the art of success . . . mr davies wins cotswold...
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THE ART OF SUCCESS . . .
Mr Davies wins Cotswold Teacher of the Year Award!
24 June 2016
Sir William Romney’s School head of art Mr Colin Davies has
beaten off challenges from nine other finalists to win the
Cotswolds Teacher of the Year Award. The school’s Science
teacher Mrs Julia Gibson was also a finalist in the competition
organised by the Wilts & Glos Standard newspaper.
Mr Davies (36) has been teaching at SWR for 12 years and the
percentage of GCSE art students obtaining A* to C grades has
been 90 percent or more for the past five years.
“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. I was over the
moon to be nominated for this award, but to win it is
something very special,” he said.
“SWR is such a small school at the heart of a lively Tetbury
community. You know everybody and you learn what
motivates students – that is something perhaps larger schools
miss out on. The school has also been judged ‘good’ by Ofsted
and all the teaching staff have contributed towards that.
“I have been completely overwhelmed by the positive reaction
and the kind words from the students and teachers. I feel lucky
and proud to be a teacher at this school. Not many people can
say that they have a job they love, but I can honestly say that I
have,” he added.
The school’s headteacher, Mr Steven Mackay commented:
“We are a small school and to have two teachers nominated
for this award is a real honour. Mr Davies is an exceptional
teacher and many students pick up art at GCSE level because
of him!”
Mr Davies was presented with the Teacher of the Year Award
by Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (pictured below).
He also wins a
meal for two and
an overnight stay
at the Royal Oak
in Tetbury.
Thumbs up to a top teacher! Students celebrate with Mr
Davies on his Teacher of the Year Award.
Page 2
Our Year 9 students recently
enjoyed a ‘hands-on’ practical
workshop run by STEMworks to
give them a taste of what it is
like to be an engineering
designer.
STEMworks is a not-for-profit
organisation that works in
Gloucestershire schools to
inspire young people from all
backgrounds to consider careers
in engineering, science and
technology.
The challenge was to use their science and engineering
know-how to design and build a system for sending a secret
message by constructing a robotic device and
communications tower.
Students had to use teamwork, good communication,
ingenuity, IT and practical skills
to complete the task, which was
divided into the five parts:
design, build, test, evaluation and
demonstration. Engineers from
NATS (National Air Traffic
Service) and STEMworks
provided support and ideas to
help the groups to complete the
challenge.
“There were a lot of great
designs and some novel ways to
achieve the set brief – some that the organisers
had never seen tried before,” said science
teacher Mrs Julia Gibson.
The finale was a competition between the
groups with marks being awarded for
completing the targets set and also for design
and teamwork throughout the day.
“I was glad that the engineers had the job of judging the
groups as there was little to decide between them. All the
pupils produced work of the highest standard but
unfortunately there could only be one winner,” Mrs Gibson
added.
The winning group (pictured above from left) is: Mimi
Saunders, Tegan O'Connor, Eve Simonin, Emily Saunders
and Immy Hardy. They will now represent
SWR at the Lockheed Martin Engineering
Challenge at the Royal International Air
Tattoo in Fairford on July 9.
Simon Kettle from STEMworks concluded:
“It was a privilege to work with the
students. I really enjoyed the day and look
forward to welcoming the team to the air
show in July.”
Year 9 students get the
message at STEM
workshop
Page 3
Millie Ludlow in Year 10 writes:
Choosing where I wanted to go for my work experience was
easy. Trying to apply for it wasn't!
I have always considered a career in the police and knew that
work experience would be the best way to help me decide
whether or not I wanted to pursue it. I wanted to be prepared
so started to make enquiries last August. It took numerous
phone calls and emails to finally get to talk to the right person
– Sgt Paul Cruise.
Up until Sgt Cruise came into school to introduce himself I
was in the dark about the whole thing. I didn't know what we
were going to be doing and what I needed to bring, but this
just added to the excitement and apprehensiveness before his
visit.
Obviously I was very nervous about meeting him. “A real
police officer!” was all I kept thinking. Not that I've met many,
but he was the nicest police officer I have ever met. He talked
me through the whole week, answered all of my questions and
explained that I had to prepare a presentation on a statement
(that I randomly chose) to present during the week.
I am very nervous about the week as I am going to be the only
one from Sir William Romney’s attending, but Sgt Cruise and
his utter friendliness have put me at ease.
