excel spring 13 email

The News Magazine of Rivington & Blackrod High School

Summer 2013

Community . Standards . Inclusion

EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENTAWARDS FORCREATIVE DESIGN

Connor Leaf and Samantha Johnson, Year 11

Welcome from the Head TeacherThis year has been exceptionally busy, with lots of exciting activities having taken place. We saw an improvement in results across all key stages in the summer examinations and we were pleased when our visit from Ofsted in January gave us the external affirmation that our school is good with a “strong culture of learning and achievement, where students are keen to succeed.” A range of lessons were observed, which demonstrated good and outstanding teaching and learning and students exceeding their challenging targets for academic performance.

Students had the opportunity to showcase their talents through Rivi’s Got Talent and we are now looking forward to next years’ school production as auditions will be taking place…watch this space for further information. Activities week, once again, saw the school buzzing with excitement as students had the opportunity to sample an array of activities in different contexts and enjoyed trips out to Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Importantly, everybody had fun. We have also said goodbye to our year 11 and year 13 students and we know that their good work will pay off in August, when their results arrive with us. Good luck to all in their examination results, further study or future careers and thank you to everybody who has supported them to realise their ambition. I would like to thank staff, governors, students and parents for their contribution to making our school such a special place. Have a great summer and thank you for your continued support.

Tony Purcell, Head Teacher

Pupils of the Year – Foundation

LearnersWe are pleased to announce our foundation

learner pupils of the year as Connor Leaf and Samantha Johnson. Connor

was awarded for giving 100% effort in all areas. Connor will follow his passion for

Dance. We wish him every success, as he gains a place at Performing Arts College,

Manchester. Samantha completed her catering / hospitality course with great

enthusiasm, has gained skills noted by her placement provider De Vere Whites Hotel

and as a result she has gained full time employment.

Janette Hilton, Teaching Assistant

1 / Community . Standards . Inclusion www.rbhs.co.uk

News

Community . Standards . Inclusion / 3 www.rbhs.co.uk

The Governing Body at Rivington and Blackrod High School consists of a friendly group of 18 volunteers, representing parents, staff, the church, local authority, local business and the community.

We are actively involved in school life, for example interviewing staff, trips, social events, attending interesting meetings and we all have a departmental link.

Recently, we welcomed two new Governors, Peter Holden and Julia Bennett (pictured here with Judith Marsden, left).

In the autumn term, we will have two vacancies: one parent and one co-opted governor. Please consider getting more involved and take the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of young people at Rivington.

Judith Marsden, Chair of Governors

Governor News

School Production 2014 After the huge success of the school production of ‘We Will Rock You’ and audiences were dazzled by the talent shown in ‘Rivi’s got Talent’, it has been decided that the Drama and Music Departments will start scouting for Musical Theatre talent in actors, singers and dancers for our school production 2014. The live production will run for five nights in March and the department are holding open auditions in early September. More information is available from your teachers. Janine Stephens, Head of Drama

Keswick to BarrowThe staff challenge for 2013 was a 40 mile sponsored walk, from Keswick to Barrow in the Lake District. Twenty staff walked through appalling conditions of torrential rain, high winds and hail for 12 hours to complete the challenge. The great Rivi spirit pulled the team through and everyone proudly completed the challenge, raising over £1200 for Cumbrian based charities. Kelly Towler, Project Management Assistant

Christian Aid Week took place during May of this year and as usual, Rivington and Blackrod students supported with a fundraising effort.

In order to raise funds, students from all year groups, with the assistance of staff from the Art Department held a doughnut sale during breaktime.

£186.00 was raised on the day and a big thank you goes to all the students and staff who supported this good cause on the day.

Graham Gartside, Media Production

Manager

Leanne Greenwood, David Waugh and Kath McGuire

Careers Convention at the Reebok Stadium Students in year 9 once again enjoyed the annual Careers Convention at the Reebok Stadium. This year there were stalls from prospective colleges and employers, activities run by Connexions and even a visit by Lofty the Lion! Year 9 Student, Samuel Bate said, ‘It was fun looking at the college courses and speaking to the people about jobs.’

