own,
we realised we needed to do something
to help. We decided we wanted to
collect food and clothing that could be
given to those that need it urgently. We
made flyers and delivered them around
the local area to ask people to help us.
We also asked people in school and in
the local housing offices. We are really
pleased with what we’ve collected in
Getting Under the
Fabric of Heaton
HM students were invited to take part in a workshop with Heaton textile
artist Donna Cheshire to produce a large scale textile piece for the
Heaton Festival 2015 which took place in June.
Students got the opportunity to work
alongside Donna to create part of a large
scale map of the Heaton area, showing iconic
businesses and buildings as well as local parks
and gardens. Students used paint and print
making techniques to complete sections of the
map and were able to personalise sections that
were important to them, for example colouring
in their own home in a different colour to
the rest of the street, and adding symbols to
represent locations that were important
to them. This was then brought together
with the other parts completed by schools
and community groups to create a giant map
of Heaton to show everything that makes
Heaton fabulous.
On the day of the festival, people were
able to add to the map making the
work a truly collaborative piece and a
centrepiece of this community event.
15
Sixth Form
Celebrations
In June we saw one of those bittersweet
moments where we celebrate the success of
our students and see them ready to move on to
bigger things. Year 11 celebrated their Prom
evening at the Discovery Museum’s Great Hall
which looked superb in a blue and silver theme
referencing the blue circle of their uniform in
Years 7-10, then the grey sweatshirt in Year 11. It was an amazing evening of magic, dancing, singing
and glamour (and pizza) for over 230 of HM’s
finest who we are happy to have worked with
and sorry to see leave. 16
Geography
More Motivated
Trip Update
Learning
In February more than one hundred Sixth
Form students, selected by their subject
teachers for outstanding effort, were
rewarded with a trip to Lane 7, a boutique
bowling alley in Newcastle City Centre.
The Lane7 celebration event was just one part of the
rewards programme used in Sixth Form to celebrate
the effort of our students, helping to motivate them
in their work
towards achieving
the highest grades
at AS and A level,
as well as enjoy
their time in
Sixth Form.
Next school year we will
be running a number of
extra-curricular school
trips entered on the
geography curriculum.
For more details please
contact Miss Bailey, or
any one of the Geography
Department to get a letter:
Year 8 Saturday 7th November 2015
York World of Chocolate
Year 9 –
Saturday 28th November 2015
Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh
Year 7 –
Saturday 30th January 2016
High Force waterfall
Year 10 –
Saturday 23rd April
Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh
For students entering Year 10
and Year 12 in September 2015,
there is the opportunity for
them to apply for a place on the
trip to Iceland in February halfterm 2017.
We’re always very keen
to making learning ‘real’
by taking the classroom
out into the working
environment and in July a group
of Sixth Form students were given
a rare opportunity to visit the site
of the old Co-operative building in
Newcastle City centre.
Architect or
Engineer?
Originally built in 1902, the grade 2
listed building is in the process of being
converted into a hotel, gym and retail
units and, in a bid to encourage more
young women into the construction
industry, we were invited to learn more
about this iconic building, the plans and
the careers of two of the women who
work on site.
It was an incredibly interesting day
and really inspired our young women
who are already considering careers
in architecture and engineering. The
building work is due to be finished in
November so another trip is planned
when we return to school in
September.
17
NI
R
LEAR
UST O
SEBUR
N
U
OLT Summit at City Hall
Ouseburn Learning Trust is one of the major developments HM has been involved
with and promises to offer major opportunities to all of our students and staff.
NG T
Earlier this year representatives from
each of the Ouseburn Learning Trust’s
School Councils visited each of our partner
organisations to find out more about
what they do, their contribution to our
community, how they work with young
people and career opportunities.
In June ninety-four children
and young people came
together for the Summit
representing the School
Councils of the eight
schools in the Ouseburn
Learning Trust. Elected
members and officials of
the City Council visited the
Summit including:
l Joyce McCarthy: Deputy
Leader
l Joanne Kingsland: Cabinet
Member for Children’s
Services
l Ewen Weir: Director of
Care, Wellbeing and
Learning
l Martin Surtees: Assistant
Director Care, Wellbeing
and Learning (Education)
After an hour of pre-summit
discussion by delegates
in the Pandon Room they
entered the chamber. The
Summit was chaired by
David Attrill from Heaton
Manor and opened by
the BBC’s Jeff Brown.
