da vinci centre opens - highcliffe school · • phase ii major re-wiring of the old gram-mar...

Highcliffe School, Parkside, Highcliffe, Christchurch, BH23 4QD [email protected]

H2U

Incorporating the Governors’ Report to Parents ...bringing Highcliffe to you...

Reporters :, Adam Grose (11.2), Gemma Lane (10.3), Lucy Brosnan (10.3), Harry Sherwood (10.6), Rachael Pickup (10.7), Brianna Kruger (10.8), Chantelle Albin (10.2) Editor Mr Coughlan

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

In the community Page 3

General Notices

Pages 4-7

Editor’s Note Page 4

Faculty News

Pages 8-12

The International Dimension

Page s 13-18 Governors’ Report to Parents

Between Pages 11 and 12

Activities Week 2004 9

...high, higher, Highcliffe...

Pages 20-21

Vol. 4 Issue 1– November 2004

H2U, Vol 4 Issue 1 - November 2004 Page 1

Editorial Team......

Da Vinci Centre Opens

Da Vinci Comes to Highcliffe (as of 3rd November 2004) Today has been a very special day at Highcliffe and in the life of any school community. We were able to welcome back all our students and launch our new Art, De-sign and Technology Cen-tre. Thank you for your pa t i en ce and co -operation. It has not been an easy chal-lenge – one that began some four years ago, with a leaking ROSLA roof. Given every-one’s support, inge-nuity, sheer hard work and belief, we have now got up and running the m o s t a m a z i n g teaching and learn-ing centre. We hope you enjoy the photographs and perhaps if you want to know more visit our website www.highcliffe.dorset.sch.uk to see a

small clip (title: ‘Time-delayed building’). We are sure that both staff and

students will do their very best to ensure that we offer the broadest range of opportunities to maximise potential. Most appropriately, through its very design and build quality it is in itself meant to be a teach-

i n g / l e a r n i n g stimulus for this curriculum area. Why Da Vinci? In looking for a suitable name to encapsulate what we have been a i m i n g t o achieve, we came up with ‘Da Vinci’. We want to empha-

sise the importance of ‘creativity’ in the curriculum and need to be ‘future think-

ing’. The remarkable Leo-nardo Da Vinci seemed to be a natural choice. I am sure that students will be finding out

more about him and his inspira-tional work. Most impor-tantly, we hope students are in-spired by this environment to

produce their own remarkable work and enjoy sharing their ideas and work with others. Over the last four years, High-cliffe has been most fortunate in that as a school built in the early 1960s, it is time for a re-fit. A number of people have asked how this has all come about, so I thought there might be others who are ponder-ing this question. Part of the na-tional educational agenda has been to dedicate con-siderable funds to addressing the state of repair and suitability of our school build-ing stock. This has required the dedication of considerable capital funds to invest in the modernisation of buildings and schools for the future. Virtu-ally all the work that has been and will be carried out at High-cliffe has been funded through those earmarked grants. We have made this work a priority and along with Dorset LEA undertaken an audit of the school to then produce a plan of action which then has been approved and allocated major funding in terms of capital and major repairs/maintenance money. This is totally separate

H2U, Vol 4 Issue 1 - November 2004

from our annual budget allocation for running the school. In recent months, a number of pro-jects have been accom-plished, and some are still to come. Examples: • Phase II major re-wiring of the old Gram-mar School building in-

cluding new ceilings • Three re-furbished science

laboratories which means all our science laboratories are of a high standard and speci-fication

• A new ICT room in the

main building • Currently, we are refurbish-

ing an old workshop to make a new music technol-ogy facility. This also helps to address an Ofsted pointer

• The rooms vacated by tech-nology in the Shepherd Building will soon be re-opened as a Sixth Form Study Centre

As well as new mobile class-rooms, to help bring together part of our Humanities

team as we work towards ‘suiting’ our curriculum teams and curriculum provision. The Disability Discrimina-tion Act (DDA) is intended to promote a more inclusive cul-ture and opportunities for all. In recent weeks, work has been carried out on all staircases to improve access. Walls, stairs and floor levels have been marked to assist those who are visually impaired. This com-plements the additional toilet facilities for the disabled. The school has a stair lift and initial work is in progress for a full lift. In the Da Vinci Centre a

number of the specialist areas have facilities specifically de-signed to pro-mote access to the curriculum. This is all part of a programme to improve the e n v i r o n m e n t and opportuni-ties for our c o m m u n i t y . Please look af-

ter them and make the most of them to produce the best work you can.

Judith Potts Headteacher


In the Community

Healthy Schools

Mutual support with DEED

Hengistbury Head

Four students from the D.I.G (Drugs Information Group) at the school have recently been very busy promoting the work that the group does in school. Holly Davies, Laura Butter-worth, Alice Gardiner and Michelle Jupp were chosen to attend the ‘Dorset Health Works’ Conference in Dorchester during July. There the team gave a presentation to the confer-ence on the D.I.G work that has been taking place within the school; its con-tent, its purpose, its bene-fits for the students in-volved and the wider stu-dent body. There was also

the opportunity to attend presentations given by other schools. Following on from this they were invited to give the presentation at the Public Health Annual Conference that took place in Wimborne at the beginning of Novem-ber. At this conference they presented twice to groups involved in the Healthy Schools Scheme. The four girls agreed that the experi-ence has been invaluable, greatly increasing their knowledge of the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Not only invaluable but also im-mensely enjoyable, as was

the entire year of work as part of the D.I.G team. The team has asked me to say that they hope the next D.I.G group gains as much from their time on the team as this years group has and will build on the work that has been done so far.

Report by Mr Johansen Healthy Schools Initiative

We read with some dismay a recent story in the Times Educational Supplement (TES) concerning the diffi-culties faced by outdoor activity centres that ser-vice schools. The main point made by the article was the rise in in-surance premiums that these centres must pay. One ex-ample given was the Hengistbury Head Cen-tre which has seen its in-surance premiums more than double over the last

two years – despite never having had a compensation claim made against it. The article was illustrated with a photo from Hengistbury Head that featured Year 11 student Jonathan Evans sail-

ing. We reproduce that photo here. The school would like to take this op-portunity to publicly express our sup-

port for the centre, with which we hope to continue our links long into the fu-ture.

