Finham Newsletter 2016 Drawplus X8.dpp

FINHAM PARK SCHOOL
2016
ASSOCIATE HEAD TEACHER'S WORDS
INDEX
4 - School Recognition
5 - The English Department
6 - The Geography Department
7 - Library
8 - The Science Department
9 - The Mathematics Department
10 - The Religious Education Department
11 - Design & Technology Boys
12 - Design & Technology Girls
13- Sixth Form Centre | Section A
14 - Sixth Form Centre | Section B
15 - The Drama Department
16 - The History Department | Section A
17 - The History Department | Section B
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
- Modern Foreign Languages | French
- Modern Foreign Languages | Spanish
- The Art & Design Department
- The Media Department
- ICT Business & Economics
- Young Drivers | The Winners
- The Physical Education Department | Section A
- The Physical Education Department | Section B
- Northgate College
- Eastgate College
- Southgate College
- Westgate College
What an Achievement!
Finham Park School has been recognised by the Department for Education for a high
Standard of achievement in the 2015 GCSE Examinations.
Key Stage 3
ENGLISH
Key Stage 4
As usual the Autumn term has been a busy one in the
English department. We welcomed our new Year 7 Year 11 have spent the term working hard on their
classes who eagerly arrived with their summer
final extended reading controlled assessment while
projects in which students expressed their love of
Year 10 have thrown themselves into the new GCSE,
reading. Many of the students enjoyed a visit from studying classics including Romeo and Juliet and A
author Tom Palmer last half term and they continue to Christmas Carol.
impress us with their enthusiasm in lessons.
Debate Competition
Everest challenge
We have had the fantastic opportunity to compete in
Two of our Year 7 classes are about to embark on a the national ESU Churchill Public Speaking
great reading adventure! Over Christmas they will Competition this term. With an impressive team of
begin reading ‘The Everest Files’ by Matt Dickinson. Key Stage 4 students who all have a passion for
In their Library lessons after Christmas they will
debating serious topics, we attended the first rounds
complete challenges and tasks related to their
of the competition at Whitley Academy in Coventry.
reading and, at the end of February, the author
Delivering speeches which argued for an against a
himself will visit to discuss the book with the students. range of topics, including ‘Faith leaders should not
make political statements’ and ‘Scientists should be
Creative Writing Club
morally responsible for their discoveries’, the teams
So far this year we have been extremely busy, with worked together with other schools from across the
our student leaders Anu, Gurpreet & Harpreet taking city to debate, question and reach a conclusion.
charge and running the sessions, devising
imaginative and inspiring activities to fuel the minds Lead Students in English
of our budding young writers. So far with have
Our sixth form lead students in English have
experimented with relaxation techniques, music and already been busy this year. In particular, the
many other stimuli to create a variety of interesting department has benefited from a large number of
pieces from playscripts, to poems and short stories. sixth form students giving up their time to come into
We have taken part in assemblies to promote the
the lessons of younger years and mentor individual
club as well as raise awareness of the 6 sins of
students to help support their progress in English. In
Finham, helping the school to remember to check
addition to peer mentoring, Year 13 students
their written work before they hand it in.
continue to run the Book Group, meeting bi-weekly to
Finally, to celebrate such a successful first term, we discuss a range of literature. Finally, we were
are hosting a Winter Showcase, where our writers overwhelmed by the support of our students at the
can show off their creative talents to their friends and recent sixth form open evening; our students spoke
family. The evening will include a variety of genres confidently and enthusiastically with parents and
and gives the students the opportunity to share
younger students and were wonderful ambassadors
everything they have learnt and developed over the for their courses – thank you!
Autumn Term.
Royal Mail Young Letter Writers’ competition
Over 150 students from Years 7 and 8 submitted an entry to this annual competition. The brief was
to write a letter of application for the job of your dreams. We very much enjoyed reading the entries
from budding astronauts, Formula One racers and even English teachers! The very best of luck to all
our letter writers. Fingers crossed that a Finham Park student will scoop the £1000 prize!
GEOGRAPHY
It has been a very exciting and busy half term for the Geographers of Finham Park. Year 11 have been
packing in the hours preparing for their mock GCSE exams with huge success. Support for GCSE
students has been extended this year and builds upon our very popular Friday after school sessions for
revision. Our Year 10s are looking forward to their upcoming trip to Plas Dol-y-Moch (our LA outdoor
Education centre) which takes place in April and May.
