HEDINGHAM CELEBRATES IN STYLE AT THE ESSEX GOLF

HEDLIGHTS
HEDINGHAM SCHOOL & SIXTH FORM NEWSLETTER - JULY 2015
HEDINGHAM’S
FIRST EVER
TRIP TO
ICELAND
YEAR 11 PROM
HEDINGHAM CELEBRATES IN STYLE AT
THE ESSEX GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
PICTURES
CENTRE SPREAD
Head’s Lines
I AM DELIGHTED to report that
we have had a very eventful and
successful year. Hedingham is a good
school with outstanding students
who are given opportunities to
thrive. Our high standards and
expectations ensure that we remain
popular in the community. Good
practice continues to be established
and
embedded;
empowerment
remains high on the agenda for
staff and students. Our school is a
vibrant, happy community.
I would like to thank all members
of staff and Governors for their
continued commitment and hard
work. The members of the Senior
Leadership
Team
have
been
excellent and I thank them for their
support and expertise in driving
school improvement.
A number of teaching staff are
leaving us this year as follows:
Emma
Gambling
joined
Hedingham in September 2009
and became Leader of Maths in
September 2011. She is a very
committed, supportive and highly
respected member of the Maths
Learning Area.
Fearghal
Crawford
joined
Hedingham in July 2012. He is
an effective and very supportive
teacher of Maths.
Kate Feldman joined Hedingham
as an NQT in July 2014. She has been
an effective and positive teacher of
Art.
Rebecca Bond joined Hedingham
in July 2013. She is a very supportive
and enthusiastic member of the
Humanities Learning Area
Anne
Goddard also joined
Hedingham in July 2013. She
is a supportive member of the
Languages Learning Area.
Deborah
Wiegand
joined
Hedingham in September 2011. She
is a very dedicated and very good
teacher of the Science
Learning
Area
I would like to thank all the
staff who are leaving for their
commitment to the students of
Hedingham School. I wish them well
in their new ventures or positions.
As usual, these pages contain
information
and
pictures
of
activities
which
have
been
happening in school this term,
but I would like to mention a few
highlights as follows:
The Year 13 Summer Ball and
the Year 11 Prom, both held on 25
June, were great occasions as can be
seen from the photographs in this
edition of Hedlights. Our young
people really ‘scrub up’ well and
they thoroughly enjoy themselves at
these events.
The Sixth Form Enterprise
Challenge was, as always, very
vibrant and productive.
The
students were conscientious, busy
and industrious. They enjoyed the
visits to their various businesses.
They all looked very professional
and
their
exhibitions
and
presentations were of a very high
standard. It is very rewarding to see
our students working on a project
that encourages the use of a large
number of skills. The programme
is intense and brings out the best in
those taking part. Congratulations
to Sue Trim and her team for all
their hard work in providing a
superb experience once again for
our students. A great success.
The Dance Show on Wednesday 9
July was exceptional. We have some
very talented dancers in the school
who work hard to bring us shows
like this one; they performed so well.
I know that everyone who attended
just enjoyed every minute. A very
special evening. Many thanks to
Nicola Cook and Kara Challis.
The Summer Concert held on 15
July was superb. It was a lovely
evening of drama and musical
performances with a large number
of talented students entertaining
us. Thank you to Anne Beaumont
and Richard Cull
I am proud to be the Headteacher
of Hedingham School. Our students
are great ambassadors for their
school. There is always a calm,
purposeful
and
constructive
atmosphere in the school which
visitors comment upon. We have a
very strong community ethos which
is demonstrated in a number of
positive ways.
Finally, I would just like to remind
you that the AS and A Level results
are out on Thursday 13 August 2015
and the GCSE results are out on
Thursday 20 August 2015 and we are
now looking forward to celebrating
our students’ achievements.
I wish everyone a very safe, healthy
and enjoyable summer vacation.
The start of the new academic year
is Monday 7 September 2015.
John Panayi, Headteacher
Best Uniform Winners for the second half
of the Easter Term and first
half of Summer term are:
Hedingham School
Print Department
Poppy O’Sullivan • Joe Beavis • Issac Osborn
Highly competitive prices for all your print requirements
Design work undertaken
Photocopying and printing - colour and mono
Lewis Ilett • Archie Gault • Charlotte Hilliard • Ollie Boyle
Macey Brewer • Rebecca Stone • Emily Orbell
Mia Tamburrini • James Rulton • Poppy Oldham
Curtis Chance • Mia-Carra Gibbs • Victoria Love
Wesley Anson • Bailey Fountain
Booklets • Tickets • Flyers • Posters
Invitations • Business cards • Laminating
Printing on canvas & outdoor vinyl banners
Fast, friendly and professional service
All profits used for the benefit of our students
For further information and quotes please contact:
01787 460470 ext 251 • reprographics@hedingham.essex.sch.uk
ND
IO N
THE
AT
JA
CHEY FOU
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CE
YO
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Smile of Arran. Cerys Wrigley-Moss
conducted a sponsored silence whilst
Tom Gentry, Jack Cushney and Toby
Halls rode a sponsored 30 mile cycle
route to help raise money. Madison
Sharp aged 14 and Toby Quinn who is
13, had their heads shaved in Arran’s
memory and managed to raise a huge
of money in this ingenious way. Ben
Gentry, aged 18, taught Arran to play
the guitar and has organised a number
of fund raising concerts in his memory.