The school was pleased re-cently to receive a visit from Louise Boston-Mammah of DEED (Development Education in Dorset). The purpose of the visit was for Louise to meet with a number of members of staff who work in areas that have a par-ticular interest in Develop-ment Education: Mr Camp-bell (Head of Language College), Mrs Stone (Citizenship Co-ordinator), Ms Kennedy (Head of Fac-ulty – Humanities), Mr Newitt (Geography Co-ordinator) and Mr Cough-lan (Intenational Links Co-ordinator). In a wide ranging and productive discussion the group ex-changed ideas about ave-nues of fruitful partnership that could be developed to the benefit of both parties and the wider community. We look forward to bring-ing you news of successful ventures resulting from this in the future.

Editor’s Note

Welcome to the first issue of Volume 4. This issue is slightly later than usual for two reasons. Firstly, we had to wait until after half-term to bring you news of all the exciting events hap-pening in the International Dimension. Secondly, this issue incorporates the An-nual Report of Governors to Parents (see middle sec-tion). You will notice that the Annual Report seems

shorter than in the past. This is because this year much of the information that we would normally put in the Report we actually in-cluded in the ‘Year in Re-view’ section of the previous issue of the newsletter. As a result we hope that the re-port contained here is clearer than in the past. We hope you enjoy it. If you wish to see it at its finest, visit the school web-site and follow the links for the electronic copy. You will

General Notices and Forthcoming Events

Lost Property

There is a considerable amount of lost property being kept at school at present. This includes coats, trainers, shoes and other uniform. None of this is named so we have not been able to return it. If parents are aware of any particular item missing, we would be happy to arrange a time to look through all that we have. Lost property still remaining after Christmas (that has been collected up to the end of November) will be given to charity shops. If you would like to come in to school, please telephone Mrs Thompson on 01425 273381 to arrange a mutually con-venient time.

Highcliffe School Christmas Puddings are back!! Large £8 Small £4

Hurry whilst stocks last Available from Student Support

Term Dates

In order to help you plan holidays appropriately be-low are the provisional term dates fro the aca-demic year 2005-2006. We stress that these dates are provisional, should any changes oc-cur we will notify you immediately. Autumn Term Begins—1st September Ends—20th December Half-term 24th-28th October Spring Term Begins—4th January Ends—31st March Half-term 13th-17th February Summer Term Begins—18th April Ends—21st July Half-term 29th May-2nd June


also see much more as we move towards electronic communication to get im-portant messages to par-ents. Speaking of ICT based communication, we would greatly appreciate any feedback you could give us on the ‘My Highcliffe’ site. Please send comments to Mr Downs via the school office or by e-mail to [email protected]

Christmas this year. To all of you who helped by mak-ing a box this year - thank you!

We heard just last week that Highcliffe School has been successful in its bid to become part of a local SCITT - School Centre for Initial Teacher Training. This means that Highcliffe, along with eight partner schools across East Dor-set, Bournemouth and Poole, will have accredi-tation from the Teacher Training Agency to re-cruit and train teachers from September 2005. The purpose of a SCITT is to train teachers from the local area, allowing people to undertake teacher training without having to travel far from their homes. This may appeal particularly to people looking for a ca-reer change or perhaps to return to work after

spending time with the family. The SCITT will be looking to train people to teach English, mathemat-ics, science, design & technology, ICT and mod-ern foreign languages. Trainees will need to hold a degree relevant to the subject they are training in, and will spend most of their time working in one of two placement schools in the local area, possibly Highcliffe, The Grange, Twynham or schools in Bournemouth & Poole. Highcliffe has been work-ing on the development of this SCITT, along with its partner schools, for the last two years, and it to achieve accreditation is a superb achievement, as this is something that is not granted lightly. Over the next two terms, staff

SCITT Success!

HAPPINESS IN A SHOEBOX!

Once again, Highcliffe stu-dents have taken part in Operation Christmas Child, the international appeal to provide boxes of presents for poor and needy chil-dren in Eastern Europe. Last year, we collected 224 boxes. At the time of writ-ing, this year's appeal is still running, and we have already passed that amount! Since half term, students and teachers across the school have been creating boxes, filling them with toys, stationery, clothing & toiletries. Along

with collections from fellow schools and local communi-ties, our boxes will be packed by local volunteers in Christchurch, and sent to join thousands of other boxes in their journey overseas. Through the thoughtfulness and generosity of everyone who made a box, hundreds of thousands of children will have a brighter

at Highcliffe will be play-ing their part in prepar-ing the courses that will start in September, looking forward to be-coming even more in-volved in the training of the teachers of tomor-row! If you would like to know more about High-cliffe's involvement in the SCITT, please con-tact Mr Yapp at the School. If you are inter-ested in possibly apply-ing for a place on the Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset East SCITT, look out for advertisements in the local press over the next month, or con-tact Lesley Cerfontayne at Twynham School.

Report by Mr Yapp


Attendance at Highcliffe

At the start of this academic year the school has been able to move towards a fully computerised system of attendance registration. Parents are requested to tele-phone to notify the school on the first day of any absence and to provide written confir-mation upon the re-turn of the student to school.

Parents and students are reminded that they can check atten-dance data online at www.myhighcliffe.dorset.sch.uk Please note that any queries over atten-dance issues should initially be addressed to Form Tutors.

Mr G Hughes

SECURITY NOTICE

External visitors must arrive via school reception

Access to the new Da Vinci Centre and any other school building must be via the school reception

only

The ‘H’ Factor Hits Highcliffe A major fund raising event for Highcliffe students who are working towards the ‘Kenya Challenge’ is to be held at the school on Friday

26th November.

Staff, students and parents have been busy organising the musical spectacular that showcases a wide of musical talent.

Funds raised from the evening will help to support 28 Highcliffe

students who are working their passage to the African continent. Part of their trip will involve the ascent of Mount Kenya but they

will primarily be engaged in a variety of community-based projects such as building a school and conservation tasks.

Tickets for the event are priced at £5 adult / £3 child and are

available from the school.

If you are able to contribute to the fund raising activities of the students in any way or would like to have more details about the

initiative please contact Miss Leslie.

Details about the concert itself will appear in the next issue of H2U


Music Lessons

Are you interested in having private or group singing lessons at school?

We are adding voice to the list of instruments offered for private

tuition within school .

Lessons will be starting in the January term.

If you are interested

please see Mr Trevorrow in Room 8.

