A New Year message from Mr Mckeon

It has been a fabulous first term so far this academic year. The newsletter provides a small snippet of some of the

wonderful achievements of our students and a taste of some of the many different experiences we are able to provide

both inside and outside the classroom.

Finally on behalf of all the staff at Little Lever we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year.

We will see you all again on Monday 9th January.

Mr Mckeon

Headteacher

Thank you to all our parents and carers who continue

to support the school and your children. Our overall

attendance has risen to over 95% this term and punctuality

has improved dramatically. While attendance and

punctuality are good we want to keep improving and

ensure every student has at least 97% attendance (this

means no more than 5 days absence per year). Our

current Year 7 are leading the way with a Year group

average of 97%. Fantastic!

Our Year 11 students are working hard in preparation

for their GCSE exams and Pre Public Exams in January.

To support them and you, as parents/carers, we have

created Personalised Learning Checklists (PLCs) for

every subject your child is studying. This allows you

and your child to see the areas of the course or exam

that they are performing well in and those areas that

need to be improved. Our Y11 students have received

their updated PLCs before their break for Christmas.

We are also in the process of creating a 24/7 learning

site for all students. It was initially launched with Y11

before Christmas and will support them with the areas they

need to improve on their PLC. It will eventually go live with

all students and provide parents and carers with valuable

resources to support learning at home.

The students, staff and community never cease to amaze

me with their generosity. The school raised over £4,000

for various charities last year and we are well on our way

to beating that record this year.

We have a fantastic set of young people who attend

our school. They are immensely talented. What is very

humbling is that many of them do not realise how talented

they are or what they are truly capable of. The newsletter

provides some examples of many of these talents but we

try to share as many events as possible with you via our

social media site and our website. If you haven’t had a

look yet I urge you to do so.

Little Lever School Newsletter January 2017

On Tuesday 15th November the school hosted it’s annual

Awards Evening at the splendid setting of the Victoria Hall in

Bolton.

The event is held to recognise, celebrate and reward outstanding

effort, achievement and contributions which students from all

years have made over the last academic year in all areas of life

in school. The awards recognise subject excellence throughout all

years, outstanding attendance, charitable work, sporting excellence,

leadership qualities and leading by example through superb conduct,

wearing our uniform with pride and helping others.

For a visual tour of the event, with over 40 pictures, visit the

Awards Evening photo album at our Facebook page www.

facebook.com/littleleverschool.

It was fantastic to see so many students (past and present) attend

the evening, along with their families.

This year, the school presented a special award in memory

of our late colleague, Gary Wilkinson, a popular and well

respected member of the maths department, who sadly passed

away earlier this year. We were honoured to host Gary’s

wife Jayne and his mother, Jean who presented the Gary

Wilkinson Shining Star Award to Ellenor Ratcliffe and Stephen

Marshall, who went above and beyond in raising money for the White

Horse Project and the Red Cross charitable organisations.

In addition, the audience was treated to an amazing musical

performance by our Little Lever X-Factor winner, Drew Gudojc.

LITTLE LEVER SCHOOL AWARDS EVENINGNOVEMBER 2016

Each academic year the students and staff of Little Lever School participate in a wide range

of fundraising events for the school’s House charities of Macmillan, Tomlinson, Marie Curie

and Christies cancer care organisations and also for other charities close to the hearts of

students and families. These include the Whitehorse Project, Text Santa, Children in Need

and Bolton Children’s Services and Bolton Hospice.

The school is proud to report that the total amount of money raised during the 2015/16

academic year came an amazing total of;

£4,105.10

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to this amazing total.

Little Lever School Raises Over £4000 for Charity

On Tuesday 13th December Little Lever School Music Department hosted

their annual Christmas Concert. This year saw a packed crowd of over

250 people be dazzled by the sheer talent on show throughout the

evening.

The first half featured special guests St Matthew’s Primary School Brass

Band, who wowed us with their skills once again. The second half took

the usual format with the guest appearance of Foden’s Band. The band

was once again on top form with festive music and soloists that gave

performances worthy of inspiring any budding musician, young or old.

After the final note of a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells, the audience

and pupils were left with a sense of fulfilment and festive cheer as they

made their way home.

Little Lever School Christmas Concert

Staff vs Year 11 Charity

Netball MatchFriday 21st October saw the annual epic sporting

contest of the staff versus Year 11 students netball

match which the school runs in order to raise money

for Marie Curie house and the cancer care work

they provide. The game took place in the sports hall

during lunch time and students and staff all paid a

donation to watch the game.