Throughout the week I will be participating in a variety of
different activities. Sgt Cruise explained to me that a career in
the police isn't just about being an officer on the beat, so
during the week we will learn about all the different roles
within the police such as the dog handling unit, the firearms
unit and the admin team.
The Tuesday I am there coincides with the police officers’
annual training. This means that myself, along with the other
nine students from different schools across Gloucestershire,
are lucky enough to participate and train alongside all the
other officers.
We will endure a fitness test, learn first aid and train in many
other things such as handcuffing, using a baton, pepper spray
and tasers. We will then meet either the Chief Constable or
the Deputy Chief Constable who will talk us through their
careers in the police and take the time to answer any
questions that we have. Sgt Cruise suggested we consider a
question beforehand.
I was already excited before but now, after meeting Sgt Cruise
and finding out all the amazing things that we will be
experiencing, I cannot wait! Roll on the 4th July . . .
Why I can’t wait to join the ‘thin blue line’ . . .
Millie Ludlow with Sgt Paul Cruise of the Incident
Resolutions Team based at Bamfurlong, Cheltenham.
The cream of the crop!
After just six months our allotment is bearing fruit – and a
whole lot more!
Thanks to the hard work of horticultural students, a variety of
vegetables including sweetcorn, pumpkins, potatoes, onions,
garlic and broad beans are now seeing the light of day –
transforming virgin soil into a farmer’s delight!
“I would like to thank everyone who has donated gardening
material, plants and seeds. Ideally I’d like our Year 10 catering
students to turn these into gourmet meals!” said SWR’s
horticulture teacher Mr Courtice.
Page 4
Former SWR student Hannah Lee grabbed a silver medal recently at the Chelsea Flower
Show’s Young Florist of the Year competition. Hannah (23), who works at Scentiments in
Tetbury, created a Brazilian carnival headdress which featured a dazzling display of red,
orange and yellow flowers.
Hannah started work at Scentiments when she was 13 as a ‘Saturday Girl’. She
later pursued floristry at college, gaining her level three qualification at the City of Bath
College.
Her silver medal now joins a bronze she won in 2012 and a silver gilt in 2014. She
qualified from around 500 nationwide entries to compete as one of the top 16 florists
who were under 25. “I feel amazing and really happy – and it makes all the hard work
worthwhile. It’s enough of an honour just to get there in the first place,” she said.
Hannah blossoms at the
Chelsea Flower Show
Juliet Cooper in Year 8 recalls the Salter’s Chemistry
Challenge in Bristol last month where SWR came second
out of 12 teams.
On Friday the 13th May 2016 myself, alongside three other
chosen Year 8 students, travelled to Bristol University to
participate in the Salter's Festival of Chemistry 2016.
When we arrived our nerves slowly began to kick in but as
the day progressed the nerves quickly went away. First we
were taken into the lecture theatre along with the other
participating schools. Here we were informed about our safety
precautions for the day ahead.
Our first activity was the Salter's Challenge. In this activity you
had to identify a murderer using chromatography and it
involved a lot of problem solving. During this activity I learnt
and gained a lot of knowledge about chemistry.
The second event was the University Challenge which excited
me the most as it was created by the students. For this
experiment we were in pairs like the previous task and each
pair had an experiment to complete. I had to measure the
concentration of sugar and then plot a graph using the results
recorded with the line of best-fit. The other test was to find
out how long it took for chemicals A and B to react.
I enjoyed every moment of this visit and I am extremely
grateful to be one of the four lucky students selected to
participate in this challenge. I had an incredible time in the
science laboratory following each experiment and enjoyed
using advanced equipment/facilities. I am also thankful to Mrs
Cox for leading this amazing experience.
We were shown some incredible experiments in the lecture
theatre and we ended the day on a high as we came an
outstanding second out of 12 teams in the University
Challenge. This day was unforgettable!
An unforgettable day of chemistry . . .
Biological bin bags help
identify body parts
Recently Year 7s enjoyed a novel and fun way to learn
about the structure and function of the body by wearing
black bin bags adorned with coloured paper. They were
putting the organs of the body in the correct places and
learning their names as part of their Science course
‘Activate 1’ – Biology.