A local organisation, ‘Clingan’sTrust’ (Registered Charity – No.307085), awards grants to students from the area. The awards are to put towards expenses relating to education and/or training for a career and also for music, the arts and social and physical training. Applicants must be under 25 with their family home within the trust area. Grants are made available at the dis-cretion of the trustees and application forms are avail-able from: Clingan’s Trust, 27 High Street, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1AJ. Telephone: 01202 486906.

Could we take this oppor-tunity to offer a gentle re-minder to parents that the school fund request letter was distributed recently. The school fund is an im-portant financing avenue for the school, allowing us to make large capital in-vestments targeted at spe-cific areas, that it would not normally be possible to fund out of faculty capita-tion. This year we are targeting the Expressive Arts Fac-ulty. We hope to buy a range of musical instru-ments to use for peripa-tetic lessons and a trampo-line for the PE department. These will make a real dif-ference to student oppor-tunities.

Clingan’s Trust A Reminder

SCHOOL FUND


Sixth Form Update Following on from the very successful Progression Day

and Sixth Form Open Evenings, we are now entering the next stage in advising students on their courses

for next year. There has been high interest from other schools locally

in coming to our Sixth Form. Applications for courses for September 2005 need to be

returned by Christmas 2004

Informal discussion are happening now and will con-tinue for the remainder of this term

Formal interviews will start in January The Da Vinci Centre now provides A levels in Art and De-sign, Art Textiles, Textiles, Graphics and Electronics New Sixth Form Study Centre now open, The Highcliffe Challenge in the Sixth Form has now been launched. Principal students for subject areas are in the process of being appointed to enable our high achieving students to share their enthusiasm and subject knowledge across

6th form Biology students visit Southampton Uni-versity A keen group of Year 12 A level Biology students ac-companied by Mr O’Connor and Mrs Stone went to the Biomedical Imaging Unit at Southampton General Hos-pital to see the electron mi-croscope and the confocal microscope which are


Faculty News

Expressive Arts

Science

The annual CADARTS (Christchurch and District Arts ) Festival heats took place at Twynham School on Sunday 10th October. Students from Year 9 per-formed an original dance piece for a highly experi-enced panel of judges from the dance field. Their performance was polished and professional and the feedback from the panel included the follow-ing comments: ' Good iso-lations with originality showing a lovely variety of steps and moves'. The students were awarded second place overall being only one

mark behind the winning group (a private dance school). The Highcliffe stu-dents were a credit to the school and their piece wesseen again at the dance evening held at the school on Thursday 11th November. Well done to all those involved! Future Events Thursday 25th November Theatre trip to the May-flower, Southampton to see 'Blood Brothers' Tuesday 14th December Year 11 Expressive Arts Evening.7.00pm.Performance Hall

Report by Mrs McGrath

Bournemouth Univer-sity ‘Biology Day’ On the 23rd of September a group of Year 12 and 13 biology students accom-panied by Mrs Stone vis-ited Bournemouth Univer-sity. The event was led by Anita Diaz, a lecturer in the School of Conservation Sciences. The day con-sisted of lectures and pres-entations on various differ-ent ecological topics. Dur-ing the afternoon, the group undertook practical sessions in one of the labo-ratories, which involved chemically and biologically analysing samples of river water to test for levels of pollution. Lunch was eaten in one of the university

cafeterias. The 6th formers welcomed the opportunity of visiting and experiencing life in a higher education establish-ment. The day was viewed as very productive and was enjoyed by all.

Report by Alex Sachs (Year 12)

Gifted & Talented As part of the Gifted and Talented Extension Pro-grame students in Year 9 had been working on a level 8 project in Science. As a follow up to their work I took them to "The BA Festival of Science" at Exeter University at the begining of Year 10 (this

September) where we at-tended a series of lectures and we met Dr. Robert Winston (from the BBC programme) after attend-ing one of his presenta-tions.

Report by Tim Johansen (Gifted and Talented

Co-Ordinator for Science)

housed there. A tour of the pathology laboratories proved to be very interesting and the students saw some organs being prepared for exami-nation. They also wit-nessed slides being pre-pared for the pathologist so that he could diagnose a patient who was on the operating table. Following lunch in the Uni-versity refectory the stu-dents were driven back through the New Forest and were delighted to have a lesson on fungi en route. However the deer proved elusive!

Report by Mrs Stone


Modern Foreign Languages

Cinema Club

Southampton University Open Day

On Wednesday 22nd Sep-tember a group of 37 Year 11 students were taken to the Southampton Univer-sity Open Day by members of the Modern Foreign Lan-guages Faculty. At 9.00am we set off from Highcliffe by coach towards our destination, New Col-lege. The very well planned day began with a warm welcome in one of the lecture theatres where we were told a number of interesting facts about the advantages of studying Modern Foreign Lan-guages: · Languages get more A/

B grades at AS/A2 level than any other subject groups.

· 95% of graduates who studied a language well get a job within six months of graduation

· graduates who know a second language earn, on average, 6.5% more than those who do not

· 92% of language graduates do some-thing other than being a language teacher

· there is a choice of 43 different degree combi-nations with a Modern Foreign Language available at Southamp-ton University

We then made our way to the two pre-lunch ses-sions. Each session lasted 40 minutes and was led by lecturers with the aim of giving the students a fla-vour of what to expect should they decide to study a Modern Foreign

Language at degree level. Mr Doyle accompanied the ‘French’ students whilst I joined the ‘German’ lin-guists. Year 11 students studying Spanish and Italian also had sessions. At mid-day the coach took us to Avenue Campus for lunch and the students soaked up the atmosphere of a univer-sity refectory – long queues, noisy discussions and lively debates in several foreign languages… a real interna-tional flavour. Lunch was followed by a film workshop before we journeyed back to New College where we at-tended two more seminars. Over the four seminars the students took part in a range of activities and lis-tened to talks covering lin-

guistic, literary, cultural, social and political themes. The entire group felt that the day had been an inter-esting and stimulating ex-perience and were very impressed by their first taste of university life! The students displayed a mature attitude and a positive approach to the things on offer and were a credit to themselves, their parents and the school! As a teacher who is new to the school I found it a real pleasure to accompany such students. Hoffentlich sehen wir Euch in der Oberstufe wieder!