They will be participating in activities that will
prepare them for their next piece of ‘dynamic
coasts’ course work. Our year 9 students have
made super progress in their ‘Natural hazards’
topic- focussing on the study of how earthquakes,
volcanoes and tropical storms affect our lives.
Changes to the GCSE syllabuses have allowed
further developments of our lessons and the students
are responding well.
Further down the school Year 8’s and 7’s have been working hard studying Glaciation and The
European Union. We are looking forward to delving into their next topic: areas of ‘The Geography
of Sport’ in year 8 and ‘Ecosystems’ for year 7. As we always say in Geography, our lessons ‘show
you the world’!
LIBRARY
In October, we were honoured to be the hosts for
the city’s launch of the annual Coventry Inspiration
Book Awards. We welcomed the popular author
Tom Palmer and the ex-Wasps captain Hugo
Southwell who led an inspired presentation to our
Year 7 students plus guests from Finham Park 2
and local primary schools about the importance of
reading in everyone’s lives; not just books but
newspapers, magazines and comics contribute to
our own development and understanding of the
world. The event concluded with some lucky
students participating in a thrilling penalty shootout!
November saw our annual attendance at the
international competition, The Kids Lit Quiz, and
this year our Year 7 team won the West Midlands
Heat. Many congratulations to our wonderful
students for winning the event by a nail-bitingly
close one point!
This victory took us to Oxford Town Hall in early
December for the National Final where schools
from all over the UK were competing. This was like
University Challenge for 12-year olds with the race
to be first at the buzzer and points deducted for
incorrect answers! It was intense. We did well, but
the competition was fierce and this time we didn’t
win. Next year, though!......
SCIENCE
Science student leaders have been preparing fun and interactive sessions for Finham Primary School
which is starting this week. They will be running four sessions which include aerodynamics,
magnetism and static electricity. They will also be going through the uses of pressure and rocket
science.
A group of students took part in the Bloodhound challenge. The aim was to build a rocket powered
car to travel the fastest distance over 25 metres. All students had the same rocket motor and the
design and build of the car was up to them. The cars were tested over a track put out in the gym and
the eventual winner was Adam Hancock Y10 WG01. At its fastest his car was travelling at over
50km per hour.
We have the planetarium coming in to School on the
15th March. Year seven students will have the
opportunity be involved in an interactive lesson to
experience life in the solar system. It will also be open
to the rest of the school at break and after lunch.
Science club are currently building volcanoes to be
blown up next week. Year 7’s and 8’s attend science
club.
Staff have been involved with daily year 11 revision
sessions after school.
MATHEMATICS
inch
Student Leaders for Mathematics
With mathematics as a tool in hand, one can describe the universe while sitting
on a chair, with just a few papers on the desk. Such a field could achieve fruition
only through its promotion among people, so that more people can contribute to
the effort. To achieve this, the maths student leaders have organised many events
to establish a good attitude to mathematics in school.
So far this year, we have managed to arrange a maths enlightenment session,
where we taught very intelligent (some sassy!) year 5 students a few mathematical
tools, such as how to add all the numbers between 1 to 100 in under 5 seconds.
The session provided us with knowledge of not only the capabilities of
junior school students in solving logical problems, but also our skill in
elucidating the concepts of mathematics to people who have not been
exposed to it before.
We also promote mathematics within our school through art. We love
using art as a medium to show the power of mathematics to people in our
school. One such example is when we created a display board in the
E-Block Canteen, talking about what we did as maths student leaders and
the scope of mathematics in life.
We will also be holding a mathematics
challenge in February, where young students
from many schools will participate in a rather
competitive environment to show their intellectual
prowess. This is the huge event for all the maths
student leaders, as all of them put their effort and
contribution into making, what we think, to be
the best challenge ever held in school!
To conclude, as mathematicians, we want to
introduce many people to a good attitude to
mathematics, and to see it in a completely
different way – a way to understand and unlock
the secrets of not only our origin, but also the
universe in the present and its future.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
The Autumn Term has been a busy one for the RE department. We have had a number of outside speakers
into our classes to talk to our students about a wide variety of issues. Year Nine received a visit from Youth
for Christ and had an opportunity to get to grips with the difficult concept of the “Trinity” by making
friendship bracelets. Year 10 listened to a talk from LIFE as part of their medical ethics topic on abortion.