Arran’s mum, Mrs Alison Tosh, came
in to school recently to receive a cheque
for £2611, raised by students, from
Head teacher, Mr John Panayi. Many
of the students who had been part of
different fund raising efforts came to
see Mrs Tosh and give her a hug which
she says is of great comfort to her. Mrs
Tosh said, ‘The Smile of Arran’ trust
has been set up in memory of our angel
Arran to help support others in need,
especially children affected by brain
tumors.’ The charity is going from
strength to strength and has raised
over £40,000 so far to help children
which is a truly amazing achievement
and demonstrates the inspiration that
Arran has provided for others.
IN
IT IS OVER A YEAR now since Year
8 student, Arran Tosh, tragically died
from a brain tumour, but although he
is no longer physically with us, Arran
is very definitely not forgotten. During
the year, Hedingham School students
and their families have been very busy
raising money for the charity ‘The Smile
of Arran’ which has been set up in his
memory.
Students have been very imaginative
in the ways they have chosen to raise
funds for the charity. Charlie Coy,
aged 13, had the idea of designing and
selling special wrist bands with Arran’s
name on them in green and white –
the colour of Arran’s favourite football
team, Glasgow Celtic. Thirteen year old
Gemma Morgan and her mum, Nina,
have made Scottie dog stuffed toys,
again in green and white, which have
been sold at events. Jack and Grace
Timms, from Great Yeldham, designed
and sold a CD of songs that Arran
recorded with his band Stopclocks.
A group of Year 9 girls decided to run
a very muddy 5km Race for Life and
donated half of the money they raised
to Cancer Research, a charity close
to Arran’s heart, and the rest to The
PET
B ACK
Still
Smiling
for Arran
Jack
Petchey
Awards
CK
UN
G PEOPLE
CONGRATULATIONS to the Summer
term Jack Petchey Award Winners:
Adam Rogers (April) - Adam
was nominated for assisting the PE
Department at the Girls Rugby Club,
helping younger and older students,
every Wednesday after school.
Adam Rogers
Iskadar Hafdom (May) - Iskadar
was nominated for supporting another
younger student, newly arrived at
Hedingham with reduced English, as
this, for each of them, was not their first
language.
Iskadar Hafdom
Isla Mckenzie (June) - Isla was
nominated for helping out children with
disabilities during the holidays.
She assists helpers in a Holiday Camp
for severely disabled children, thereby
giving their parents a rest for a short
time. She has been doing this for some
time now.
Isla Mckenzie
Snakes,
Spiders
& Science!
HEDINGHAM SCHOOL students had
some interesting new class mates this
week when Zoolab visited the school
for the day, bringing with them an
array of interesting animals including
snakes, spiders, tree frogs and rats!
Students had the opportunity to
meet Colin the Corn snake, who
had beautiful orange markings
and was very happy to be
handled. George the tree
frog was a great hit – Chris
from Zoolab who ran the
day, got him out of his
box and just stuck him on
the wall next to the white
board! While he explained
to the students about the
life of a tree frog, George
wandered up and down
the wall using his little
sticky feet to explore his
new environment. Rosie
the
Chilean
tarantula
wasn’t quite as well liked
by everyone in the room.
She was the size of Chris’
hand and very hairy and
some students (and staff!)
found her leg waving antics
a bit too much and had to
leave the lesson whilst
she was out of her box
(although Chris did assure
everyone that that no one has ever died
from a tarantula bite.) Jake Markham,
aged 11 from Sible Hedingham, said his
favourite animals were the snake and
hedgehog but his least favourite was the
spider: ‘When Chris said he was going
to bring out a tarantula I shouted and ran
out of the room with my hand over my
eyes!’
Pickles, the South African Pygmy
hedgehog, proved very popular despite
the fact that Chris explained she was very
smelly to keep at home. She let children
stroke her prickles and everyone agreed
she was very cute and really adorable.
Princess Katie, a huge white rat, was
very interested in everything that was
going on in the classroom and seemed
to really enjoy the human contact as she
was passed from student to student.
Students also had the opportunity to
look at a 15 foot snake skin, a variety
of huge beetles and some Giant African
Land snails.
All the students in Year 7 took part in the
day, as well as a lot of Year 10 students.
The event was designed to stimulate
interest in Science and the animal world
and also to help students to understand
the classification of different groups of
vertebrate and invertebrate animals.
Eleven year old Lara Fisher from Sible
Hedingham, commented ‘I loved Colin
the snake and it was really interesting to
learn about his habitat and what he eats.
The day was great fun and helped me to
conquer my fear of snakes and spiders.’
Year 7
Trip to
Colchester
ON THURSDAY 2nd and Friday
3rd July, Year 7 students visited
Colchester Football Stadium and
Colchester Castle as part of their
Year 7 Humanities work.
At the stadium they experienced
a guided tour and learnt about why
the stadium had moved site. This
is part of their fieldwork study
looking at the development of urban
areas and how this site is becoming
environmentally and community
friendly!