Report by Frau Weidemannn

(Head of Faculty- MFL)

Être et Avoir. As part of National Schools Film week, A level French students were given the chance to see “être et avoir” at the Harbour Lights in Southampton. The group, accompanied by Mr Maurice and Mr Doyle, watched the film which fol-lows a year in the life of an infant school in rural France composed of one class of a dozen or so pupils and their teacher. ‘A master in quiet authority, schoolteacher Georges Lopez, patiently navigates the children to-wards adolescence, cool-ing their arguments and listening to their prob-lems. This documentary gives a rare glimpse of

school life in rural France.’ In order to continue to strengthen students’ cul-tural awareness of France Mr Maurice has set up a cinema club at which stu-dents may discover other classics of French cinema.This will help enhance cur-riculum work and stimulate an interest in, and under-standing of French culture.

Report: Mr Maurice

Meet the Language Assistants

We now have 3 new language assistants at the school. As part of their welcome to the school some Year 10 lingu ists tried to find out more about them. On the re-mainder of this page are the transcripts of their inter-views.

Marta Herrera 1. What part of Spain do you

come from? I come from Cordoba, which is in the south.

2. What made you come to England as a language assistant? I want to become an English teacher so I need to im-prove my English by communicating with actual English people.

3. What do you think of England so far? There are many dif-ferences. The weather is very different and I have found that the relationships between students are not as close as in Spain.

4. How does school life in Spain compare with England? In Spain they have exams every 3 months rather than lots of coursework to assess students.

5. What will you do after your time in Highcliffe? I hope to pass my exams to help me become an English teacher in a secondary school.

Interview by Sebastian Bush-Hipwood and Brett Joy

Sabine Wollny 1. Wie heißen Sie? Ich heiße Sabine Wollny 2. Woher kommen Sie? Ich komme aus Köln und wohne im

Moment in Pokesdown. 3. Beschreiben Sie sich: was für eine Person sind Sie? Ich bin

gut gelaunt, musikalisch und aufgeschlossen 4. Wie lange bleiben Sie in England? Hoffentlich für immer!

Aber erstmal ein jar… 5. Why did you come to England, and what do you like about

it? Ich bin nach England gekommen, weil ich gerne Deutsch unterrichten mö chte. Meine English kenntnisse verbessern und Leute kennenlernen möchte. Es gefallt mir sehr gut!

6. Do you like Highcliffe School and why? Yes, it is a very good school. The learning and the school itself is great.

7. Do you miss the country you came from? I miss my friends and family but I do not miss Germany itself.

8. Sprechen Sie bitte über /ihre Familie? Ich habe eine Schwester. Sie ist jünger als ich und wir versteten uns sehr gut

9. What is the biggest differ-ernce between England and Germany? The mentality: England is more relaxed.

10. Was ist Ihr Leiblingsessen (Favourite food)? Ich pro-biere alles gern (I like to try everything)

Interview by Nicholas Sparks

and William Gunnell

Laure Dworak 1. Where do you live in

France? In a little town called Joeuf.

2. Why did you come to Eng-land? To be an assistant.

3. What do you like about the Highcliffe area? It is a quiet place and I love the beach and landscape.

4. What do you think about Highcliffe School? It is a good school! There are a lot of people in the school and the students and staff are lovely.

5. What do you do in France? I was studying advertising.

6. Do you have any brothers and sisters? I have a brother, Brn, who is 17 years old.

7. Do you like England? I like visiting Dorset because it has a lot of landscapes to

visit that are charming and beautiful. I like visiting London for shopping and because it is famous. I like it when it is sunny but not when it rains. 8. How are French schools different from English ones? Uniforms! There are dif-

ferent timetables and the lunches are longer. They all have canteen lunches and a longer day. If you do not succeed in a year they keep you back a year in school.

9. What are your favourite hobbies? Shopping, cin-ema, dance and music.

Interview by Hollie Cawood,

Gina Howells, Alexia Louvieris and

Rowenna Silverwood


Cholet

Geography Fieldwork

This has been another busy term for the Geogra-phy Department. Year 12 started their A level course by going to Corfe Castle to look at the problems facing traffic management there and the possible alterna-tives to the current route, they then gave a presenta-tion back in school on their findings, including one group who made a video. This was followed by Year 8 going to Mill Lawn in the New Forest to do river fieldwork, including meas-

uring stream flow and the profile of the river. Year 7 went to Hengistbury Head to do coastal fieldwork and listen to a talk about the importance of the Head. It was a successful day and the weather was cold but dry. The half term finished with another Year 12 trip to Hengistbury Head to look at the proposed move west of the visitor centre and the impact that this may have.

Report by Mr. Newitt

Just before half term 24 students from our French partner school, the Collège Trémolières, spent a very successful week with their penfriends here on the re-turn leg of the exchange. During their stay they spent a day in school, ob-serving an assembly, visit-ing classes and participat-ing in international games of bench ball and dodge ball with their partners. Other events were a skit-tles evening and a visit to the Motor Museum and Palace House at Beaulieu. The French students made two visits to London and on the second occasion they were joined by their English penfriends for a “flight” on the London Eye and a visit to the Sherlock Homes museum. Sadly, the week soon came to an end and there were tearful farewells. Many new friendships were cre-ated and the students can take heart from the fact that last year’s exchange resulted in several private repeat visits and some families popping in to visit friends in Cholet on their way to the French coast for their summer holiday.

National School Wear Centre ‘Ties’ Exchange link for Highcliffe School Unusually, the cost of the visit by the students was subsi-dised by the French government on con-dition that the group research the topic of

‘School Uniform’ as a means of comparing the respective educational systems. As a result, the school made an SOS call to Linda Crowhurst, proprietor of the National School Wear Centre in New Milton, for a batch of school ties to present to the stu-dents as a memento of their visit to Highcliffe. Leader of the exchange party Mr Hill thanked Linda for taking the time to visit the school in order to present the students with their hon-orary ties. ‘As most French schools do not have a uniform require-

ment the children were in-trigued and very im-pressed by the fact that Highcliffe students wore their uniform with such pride’ he said. ‘I was only too pleased to help’ said Linda. ‘Highcliffe students had a great time showing their French counterparts how to do a tie’ she added. Due to the status of High-cliffe School as a language college the link has grown from strength to strength over the past few years and has greatly enhanced the opportunities for stu-dents to utilise their skills in modern foreign lan-guages.