Deena Payne, Support Coordinator


We recently celebrated our traditional Year 11 Leaver’s Ball held at Park Hall, Chorley as over 300 students and staff enjoyed a lively evening, lovely food, witty repartee, presentations and dancing until late.

What a fantastic way for staff and students alike to celebrate their time together. Julie Wordsworth, Key Stage 4 Tutor Room

Year 11 Celebrate in Style

Year 7 Residential: a great successThe weekend of the year 7 residential was the hottest of the year to date, with temperatures reaching mid to high 20’s (Celsius). Set against this heat wave, 100 year 7 pupils and 20 staff set off for the year 7 residential on Anglesey. Over the weekend pupils tried their hand at canoeing, kayaking, raft building, climbing, abseiling, walking along narrow beams, 60 feet in the air as well as learning bushcraft skills. Evenings were spent on the football and rounders fields or the blindfold trail. After a hectic and fun few days, everyone returned safely with their own story to tell.

Martin Keene, Teacher of Maths

Year 7 students

Who killed Chico Mendez?This term, year 8 pupils in Geography took part in a mystery activity based on the real-life murder of Chico Mendez - a Brazilian rubber tapper who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest. Pupils took part in a mock trial during lessons with the aim of helping them to understand, in detail, the causes and effects of deforestation, whilst trying to work out who killed Chico Mendez. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we certainly witnessed some budding barristers and environmentalists of the future!

Jane Chesney, Teacher of Geography Attika Akram, Nathan Fleming, Teresa Fletcher, William Kirkpatrick, Year 8

Nathan Dohdakia and Kiera Bailey, Year 11

Faculty

Rivington and Blackrod Performing Arts students presented their final Musical Performance called ‘A Song from the North’ to audiences through the first week of July. The performance, an alternative musical adaptation of Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’ featured a selection of well known ‘Brit-pop’ songs which got the audience tapping their toes. Our students put on an excellent performance which was enjoyed by everybody, well done to all!

Lauren Mulholland, Head of Music

A Song from the North

Geography Olympics 2013


Students in Year 8 have been learning about how sport is linked to Geography. During Activities Days we all visited Blackburn Rovers Education Centre to explore the topic, further focussing on London 2012. We mapped the distribution of the countries winning medals and made a film about the legacy of the Olympics, looking closely at the impact that it had on the North West. All of this hard work was rewarded with a tour of the ground, visiting the changing rooms, the media conference centre and even the police cells. Sam Johnson remarked ‘It was really interesting to see behind the scenes of the stadium.’

Angela Hardman, Head of Geography

A team of six year 9 students represented Rivington and Blackrod High School at the Bolton West key stage 3 Forensic Science Challenge.

Students had to analyse a crime scene, conduct forensic tests, interpret evidence and scrutinise statements made by suspects. Their final task was to analyse all the information in order to draw a conclusion that fit the evidence. Not only did we win the event, but our students set two national records in the ‘observational skills’ and ‘analysis and conclusion’ activities.

Kathryn Scholes, Teacher of Science

Freya Molyneux, Chole Ryder, Issac Knowles, Joseph Hayes, Ciaran Bach and Kiera Ashton

Science Students Win the Challenge!

English was brought alive for a group of Sixth Form students this spring as they visited Stratford-upon-Avon to watch a production of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’. The play is a set text for the A2 English Literature exam and Ben Roberts, Year 13, said “The production really helped expand my knowledge of the text, as well as it being a great day out.”

Sam Slater, Sixth Form Student

As You Like It – Stratford

Patrick O’Brien and Jennifer Ball, Year 12

Oliver Dobson, Year 12 and Michael Roberts, Year 13

The year 12 Economics group proved that you don’t have to be a Warren Buffet to get rich on the stock exchange. Careful reading of the financial press and an awareness of high street trends paid off handsomely for the group, who made a profit of 14% in trading over the last six months. These young people, led by Elliott Hardman, outstripped most city investors. The secret of their success can now be made public – a heavy investment in the clothing company Super Dry, just as the shares in this company were about to take off.

