Newsletter - Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

Head Master’s Newsletter February 2015
AGSB LATEST NEWS–FEBRUARY 2015
Dear Parent,
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION SCHOOL PERFORMANCE TABLES
These tables for every secondary school in the country were published last week and proved controversial
because of the changes to the way in which school performance is measured. The removal of IGCSE from
the calculation meant that many independent schools appeared to perform less well and the removal of
some vocational-type qualifications which in previous years counted as multiple GSCEs affected some
schools with a very broad ability range.
AGSB’s performance at GCSE was unaffected by these changes. We achieved a very pleasing ‘value added’
score of 1031 which shows that the progress our pupils make is considerably better than the progress of
similar students nationally. In this value-added calculation the average progress of students nationally is
deemed to be 1,000 and the average progress of boys nationally is deemed to be 989.
At Advanced Level we achieved very pleasing results which placed us 25 th best performing school in the
country (state and independent) according to the DFE measures.
Please view the Performance Table information on the DfE website at http://www.education.gov.uk/cgibin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=136458. The statistics are interesting to view not only for exam
grades and the progress of students but also because they contain lots of other statistical information
gathered over the year about this school and all the other schools in the country.
Head Master
SCHOOL COUNSELLOR
I would like to take the opportunity to remind Parents that AGSB employs a Counsellor who comes into
School every Wednesday. We have employed Mrs Wey Goodman for several years now and she has been
very successful in helping boys with various problems, from coping with the move to secondary school
to handling the pressures that arise from the expectations of parents, School and themselves when it
comes to examinations. There are of course bereavements, family illnesses, divorce and many other issues
that our students struggle with, and for those who want to talk in confidence she is not only a sympathetic
ear but also an expert in offering advice and support.
Parents can choose to refer their sons to Mrs Goodman via their son's Head of Year, Form Tutor or via Mrs
Heathcote at Reception. Boys can also refer themselves and everything is in the strictest of confidence
(except where concerns for the student’s well-being and safety arise from any conversation with Mrs
Goodman).
Mr Hall, Deputy Head & Child Protection Officer
MEETINGS WITH TEACHERS
Should you wish to speak to a teacher please telephone or email in advance for an appointment. This gives
the teacher time to gather the information you may need, but also allows him or her to set aside an
appropriate amount of time to have a meaningful and productive chat.
It is always necessary, for safeguarding reasons that parents report to Reception first so that we know you
are here and we can get you to where you want to be, or to see the teacher concerned, as quickly as
possible. Thank you.
Mr Hall, Deputy Head & Child Protection Officer
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Head Master’s Newsletter February 2015
BRITISH LEGION POPPY APPEAL
We are delighted to report that the local Honorary Organiser of the Poppy Appeal confirms
that AGSB collected a grand total of £645.59 during the Poppy Appeal last November. A big
thank you to all who generously donated to this very worthwhile cause – without your
help, the British Legion would be unable to continue their vital welfare and benevolent
work.
DEBATING SOCIETY
Round 2 of the English Speaking Union’s School Mace competition took place at Bolton
recently, with AGSB’s Debating Team, along with Stockport Grammar, winning a place in the
regional final. The boys (Sam Harrison, Archie Batra and Tim Sanders) performed really well
against very stiff competition, displaying their maturity as competitors and public speakers compared to
the other competitors. The judges gave us some excellent feedback, being impressed with the boys’ level
of knowledge and communication skills - they are a real credit to the School, well done!
Dr Hepden
PUPIL ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL
Could I remind all parents about the following procedure regarding absence due to illness:
To report an illness
 To report a pupil absence due to illness please contact the School by telephone before 10am on the
first day of absence and again on subsequent days.
 At the end of the period of illness a letter must be sent in to your son’s form tutor. This is a legal
requirement. If we do not receive a letter the absence will be marked as unauthorised.
Absence
 If your son needs to leave for a medical appointment during the day he must produce an
appointment card or letter from home when he signs out, otherwise School will not be able to
allow him to leave the premises.