The Mathematics Faculty has recently changed the GCSE scheme so students now follow a modular scheme. The qualification now requires students to sit three module ex-aminations and continue to complete two pieces of coursework. Below is the breakdown of the modules, their weightings and important dates for exams and dead-lines for coursework. Module 1 Data Handling Examination (11%) Calculator & Non-Calculator Paper 25 minutes each Year 10: Wednesday 17th November 2004 Module 2 Data Handling Coursework (10%) Year 10 deadline: Monday 13th December 2004 Module 3 Number Examination (19%) Calculator & Non-Calculator Paper 40 minutes each Year 10: Wednesday 29th June 2005 Module 4 Investigation coursework (10%) Year 11 deadline: Friday 21st January 2005 Module 5 Algebra & Shape Examination (50%) Year 11: Monday 7th June 2005 Non-Calculator paper 1 hr (Foundation Tier); 1¼ hrs (Intermediate & Higher Tiers) Year 11: Wednesday 15th June 2005 Calculator paper 1 hr (Foundation Tier); 1¼ hrs (Intermediate & Higher Tiers) As every module counts towards the final grade it is vital that all students attend examinations and meet deadlines for coursework. If students are absent from examinations it will result in an additional fee being requested to re-sit the missed module.

Report by Miss Hayman

Mathematics modular Examinations

PE—The Term so far...

The PE department has got off to a great start this academic year with its ex-tra-curricular activities. The fixtures list for a range of sports is extensive and the number of students in-volved has been more than ever. The rugby teams have seen much success. The Year 7 team has been un-beaten in friendly matches against local schools. Year 8 team has had moderate success as had the Year 10/11 team. The most suc-cessful team this year has been Year 9, who recently came runners-up in the area schools tournament against 10 other schools. The netball teams have also seen much success. The Year 7 team has got off to a great start and is through to the quarter-finals of the area schools tournament. The Year 11 team has had similar suc-cess showing good results in the New Forest League and reaching the quarter-finals of the area schools tournament. The most suc-cessful team to date is the Year 8 team. They have had great success in friendly matches and are a year young in the New For-est League where they have drawn or beaten the schools involved. The girls football teams have continued to show much enthusiasm by the students and the number of girls attending after school practices has ex-ceeded previous years. The

Year 7 team has shown great potential and has won friendly matches. The examination courses of-fered to students in PE have had great take up. There are over 60 students studying PE at GCSE level and 19 students studying A level PE. We are also continuing with the highly successful Community Sports Leaders award, and once again the

course is heavily over-subscribed. We have also given 6th Form students the opportunity to compete in a number of sports against other schools in-cluding rugby and football. We hope to extend this to other sports throughout the year.

Maria Kovacevic Head of PE


During the October half-term holiday Mr Campbell, Mrs Stone, Mr Newitt and Miss Reeves made a flying visit to Highcliffe’s Indian partner school – the Padma Sesha-dri Bala Bhavan Secondary School in Chennai, South-ern India. The aims of the visit were to investi-gate the nature of the teaching and learning in the In-dian school, give both schools an opportunity to share good practice in manage-ment and Continu-ing Pro-fessional Develop-ment and will form the basis for the Citizen-ship / PSHE programme for 2004-5. Most importantly, the underlying aim was to deepen the links between the two schools and to en-courage student communi-cation by using technology such as video-conferencing and e-mail and possibly an exchange in the future. The visit included Highcliffe teachers teaching lessons in Science, English and Geography, discussion of

management issues and lesson observation. The Highcliffe teachers’ lessons were very well received by the Indian students, and

Miss Reeves was even asked for an encore performance! We were also able to be

present at the school’s triennial project in which the whole school collapsed its timetable and devoted itself to the display of pupil-

produced materials on the subject of the environment. Mr Campbell said: “The visit has given Highcliffe a real opportunity to widen its horizons and to offer students in Christchurch a new window on learning and the world at large. Chennai is a city with

a growing ICT sector – it is with areas like this in the world which the United Kingdom will have to compete if it is to remain a

world economic force. The motivation and the focus of the Indian students was impressive and provides an excellent example for us back at home”.

Miss Reeves adds: "I was extremely impressed with the level of comprehension in each of the lessons I taught. The students were very enthusiastic and dem-onstrated a real passion for the English language. This was an experience of a lifetime and I feel very lucky to have been in-volved with such an excit-ing project." Mr Newitt saw the visit in a truly geographical light:

“It was a very interesting experience with so much to see and take in. The weather was a

pleasant 32OC with quite high humidity everyday. As this is the coldest point of

The International

Dimension

The school sees its responsibilities as a Language College as going beyond the teaching of languages. It is about giving our young people a true sense of the world at large as well as their responsibilities and their opportunities within it. A vital component of this is the development of links with our partner schools whether via electronic technology or by the use of personal experience.

Highcliffe teachers make the grade in India



the year, the summer must be very warm indeed! We announced our arrival by bringing monsoon rains, which we were informed, was very auspicious and made our visit more special as they were in desperate need of it to recharge the dwindling ground water levels for the city. As it was 18oN the sun set very promptly every evening at 6.30pm, but the city remained very much alive late into the evening, horns on vehicles providing background noise. Chennai was a bustling, dynamic city with something happening wherever you looked. Bill boards for Bollywood movies lined major roads and autorickshaws dodged in and out of the traffic skirting around bullock carts and the odd cow. It was an interesting mix of the traditional and modern world. The stereotypical image portrayed by the media was certainly challenged by our enlightening visit to India.” The school was fascinating and the students were very talented and hard working. The students excel at sport as well with

one former student representing India in table tennis at the Athens Olympics. We had the opportunity to visit a school

where a large proportion of the students were the first members of their family to experience formal education. The school is set

on the outskirts of Chennai and had a very special atmosphere. The staff and students were

all very welcoming and friendly, we felt privileged to have been welcomed into their school community and look forward to the closer

ties between our respec-tive schools for the future.” The Highcliffe staff had the opportunity to visit the

British Council in Chen-nai and also to be pre-sent for the school’s Triennial Project which

was devoted to the envi-ronment. The Indian stu-dents had transformed the school into a series of dis-plays and demonstrations,

produced by them-selves, on topics such as genetics and global warming. The mes-sage was clear: the environment is of as much concern on the sub-continent as it is in the UK. Highcliffe also made the national Indian press with two articles in leading newspa-

pers. The visit is recipro-cated by a visit from Mrs Hemalatha Seshadri - the international schools award co-ordinator from the part-

ner school who will spend a week at Highcliffe to further embed the links be-tween our two schools.