After a spot of lunch in Castle
Park, students went to the depths of
the castle and saw the Roman vaulted
foundations and then up the biggest
spiral staircase in England right to
the top to see the 200 hundred year
old tree that was planted in one of
the corners during the closing of the
site as a goal.
‘I loved the football stadium as
it was cool to see and going into the
boxes was cool’. (Shannon Bray)
‘Colchester was really cool. We went
to the top of the castle and saw all
of Colchester Park. It was amazing!’
(Tilly Turp)
Year 9 Careers Fair
HEDINGHAM SCHOOL welcomed
in local businesses, sixth forms,
colleges and training providers to
help support young people and show
them what is on offer when they
reach school leaving age.
Supporting at this year’s fair were:
Hedingham Sixth Form
Barrett Heating
London Metropolitan Police
Easi-Hair Academy
West Suffolk College
Splinters Catering
Maycast-Noke
Delphi of Sudbury
Braintree District Council
Colchester Institute/the College
at Braintree
There was also an independent
Careers Advisor in attendance for
students who required a bit more
individual help and guidance.
Some of the student’s quotes
Singing
for a King
FOURTEEN YEAR OLD Cerys Wrigley
Moss from Gestingthorpe has had a
very exciting couple of weeks as she is
a member of the choir chosen to record
the song ‘Hail Richard 111’ which is the
official song that will be used for King
Richard’s reburial in Leicester. The song
will also be played at the exhibition in
Leicester and on educational videos
linked to the story of the last Plantagenet
King. The song was written in honour
of Richard III by Kathleen Shanks who
also wrote the children’s anthem for the
London 2012 Olympics. The reburial of
about the day are below:
Owen Curry 9SD ‘It was interesting
to look around and speak to business
people. The policeman told us what
grades you needed and how to get
into the Police Force.’
Sam Davey 9SD, ‘I enjoyed talking
to the businesses and finding out
about different types of jobs and
how they progressed in their career.
I could understand the different
grades/subjects I might need to
get to do certain jobs. I found the
information useful and how you
need to behave in different types of
jobs.’
Abigail Duncan 9AGO, ‘The
most interesting business was the
catering company because I did not
know how many positions there were
in the catering industry. I also learnt
a lot about the sixth forms/colleges.
They gave me booklets and leaflets
about extended education and the
variety of options after GCSE.’
Fleur Gardner 9MD, ‘The careers
fair was interesting and I learned
quite a bit about the different
businesses and colleges in this area.
I got a lot of information.’
King Richard this week in Leicester
Cathedral, five centuries after his death,
has drawn a great deal of interest from
around the world since his skeletal
remains were found under a car park in
Leicester in 2012.
Cerys was filmed last week by ITV
news singing the song and she was
also selected to be interviewed by ITV
and apparently looked very smart in
her school uniform! The BBC is also
interested in filming the choir in action
so Cerys has that to look forward to.
Cerys commented, ‘Singing for a King
has been an amazing opportunity and
it was great to be part of something
so important. I have a real interest in
History and plan to take the subject
for GCSE so it was fascinating to learn
more about King Richard by being
involved in this project.’
Sun,
Sea
&
Snails
– Le Touquet 2015
ON FRIDAY 17TH APRIL, 43 students
and four teachers made their way to
Le Touquet in the North of France. The
journey lasted 6 hours, but we spent
one hour and a half exploring the ferry
and its shop! Once we finally arrived at
the hotel, we checked in to our rooms
and we went down to dinner. We had
“steak frites” and “éclairs au chocolat”,
délicieux! After dinner, we went on a long
walk around the town and we talked,
laughed and looked at some of the
very pretty houses. On Saturday, after
a yummy breakfast, we walked to the
market. Once there, we spent two hours
exploring the market, and buying many
souvenirs and gifts. We bought selfie
sticks, sunglasses, bandanas… We also
discovered what France had to offer,
including the many smelly cheeses. We
also bought our lunch on the market –
some people decided to buy baguettes
and cheese, others bought pizzas but
some people bought a whole chicken!
We walked to the beach and had lunch
there. We spent about an hour on the
beach where we decided to bury Josh
and Stan in the sand and some people
did cartwheels, which was pretty cool!
After that we went to the chocolate
factory. We had an interesting tour about
how they make the various chocolates
and we sampled some of them, before
buying our own! The two-day visit to Le
Touquet was a great chance to test out
our language skills on the French people
and try some of the delicious food!
Thank you to all the staff, we all had a
very good time!
Pain and
Punishment
THE HISTORY department took
43 Year 11 students to London at
Easter as part of their revision.
They were operated on at the
Surgery Museum and scared out of
their wits at the London Dungeons.
We wish them the best of luck with
their results and for the future.
High jinks at Hanningfield!
YEAR 7 STUDENTS at Hedingham
School abandoned normal lessons
for part of this week and headed
for the reservoir at Hanningfield to
hunt for invertebrates in a variety of
ecological settings. The sun was very
hot but luckily the woodland areas
provided some shade for the students
to work in. They had a lot of fun pond
dipping and identifying a wide range
of different water loving creatures
including juvenile newts or efts. Rachel
Alexander, aged 12 from High Garrett,
commented, ‘It was really cool to find a
great crested newt with my first swipe
with a net. As it was a female I called
her Naomi!’