The lecture was counter balanced by students looking at the pro -choice arguments for abortion.
Year 10 Philosophy and Ethics students have
had Myton Hospice come in to talk about the
wonderful charity work that they do as part of
their studies on Euthanasia and they also had a
visit from Animal Aid to talk about their views
on vivisection. The department is looking
forward to welcoming more visiting speakers
next term as they are an invaluable part of the
RE curriculum.
In addition to all the guest speakers some of
our students were fortunate enough to visit
Krakow, in Poland. The trip was organised by
Ms Hirst and Ms Pattison and was offered to
our older students in Year 11, 12 and 13.
Students spent four days and three nights in
and around the city of Krakow visiting
commemorative sites from the Holocaust such
as Schindler’s Factory and AuschwitzBirkenau.
One of the highlights of the trip was when
students got the opportunity to listen to a
Holocaust survivor speak about the atrocities
that her family went through over the duration
of the Second World War. This was a very
moving experience and enabled our students
to get the most from their visit to the Auschwitz
concentration camp. We also found time to
enjoy the delights of the city!
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | STEM
BOYS’ SUCCESS IN ROBOTICS COMPETITION
Robotics and engineering have grabbed the attention of many students at Finham Park.
A group of very enthusiastic Year 8 boys formed a robotics team and with the support of their teachers entered
the regional VEX competition at Redmoor Academy in Hinckley.
The boys worked tirelessly, designing and building a
robot in order to beat off their competition. Their
teamwork paid off and they gained a place in the
final. This plucky group of students came second
overall and were only pipped to the post by a group
of much older sixth formers!
The whole experience was enjoyed by all and the
team are looking forward to the challenges to come.
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | STEM
Girls in to STEM VEX Robotics Competition
By Erin Patrick
On the 18th January 2016 the Technology department’s girls robotics
team went to their first regional VEX robotics competition. When we first
arrived at Princethorpe College, we found it quite intimidating as it was
a gigantic school we were escorted to the hall to meet the other robotic
teams. As it turns out we were the only team of girls in the competition!
We were allocated our own competition table and started to get
everything sorted by modifying our robot and editing our programme.
We were all really tired, having woken up really early to get to school,
but we still knuckled down and focused on our work as a team. First we
practiced driving the robot on the completion arena. After everyone
had a trial, we decided that the most suitable drivers would be Erin
Patrick and Kayleigh Jones. We then edited our robot programme to
run unassisted in an autonomous mode and practiced working on our
strategy. We found it quite hard at first but then got the hang of it after
several practice runs.
Our first competition was a qualification match with one of the
Princethorpe College team. We had to control the robot to collect as
many balls as possible and throw them over a bar into the score zone.
It was an intense 60 seconds but we actually scored 10 points which
was pleasing for our first attempt. Several matches later, to our
amazement, we had worked our way into second place and were
expected to compete in the finals. Kayleigh and I were so nervous that
we were going to let the team down. We began the match, in which
we had 1 minute to control the robot to collect and deposit as many
points as possible. We were under a lot of pressure but thanks to the
strategy that we had developed we were able to score the most points
in the tournament and win the “Teamwork Champion Award”.
As the winner of the regional competition, we also qualified for a place at the national competition at the
NEC in March. Not content with winning the main competition, we also entered the team into the
“programming skills” competition category. This required us to programme our robot to score points
completely autonomously (without any driver input). Again our strategy payed off as we scored 26 points,
which led to us winning that competition as well! Feeling quite confident at this point we decided to enter
into the “Driver skills” category where Kayleigh and I had to share the controlling of the robot between us.
We tried really hard but were denied the top spot by 1 point!
We were so happy to walk away with two trophies, especially knowing that we now have the opportunity
to do it all again at the national competition! We would like to thank Mr Maguire and Mr Carribine for
running the robotics club and supporting us to win the competition.