Report by Mr Campbell, Mrs Stone, Mr Newitt &

Miss Reeves


Locally rooted, but globally referenced

ONE THING that has struck British school educators Nigel Campbell and his colleague Ca-triona Stone about Indian stu-dents is their "tremendous fo-cus".

"We feel that pupils here are very dedicated," said Ms. Stone, here as part of a four-member team from Highcliffe School, Dorset county (U.K.) visiting Chennai through the British Council.

What difference did they find between classrooms in England and in India? Well, interactivity, they said. "In England, pupils take part in discussions in small groups; interactivity is a very common feature in the class-room," said Ms Stone.

Mr Campbell, director of the Language College, Ms Stone,

who teaches science and citizen-ship, English teacher Amy Reeves and Geography teacher Mathew Newitt, took classes for students and discussed curricula and teaching strategies with their counterparts at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan School, Nungambak-kam.

"We think teaching is very effec-tive here; students are very ar-ticulate and are of a very high standard. But most importantly, the students seem happy in their learning environment," said Ms. Stone.

"Some families that have moved abroad have sent their children back here for school. This shows the confidence they have in the system," said Mr. Campbell.

PSBB is trying for the British Council International Schools Award, which the Highcliffe School won in 2003. "It is basi-cally an initiative to encourage and maintain an international di-

mension to studies," he said. He uses the term `glo-cal' to refer to an education, which is locally rooted but with refer-ence points that are global.

The two schools have been in touch since November 2003 and have had a videoconfer-ence prior to the visit. School-to-school linkages across conti-nents allow teachers to broaden the scope of curricula, gather information and give students international perspective.

"In the current world situation, anything that furthers under-standing between young people and breaks down barriers is worth doing," said Mr. Camp-bell. "We have had a particu-larly good insight into Indian culture during the visit. I doubt if we would have had this op-portunity if we were here on business with a firm," he said.

By Akhila Seetharaman

Here are two articles that appeared in

newspapers in Tamil Nadu about the Highcliffe teachers.


Exchange trip to Lake Como, Italy, 2004

Twenty-one students of Italian in years 8, 9, 11 and 12 were given the op-portunity to sample a true taste of Italian life and culture this October through participation in the Italian exchange trip to Lake Como. Accommodated by the families of stu-dents from the Scuola Me-dia Dedalo-Orsoline S. Carlo, a middle school situ-ated in the centre of the city, they gained an insight into some of the typical habits and routines of school children in this part of Italy. The students were warmly received by their exchange families and many of the English par-ticipants were struck by the kindness and generos-ity of their Italian hosts.

Similarly, a number of the families also complimented the English students’ at-tempts to communicate in

Italian and reported posi-tively on their behaviour, commenting for example that accommodating their English guest ‘had truly been a wonderful experi-ence’ and that they want to make every effort to main-tain the link. In addition to gaining direct experience of school and home life in Italy, students were offered a variety of trips to places of local inter-

English students visit our friends at the ‘Orsoline’

Como – “This is an initiative which I applaud: it is an experience that makes children better people and citizens because as well as study-ing a foreign language they are able to open their minds and to integrate culturally”. This is how Como’s Mayor Stefano Bruni (pictured in the photo during a visit to the school) greeted twenty-one English students, who stayed with families in Como for a week organised by the Istituto Orsoline San Carlo. The participants were students from Highcliffe School in Christ-church, Bournemouth, who learn Italian as one of their main foreign languages. The rap-port between the two schools originated as an e-mail exchange and developed into a mutual wish between teachers at both schools, that the study of languages should not be based just on textbooks, but should become a real-life experience. In March next year it will be the turn of the students of the Orsoline school to fly to England and experience an “English-style” week.

est, including ‘Le Gallerie’ shopping centre in Milan, the lakeside resort of Bel-lagio, San Siro football sta-

dium, the Minitalia theme park and the hilltop town of Ber-gamo. On the final day students from the school organised a leaving party, where the English partici-

pants delivered presenta-tions in Italian, thanking their hosts for their hospi-tality and describing their opinions on what they had experienced. It was clear from these speeches that the Italian culture and way of life had made a lasting impression on each partici-pant and that their overall sentiment to their partners was ‘Grazie, arrivederci e non vediamo l’ora di ospi-tarvi in Inghilterra!’.

Below is a scan of an article that appeared in a local paper in Como. To the right of it is the translation

Hiroshima link goes from strength to strength

On Monday 1st November, nine new students joined Highcliffe School. Sure, their names were the same as those who had left for Tokyo, some 9 000 miles away, on Fri-day 15th Oc-tober, but on the inside, by the time they had returned to Heathrow on Saturday 30th, they were different people, touched and trans-formed by Japan and its people. As many of you are no doubt aware, nine students accompanied by Mrs Brice, Head of Technology,and myself recently spent two weeks in Japan. This was Highcliffe School’s second visit to Japan and is part of the con-tinuing devel-opment of our warm connection with Jo-hoku High School for Boys in Hiroshima City, who had visited us in March of this year. We spent the Sunday morning in Tokyo before taking the Nozomi “Bullet Train” to Hiroshima. Upon arriving at Hiroshima sta-tion, we were warmly greeted by our host fami-lies and buddies. Our stu-dents then disappeared into the night to homes filled with hot food and

friendly faces. Our first day at Johoku High School was also quite busy. We were given a guided tour

of the school and of Hesaka, the suburb in which the school is situated. In the afternoon, we had a “Welcome Cere-mony.” During this the entire

staff and student body gath-ered in the school sports ground. The principal, Mr Funaha-shi, gave a short in-troduction, then each one of us stood on a podium and gave a brief introductory speech in Japanese! After that formal greeting, there was an infor-

mal party inside with the host buddies and families. Our time at Johoku School was filled with wonderful cul-tural experiences and trips, although there was one day

we didn’t go to school: on Wednesday school was can-celled owing to the massive ty-phoon that was lashing the coast of Japan. Our first trip was to Miya-jima. This is a staggeringly beautiful island with a shrine that seems to float in the water. Some of the students regard our visit there as a major highlight and that was