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A request for any absence other than a medical appointment must be made either in writing or by
email and addressed to the Head Master requesting permission and giving as much notice as
possible prior to the event. This covers any absences such as:
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external examinations i.e. Music , GCSEs
religious holidays
Duke of Edinburgh expeditions
family occasions and holidays
funerals
any other occasions.
The request will be individually considered by the Head Master who will make the decision whether
or not the absence will be authorised.
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Any absences not requested in advance will be recorded as unauthorised.
Thank you for your co-operation.
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Head Master’s Newsletter February 2015
CHINESE SPEAKING NATIONAL FINAL: Press Release!
Year 10 pupil Alex Gower is through to the national final of the British Council and HSBC’s
Mandarin Chinese Speaking Competition – where he is hoping to win a trip to Beijing. After
impressing the judges with his language skills at one of two regional heats, held in London in
December, Alex will now compete in the Intermediate category in the Grand Final at the
British Museum on 9th February.
The nationwide competition aims to encourage greater interest in Chinese language and
culture – which is vital to the UK’s future prosperity. Chinese is already spoken by more than
a billion people worldwide and is gaining greater and greater importance, with China being
the world’s second biggest economy. However, the British Council’s Languages for the Future
report in 2013 showed that only 1% of UK adults can speak Mandarin.
The competition is aimed at students who are non-native speakers, who have started
learning Mandarin Chinese recently.
Mrs Ding, Alex’s Chinese teacher says, “I’m very proud of Alex. He’s done so well to get to the
final as he’s only been learning Chinese for 3 years and he is a role model for all our younger
students who have just started Chinese lessons.”
CHINESE SUMMER CAMPS
Following our very successful Chinese Summer Camps to Beijing and Immersion Courses to Nanhai,
Shanghai and Beijing over the past 8 years, we will be taking another group of boys to China in
collaboration with the IOE Confucius Institute and the Office of Chinese Language Council International
(Hanban) in July this year.
The visit will include three days visiting places of historical and cultural interest in Beijing and the remainder of the
time will be with their host school in the provinces. This trip will give the boys a wonderful opportunity to experience
Chinese culture, to visit some of the great tourist sites and to learn Mandarin Chinese.
Don’t forget to check out the blog (and previous blogs) on the School website on the Language College page from
11th July onwards.
SPORT
South Africa Rugby Tour Fundraiser
Mr Meakin is organising a fundraising ‘Pie and Pint’ afternoon in the Coleman Hall on
Saturday 14th March from 2pm-7.30pm. Both the Ireland vs Wales and England vs
Scotland Six Nations matches will be shown on the big screen.
Tickets are £5 Children, £8 Adult - please see Mr Meakin for details.
PFA NEWS
PFA FRIENDS LOTTO
The December 2014 winners were:
1. Mrs A A Townsley
2. Mrs O N Robinson
3. Mrs S Akrill
The winners have been notified directly by post.
Mr Kinney, Treasurer PFA
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Head Master’s Newsletter February 2015
TRAFFIC ON HEATH ROAD
Last year I wrote to all parents about traffic problems on Heath Road (behind the School) when an increasing
number of parents were using the road to park or turn round in after dropping off or collecting their sons. I asked
parents to consider alternative drop-off points.
However there has been a recurrence of this issue recently which understandably causes problems for local
residents as they attempt to enter or leave their properties at peak times. This also impacts on refuse collection
vehicles needing to use the road. I would like to remind parents to help us avoid any further conflict in this area by
refraining from using Heath Road at these times – at the far end it is a private cul-de-sac and there are signs clearly
displayed at intervals there. Thank you for your co-operation.
SIXTH FORM NEWS
Year 13
We have processed 135 Higher Education applications for our current Year 13 students, for 627 UK
courses, with offers already received for over 350 of those courses. This year students have also applied
outside of the UK including USA and Japan. We are working closely with eleven of our current Year 13s
who have other post-18 plans. University applications have been sent for 18 students who left us last
summer and are on a gap year.
Congratulations to the 13 students who have received offers from either Oxford or Cambridge University
this year.