SIXTH FORM
Finham Park Sixth Form students had a very busy Autumn term indeed. We welcomed one-hundred-andeighty-four new Year 12’s taking the total 6th form number to three hundred and eighteen. As usual our
students have been taking part in many extra-curricular opportunities. Fifty-six students have been trained as
Peer Mentors, a course which was run at Finham Park School, and fourteen students are taking part in
Young Enterprise this year, setting up and running their own real businesses. The groups have organised
many entrepreneurial activities such as the selling of sweets and jewellery. As well as profit making
activities, this term the Sixth Form have ran social enterprises too, specifically raising almost £450 for
Children in Need Activities included a raffle, face painting, name the Teddy Bear and a Cake Sale. We
also have had a very successful Breast Cancer Awareness day which raised a total of £782 and are
currently collecting clothing donations for the Coventry Winter Night Shelter.
We are very proud that Year 12 and 13 have been very proactive in starting up societies this term for
both social and academic purposes. As well as the usual Medicine Society we have something for
everyone from baking and animal appreciation, to football coaching and Neuroscience.
Open Evening took place in November and our staff and students welcomed over 500 visitors. Our
impressive departments were buzzing with interest as Year 11 students from Finham Park and beyond
came to see all the exciting opportunities and courses that we offer. We would like to congratulate our
fantastic four, Head Boy Tim, Head Girl Katie and Deputies, Hadley and Alysha for their
contributions.
Our current Year 13 are busy preparing for their life after A Levels travelling the length of the country
attending University Open Days as well as preparation events and we are currently processing all
applications to University, which will number well over one hundred and ten, yet again.
SIXTH FORM
The Sixth Form have had many external
speakers throughout the term, providing
advice and guidance on a variety of
opportunities available to them. All year 12
and 13 students attended a half day of
Study Skills and University Preparation
sessions on our Higher Education day
where we invited Universities from all over
the country to present on different aspects
of Higher Education. Twenty students in
Year 12 are also following a Gifted and
Talented programme written and supported
by Cambridge University, as we embark on
our first year of being their hub school in
Coventry and Warwickshire.
In Learning Assemblies, the issues discussed
have focused on stress, anti-bullying, mental
health, extra-curricular and post-18
opportunities.
Lots of Sixth Form students have arranged their own
work experience placements and attending
workshops and conferences to broaden their learning
experience. We had many students participate in
Coventry City Council’s Local Democracy events
where students formed part of the council for two
days making real time decisions. Trips this term have
included 13 Sixth Form students travelling to Krakow,
an art trip to London, an ICT trip to Jaguar Land
Rover, a reward trip for all Year 12 and 13 to
Thorpe Park, a Film trip to an IMAX cinema, Mr
Downie’s karting experience to Birmingham and 6
students took a trip to Parliament to meet our local
MP Jim Cunningham whom we were pleased to be
welcome back after Christmas. He worked with the
students and discussed the establishment of the
inaugural Finham Parish Council with local residents.
DRAMA
Splurge guns at the Ready!
Pupils from Y7-13 have been working hard in the drama department
since September, preparing for our exciting School Production of
Bugsy Malone. Acting, singing and dance rehearsals took place
after school and even at weekends as our dedicated pupils
prepared the show for the stage.
Our Student Leaders even stepped in as assistant directors to help
bring this comical play to life.
Performing on the 11th and 12th February at The Albany Theatre, the cast, crew and band wowed the
audiences with Slapstick, ballet and a whole lot of Splurge! A hugely impressive production and huge
congratulations to everyone involved!
HISTORY
In the Autumn term the History department commemorated Armistice Day. On Wednesday 11th November,
to tie in with this event, we welcomed ‘Sergeant Hicks’ back to Finham for two, one hour performances of his
role as a World War 1 soldier. Sergeant Hicks has become a regular visitor to Finham Park School and, as
usual, students were captivated by his knowledge and enthusiastic presentation which included the use of
replica World War One weapons and uniforms.
Back in October, Mrs Willard accompanied two of our Year 11 students (Alice
Clarke and Lauren Cooper) on an exciting trip to the Battlefields in Belgium that
they were lucky enough to win. They spent three days and two nights visiting
commemorative sites in and around the sites of Flanders Fields in Ypres and the
Somme. They even got the opportunity to find out about some soldiers from as
close as Earlsdon that fought in the First World War.
One of the highlights of the trip was when they got the opportunity to experience
first-hand what it would have been like to be a soldier in the trenches in the First
World War when they visited the reconstructed trenches in Theipval Wood.
The trenches were very muddy which
went some way to highlight what it
would have been like to not only
fight, but live, in those conditions.