despite the rain. Out other trip was to the Peace Mu-seum and Peace Park. This made students more aware of the historical signifi-cance of Hiroshima as the first city to have been atomic bombed. We were also fortunate in that Mr Yoshikawa, one of the main instigators of the ex-change programme, had succeeded in arranging a visit for us to UNITAR, a division of the United Na-tions that has its Asian

base in Hi-roshima. In fact, High-cliffe is the first school ever to have

visited this branch of the UN. The director of UNITAR, Hi-roshima, gave a short presentation on their or-ganisation. She explained that the organisation seeks to learn from the experi-ence of post-war Japan in order to teach present-day

war-torn countries, such as Af-ghanistan, how to re-build them-selves. The talk was in-teresting and inspira-

tional. Our students asked interesting questions and the director was very im-pressed with the way they listened and contributed. At Johoku School itself we


were kindly introduced to a number of cultural activi-ties. The stu-dents enjoyed “Kendo”, a kind of Japa-nese sword-fighting. After-wards, myself, Charlotte Bar-rett, Emma Fisher and Robert Carey were inter-viewed for the local news-paper. We also learned how to put on “kimonos” and “yukatas”, traditional Japanese costumes. Put-ting these on involved a lot of intricate folding and ty-ing, and definitely wasn’t easy. Our time at Johoku culmi-nated on Wednesday 27th in a some formal speeches of thanks to Johoku and our host families, and an exchange of gifts, followed by a party. On Thursday, we gathered for our final farewells on Hiroshima sta-tion platform. The close-ness of the bonds that had been formed between stu-dents from Highcliffe and their buddies was moving to see. The final part of our trip involved a tour of the an-cient capitals of Kyoto and Nara arranged by the friendly and helpful Mr Hata. Here we saw some of the main attractions such as the Golden Tem-ple. Our stay in Japan came to an end with a high-spirited and good-humoured meal at a lively, “kushi” (kebab-style) res-taurant. Overall, it was a tremen-dous experience. Whilst there were many enjoyable

times, the students also had to be very flexible and

adaptable as they negoti-ated cultural differences and different ex-pectations. It was, in many respects, very hard work for them, but they

return changed people filled with wonderful memories. Thank you to Johoku School and the hosts for making this possible!

(By the way, you may be interested to know that we will have 12 Japanese stu-dents coming over from Johoku School in March 2005. If you’re interested in hosting, please let me know and look out for fur-ther details soon. Our next trip to Japan, will be in Oc-tober 2006. Again, if you’re interested let me know and look out for more information in the near future.)

Report by Mr Bryden

Fiona Kyle (Year 9) “I enjoyed trying all the different cul-tural activities such as putting on the kimonos and kendo.” “Miyajima was unique.” “The food was very different and I did-n’t have any Western style food. I tried quite a lot of food including squid, which I hadn’t expected to like.” Daniel Titley (Year 11) “Out of all the sight, Miyajima was the most impressive despite the rain.” Robert Carey (Year 11) “After going to UNITAR, I think we are more aware of Hiroshima’s global sig-nificance.” “The homestay family was very kind and welcoming. They understood that we would find it hard to adapt to their way of life.” Charlotte Barrett (Year 10) “The family, students and staff of Jo-hoku school all made me feel welcome. They were all willing to help and teach us.”


Musical Music!

During Creative Arts Day, they were many activities, including Art, Media Studies and Music. In this report I will be telling you, in depth, about music and what the students who chose music for their activity thought and got up to in their day. There were a to-tal of sixteen students who did music for the creative arts day. For their assignment they had to design and make different musical instru-ments using unusual ma-terial such as milk bot-

tles! There were many games being

played, such as “the empty chair game” which is a little like musi-cal chairs, with-out music!! It looked like eve-ryone was enjoy-

ing themselves and having a great time, this included Ms Wright and Mr Hobbs!”The happy and friendly atmosphere added to the “happy-like” vibe buzzing around the room. It was easy to see that everyone was pulling together within their groups and showed an excellent example of good teamwork.

“ I am really enjoying the project and find the music really interesting” says Amy Crosley one of the students enjoying their time in the music project. All of the students who are taking part in this activity will be producing a new mu-sical instrument and com-

Sizzling Sculp- tures!

During activities week there was one day set aside for arts day. There were many activi-ties running though out the day, such as dance, art projects, drama, mu-sic and sculpture. Sculpture included making carnival masks based around a recorded story in Alexandria from ancient Greek historians’ record of travel to Britannia. Masks were made from wood, clingfilm and papier-mâché. The wood was the main base of the mask and the clingfilm was a base for the papier-mâché, which was going

to cover the whole of the mask and create the final shape. These masks were going to be covered in plastic bags to give the final col-our of the masks. Students were enjoying them selves and chose this subject be-cause they enjoy making different

and unusual compositions. The students were pleased with the out come of the masks.

Miss Barrall was very

pleased with the students and their masks and believed that the students will have completed their carnival masks by the end of period 5. Students were not just making masks but outfits to match their masks made from the cut up

ACTIVITIES WEEK JULY 2004

Activities week this year was another resounding success with every single student involved in a range of on-site and off-site activities. These included such things as trips to France, finding our about prison life, canoeing at Hengistbury Head etc. One of the new activities this year was Artsday. As part of this a group of students produced a newspaper about the day, on the day. This page reproduces part of the news-paper. Please visit the school website to view the excellent work of these stu-dents and of the students involved in the various Artsday Activities.


high...higher...Highcliffe!

As you know, we believe it is very important that we recognise the achievements made by all of the members of the school community. This applies whether those achievements are academic, sporting or social and also whether they are made in school or outside school. The more achievements are recognised, the greater the

incentive to achieve even more.

Tetrathlete now—Future Olympic Modern Pentathlete?