They invested £1500 of real money, using the on line stock broker The Share Centre as a part of a national competition for sixth formers. Details can be found at http://www.shares4schools.com/league-national.html. The original £1500 will now be passed on to next year’s class, whilst this year’s group are able to live the life of a city trader on a visit to London in July. They are available for advice and consultation on all matters financial.

Paul Canning, Director of Post 16 LearningElliott Hardman, Liam Ellison-Foster, Tom Gibbons and Usman Liaqat, Year 12

Our school vocal band performed in the annual Bolton Music Festival at the Victoria Halls. The vocal band performed 7 massed songs with 10 local primary schools from Bolton. Each school had an opportunity to perform two songs on their own. Rivington and Blackrod High School Vocal band performed ‘Misty’ and ‘The Cup Song’ which went down a storm. The concert was wonderful and I was extremely proud of the vocal band as they performed to such a high level.

Lauren Mulholland, Head of Music

School Band Performing – Music Association

Examination groups have been working on a range of creative and innovative ideas and solutions for their year 11 GCSE and year 12 and 13 A level Product Design Qualifications. A number of outstanding students have been recognised and awarded for ‘excellence within Creative Design’ for individual aspects of their ‘design and make’ coursework.

Students have been awarded for creative design concept projects: the creative interpretation of challenges and quality products that have been manufactured using a range of materials, machinery, tools and equipment, including the use of CAD CAM.

In addition to this, students have produced outstanding work by making excellent use of Rivi Studios to market their final products. Nathan Edge, a year 13 student who is going on to study architecture, said ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Rivington, the product design course has provided me with a clear opportunity to develop my ability to study existing designers, think creatively and design innovative products.”

Vicki Walmsley, Head of Creative Design


We’re in the

MoneyAmelia Atherton, Oliver Mather, Rebecca Crookson, Year 10. Rebecca Travers, Julia Higson, Rachel Fielding, Year 10

EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENTAWARDS FORCREATIVE DESIGN

Community

Josh Taylor, year 10 has recently won £500 in a national singing competition, sponsored by Furness Building Society, which he chose to donate to one of the school’s favourite charities: Derian House Children’s Charity. His powerful and moving performance of “Bring Him Home” from “Les Misérables” amazed the judges and lead to a subsequent invitation to perform at the Furness Building Society’s AGM. We are so proud of Josh’s talent and generosity. WHAT A STAR! See for yourselves at www.joshtaylor.com

Naomi Siddle, Teacher of MFL

Josh Sings His Way to Success

Letters from Royalty


Old Rivingtonians

Students at Rivington and Blackrod High School hosted a special afternoon for fifty former students and teachers of the school who are members of the Old Rivingtonians Association. Current students gave tours of their school, showing how it had developed since the Old Rivingtonians were in attendance and all students had an opportunity to discuss how education and the school has developed through the years, over afternoon tea.

David Stokes, Former President of the Old Rivingtonians commented: “The event was a very nostalgic experience and it was great to meet such a pleasant and articulate group of pupils. We are very grateful for the invitation from the sixth form students and we enjoyed all aspects of the afternoon.”

Sam Slater, Sixth Form Student

Students Collect Food for CharityYear 8 students at Rivington and Blackrod High School have been collecting food for donation to Bolton Food Bank, after hearing about the plights of homeless people in the area.

The students were discussing the reasons as to why people are homeless and the type of support that homeless people may require and they decided that they wanted to help. A campaign was started and students from across the year group canvased staff, parents and friends for donations to the local Food Bank in their quest to help the local community. 25 bags of food have now been donated to Bolton Food Bank.

Dipesh Patel, year 8 said: ‘We felt that it was important to help those who are struggling in our community. I know that if I ever needed help, I would hope that someone would help me’.

Katie Donnellan, Teacher of History

Angered by their learning about child labour, students in year 9 decided to take some action and write to several members of the Royal Family and the Prime Minister. They have received replies from The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry as well as the Prime Minister and the Foreign Office.Sue Riley, Head of Access

Year 10 Citizenship students have taken action to call for tougher laws, to tackle the threat of dangerous dogs and irresponsible owners. They choose to investigate the issue as part of their coursework, after they read a news article on the death of Jade Anderson who was killed by 5 dogs whilst visiting a friend’s house in Wigan. Bilal Hanif (year 10) commented ‘we were shocked that although the dogs were put down the owners could not be prosecuted because the act happened on private land.’ As part of their research, students interviewed the police officer who had been present at the attack and also went to visit the animal shelter in Bolton. They then created an online campaign, setting up a website and e-petition, to educate others about this issue.