Alice and Lauren then got the
opportunity to participate in an art
workshop to create a memorial to the
fallen. This was part of a war
commemoration project which the
Flanders Government have
commissioned. Over the course of
the centenary of the First World War
600,000 clay sculptures will be
made, each representing a soldier
that died in the war. They each
made one that will go towards the
final piece to be exhibited in 2018.
HISTORY
They also got the chance to witness
the moving ‘Last Post Ceremony’
which takes place every evening at
8pm in Ypres. The largest and the
most important of the British
memorials to the Missing in The
Salient, this memorial holds the
names of 54,896 soldiers of the
British Empire.
The Menin Gate is an imposing
structure which marks the start of
one of the main roads out of Ypres
towards the Front Line. Pictures of
the monument don’t really do it
justice. Only names of those missing
in and around Ypres are included
which really does serve as a
reminder of the numbers of men
who gave their lives in the conflict.
We live in relative freedom today
and so it is important to
remember all of those who lost
their lives so we could do so.
Boys and men fought for their
country but children and women
at home were fully committed to
the war effort too. Many made
sacrifices during the war that we
should remember so that hopefully
one day we can prevent future
conflict.
MODERN FOREIGN
LANGUAGES
A play in French
On Thursday, January 21st, Year 9 French pupils were treated to
a play in French called ‘Les Garçons’, (The Boys). Before we saw
the performance, we were given the following summary of the
plot:Natalie is baby-sitting 2 year old Bruno for M. and Mme
Dulin while they go out to a fancy dress party.
When Natalie arrives M. Dulin explains to Natalie where
everything is, how everything works, what Bruno likes and what
Bruno doesn't like. He finally leaves, but not before he shows her
an incredibly long list of emergency numbers.
Natalie's quiet evening is soon interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Tristan, her ex-boyfriend. He has
come to plead with her to get back together. Reluctantly, she invites him to stay and baby-sit with her. After
too much play and far too many crisps both Bruno and Tristan are sick and Natalie finds herself looking
after two boys! Whilst clearing up, Natalie sees a text on Tristan's phone from one of his ex-girlfriends.
They argue and she storms out leaving Tristan alone with the baby.
And so the scene was set for what was, according to comments from
Year 9 pupils afterwards, ‘funny, but also sad at points too.’ ‘When the
girl hit the man on the head with a pan…It was hilarious.’
‘They knew what kind of humour would appeal to teenagers. There was
audience participation which was linked to the story and it was done in a
way which would help us to remember more French.’
‘When I arrived at the theatre, I wasn’t ready for the hysterical laughter that
was going to happen.’
‘I really enjoyed the part when the mother came home really drunk and tried
to take the gown and expose him….she had one shoe missing.’
‘I understood loads more than I thought I would.’ ‘I was relieved when I
could understand most of what they were saying.
‘I could pick out words they were saying and knew what they meant’ ‘It
boosted my confidence a little in French.
‘I really understood it because it was very repetitive and I learned lots of new
words.’
It was ‘easy to follow because they included hand gestures, for example when they were warming Bruno’s milk.’ And
‘facial expressions’
‘The best part was when they (the actors) were having the conversation via the audience because it meant we were
involved and it was really amusing when someone said the wrong thing and turned the whole argument around.’
We would really look forward to seeing another French play, it made us laugh, we feel more confident about how
much French we know now, we loved the audience participation and we learned more French.
Primera
Cita
MODERN FOREIGN
LANGUAGES
A play in Spanish
‘’A play?’’ ‘’In Spanish?’’ ‘’No English at all?’’ ‘‘I’m not going’’ Such were some of the responses in December, when
the year 9 Spanish classes were told they were to be treated to a play in Spanish.
The play was performed by Onatti Productions, a company specialising in sending professional foreign actors to
perform in schools. The plays are modern and written especially for students learning foreign languages.
Clearly many students were quite sceptical at first, thinking it would be ‘boring’ and that they ‘wouldn't understand it’ or
might even ‘’fall asleep’’, so we did do some preparation in lessons beforehand.
This production was called ‘’Primera Cita’’, which means ‘’First Date’’, an intriguing title and the description of the story
was.