Then it was off to the woodland area
where students had the opportunity to
‘tree beat’ and search the canopies for
invertebrates which like living amongst
the leaves. There were shrieks as
earwigs and harvestmen landed on
students’ heads as the invertebrates
were shaken from their resting places!
Finally, students dug into deep leaf litter
to explore what invertebrates preferred
to live nearer the ground and compared
this to what they could find in long grass
and nettles on the meadow land.
Impressive
Iceland
Ben Gentry
FIFTY HEDINGHAM School students
and five accompanying teachers had
a particularly exciting Easter holiday
as they took part in the school’s first
ever trip to see the wonders of Iceland
(not the supermarket….!) The students
spent 4 action packed days exploring
natural geothermal spas, spectacular
waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, hot
springs, boiling mud pools and extinct
volcanic craters.
As soon as the group landed in
Reykjavik, they headed straight off
to the famous Blue Lagoon which
is set in a spectacular black lava
landscape. The water is drawn from
a depth of 2000m and is rich in natural
minerals and blue-green algae. As the
temperature of the water is between 30
and 400C and the air temperature was
below zero, it was a great place to
begin the trip! As 15 year old Lily Lee
from Sible Hedingham commented,
‘There were so many extraordinary
sights to see in Iceland and the Blue
Lagoon was really beautiful and so
warm!’
Iceland is not blessed with many
sunny days a year, but the trip was
lucky enough to have 2 glorious days
of bright blue skies and they also had
a snowfall of over two feet in depth
whilst in Iceland which gave endless
opportunities for building snowmen
and having snow ball fights! Visiting
the Solheimajokull glacier in such
snowy conditions meant that the
crampons and ice axes the students
were issued with came in very useful
for the long icy walk in a wonderland
of ice ridges and crevasses.
Brendan Masheder, also from Sible
Hedingham, was hugely impressed by
the landscape and said, ‘Everything
you see is natural in Iceland and
it was so nice to visit things that
weren’t built or man-made in any
way.’ Ellie Pike from Great Yeldham,
who had her 16th birthday while on
the trip, commented “I can’t imagine
a more special way to celebrate my
birthday than being on a glacier with
all my friends”.
During the trip, students had the
opportunity to visit one of Iceland’s
most impressive waterfalls which
has a thundering curtain of water
60 metres high. They walked on
the black lava sand beaches (in the
snow!) and viewed remarkable basalt
sea stacks and massive natural
rock arches. They were also able
to find out more about the impact
of the recent volcanic eruption of
Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 by looking at
dramatic photos of the event at the
visitor centre.
The trip ended with a walk amongst
boiling mud pools and hot springs
and a drive through a lava desert
before it was time to head home.
Fourteen year old Nisha Chahal from
Great Yeldham summed up the group
experience when she said, ‘Iceland
is beautiful and the people there are
so happy and friendly it makes you
really happy too! The sights were
astonishing and I loved Iceland so
much that I didn’t want to come back
to England!’
YEAR 11
PROM 2015
THE YEAR 11 pupils arrived in
every mode of transport, from
tanks to tandems and buses to
buggies, to the Essex Golf and
Country Club on Thursday 25 June.
They could finally let their
hair down and enjoy a night to
remember after their hard work
leading up to their GCSE exams.
More than 200 turned up to the
prom, with relatives and friends
going along to watch them arrive.
A firework display finished the
evening.
Looking to
the Future!
All Year 8 students from Hedingham
School were invited to spend a day
at the University of Essex recently
to help them understand more about
what a university education can offer
young people. Nearly 200 students
aged 12 and 13 attended the day
and gained a great insight into the
subjects that can be studied at degree
level, what student accommodation
is like and the benefits of having a
degree when you enter the world of
work.
Students spent time looking
at university prospectuses from
around Britain to get an idea of the
huge range of subjects that can be
studied. As 13 year old Abbie Portch
from Sible Hedingham commented,
‘I would love to be able to study
Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences
or medicine at university. I think
this trip to Essex has helped me to
get an idea of where I need to go to
study these subjects.’
Students also looked at all the
opportunities for clubs and social
activities and were interested to see
that most universities have a Harry
Potter club and a Frisbee club!
When looking at the accommodation
students were amazed to find out that
many students have
an ensuite shower
room when they go to
university and others
thought the idea of
14 people sharing a
flat together sounded
great fun!
A
tour
of
the
university helped students to
understand the concept of a campus
university and they could see how
everything you could possibly need
was all based on the one site. Whilst
exploring the sports facilities,
students were lucky enough to
see the under- 20 Great Britain
basketball team in training. The
Year 8 students marvelled at the
height of the players and the ease
with which they could score ‘baskets’
from a distance.
Students
had
firsthand
experience of what an university
education could lead to because
during the day they met Veronica
Anspach who is a former student
of Hedingham School and is now
Events Supervisor at the University
of Essex, having previously gained
a degree in Communications from
Anglia Ruskin University. They also
met Goushi Raviendran, also an exstudent of Hedingham School, who is
now working as an interior architect
on the planning of new buildings on
the university site.
Everyone felt the day was a very
worthwhile experience and as
Francesca Mowatt from Halstead
said, ‘I have learnt today about how
and what I should look for in my
future plans for university and what
Art and Design courses I would need
to take for my dream job as a cartoon
animator.’
