Winter 2015

Fashion Icon Visits Glossopdale

Global Fashion Icon Vivienne Westwood returned to Glossopdale to visit her former school, then known as Glossop Grammar, and speak with students as part of Global Entrepre-neurs’ Week. She spoke very eloquently to the students about Fashion, Business and Climate Change. Dame Vivienne also spoke in depth to the Sixth Form Textile students about how she started out in fashion, giving them some useful tips about

developing a narrative around her designs. Vivienne was then presented with a hand crafted

bag, made by A Level textile students Emily Mitcheson, Hannah Whitehead, Mataya Flanagan-Mitchell and Riarna Graham. The straps, lining and GCC mono-gram are made from one of Vivienne’s favourite fabric prints and

is covered with individual embroidered fabric leaves, inspired by the Ash, Birch and Oak trees that surround Talbot House.

Aspiring Journalists

Year 12 student Ethan Linaker 12 tells us about the ‘Aspiring Journalists’ workshop he attending run by News Association during half-term... On the day of the workshop, several correspondents from Sky Sports and the BBC spoke to 15 of us about gaining specific and required experience in order to be recognised and approached by large companies such as Sky and the BBC. The afternoon com-prised of various discussions surrounding which particular areas of Journalism we were interested in and the final 90 minutes of the session involved us putting together a news article of our choice. I wrote an article where I discussed why the upcoming Manchester derby on the 25th of October would be difficult to win for either team; which must have contained some correct knowledge consid-ering the game ended in a 0-0 stalemate!

Glossopdale Sixth Form wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year! It has been a very busy year so far in the Sixth Form with the arrival of new students in September, Year 13 applications being sent to UCAS and new students being interviewed for their 2016 courses! We hope you enjoy our second newsletter which gives you a ‘taste’ of the vibrant and dynamic Sixth Form experience we give to all our students, it is by no means an exhausted account of everything students have been involved with! Please check the ‘Dates for your diary…’ section of upcoming events (which includes the trial exams which take place the first week back in January!) It only remains for me and all the Sixth Form staff to wish you and all the students a relaxing break in preparation for a busy and successful 2016! F Flaherty (Assistant Principal: Sixth Form)

Sixth Form

Dates for your Diary January 5th 2016: Trial Exams Tuesday 5th January: 6th Form

Presentation and Awards Even-ing

Friday 15th January: final date for ‘on time’ UCAS applications

Friday 22nd January: Trip to Jump Nation for current and prospective students

Thursday 17th March: Sixth Form Parents’ Evening

27th June - 1st July: Year 12 Work Experience

Guest Speakers

This term we have welcomed a number of guest speakers to talk to our Sixth Form students.

A representative from Leeds University ran a short workshop with our Year 12 about the transition to university. She told our students about the importance of experience and participation in a wide range of extra curricular events. She provid-ed information about the level of competition for cours-es. In addition our Most Able students had a repre-sentative from Cambridge University to speak to them about Oxbridge entries and currently two Year 13 stu-dents are awaiting offers in the New Year from their Ox-bridge applications this year.

At Glossopdale we aim to provide opportunities for all of our students to take part in additional learning and ex-perience. We offer the Extended Project Qualifications, online courses, Duke of Edinburgh, National Citizen Service and our own 50VH (voluntary hours) pro-gramme. Many of our students have already started to complete these programmes and as a results their con-fidence and aspirations are broadening.

In October we welcomed a guest speaker from our local branch of MIND. She spoke to our Sixth Form students about mental health, something which is still considered by some a taboo subject. With an increasing number of celebrities sharing their own mental health issues, it's hoped that people suffering are more likely to be sup-ported as opposed to stigmatised and alienated. Visit mind.org.uk for more information.

Safe Drive, Stay Alive

Each year the Greater Manchester Fire Service hosts Safe Drive, Stay Alive. The event is designed to highlight the dangers around driving to young peo-ple. Each year the event welcomes young people from across Greater Man-chester and this year Glossopdale Sixth Form were privileged to receive an invite. Young drivers are much more likely to be involved in a crash on the roads,

often due to inexperience and a lack of knowledge of the risks. Around 1 in 4 deaths on the road are driv-ers aged 17-24. The Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign aims to reach new and pre-drivers in an emotive and hard-hitting way, influencing behaviour and attitude on the roads.

The event took place at Middleton Arena and is delivered by volunteers from the Ambulance and Medical Service, Greater Manchester Fire Service, Greater Manchester Police and Police Morticians. Also speak-ing at this year’s event was Nicky Pickering, mother of Jade Pickering who was killed as a result of danger-ous driving.

The message is delivered via real life accounts of instances of serious injury or death on the road involving young people and the poor choices made whilst in control of a vehicle. The hard hitting stories are recount-ed by those involved in the accidents, attended the scene or those who have lost family members. The performance had a big impact on the group. One student reported that she found it very emotional but

was pleased she had attended.

Knitting and Stitching Show 2015 On 29th November, Year 12 and 13 Textile stu-dents took a trip to Harrogate to attend this years’ Knitting and Stitching Show.

Whilst the students were there, they saw famous textile artists whom they have been studying during their course. This gave the students the opportunity to interview the artists so they could gain more knowledge on how they make their work and the stories behind them. The trip is an annual event for the College and is always very popular with the students, allowing them to discover new techniques, materials and applications.

Charity Champions

This terms has seen some amazing efforts by our Sixth Form stu-dents, many of whom have contributed and supported a number of national and local charities.