The stage is divided into two. On one side is a girl’s bedroom and on the other is a
boy’s bedroom. This story is an hilarious observation of two love-struck Spanish
teenagers, María and Carlos, getting ready for that most important Primera Cita! In
both bedrooms there is hysteria, panic, fear and apprehension. María has issues with
her make-up, her hair, her clothes and a very untimely spot on her face! While Carlos,
in his room, attempts his first ever shave! Will they be ready in time? What will they
say? Where will they go? What will they wear? This could be perfect night or an
embarrassing disaster.
After reading this, everyone seemed a bit more interested, wondering how the story would continue. We read an
excerpt from the play, in Spanish, with pupils reading the different parts and working out what the vocabulary meant
and what was happening. It seemed quite funny and by now we were all less anxious and a bit more interested in
seeing the play.And it seems the play was actually much better than anticipated. We can’t tell you the full story in case
it comes around again, but some pupils got thoroughly involved and even ended up on stage, adding to the fun. So,
well done and thank you Simran Solanki, Oliver Sawyer, Jordan Carter and Hawar Abubaker.
One of the Spanish classes gave us their thoughts afterwards.
How was it? It was ‘very funny’, ‘good’, ‘hilarious’, ‘educational’, ‘great and amusing’
How easy to understand was it? ‘I was surprised that I have learned so much Spanish in two years’, ‘It was made easy
because of the acting and the Spanish I knew.’, ‘Decently easy to understand’
What were the best bits?
‘When they were ready to go on their date’, ‘When Carlos had his first shave’, ‘The
background music’, ‘The audience participation.’, ‘When they went on the
awkward date and when Simran said her name was ‘Yes’. ‘
How might it have helped your learning?
‘Listening to Spanish for 55 minutes’, ‘learning new words’, ‘improving my
pronunciation’
How would you feel now if you were told you were going to see a play in Spanish?
‘Excited’, ‘Good as it helps my learning’, ‘A little nervous, but still excited’, ‘Excited
as I now know I would understand it’. ‘Excited and happy.’
So, a success all round and many thanks to the students of Senora Savage’s Year 9
Spanish class for sharing their views.
ART & DESIGN
During the autumn term some incredible Finham Park artists have created 15 "famous Britons" portrait panels to
adorn the school’s external walls. A talented group of 24 Year 8 and Year 9 artists have been painting with
meticulous attention to detail. The end results are simply amazing.
The art student leaders attended two workshops prior to the project’s start in order to prepare the panels ready
for painting. The group were given two days off timetable to complete the project in the art rooms. They
worked tirelessly to finish all of the paintings and the results went beyond all expectations.
The students’ meticulous attention to detail showed their motivation and
commitment to get the project right. This is by far the most engaging and
successful visual arts project the school has undertaken to date.
None of this would have been possible without the assistance of the fantastic
Millie Hillditch-Gray and Megan Adams-White. Their organisational skills and
work behind the scenes proved invaluable. The ongoing support of the shadow
junior leaders, Abi Braley, Rhiannon Duffy, Anna Smith and Nicole Hoy, ensured
the project’s success.
MEDIA STUDIES
FILM SUCCESS FOR FINHAM PARK
Three of Finham Park’s Sixth Form students had
the incredible honour of being short-listed for
the National Moving Image Awards.
The ceremony took place at the BFI in London
on December 11. It is the third time in 18
months that students from the school have been
nominated for these national awards. The short
film, entitled “Recall,” was submitted as a
piece of AS Film coursework by the students,
and received full marks in each category.
The film was short-listed down to the last three
for the Best Film Extract Award from a long list
exceeding 150 films. These talented students
did extremely well to get second in their
category and the school is immensely proud
of their achievements.
As a result of the incredible quality of the work
at Finham Park, students have decided to set
up a Finham Park Film Festival in March to
showcase their creativity and will be showing
the best film work from the students in the last
12 months in front of parents and dignitaries
from the film world.
ICT BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
Sixth Form ICT Jaguar Land Rover Trip
Young Enterprise is always one of the most popular and successful enrichment activities for Year 12 students.
This year was no exception, as a new crop of budding entrepreneurs followed in the footsteps of their awardwinning predecessors by setting up and running their own profitable business. They excelled at selling their
products at the Coventry city centre trade fare where they were competing against other participating schools
of Coventry.
The two businesses have worked really hard to initiate fundraising ideas and their final product. One business
was selling sweets and the other was selling a high ticket item of jewellery made of Swarovski stones. Both
teams excelled in their sales skills and the team selling Swarovski jewellery won the best trade stand award.