Year 12
Post-18 planning has already commenced for our current Year 12 students. Lunchtime seminars and other
events are on the Sixth Form Page of “The Engine”, but here are some forthcoming key dates:
 Tuesday 10th February Higher Education evening ,7pm in the Coleman Hall
 Friday 13th March
From 1.30pm, all of Year 12 are booked to attend the UCAS convention
which is an opportunity for students to explore a variety of post-18 options
in one setting. It’s a chance to get some face time with admissions staff and
subject specialists, find out what life's like on and off campus, and discover
what else is on offer when their exams are done and dusted - volunteer
work, gap year adventures, and the big wide world of work.
 Tuesday 17th March
45 students will be invited to attend the Oxbridge Conference which is full
day event held at Haydock Racecourse
 Thursday 30th April
Oxbridge Evening in School
THE GRAMMAR
‘’Anyone for Doubles’’
If you join The Grammar Health and Fitness now and pay upfront for an 18month membership, you will receive 2 memberships for the price of 1! Our
“Member’s Jackpot” deal allows you to refer friends to enjoy the fabulous
facilities at The Grammar - when they join, receive 1 FREE month plus £20 of
Trafford Centre vouchers; refer a 2nd person and receive another £20; refer a
3rd person to give you a total of £60 worth of vouchers to spend! Plus 25% off
memberships for all parents at AGSB!
So why not come and try us out today with a FREE 3-day family pass which includes gym, classes and
racquets sports.
Student Active Trafford
From 1st April 2015 the NEW Active Trafford memberships will be available for students, allowing them to
take part in any activity for either £2, £3 or £4. Save even more with the Active Trafford memberships
which range from £19 – £25.95 per month.
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Head Master’s Newsletter February 2015
Junior Sports Courses
Places are still available on courses from ages 1-16 years so there is something for everyone, including:
 Indoor Tennis on Friday evenings (for ages 4-11 years)
 Badminton on Saturday mornings (for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels)
Adults Sports Sessions
 We offer a very popular “Back to Netball” sessions on Tuesdays at 7pm, involving both coaching
and game play, a fun and friendly session for everyone whether you play now or haven’t played
since school. We also have a netball Match play session on Wednesday evenings at 7pm, again for
all abilities.
 Our Running Club starts in March.
 Our new class timetable starts soon, with some exciting additions to our weekly selection including
a 1-hour “Insanity Workout” on Monday evenings from 8pm until 9pm.
For all courses please ask at The Grammar reception for more details or call 0161 929 1078.
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Follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/thegrammar1
Like us on Facebook – facebook.com/TheGrammar
Check out our website – www.thegrammar.co.uk
Contact us on 0161 929 1078 or email thegrammarteam@traffordleisure.co.uk
PARENT CORRESPONDENCE
Please don’t forget to let us know if you change your address, telephone number or
email. You can do this either:
 by logging onto our SIMS system to access your son’s record (please follow this link:
https://parent.engineagsb.co.uk/CookieAuth.dll?GetLogon?curl=Z2FSLGZ2FParentZ2FSLGPa
gesZ2FMyChildren.aspx&reason=0&formdir=2 - any changes made by a parent do not go
live however until a member of the support team actions the change, so you may not see
your amendments immediately); or
 by contacting School directly. We do send out data collection sheets every September
but you will appreciate that any changes made during the rest of the year will need to be
communicated directly to School. To do this please ask us for a pro forma, which will
then need to be returned to the School Office.
School has a duty to keep this information up to date and it will help us to ensure that you receive all
communications regarding your son without delay.
SCHOOL CALENDAR
Remember to keep an eye on our School Calendar for information on upcoming events.
Key dates are:
 Saturday 7th February
PFA Winter Ball, Bowdon Rooms, 7.30pm
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 Thursday 12 February
Y9 Options Evening, 7pm in the Coleman Hall
 Friday 13th February
School closes at normal time for half-term
 Monday 23rd February
 Tue 24th to Thu 26th Feb
 Friday 24th April
School re-opens at normal time
Y13 Exams
Old Altrinchamians Dinner – for further details please contact
Old Alts Chairman Colin Bamford on 07767 861831 or
colincbamford@aol.com
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