In September 13 JMa, with support from some students in 12 JMa, planned and delivered a very successful Cake Sale for Macmillan coffee morning. A plethora of fairy cakes, chocolate brownies and other gooey delights were offered and en-joyed by staff and students alike. Over £300 pounds was raised for the charity! Soon after the Glossop Jog took place and a number of

our more sporty athletes donned their running shoes in the name of charity. For the less sporty students the Christmas Shoe boxes offered another opportunity to share a little Christmas cheer with children less fortunate around the world. 12SLe worked tirelessly and put together nearly 10 boxes. 12 and 13JMa followed closely behind and our other tutor groups contributed enabling the total num-ber of shoes boxes from the Sixth Form to ex-ceed expectation. Children in Need was our most recent event and a Izzy Southworth baked a beautiful multi coloured Pudsey cake, raffle ticket sales topped nearly £200, making a signif-icant contribution to the College's fundraising.

Forthcoming events include Christmas Jumper celebrations and if you're interested in a Race for Life or Colour Run in 2016 let us know...we know some teachers who'd be up for the challenge!

A Visit to Styal Mill

A bright and breezy day in September saw Year 11 GCSE History students from Glossopdale on a road trip to Styal Mill to complete their Controlled Assessment visit.

They were accompanied over the three days of the visits by some of our Sixth Form students. They were there as mentors and were a tremendous help with some of our students, specifically helping those who would otherwise have strug-gled with the intensity of the day. They also helped to push and challenge the most able students, using their own previous experience of the Controlled As-

sessment to help those students to realise their full potential.

So, a huge thank you to the students who gave their time to help out the History department, Tom Kaye, Jake Booth, James Pollitt, Ashley Shaw, Olivia McCarron, Megan Helliwell, Ella Nixon, Kate Wilkinson and Nathan Jackson Turner.

It all starts with YES !

During October we wel-comed guest speakers from the National Citizen Service (NCS) they attend-ed parents evening and ran short workshops for

our Year 12 students during tutor time. NCS is a government funded programme that offers all 16 and 17 year olds the op-portunity to get involved in their commu-nity.

Over 4 weeks (mostly holidays and week-ends) students spend time away at a res-idential outward bound centre taking part in a range of outdoor pursuits, a second weeks' residential is spent either at a uni-versity campus or another location with community group such as Mountain Res-cue or the Peak Park. The final two weeks is dedicated to planning and com-pleting a 30 hour community project of their choice, they can select a local chari-ty to support. Because the project is gov-ernment funded, places only cost £50. This includes transport accommodation, food and trained instructors and equip-ment where required. If you want to find out more ask Miss Geary or visit ncsyes.co.uk

Newsletter

Student Socials

Wednesday 21st October saw the first Glos-sopdale Sixth Form student social event of this year. Students and staff journeyed to Hollywood Bowl in Ashton to enjoy some inter Sixth Form rivalry over burgers and a game of bowling. The evening got in to full swing and it became evi-dent the college has some “star” and “not so star” bowlers.

The award for the most improved bowler went to Matthew Bate who finished his first round with only 11 points, a score he soon exceeded in the second game by bowl number two. Also on that lane David Cadwell proved his bowling prowess with a very good score of 99. Fiona Tainsh proved herself to be a dark horse on the next lane scoring a number of strikes.

The next student social will take place on Friday 22nd January 2016 at Jump Nation in Trafford.

Remembrance Day

The evening of Tuesday 10th November saw a special, perhaps unique, Remem-brance concert staged at Glossopdale Community College.

The event, held in Hall 1 of the college's Talbot Road site, featured dramatic and musical performances from some of Glossopdale's talented students and also saw the eagerly awaited appearance of Foden's Band, one of the leading brass ensembles in the world. The evening, as you might expect, was, at times, a poignant and reflective occasion, but there were moments of great hope and celebration.

The first part of the concert was dedicated to the tale of a First World War soldier, his colleagues and their families back at home. The story was told by the Post 16

drama Performing Arts group who, under the direction of their teacher, Kirsty Oliver, had devised a Re-membrance drama through research and in honour of those who had fought and served the war effort. Interspersing the drama were performances from the college’s Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Training Band and Wind Band, led by Glossopdale music teachers, Jeni Thornton, Daniel Peate, Mark Bousie and Sam Gibson. The culmination of the first half was a performance of English composer, Peter Meechan’s

moving three movement work ‘Letters for Home’, writ-ten in 2014 to commemorate the start of the First World War. Preceding each movement a letter from ‘The Front’ was read out. The last letter named all of the Glossop school students who had lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. As you can im-agine, this was a most poignant moment.

The second half featured an extremely well received set from Foden's Band, conducted by their Musical Director, Michael Fowles, who performed a rousing and reflective programme featuring music associated with Remembrance, including the Dambusters March, Nimrod and Sunset, and pieces from their current concert repertoire. Students who performed in the first half, who had now joined the audience, we're pleased to see the spotlight now focussed on one of their teachers, Mr Bousie, as he was featured, alongside David Thornton, in the euphonium duet Brilliante. The evening finished in suitably celebratory and patriotic fashion with the capacity audience, which included the Mayor of High Peak Borough, Councillor Stewart Young, in full voice joining Foden's in performances of Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory (Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1) and the National Anthem.

Donations made during the evening went to the British Legion's Poppy Appeal.

Glossopdale Sixth Form Talbot House, Talbot Road

Glossop, SK13 7DR Tel: 01457 862336

www.glossopdale.derbyshire.sch.uk