Sixth Form
Summer Ball Sensation
THIS YEAR’S Sixth Form Summer
Ball, which was attended by over
ninety 6th formers, saw a fantastic
variety of classy suits and stunning
dresses as well as an interesting
choice of footwear for one attendant!
The dashing guests, coupled with
the enchanting aesthetic of The
Fennes, made for a spectacular
evening that was thoroughly enjoyed
by all those who attended. The twocourse dinner, followed by stirring
speeches and dubious dancing all
made for a delightful and memorable
evening.
Feiern in
Pfullingen
(Partying in Pfullingen)
WE DEPARTED from Stansted
Airport at 8:20pm, on Friday 19 June,
arriving at Stuttgart at 10:45 local
time. After a short coach journey
from the airport we found ourselves
greeted by the friendly faces of our
German exchange partners and their
families who welcomed us with open
arms and took us to our new homes
for the week.
We spent the weekend with our
families exploring the beautiful area
of the Schwäbische Alb whilst doing
activities such as swimming in the
open air swimming pool and visiting
amazing places including the Ulm
Münster (the highest cathedral in
the world with 768 steps to the top)
and Schloss Lichtenstein a beautiful
castle perching on the edge of the
VE Day
Swabian alps.
On Monday we were greeted by the
Mayor of Pfullingen at Pfullingen
Realschule, where we were to spend
the remainder of the day experiencing
German school. The school ended at
quarter to one and we spent the rest
of the afternoon with our partners.
On Tuesday, we went to the
Rittersport factory where we got to
make our own chocolate as well as
buying a good deal in the shop within.
We spent the afternoon in the city of
Stuttgart giving us an opportunity to
go shopping.
On Wednesday, we had a variety
of lessons with our partners as
well as two lessons designed just
for the English students. We had
Music in which we learned a waltz
on the glockenspiel and Chemistry
in which we witnessed numerous
experiments including the use of
helium on various people, including
Mr Ballard, and magnesium being
burnt in oxygen. We once again spent
the afternoon with our families.
On
Thursday,
we
had
the
opportunity to go to the theme park
Europapark and experience the
thrilling rides including Silverstar
and Blue Fire.
Friday was the day on which we
had to return home. We had our
final day at German school before a
tearful farewell from our partners.
We arrived back in England at 8:00 to
reunite with our families.
By Saskia Dare and Francesca
Swystun
I WOULD LIKE to thank everyone who
supported the Humanities Department
VE Day Anniversary cake sale. Whether
you baked or bought, our huge
thanks! Room 42 had a lovely vintage
atmosphere and many also took part in
the ‘Kiss for Victory’. £192 was raised
for the British Legion.
Punting
& DNA
Pub
YEAR 13 BIOLOGY GROUP, who have
just taken their final exams, have worked
very hard for the last 2 years and have
shown tremendous enthusiasm for the
subject. Teachers and students therefore
decided that a farewell trip was in order!
So, on the hottest day of the year the
group set off to Cambridge to experience
a bit of university student life by going
punting – an activity that no-one except
Mr Sanders had ever tried before… Mr
Sanders leapt onto the back of a punt
and moved off gracefully whilst the less
experienced Ryan Rainer tried valiantly
to get the punt going in the right direction!
Eventually, when we hadn’t moved very
far from the punting station, Ross Catton
took over and showed quite a talent for
using the pole. Apart from nearly hitting
a couple of people on the head with the
pole and dripping water on everyone,
we started to move up the river under
beautiful bridges and willow trees with
lovely views of the famous Cambridge
colleges on the banks. Meanwhile Jakob
Beck and Joe Nourse decided it was far
too hot and took to the water, swimming
along the River Cam between punts
of surprised Japanese tourists! Ryan
decided to join them and jumped in fully
clothed to find he could still stand up in
the river as it wasn’t very deep!
Brooke Bekir had a go at ‘poling’,
proving that girls can be very
accomplished at controlling punts! Joe
Ling, Joe Nourse and Jakob also tried
their hand at wielding the very long punt
pole and were quite successful at not
blocking the river for other boats! The
rest of the group made the most of the
sunshine and just enjoyed the beautiful
scenery.
Following a quick change of clothes
for some of the damper members of
the party, we headed off to The Eagle
pub which is famous for being the place
where James Watson and Francis Crick,
scientists working at the Cambridge
Cavendish Lab, announced in 1953 that
they had ‘discovered the secret of life’
by working out the structure of DNA – a
truly momentous event in the world of
Science. This event is commemorated
by a blue plaque placed on the wall
by the door so we had to take a group
photo there to mark the importance for
A level Biology students. After a very
pleasant meal, we all headed home. The
next day that everyone will be together
again will be Thursday August 13 when
the A Level results come out. We wish
all the students success and luck for the
future!
Design and Technology
AS/A2 Exhibition
2015
THE EXHIBITION took place on 14th
May with 26 A Level candidates
exhibiting their design and practical
coursework. The students’ work was
extremely diverse and innovative,
covering a wide range of design
areas including furniture, jewellery,
architecture,
phone
applications,
sports equipment, fashion, audio
and electronic design. All students
incorporated computer aided design
and manufacturing techniques using
‘Techsoft’ CAD software and laser cut
CAM techniques.