Pam Hare, Teacher of PSHCE

Students Call for Action

Bilal Hanif, Year 10

Josh Clowes, Codie Smith, Leah O’Neill, Suleman Khan, Year 9

Chloe Gaythorpe, Liam Grimwood and Bethany Bridge, Year 8

Sport


Former Student Represents EnglandRebecca Trist, a former Rivington and Blackrod High School Student who left in July 2011 following her GCSE’s, has been accepted at Moulton College on an AASE (Advanced Apprenticeship in Sports Excellence) in Rugby. In addition, she has been selected to represent England in the Under 20 Women’s Rugby squad in the Nations Cup against South Africa, the USA and Canada. The event will take place in August, in Nottingham.

Rebecca said “I’m really happy to have been selected; it comes after I played against an England Barbarians side, at an England training camp I was invited to at Easter.”

It is always great to hear of the successes of our former students and we wish her all the best.

Steph Drysdale, Teacher of PE

We appreciate hearing your views on this Excel magazine. Please email [email protected] to give your feedback.

Lower School and thePathway CentreAlbert StreetHorwichBolton BL6 7AW

t. 01204 333366f. 01204 333367

Upper SchoolRivington LaneRivingtonBolton BL6 7RU

t. 01204 333266f. 01204 333264e. [email protected]. www.rbhs.co.uk

Jennifer Ball has been celebrating her promotion to the playing squad of the Manchester Thunder National Talent League, after taking part in trials for the 2012-2013 season. The National Talent League squad is an England Netball national competition for girls aged 14 - 19, and sits below England under 17’s and under 19’s and the Super League Teams.

Jennifer played in all matches and tournaments throughout the season. They won the pre-season tournament in Hull, the league and also the 2012 - 2013 NTL Cup and haven’t lost a match all season. Opposition include Team Bath, Loughborough Lighting, Yorkshire Jets, Celtic Dragons and Surrey Storm. Jennifer won two England netball medals, as a result.

Ann Devine, Director of Teaching & Learning & PE

JENNIFER WINS ENGLAND

NETBALL MEDALS

Primary Festival of Sport

Cricket Victory for U14’s

250 year 4 children from local primary schools took part in a full day of activities here at Rivington and Blackrod High School, as part of National School Sports’ Week.

The activities included Hockey, Netball, Football, Rugby, Basketball and Dance (in the morning session) and Athletics, Tennis, Badminton, Rounders, Orienteering and Cricket (in the afternoon). These activities have been planned and are to be led by the 80 Year 10 GCSE students, as part of the GCSE Leadership aspect of the course. The GCSE students have spent the last 15 weeks working towards this day, planning warm ups, skill practices and simple competitions relating to two sports chosen by them.

Sue Archibald, School Sports Coordinator

Congratulations to the year 8 and 9 boys who won the U14’s County Cup Cricket Final at Blackpool Cricket Club playing against Lancaster Grammar School. The team won by 58 runs, reaching a total of 150 all out in their 40 overs. Lewis Haydock won a hat-trick of wickets, bowling all 3 of his victims. Lewis finished with match figures of 4 wickets for 4 runs off 4 overs. Other notable contributions were, Muneeb Ahmed 2 -27, Marcus Haydock 2/14 Charlie Whittingham 2/25. But congratulations must go to all the players who showed great determination in all the games played culminating with a victory in the final.

Phil Walmsley, Teacher of PE

Sports excellence student Harry Simpson, year 10, who joined us at the start of this year from Hull has been selected to represent Great Britain in Tennis in London in July as part of the team for the London Olympic Anniversary Games. After a difficult winter season, where Harry was plagued with injuries, this is a fantastic achievement. Well done Harry. Stephanie Drysdale, Teacher of PE

Tennis Student Selected to Represent Great Britain

excel spring 13 email

Documents