The Mayor of Coventry also showed his appreciation along with his wife who bought some pick and mix
sweets. A fairly high profile and successful event. I am very proud of our students.
Figure 1: Deep in concentration - Team D thinking their way to victory
The Year 12 ICT groups took part in a visit Jaguar’s Solihull Plant, to look at how a major international firm like
Jaguar makes use of IT. The students were treated to a tour of the plant where we were fortunate enough to
see how Jaguar Land Rover vehicles are put together from the wheels up, including the new Jaguar XE. Mr
Bailie would have loved it! The students were particularly amazed to hear about the unique customisations that
JLR customers ask for in the cars – from hot-tubs and game consoles, to diamond-studded dashboards!
The afternoon session proved to be equally enjoyable as the students participated in some business games,
which showed the importance of good communication and effective quality control. The games proved hugely
competitive, with each team determined to outdo the others. In the end, the ultimate winders were Team D
(the Year 13 group) who completed every round without a single mistake and in record time too.
The final part of the day allowed students to take part in a Q & A session with a Jaguar employee. The
students prepared such well thought out questions that the poor member of staff wilted under their interrogation,
despite being one of the heads of department in Jaguar’s IT section!
Overall it was a rewarding and enjoyable day for both staff and students and as usual, all our pupils were
amazing!
2015 Young Driver Challenge
ADAM
One of our incredible students took part in the final of the Young Driver Challenge at
the NEC in Birmingham on the 5th September. Adam had a mere four one hour
lessons and his score was so high it was entered into a competition. The driving
abilities of 40 youngsters were assessed by judges including representatives from
the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and Goodyear. Adam was one of the
winners and has clearly demonstrated his skills behind the wheel.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Finham compete regionally in three
sports.
For the second year running the year
9/10 boy’s cross country team reached
the English Schools National finals in
Bedford. They finished 24th overall.
This has come on the back of another
incredible season with three teams
qualifying for the regional finals and
picking up a host of team and individual
trophies at the Coventry schools league
and Championships.
Year 9/10 Boys Cross Country Team
The success has not stopped there,
with the Year 10/11 girls finishing 4th
in the regional netball finals, only
missing out by one place at qualifying
for the National finals. The girls
trampolining continues to have major
success at regional level.
The U14 team won Zonal
Championships in Solihull and now go
onto the National Championships in
Cardiff.
Year 8 Rugby Team
The department held its first rugby 7s
tournament for Year 7 and 8 boys,
which was backed by Wasps. Year
8’s were crowned as champion.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
U14 Zonal Trampoline
Champions
Year 11 Netball Team
Other results
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85 fixtures played in 8 different sports.
The School won the 13th Derby, which is played against
Bishop Ullathone School.
The Year 11 girl’s netball team are unbeaten in league
competition.
The Year 7 girl’s netball look very impressive winning 6
and drawing one of their games this season.
Key stage 3 girls finished 3rd in the Coventry football
tournament.
Year 7 boys have won 5 out of their first 7 football fixtures
of the season.
Year 9 boys finished second in the Coventry Schools
development competition.
Year 8 boys football team are still involved in the English
schools football competition
Year 11 boys football team continue their four years of
success and are still involved in the knockout stages of the
Evening Telegraph competition.
All students in the school have been involved in various
intra-college competitions.
Well done to Thomas Kennan and Bobby Clisham who
have qualified for the youth games in athletics, which will
be held in Taiwan.
Well done to Beth Meadows (Y11) who won Gold in the
British Judo Championships in Sheffield.
Cross Country Teams
making it to regional Finals
NORTHGATE
Northgate have come back with a vengeance this term. Having been way down in the polls, we came
back with a real push winning the majority of the activities for Activity Week. Another week like this
next time and we will be hot on the heels of every other college.
Northgate have also recently begun their own internal competition between mentor groups. NG05’s
recent win, creating their own mentor in a collage, have put them in top position, with £50 up for grabs
NG05 are the ones to beat. We have also recently held our first charity event of the year where some
Brave Northgate (and one Southgate) mentors have volunteered to wax their legs for our charity Plan
International. Some students jumped at the chance to rip off some of the strips from their teachers. With
lots more activities and charity events to come, let’s keep the momentum going for next term!