Summary of
Discussions
What can our partners
do for us?
A key theme was supporting
career choices:
l Work experience
l More general knowledge
about
types of jobs available
l Help in applying for jobs
Sage Gateshead:
Taster sessions on different
instruments
l Advanced tutoring/master
classes
l Instrument loan
l An OLT orchestra
Universities:
l
Sporting facilities/support
Science lab experience
l Coding student support
l Jobs/university courses
l Lectures to enhance
curriculum
(eg science)
l More university students
supporting in schools
Hospitals Trust:
l
l
First Aid Training for students
Port of Tyne
l
Curriculum support –
geography/economics
l
What is important to young
people about the future of our
City?
At the end of these discussions
delegates voted using the
chamber’s electronic system on
which was the most important
to them. The issues are listed
in the order of importance with
main themes:
18
Environment
The most important theme
created much discussion
amongst delegates.
l Movement/transport
l Better cycle/walking routes
l Promotion of electric cars
Litter/local environment
including:
l Too much graffiti
l Chewing gum on the ground
l Too few bins
l Bins not used
l Litter on the ground
l Wanting to establish litter
picking teams
Smoking
l Cigarette ends littering the
ground
l Smoke pollution in doorways
and in parks
l More encouragement of
recycling
Health
Smoking:
l Stopping people from
smoking
l Smoking in doorways/parks
l Dangers of passive smoking
Financial importance:
l Higher financial priority on
prevention
to save money later
Sport provision
More park provision –
children encouraged to be
active in them
l More holiday provision
l More sports between schools
l Focus on dance in sport
l
Youth clubs
Using schools for youth
provision
l Better publicity about what is
available
l
Transport
More crossings on busy roads
Rewards for walking/cycling
l Free transport for young
people
l
l
What else could
our schools do
better together?
There were many ideas:
Transition:
l Older students mentoring
younger
l More Y7/8 visits to primary
schools
l Informal discussions between
secondary/ Y5/6
l Better use of technology for
communication
l Videoing of secondary
lessons to familiarise primary
pupils
Visits
l Between schools to see what
they do well
l Building links across year
groups
l Joint residential for SC reps
l More joint like this year
Tournaments:
l Sports
l Chess/trivia
Shared projects
l Multicultural
l Religions
l Arts
l Major local/regional/
national/international events
Music
l Shared bands, orchestras and
groups
l Battle of the bands
School councils
l Stronger links
l More joint meetings/ working
groups
l Work on school dinners
l Joint fundraising
Conclusions
The school council
representatives of the
Ouseburn Learning Trust are
a passionate, articulate and
informed group of individuals
with many ideas to contribute
to the future development of
our trust.
2015
results
Another year of
great achievement
19
GCSE
2015 Year 11 GCSE Results Success
Many congratulations to our Year 11 GCSE and Btec students who
achieved great results again this year.
Our near 100% pass rate means that once again no student
leaves Heaton Manor without a qualification which continues
to reflect our inclusive ethos of ensuring success and the best
life chances for all students whatever their starting point.
•99% of our students who sat
Art achieved an A* - C GCSE
pass (significantly above the
2015 National Average 76%)
•96% of our students who sat
Further Additional Science
achieved an A* - C GCSE pass
•100% of our
students who sat Music
achieved an A* - C GCSE
pass (significantly above the
2015 National Average 75%)
•98% of our students who
sat Biology achieved an A*
- C GCSE pass (above the
2015 National Average 91%)
•98% of our students who
sat Chemistry achieved an
A* - C GCSE pass (above the
2015 National Average 91%)
•75% of our students
achieved A* - C in Maths
(significantly above the 2015
National Average 64%)
•97% of our students who
sat Physics achieved an A*
- C GCSE pass (above the
2015 National Average 92%)
Success stories:
There were once again a huge number of individual success stories amongst our Year 11 students.
There are too many to mention them all here but the following students achieved results at the very
highest academic level:
• R
obert Hudson achieved an incredible 13 A* grades. This included, amongst others, Separate
Sciences, Computing, History & Spanish. He achieved beyond an A* in Further Mathematics.