Occasionally we are able to bring you news of a High-cliffe student not only making a splash at the na-tional level but also laying the foundations for even more success in the future. Here, in Grace’s own words, is a description of one such event. “Tetrathlon is a tough physical challenge combin-ing the skill of air pistol shooting with the determi-nation, strength and physi-cal fitness of swimming and running. Then there’s also the riding phase which requires a lot of practice and a bit of nerve! I have been competing in tetrathlon for 4 years which is not that long com-pared to other competi-tors. I am a member of the West Hampshire Branch of the Pony Club which covers Dor-set and Hampshire and is a part of Area 14. There are 20 areas in the U.K and about 15 branches in each area. Tetrathlon is four disci-plines: Shooting from 10 metres,

the targets are exposed for 4 seconds. Swimming as far as you can in three minutes. Running 1500 metres cross country. Riding a cross country course, 3’3” in height. To be able to go to the na-tional cham-pionships you must qualify. This makes sure you are a good enough competitor to represent your branch and your area. At the area qualifiers there are 6 qualifying places, I qualified in 2nd place, the competition was really hard and I was pleased I made it to the championships. I was

going to be competing against the best tetrathletes in the country. A month later the national champion-

ships were held from the 19th-22nd august at War-wickshire college. Four classes are held: Novice Girls and Boys and Open Girls and Boys. An interna-tional competition was also


being held, with teams from Canada, USA, Ireland and Great Britain. The swimming was the first phase on the Friday morning, swimming is one of my better phases and I

was really looking for-ward to it. I was in the last heat, these heats are seeded so the weaker swimmers go 1st and then work

up in ability, and this meant that I was in the best group for the swim-ming. I was really pleased with how I did, although it was quite a way off my personal best. The shooting took place on the Friday afternoon, I find this phase really nerve racking, but I had to keep calm other wise my arm would shake! We shoot against a turning target from 10 metres using an air pistol. The Saturday was the run; this is my weakest phase and as it had rained the night before the course was really muddy. I walked the course in the morning and it was one of the hardest courses I had


ever done, with the last 500metres of the course being up a very steep hill. I was pleased with my time as I found the course very tiring. The Sunday morning was my favourite phase, the ride. I got my horse ready and started to warm him up getting myself focused, running through the course in my head. The cross country was a 2 mile course and the aim is to get round without having any stops or problems. I went clear and scored the maximum points for this phase.

The prize giving was later that afternoon and when the scores came out I found out that I had come 13th out of 80 competitors some of which were 21 yrs old. I was really pleased with how I did and all the points were really close. I came 4th in the swim and I got a medal for competing. Hopefully next year I will be able to compete in the Open Girls class. I am really proud of my achievement and all the hard work I put into train-ing has paid off.”

Grace Godwin 11.5

Charity Swim

Well done to James Taylor (7.8) who took part in a charity swim on behalf of the British Heart Foundation over the sum-mer. The event was the ‘Pier-to-Pier Swim’ in which

participants swam the 1.4 mile stretch from Bourne-mouth Pier to Boscombe Pier. James managed to complete the swim in 70 minutes.

Starting on the musical path

Cricket Success

News reaches us that Joshua Thayne (7.7) has not only been playing for the Under 11s New Forest Cricket Team. Additionally, he is soon to try out for two other teams—New Milton Under 11s and, most excitingly, the Hampshire Under 13 side. Well done Joshua, we look forward to hearing of even more success in the future.

Congratulations to Bethan Needs (7.5) who has started on the long , sometimes difficult but exciting path to musi-cal excellence. She achieved her Grade 1 Piano this summer. She worked very hard for the examination and was awarded a Merit grade. Well done, Bethan, keep it up!

Recent Honours Book Awards

Here is a selection of the most recent awards made to students. Amber Stark (8.1)- Runner up in the London Theatre Guide Poster Competition. Annabelle Heaseman (8.1) – Sway Bowman 2004 Girls Champion. Lewis Aimson (8.3) – For being selected to take part in a football tournament in Italy. Chelsea Buckingham (8.5) – Highest individ-ual fund-raiser for the Readathon 2004. Alex Martin (9.2) –For ‘Maturity During a Cri-sis’, Rousing his family and saving them from a house fire in the middle of the night. Amirah Peersaib (9.4) – Also for ‘Maturity During a Cri-sis’, in assisting a col-lapsed woman on the way home from school Charlotte Arias-Casquete (9.5) Chloe Davies (9.5) Laina Gould (9.6), Sophie Needs (9.5) – For achieving 2nd place in the Dance Heats at the CADARTS Festival. Will ( (10.8) and Rebecca Carling (8.2) For ‘Bravery in an ex-treme situation’. They were involved, with their family in a serious holi-day coach crash in Aus-tria over the summer. You will have seen this on the national news.

Plea

se u

se t

his

slip

to info

rm u

s of

any

ach

ieve

men

t, w

het

her

in o

r out

of sc

hoo

l, o

f w

hic

h y

ou a

re p

roud a

nd w

ould

lik

e ce

lebra

ted in

the

school new

slet

ter.

N

am

e o

f S

tud

en

t :

T

G:

Natu

re o

f A

chie

vem

en

t :

Ach

ievem

en

t to

Cele

bra

te

Plea

se u

se t

his

slip

to info

rm u

s of

any

ach

ieve

men

t, w

het

her

in o

r out

of sc

hoo

l, o

f w

hic

h y

ou a

re p

roud a

nd w

ould

lik

e ce

lebra

ted

in t

he

school new

slet

ter.

N

am

e o

f S

tud

en

t :

TG

: N

atu

re o

f A

chie

vem

en

t :

Ach

ievem

en

t to

Cele

bra

te

Plea

se u

se t

his

slip

to info

rm u

s of

any

ach

ieve

men

t, w

het

her

in o

r out

of sc

hoo

l, o

f w

hic

h y

ou a

re p

roud a

nd w

ould

lik

e ce

lebra

ted

in t

he

school new

slet

ter.

N

am

e o

f S

tud

en

t :

TG

: N

atu

re o

f A

chie

vem

en

t :

Ach

ievem

en

t to

Cele

bra

te

Plea

se u

se t

his

slip

to info

rm u

s of

any

ach

ieve

men

t, w

het

her

in o

r out

of sc

hoo

l, o

f w

hic

h y

ou a

re p

roud a

nd w

ould

lik

e ce

lebra

ted in

the

school new

slet

ter.

N

am

e o

f S

tud

en

t :

TG

: N

atu

re o

f A

chie

vem

en

t :

Ach

ievem

en

t to

Cele

bra

te


Can we take this opportunity to thank all parents who have taken advantage of the these achievement slips to inform us of the activities and successes of our young people. As ever we wish to celebrate all the achievements of the students, in and out of school. We are unable to do this without your support.

da vinci centre opens - highcliffe school · • phase ii major re-wiring of the old gram-mar...

Documents