The event was well attended by
students, parents and staff, and the
A Level students were very pleased to
showcase their design and practical
skills to a wide audience.
The students’ work had been
assessed the previous day by the
exam board external moderator and
he was extremely impressed with the
diversity of project themes and the
quality of design and practical skills
demonstrated. All of the candidates’
work was to a high standard and in
particular at A2 level Oliver Rowe’s
architectural design and scale model
for the conversion of a second world
war Nissen building achieved a truly
outstanding mark of 95%.
I would like to take this opportunity
to thank all students for their sustained
effort over the A Level course and wish
them every success in their forthcoming
exams
and
further
education/
employment. In addition, I would like
to thank all the parents and staff for
attending the event and supporting our
students in their achievements.
James Gamble
Leader of Design and Technology
Cake,
Wind and
Cable Cars
ON MONDAY 30th March, 28
students from Years 9 and 10,
along with three teachers, left
England for what we hoped would
be a sunny Strasbourg. We spent
the day travelling to our hotel in a
small village near Strasbourg. We
arrived rather late, checked into our
rooms and had some dinner, which
was delicious. After dinner, we had
some free time to see our friends and
then we slept in beds that were so
comfortable!
We started by visiting the
European
Parliament
in
the
morning. After an hour, we went
to the city centre where we quickly
realised the wind was incredibly
gusty, so gusty that we saw toddlers
getting knocked over. We went into
the cathedral where we admired the
astronomical clock. After that we
went on a treasure hunt through the
city, recording information. Next
we were supposed to be climbing to
the top of the cathedral but it was
closed due to the wind. Instead the
teachers bought us either a “crêpe”
or a “gaufre”. We then went on a
boat tour, learning about the history
of the city.
On the coach to Freiburg, we were
all told we could only use “German
euro” coins while in Germany. This
was nonsense of course because it
was April Fool’s Day but we only
realised after checking to see how
many German euros we actually
had! We started the day by visiting
the cathedral and spent the morning
looking around the Freiburg market
where we ate traditional German
Bratwurst and visited the Gummy
Bear Shop. In the afternoon, we went
to the Black Forest where we went to
the top in a cable car. The view was
a beautiful sight but it was so cold it
was snowing. As anyone would, we
all threw snowballs at Miss Malaval.
On Thursday, we went to
EuropaPark, a theme park which has
sections for almost every country in
Europe. It is also home to some of
the tallest rollercoasters in Europe,
such as Silver Star. The group went
on rides like Wodan and Blue Fire.
Despite the rain, most of us decided
to go on a big water ride. We were
the only ones there so we went on
it twice in a row. It was a long but
absolutely fantastic day. However in
the evening, after dinner, we had to
write 200 words in either French or
German. It wasn’t as much fun as
going on Silver Star.
On the 3rd of April, the trip was
over and we made our 14-hour
journey back to England.
We all had a great time and we
got to speak a lot of French and
German. Thank you to Mr Ballard,
Mr Illingworth and Miss Malaval for
organising the trip and for looking
after us.
By Jordan Smith
Drumming up Enthusiasm!
AN EXCITING NEW music club has
started up at Hedingham School using
beautiful Chinese drums that have been
locked away in a commercial storage
unit in Colchester for over 20 years.
They were recently discovered and used
in a community project with the local
Chinese community in Colchester and
now Hedingham School is the first school
that has been allowed to use them. The
drumming club has generated interest
throughout the school, from Year 7 to
the Sixth Form, and even some staff
members have dropped in to have a go!
The drums are large and barrel- shaped
with 2 heads made of animal skin and are
played with 2 sticks. They have a special
stand to support them and are great
fun to play because you can really hit
them hard. Gary Leach, the peripatetic
drumming teacher at Hedingham, is
leading the school group and he also
led the Colchester community project
so he is very experienced in the art of
Chinese drumming. Ella Odedina is 13
years old and comes from Braintree and
she is a very enthusiastic member of
the new club. She commented, ‘I really
like music but at first playing the drums
felt a bit weird but now I know the basic
techniques I feel much more confident
and I really love it!’
Music
Industry
Taster
IT WAS AN absolute pleasure to have
‘Industry Music in Education’ running a
Music Industry Taster day for Hedingham
School and Sixth Form. The school was
in rock ‘n roll meltdown as exciting,
high adrenaline music performance,
songwriting and industry sessions were
given to a large numbers of Year 9’s and
Sixth Form music students. As part of
the workshop a local rock band called
‘Renegade Twelve’ took to the stage to
give various musical demonstrations.
Students were highly responsive to
the song writing and industry careers
workshops and they thoroughly
impressed the workshop leaders and
attending artists with their enthusiasm
and skills.
We hope the organisation will return
next year for the current Year 8’s!