• H
enrietta Young achieved 9 A* grades, 3 A grade GCSEs and 1 B grade GCSE. This included, amongst
others, A* grades in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, French and Further Mathematics.
• J ennifer Porteous achieved 6 A* grades, 6 A grades and 1 B grade GCSE. This included A* grades in
RE, Art & design, Mathematics, Further Science and Geography.
• J oe Rainford achieved 6 A* grades, 5 A grade GCSEs and 2 B grade GCSEs. This included A* grades in
RE, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
• B
eth Riley achieved 5 A* grades, 6 A grade GCSEs and 1 C grade GCSE. This included A* grades in RE,
Psychology, English Language Geography and History.
• R
obert Henery achieved 6 A* grades and 4 A grade, 2 B grade and 1 C grade GCSE. This included
A* grades in Separate Sciences, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Computing.
20
Students studying:
Achieved:
Further Maths
91% GRADES A*-C
Maths
75% GRADES A*-C
Core Science
78% GRADES A*-C
Computing
68% GRADES A*-C
Art
99% GRADES A*-C
Music
100% GRADES A*-C
Health & Social Care
88% GRADES A*-C
Psychology
89% GRADES A*-C
Additional Science
70% GRADES A*-C
Further
Additional
Science
97% GRADES A*-C
Students studying:
Achieved:
Biology
98% GRADES A*-C
PE
89% GRADES A*-C
Chemistry
98% GRADES A*-C
Systems
86% GRADES A*-C
Physics
97% GRADES A*-C
English Literature
71% GRADES A*-C
Dance
80% GRADES A*-C
English Language**
69% GRADES A*-C
Drama
86% GRADES A*-C
DE
German
77% GRADES A*-C
Media
74% GRADES A*-C
ES
Spanish
75% GRADES A*-C
** This figure is provisional as we are awaiting the outcome of an appeal
21
A Level
Heaton Manor School celebrates
outstanding A Level results.
Results day 2015 was a joyous one for
Heaton Manor’s Year 13 leavers. Results
were very good and the overwhelming
majority of students got the grades they
needed to go on to their first choice
university.
100%
80%
62%
40%
of our students achieved
at least one A Level
of our students achieved
3 A levels
of students achieved
at least one B grade
of grades were
at least a B grade
All students did well and the majority got into their first
choice university course, continuing the trend of recent years
where Heaton Manor has a progression rate into University
which is significantly above the national average.
Heaton Manor is also celebrating success with its vocational
courses. The average grade for the BTEC programme is
a Distinction and this is especially pleasing as the full
vocational programme is only in its second year.
Student Success Stories 2015:
There are too many to list but among the many successes are:
Philip Burn
A* A* A*
Cambridge University,
Physics
James Paxton
A* A A
Dundee University,
Medicine
Habibur Miah
Distinction, Distinction, Merit
Northumbria,
Accounting
Danny Hunter
A* A* A*
Glasgow University,
Chemistry
Freddy Young
A* A A
Bristol University,
Maths
Jonathan Pease
AAAA
Materials Science & Engineering
Imperial College London
Raffik Ghiti
A* A* A
Cambridge University,
Maths
Charlotte Willis
Distinction*
Business
Katy McCarron
A A* A A
Leeds University,
Pharmacology
22
Faisal Ahmed
Distinction*
Media Production
2015 A Level results
Year 13
A Level*
Students studying:
40%
A*-B
68%
A*-C
Achieved:
GRADES A*-C
Art
85.7%
Students studying:
Achieved:
GRADES A*-C
ealth and Social
H
Care Double Award
75%
Biology
72.7%
Business
88.5%
ealth and Social
H
Care Single Award
100%
Chemistry
73%
History
90%
Computing
83.3%
IT
80%
Economics
88.9%
IT Double Award
100%
English Language
69.6%
Media Studies
91.7%
English Literature
82.6%
Physics
76%
French
100%
Product Design
100%
Further Maths
100%
Russian
100%
Geography
70.8%
Spanish
100%
23
Heaton Manor School
Jesmond Park West,
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7DP
Tel: +44 (0)191 281 8486
Fax: +44 (0)191 281 0381
admin@heatonmanor.newcastle.sch.uk
www.heatonmanor.net
24
N e v e r
S t o p
L e a r n i n g