Page 5
Sir William Romney’s
School, Tetbury
Lowfield Road
Tetbury
Gloucestershire
GL8 8AE
Telephone: 01666 502378
Fax: 01666 505864
Email:
Website:
www.swr.gloucs.sch.uk
Editor
Peter Harvey
Do you have some news?
All contributions are
considered for inclusion in this
newsletter.
Please email the editor
STOP PRESS . . .
INSET DAY - 2017
Please note that the final
Inset Day for next year has
been confirmed as Friday,
March 10.
Trip reminders
Y7 Normandy Trip – please
ensure outstanding balance is
paid by Friday, 24 June 2016
Y8 Bude Trip – please ensure
outstanding balance is paid by
Friday 24 June 2016
Activities Week – please
ensure outstanding balance is
paid by Friday 24 June 2016.
Payments can be made via
cheque or online using the SIMS
Agora online payment system. If
you require a new activation
code please contact the main
office or email
Initial surveys show that overall the new KS3 homework system
has been a success. Of 34 students surveyed across years 7-9, 94%
felt that the change in homework has been positive.
Other positives include:
Students prefer the element of choice and creativity and the
extended amount of time they are given.
Parents are enjoying the fortnightly email.
All faculty areas are reporting a higher turn in rate of
homework and a better quality.
Many students have risen to the extra challenge offered in
pieces.
There have been a number of improvements in taking this
forward — for example, ensuring that all pieces are
compiled in Word.
Comments by our students include:
“I like the fact that it is easier to understand and I get enough time to do
it.” - Year 8 student
“I prefer the new system because I now get more free time instead of
having to do a piece of homework every day.” - Year 8 student
“We get less homework and we concentrate on the ones we are given,
so it is a better standard.” - Year 9 student
Mrs Lynham, Leader of Learning Humanities
Homework at Key Stage 3
- a positive change!
Year 10
feedback
please . . .
In the last newsletter
feedback regarding full
written reports and the
additional parents’ evenings
was requested.
Unfortunately only two
parents have so far
responded and I would
really appreciate some
feedback—so if you have
five minutes to spare,
please follow this link:
https://
www.surveymonkey.co.
uk/r/3JW898R
Miss Daniels,
Assistant Headteacher
ACTIVITIES WEEK
Do you fancy a cross-country mountain bike challenge with Mr
Mackay? Or how about a visit to the Imperial War Museum in
London?
These and a whole host of other activities such as a day’s fishing
with Mr Barker or coaching lessons from Gloucestershire
County Cricket Club have been planned for our Activities
Week from July 4-8.
Please have a look at the Activities Week booklet sent out to
parents and book your child’s place.
If you need any more information, please contact our Activities
Week coordinators Mr Wagner ([email protected])
or Mrs Townsend ([email protected])
Page 6
LUNCHTIME CLUBS
DAY YEAR WHAT WHERE
Monday
All Years Orchestra MU1
Years 10 & 11 Multigym Sports Hall
All Years FutureTechGirls (Week A)
Coding Club (Week B)
IT1
IT1
Tuesday
Year 7 Football Outside
Hockey Sports Hall
All Years Creative Writing (1.30 - 2pm) Library
Year 7 German Club H1
All Years Choir MU1
Wednesday
All Years Ukulele MU2
All Years Freeball and Multigym Sports Hall
All Years Christian Club H5
Thursday
Graphics AR2
All Years girls & boys Badminton Sports Hall
All Years Maths Club IT3
Friday
Recorder Lunch Keyboards Breaktime MU2
Year 10 & 11 Multigym Gym
KS4 Boys Indoor Football Sports Hall
AFTER-SCHOOL CLUBS
Monday
All Years English Support (4.20pm) EN3
All Years Creative Writing (3.30 - 4.30pm) Library
Tuesday
KS3 Senior Choir MU1
KS3 Football and Hockey Outside
All Years Maths drop-in sessions (4.20pm) MA3
All Years Tech Club
GCSE ICT IT1
All Years Homework Club Library
All Years Girls Football Starts 1 Dec Courts
Wednesday
KS4 Girls Aerobics/Circuits Gym
KS4 Tech Club
Year 8 Year 8 Club EN4
Grade 5 Theory exam Music Theory MU2
Thursday
Years 10 and 11 Graphics Freehand /Tech Drawing DT
All Years Homework Club Library
Bugsy Thursday AND
Friday after school
by invitation/appointment for
soloists and groups
MU1/2