It was an excellent game, with both staff and

pupils playing really well. There was exceptional

teamwork by the students, with some outstanding

shooting skills.

As a result of this, the pupils took the lead 3-0.

The staff continued to work hard and with some

fantastic play began to make a comeback. The final

score was Staff 11 - Students 6.

Students were very generous in their donations

and support, raising a total of £94.38. Thank you

to everyone who took part and helped to raise

money for Marie Curie.

Students meet Mikel Rueda, Movie DirectorOn Thursday 24th November, twenty nine Year 9 and 10 Spanish

students went to the Cervantes Institute in Manchester to see the Spanish

film ‘A Escondidas’ (Hidden). The film dealt with many themes as well as

problems facing teenagers of a similar age in the Spanish (Basque) city of

Bilbao. On the whole the film was well received. Our students were then

treated to a Q&A session by the Director of ‘A Escondidas’, Mikel Rueda,

a huge privilege given that we were the only school there and none of the

students had previously met a film director before.

The Spanish experience did not end there as students were then taken

for tapas at the well known ‘El Rincon de Rafa.’ Students tried a variety

of dishes and enjoyed the experience. Given that the restaurant was

open to the public, the students were an absolute credit to the school,

displaying courteous and mature behaviour.

On Monday 14th November, the English department took thirty two Year 7 students to the historic John Ryland’s Library in Manchester for a special tour and writing workshop.They were shown valuable texts such as a second edition Shakespeare folio from the 1600s and a piece of the actual bible found in Ancient Egypt.After the tour, the students took part in a Gothic writing exercise in which they produced a story for publication on the Manchester University website. This built upon their prior learning of Gothic literature which they have been studying in lessons this half term.Mr Gilgun, who led the trip reported,“Being able to see books that were over 2,000 years old was really interesting and the students produced some fantastic descriptions of the library”.

Well done to everyone involved.

Students Learn About the Art of Gothic Writing

On Wednesday 5th October, Little Lever School hosted the ‘Final’ of their annual X-Factor competition

in which eleven fantastic acts took to the stage in the Drama Centre to perform their chosen songs.

After a week of enjoyable auditions, it was a tough decision on which acts should advance to the final

and in the end there was a range of talented performers from Year 7 all the way through to Year 10.

The final itself saw a packed drama centre of around 130 pupils, family and friends enjoy the

excellent performances.

For all students involved, it was a great opportunity to perform in front of a live audience to

develop their musical skills, their self-confidence and the opportunity to work as part of a team.

This is vital in developing them as musicians, performers and pupils for future years.

This year’s judging panel comprised of returning veteran judge Mr Cooke, Mrs Westwood and Mr

Tuff. Head Judge, Mr Cook, ‘I’m a veteran of these events now, and this was certainly the best

standard we’ve had yet!’

In the end, the audience voted for their winner, Drew Gudojc (Year 8), who sang a powerful

version of the Whitney Houston classic, ‘I Have Nothing,’ whilst the judges selected their winner

in the shape of Chelsea Walsworth (Year 9), singing the emotional ‘Jealous’ by Labrinth,’ which

saw many a tear shed in the audience. A big well done must go to ALL 11 finalists who excelled in

the event, our three judges, Mr Poole for his work on sound and Mr Jackson for organising and

hosting the event.

Little Lever School’s X-Factor Competition

Adam takes on Shakespeare at the Octagon Theatre

The school is proud to report that another of our students has recently performed in a

professional stage production. Adam Tyerman in Year 7 took on the role of Mamillius in

Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale” at the Octagon Theatre.

Adam reports that he found the role ‘great fun’ and he really enjoyed working with a

team of professional actors. The role required Adam to interact and react with the main

players. He had to learn all the monologues of all the lead actors in order to ensure his

timings were accurate and effective in creating a smooth performance. Adam dedicated

his free time to attending rehearsals.

David Thacker, director of the production, contacted school to share how impressed he was with Adam’s perfor-

mance. David writes, “I’d like to share with you, and the staff that teach Adam, how admirably Adam conducted himself at every

stage of the process. He was diligent, courteous, respectful and considerate. He tackled the task of seeking to express this beauti-

ful and complex play with great dedication. He worked extremely well with the 15 professional actors and was very popular with

them and the technical staff. Adam is a credit to his family and to his school.”

In recognition of Adam’s outstanding work, Adam has been presented with a special Headteacher’s award in the Year 7 assembly.