Audio
Engineering
THIS TERM STUDENTS studying
BTEC Level 3 Music in Year
13 completed a special subject
investigation into an area of
their choice. It was a really good
opportunity to research and further
understand an area that they may
have wanted to explore in the past but
perhaps never quite had the chance
to. Through the development of essay
techniques that they have had to use
as part of the investigation process, it
has now meant that students going on
to study Music at university will be
even better prepared for dissertation
writing. Ben Gentry, a year 13 BTEC
Music student, has received offers
from the University of West London
and the University of Derby to study
Audio Engineering this September. He
wrote a well examined investigation
into what circumstances would best
suit an analogue or digital mixing
desk. He researched this by carrying
out primary source research, such as
using different mixing desk set-ups
in various school events. His findings
were interesting and here is a snippet:
‘… for the analogue console the best
situation for it would be a band
rehearsal, say 4-5 piece band. In that
situation, there would be probably 2-3
microphones, 2 guitars, bass guitar,
and a drum kit which will probably
be acoustic. In total, that is about 5/6
inputs, which the analogue console can
handle without a problem, setting up
would take 20 minutes and after that,
a quick rehearsal can be had, and then
can be packed away again quickly.
The digital mixing console has a
completely different situation; this
time the situation is going to be an
orchestra. This situation will have
about 15 microphones on stands
around the orchestra and 3 hanging
choir microphones. The mixing
console will be networked into the
stage box so that it can be put at the
back of the hall. Setting up takes
around 30 minutes, so it takes longer
than the analogue console but there
are lots more inputs to patch in and
name on the faders.’
The Essex Book Award 2015
THE ESSEX BOOK AWARD is a school
club where the members have to read
a set of books in a set amount of time
and vote for their favourite. At the end
a winner is chosen and the group goes
to meet the author.
Every year the books just get better
and the line up this year was brilliant.
Every book wascompletely different and
the storylines were new and exciting,
from teenage troubles to very real-life
Alan Gibbons
Visit
ALAN GIBBONS has been writing
children’s books for twenty three
years. He is the winner of the Blue
Peter Book Award 2000 ‘The book I
couldn’t put down’ for his best-selling
book Shadow of the Minotaur. He was
a judge of the 2001 Awards.
He has also been shortlisted for the
Carnegie Medal in 2001 and 2003 and
twice for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.
He has won the Blue Peter Book Award
‘The Book I Couldn’t Put Down’, the
Catalyst Award, the Leicester Book of
crises and problems.
My personal favourites were ‘I Predict
a Riot’ by Catherine Bruton and ‘Never
Ending’ by Martyn Bedford. I could
relate to them both very much and they
were very moving reads.
Then, after reading all the books, we
got to go and meet the authors. This
time there were two there and we also
got to see videos of the authors who
couldn’t make it. I love hearing from
the authors because it really shows
you how the books are meant to be
interpreted and helps you appreciate
them a bit more. It also shows you what
the authors are really like and that’s
great. The overall winner of the Essex
Book Award was She is Not Invisible
by Marcus Sedgwick which was a very
good book and a deserving winner.
the Year, the Leicester Short Novel of
the year, the Angus Book of the Year,
the RED Award (twice), the Stockport
Book Award, the Birmingham Chills
Award, the Salford KS4 Award, the
Hackney Short Novel Award and the
Salford Librarians’ Special Award.
His books have been published in
Japanese, German, Italian, French,
Thai, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Swedish
and other languages.
Alan was a teacher for 16 years,
working with KS1, KS2 and KS3.
He has made numerous visits to
schools and libraries, colleges and
education conferences in the UK and
overseas, speaking at the AISA and
ECIS conferences in Nairobi and
Istanbul. He is a popular speaker at the
Edinburgh Festival, the London Book
Fair, the Northern Children’s Book
Festival, the Hay-on-Wye Festival, the
Cheltenham Festival and many others.
Our Years 7, 8 and 9 were lucky
enough to have a workshop with
Alan where he taught them a series
of skills to improve their creative
writing. Ultimately, this will help them
improve their English and achieve
higher grades.
The students were extremely excited
to meet a real author! This will
inspire a love of English and perhaps
encourage some to become writers as
well.
‘It was really exciting to meet a real
writer and have him sign my book.’
Jewel LeWinton Year 7.
I was excited I was picked to see him.’
Elliot Hawkins.
By Naomi Hixon Year 9
SPORT
Skipping
to Health!
The’ Jump Rope’ event raises money
for the British Heart Foundation and is
also an opportunity for young people
to use skipping to enhance their health
through being active whilst having fun
at the same time! All Year 7 students at
Hedingham School took part in a ‘jump
off’ during their PE lessons on Monday
June 22 when they were actively
involved in skipping individually, in
pairs and in groups and even racing
against the staff! The sun was shining
and there was music playing with the
theme of jumping to inspire students
to skip as many times as possible in
the time available. Spike Ashworth,
aged 12 from Sible Hedingham, said,
‘It was really fun because we did loads
of different skipping games together
and didn’t just skip on our own.’
Students have been doing lots of
skipping activities in lessons prior
to the event to help prepare them.
Hopefully on the day students had
lots of fun whilst raising money for the
British Heart Foundation. Last year the
same event raised £700 and we hope
that this year the Year 7 students will
raise even more! Twelve year old Molly
Raven from Halstead commented, ‘I
have raised £41 so far for the British
Heart Foundation by skipping and I
was very happy to do this because my
great granddad died of a heart problem
and I wanted to help the charity.’
Cycle Tour Yellow Fever
YEAR 7 STUDENTS at Hedingham
School had a very exciting PE lesson
this week when, instead of playing
rounder’s on the school field, they lined
the road outside the school to cheer on
the elite women cyclists of the world
as they took part in the Tour of Britain.