EASTGATE
It has been an ‘Eggciting’ year for Eastgate. We are really springing into action and our students
have made lots of progress in the college championship. Most notably, in the recent activities week,
we had a cracking time at the two egg omelette challenge. James Martin eat your heart out as a
number of Eastgate students were heroic in creating a speedy omelette. Our winner beat the other
colleges by a good 30 seconds at 1 minute and 5 seconds. Eastgate also has ninja skills – you
should have seen the sensational skill our student showed with his quick jump, spin and ninja chop,
securing us a ninja win!
Elsewhere in Eastgate we have been developing our charity spirit. There have been a number of
activities during the year so far including the Coventry Fun Run in September; a number of students
supported us raising money for our college charity. In addition, Eastgate raised £253 for Children
in Need. In the next few weeks, Eastgate will be developing other ways of supporting worthy
causes including Anesis, supporting the vulnerable people in Coventry. If you are interested or have
additional ideas on supporting people who need our help, please speak to Ms Reardon or Ms
Califano.
We are pleased to announce that 4 students now have their participation badges in Eastgate,
which means they have participated in 20 college activities. Well done to Lettie Topping, Jasdev
Bharaj, Rheo Earle-Dennis and Shreya Virdee who are all now wearing their Eastgate red lion
badge with pride.
In assembly, we have been sharing ideas on how to make a difference to other people’s lives and
as a college we are considering a ‘Pass it on’ initiative where we can hopefully pass something
nice on to every single person in the college. We will be giving you extra details soon…
Mr Marfleet and Ms Reardon
SOUTHGATE
Southgate has had a bright start to 2016, showing our solidarity and team spirit in all things extracurricular. Although currently not sat at the top of the college leader board on points, this hasn’t
dampened our spirits as we have shown excellent participation rates in all activity week events. Southgate
fielded a class act in the Omelette challenge seeing Mark Fannon crack out a super quick time and
‘eggcellent’ tasting omelette in less than 2minutes. Cracking stuff!! Southgate also stepped up to the plate
in the Just Dance competition. It was a dancing masterclass from both Mercedez and Jack Wills in what
was the most competitive competition to date.
We are pleased to announce that three students have already surpassed the first extra-curricular milestone
of a whopping 20 stickers, in just three activity weeks. A big well done to Nicole Hoy, Aqib Ahmed and
Mercedez Faustin who are all set to receive the highly sought after Southgate lion badge.
Building on the heroic efforts of SG09 last year when they raised lots of money for Diabetes UK through
using the fitness suite to row and cycle to Paris; many Southgate students have taken inspiration from this
in their personal quest to raise money for our worthy charity. This came in both the Coventry Fun Run and
the Children in Need events. Southgate raised a fantastic £262. If anyone has any other active ways to
raise money, then please speak to Mr Clarke or Mrs Buckley.
Southgate are also looking to participate in the ‘Clean for the Queen’ event which will hopefully see a
number of Finham Park students cleaning the streets of Coventry with the aim of making the Queen proud
on her 90th birthday.
Let’s make this another ‘golden’ year
Mrs Buckley and Mr Clarke
WESTGATE
Westgate have made a great start to the new year with the students displaying the high standards
expected of them and following our college mnemonic of a Winning Enthusiastic Supportive College
and showing pride to be part of Westgate Team.
Westgate pupils have continued to get involved in the host of activities offered during our half termly
inter–college activities week. The pupils are offered a week packed full of both break time and after
school activities. We are currently sitting in first place by 8 points so we must push to increase this
margin and stay on top in the next activities week. So far this year we have won nine events and have
come second in nine. We won various activities such as netball, Mario Kart, the quiz and chess to
name a few and have maintained our high level of participation to continue to score points at many of
the events. A fantastic contribution from Westgate College and we will have to maintain our efforts if
we are going to hold onto the top spot.
Westgate will be continuing to support Macmillan Cancer this year: we have begun the year with the
Bag2School programme to begin our fundraising efforts and we hope all students will contribute
towards this to raise money for our fantastic cause with a view to do another later in the year, so
please don’t throw your old clothes away.
We have many student successes across a wide variety of areas and we are very proud of each and
every one.
Miss M Thomas, Mrs Finn & the Westgate Team
WELL DONE EVERYONE
WORLD CLASS
Finham Park School
Green Lane
Coventry
CV3 6EA
02476 418135
http://finhampark.co.uk
Author: Jason Hart