Adam reports that it his ambition to further his acting potential and possibly pursue it as a career. He is considering auditioning

for a part in the Octagon Theatre’s adaptation of Anne Bronte’s book ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ in March 2017.

The school is very proud of Adam, and we wish him every success in his future drama productions.

Great Success in the Girls’ Bolton Cup Competition

Year 9 Boys’ Football Success

The school is very proud to report of a fantastic achievement from our Year 7 and 8 girls’ football team in the final of the Bolton Cup

competition which took place on Wednesday 23rd November at the Power League facilities at Leverhulme Park.

During the group round they played and beat teams such as Thornleigh, Canon Slade and Ladybridge which took the girls to a place in the

knockout stages. During the semi-finals against Bolton School, the girls fought and played extremely hard and managed to secure a place

in the final with another win of 1-0!

During the final they were faced with St Joseph’s and the score at full time was 1-1.

The competition went to a penalty shoot out and after the 3 penalties each they were

tied at 3-3, taking it to sudden death. The score remained tied until the final player

penalty where both keepers were required to take a penalty. Unfortunately for us the

keeper of St Joseph’s made an outstanding save, making us overall runners up of the

competition. A fantastic achievement.

The organisers approached Mrs Jackson to not only praise the girls for their amazing

football skills but to express what a credit to the school the girls had been and what

sportsmanship they had shown throughout the entire tournament.

The whole school is extremely proud of their success. Well done to everyone involved.

Many congratulations to our Year 9 boys’ football team who have

qualified for the fourth round of the English Schools Cup, scoring 20

goals and only conceding 5 in the previous three rounds.

They have also qualified for the quarter finals of the Bolton Town Cup,

with Sam Tonge scoring 8 goals.

Three boys have been selected for the Town Team:

Adam Thomas, Sam Tonge and Alex Birmingham

Three boys have got into the final 28 for the county squad:

Byron Weekes, Adam Thomas and Keagan Barlow.

This is a fantastic achievement for all the boys. The school is very proud

of you all.

Spring Term begins Monday 9th January 2017

Half TermSaturday 18h February to Sunday 26th February 2017

Spring Term endsFriday 7th April 2017

Easter BreakSaturday 8th April to Sunday 23rd April 2017

DATESFOR YOUR DIARY

Owen Ward-Scott - Darts Superstar!

Success in the Bolton Schools’ Cross Country Competition

Owen Ward-Scott in Year

10 has for many years had

a real passion, interest

and skill in playing darts.

He has been committed

to working really hard

on perfecting his darts

skills, and as such, is

now performing at

a high level for his

age where he is now

becoming recognise at

a senior level.

To put his into

perspective, Owen tells us how he recently played and came within

one dart of achieving the magic nine-dart finish (two 180s, treble

20, treble 19 and just missed the treble 12!)

Owen represents Lancashire County u21s. He plays in the

Manchester Super league on a Sunday, Monday/Tuesday Bolton

league and Thursday Bury league. He has been entered to play

darts in the Isle of Man Competition on the 9th - 12th March 2017.

He has also been invited to play in the German Open in April.

Owen is currently in talks and is having a meeting in the near

future to play for Bolton Super 8s after being seen perform superbly

in Bury darts competition recently. He has also recently signed a

sponsorship deal with D. Havilland Ltd, which cover all his playing

costs and which will give him a real opportunity to pursue his

ambitions. Owen goes by the name of ‘Wardy Wipeout’ and his

moto is the Latin word ‘Ferox’ which means ‘fearless’!

Owen is playing a lot of darts but is aware of how important his

education is. Owen chose not to play in a key competition due to

his exams. Owen shows a fantastic attitude and a hard working

approach to his work in school and his burgeoning darts career.

The school is very proud of Owen and wishes him every success in

his upcoming competitions.

On Wednesday 12th October, students from Little Lever School took

part in the Bolton Schools’ Cross Country Championship held at

Smithills School.

This was a fantastic opportunity to compete in an individual and

team event against 14 other schools in Bolton. Any competitors who

finished in the top 15 qualified to represent Bolton in the Greater

Manchester Cross Country Championships in February 2017.

The school is delighted to report that a number of Little Lever School

competitors did qualify. Please find below some of the outstanding

results of students from Little Lever. Congratulations and well done to

all our students who took part in the event.

From all the Governors and Staffat Little Lever School

Wishing you a prosperousand healthy New Year!

01204 334 177Call to book your place:

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