The students, armed with their yellow
tour flags, got into place shortly after
10.00am and got more and more excited
as dozens of police motorcyclists,
with blue lights flashing, came roaring
through to block the roads ahead.
As the outriders tooted their horns
and blasted their sirens, the children
shouted louder and louder! Then came
some of the tour cars, and then finally
the cyclists, flying past in a matter of
seconds dressed in myriads of colours
of Lycra. Some of the students waved
their flags so hard that the ends flew
off! Twelve year old Megan Foord from
Halstead said, ‘It was overwhelming
to see them all come through together
and I so enjoyed being part of it all.’
Following the cyclists came the team
cars with thousands of pounds worth
of cycles loaded onto the roofs in case
any rider needed new wheels during
the138 km race which continued on to
Sudbury and then down to the finish on
Clacton seafront. The race, Stage 2 of
the 5 stage event, started in Braintree
town centre at 10.00am. Taking part
were 93 riders in 12 of the top 13 teams
in the world with 11 current national
road champions racing, including
decorated
Paraolympian,
Dame
Sarah Storey. Sadly, Britain’s Lizzie
Armitstead, who is Commonwealth
Champion and yesterday’s winner, had
pulled out of the race due to a crash
that occurred seconds after she won
the first stage of the tour in Aldeburgh
yesterday.
After all the excitement, the students
went back to their lessons and peace
descended once again on Castle
Hedingham. Tia Wilkin, who is 12 years
old and lives in Castle Hedingham,
commented, ’It was really exciting to
see the Tour and I have nearly lost my
voce from shouting so much!!’
Ivan is a
Jolly Good
Fellow
SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD Ivan Fellows
from
Sible
Hedingham
recently
represented England playing for the
England Deaf Rugby Union (EDRU)
side, a charity which allows deaf rugby
players the chance to play for their
country. Ivan, who has been playing
rugby since he was nine years old, plays
in the second row where he can use his
height to good advantage. To qualify to
play for the team a player has to have 50
db loss of hearing over both ears. Ivan
has 180db loss of hearing in his ears but
copes so well that some people don’t
even realise that he is deaf!
Ivan, who is currently a member
of Hedingham School Sixth Form,
commented, ‘It gave me a huge sense of
pride being able to put on the jersey with
the England rose on it and represent not
only my country, but Deaf Rugby too. To
be amongst other deaf players playing
at such a high calibre of rugby definitely
helped me to raise my game and reach
my full potential as a player.’
The game that Ivan played in was
against St Neot’s Rugby Club, a team
that have been unbeaten all season,
and ended in a 29 – 29 draw. The EDRU
have a number of other exciting games
lined up for the Deaf Rugby Team to
play, including a tour of Italy, a game
against the Welsh deaf team and a
game against India before this Autumn’s
greatly anticipated Rugby World Cup
competition. Ivan, who also plays for the
Halstead Templars, is thoroughly looking
forward to all of these challenges!
Martial Arts
success for
Gosfield Girls
ON SUNDAY 22nd February, Abigail and
Emily Hubbard, both of whom have black
belt 1st Dan in Tang Soo Do martial arts,
competed in the British Tang Soo Do
championships.
Emily Hubbard, aged 14, competed
against Britain’s best in the competition
as part of the Halstead club, Yong Gi Do,
and won a gold medal in the under-14
Forms (a sequence of movements). She
had to compete in a nerve wracking tie
breaker for first place and won with her
outstanding form. “It was great fun to be
a part of another huge competition like
this one. I met loads of new friends from
all over the country!” she said.
Abigail Hubbard, Emily’s older sister,
who is 15, competed in another category
and won a bronze medal in 15 and over
Emma’s
Equestrian
Success
EMMA TURTLE, aged 14 from Sible
Hedingham, represented Hedingham
School at the NSEA (National Schools
Equestrian Association) One Day Event
held on Sunday at Poplar Park near
Woodbridge in Suffolk.
Twenty four schools took part with
Emma, and her horse Owen Maxwell,
participating in the 90cm class which
is made up of 3 separate disciplines.
Emma performed very well, gaining a
double clear in the show jumping with
Dan grade Fighting. She competed
against people of her own age and
older and commented, “Our club had
an amazing turnout and the groups were
excellent!’
Emily and Abigail live in Gosfield and
both train with the Yong Gi Do Karate club
at Halstead Leisure Centre on a Monday
night and also at other local venues. The
club sent around 25 members to the
Championships and between them they
won 23 medals; seven golds, six silvers
and 10 bronze medals, including Emily’s
gold and Abigail’s bronze medals.
no faults or refusals and a clear round
in the timed cross country course
which included 17 jumps where you
have to travel at 400metres a minute
to be successful! Emma topped this
off with a high score in the dressage
element of the competition which was
run to strict British Equestrian rules.
Emma achieved a fourth place overall
which was very commendable as there
were 74 competitors in her class from
schools all over the country.
Emma commented, ‘This year I have
started to compete in British Eventing
90 events and I have taken part in two
BE90s so far this season. The NSEA
One Day Event was my third event of the
season and my pony, Owen, was super.
It was a very well organised event and
a fantastic cross country course!’ The
school are very proud of her efforts and
wish her success in forthcoming events
this year.