July 2008 - Prince Henrys Grammar School
July 2008 - Prince Henrys Grammar School
July 2008 - Prince Henrys Grammar School
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in<br />
The<br />
view<br />
Volume 21 Summer <strong>2008</strong><br />
news magazine of<br />
<strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s <strong>Grammar</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Specialist Language College<br />
Rugby<br />
triumph<br />
<strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s<br />
are county<br />
champions<br />
Proud of the past, prepared for the future
Take pride in our school<br />
SINCE the last edition of Inview we have<br />
received our Ofsted inspection report,<br />
which concludes that <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s is<br />
“a good school with outstanding features.<br />
Students make good progress as a result of<br />
challenging and skilful teaching”. Inspectors<br />
Absolutely<br />
eighties<br />
also noted that “students’ progress<br />
goes hand in hand with good personal<br />
development and wellbeing; they enjoy<br />
learning, show concern for others and take<br />
pride in their school. Attendance is good<br />
and behaviour is excellent, as a result of<br />
high expectations and exemplary care<br />
and support”.<br />
Our new Science block is now open,<br />
providing state-of-the-art facilities with 11<br />
laboratories, preparation rooms and new<br />
reception area.<br />
John Steel, Headteacher<br />
That was sum event!<br />
WORLD Maths Day was a huge<br />
success this year, with more than<br />
a million pupils competing in the<br />
‘mathletics’ event organised to<br />
help improve basic arithmetic<br />
skills. A website gave real-time<br />
results as pupils from more than<br />
150 countries answered mental<br />
maths questions.<br />
A new world record was<br />
It’s a numbers game: Year<br />
7 ‘mathletes’ Madison<br />
Miller, Rohini Ajaykumar<br />
and Stephanie Rumsey.<br />
set of 182,455,169 correct<br />
answers given. Awards were<br />
presented to Stephanie Rumsey<br />
and Rohini Ajaykumar, Year 7,<br />
and Choi Yi Chan, Year 9, for<br />
their contributions to the total,<br />
and an entire Maths set won a<br />
subscription to the mathletics<br />
website for their efforts.<br />
Ongoing success in languages<br />
We continue to excel as a specialist Language College – and Ofsted agrees<br />
Ofsted confirms re-designation<br />
PRAISE from Ofsted for our role as a Language College has secured our<br />
Language College status for a further three years.<br />
Inspectors commented on our “outstanding contribution to local<br />
schools and community language learning”, and highlighted our students’<br />
“strong awareness of their global citizenship”. New developments include<br />
the launch of a Polish course for beginners as part of our Community<br />
Education Programme.<br />
Durban dignitary visit<br />
WE were honoured when Ina Cronje,<br />
Minister of Education for the South<br />
African province of KwaZulu-Natal,<br />
paid a visit to <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s to meet<br />
pupils who had been to our partner<br />
school Earlington Secondary in<br />
Durban, as well as pupils who will fly<br />
out this summer.<br />
Mrs Cronje took part in a live web<br />
chat with a teacher from Earlington,<br />
who watched the whole event via<br />
webcam. She asked pupils about<br />
VIP visit: KwaZulu-Natal Education Minister Ina<br />
Cronje received a warm welcome when she<br />
visited the school.<br />
their preconceptions of South Africa<br />
and said she hoped to meet them<br />
during their trip.<br />
Rousing chorus: The cast of Back to the 80s belt out another classic hit.<br />
THIS year <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s had a dose of 80s<br />
nostalgia when a cast of 105 and crew of 30<br />
performed the smash hit musical Back to the 80s.<br />
Crammed full of classic pop songs from the<br />
era, the five performances delighted more than<br />
a thousand parents and friends in the audience,<br />
who hummed along to classics such as Girls Just<br />
Wanna Have Fun, Kids in America, Material Girl<br />
and Man in the Mirror, but the highlight of the<br />
show was the final song, Time of our Lives – for<br />
which Emma Roe and Will Cook imitated the<br />
famous lift from the film Dirty Dancing.<br />
TEACHING Assistants Ms Crosby, Mrs Parkinson<br />
and Mr Whitaker have been working on their<br />
NVQ 3/Teaching Assistant qualification, which<br />
they will complete by the term’s end.<br />
PRINCE Henry’s and seven local primary schools<br />
have agreed to establish a Joint Collaborative<br />
Centre for the Governance of External Services,<br />
the new Children’s Centre and the Orchard<br />
Centre Learning Support Unit.<br />
The long-awaited Otley Children’s Centre at<br />
Ashfield <strong>School</strong> will meet local community needs<br />
such as family support and parental outreach.<br />
News in brief<br />
Colourful conscience: Jordan Drake, Scott Marshall<br />
and Gaby Gill, Year 9, display their protest pieces.<br />
Children in arms way<br />
PUPILS in Years 8 and 9 tackled an important issue in Art<br />
and Religious Studies when they examined the implications<br />
for children – particularly child soldiers – of the global<br />
arms trade.<br />
As part of the Control Arms campaign, pupils designed<br />
and created protest T-shirts, posters and placards. “We<br />
have so many rights in this country – kids would never be<br />
forced to join the army or carry a gun,” explains Gaby Gill,<br />
Year 9. “We have to protect the children of other countries.”<br />
Group<br />
encourages<br />
eco-shopping<br />
Active role in Amnesty<br />
YEAR 12 students Vicky Wilson,<br />
Amy Barker and Rebecca Krengal,<br />
along with Miss Alltoft and Miss<br />
Havas, headed for the University<br />
of Nottingham during the Easter<br />
break to attend the Amnesty<br />
National conference and annual<br />
general meeting.<br />
Ohayo gozaimasu!<br />
All three students took an active<br />
role in the working parties and voted<br />
during the plenary sessions, and<br />
enjoyed having the opportunity to<br />
see how the decision-making process<br />
works. The <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s Amnesty<br />
group was also awarded a prize for<br />
their work over the past year.<br />
JUST after Easter a small group of eager Year 9 and 10 pupils began studying<br />
Japanese. So far the group has learnt how to introduce themselves, a number<br />
of everyday phrases, numbers up to 120 million, and 20 simple kanji, the<br />
characters used in modern Japanese writing.<br />
If you fancy trying something different and challenging, it’s still not too late<br />
to join the group, which meets in Room 53 every Tuesday after school.<br />
2<br />
AFTER a detailed feasibility study the school<br />
governors concluded that <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s does<br />
not currently have the resources to offer the<br />
International Baccalaureate as an alternative<br />
to A-levels. The school is looking into a National<br />
Baccalaureate qualification run by AQA.<br />
YEAR 10 students received some excellent<br />
GCSE Science exam results recently, with 26<br />
students scoring full marks in one or more of<br />
their exams.<br />
JOEL Pell and Lyndsey Fox completed their<br />
entry-level qualification in Science, working with<br />
Ian Nicholls to produce ten pieces of work.<br />
AS part of our Green Day, Waitrose<br />
agreed to remove plastic bags from its<br />
checkouts for a day.<br />
The Eco Group took used bags to<br />
the supermarket and helped customers<br />
to pack their shopping using these<br />
recycled bags, as well as the free Bags<br />
for Life provided by Waitrose.<br />
The Eco Group talked to customers<br />
about how they could save energy at<br />
home and at work, and are now putting<br />
some of the ideas to use around<br />
the school.<br />
In the bag: Waitrose Partner Dora Sykes,<br />
Tom Hymers, Waitrose Partner Kevin<br />
Buckley, Linzi Ranfagni, Lauren Wilson,<br />
Daniel Gleghorn and Lenja Rohlfing.<br />
3
Abroad spectrum for travel<br />
Over the past school year more than 350 pupils have taken part in one of 15 foreign visits, meaning that<br />
pupils at <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s have more opportunities to travel abroad than at any other school in the area<br />
Far and wide<br />
WHILE Year 9 French pupils<br />
enjoyed an exchange visit to<br />
Otley’s twin town of Montereau,<br />
German pupils took part in<br />
an exchange to Rhein-Maas<br />
Gymnasium.<br />
Year 13 students, meanwhile,<br />
headed for Madrid, where they<br />
visited our new partner school<br />
and enjoyed some of the area’s<br />
cultural sights.<br />
Another group of students<br />
visited Bielsk Podlaski and Warsaw<br />
in Poland for the finale of our<br />
three-year Comenius Project with<br />
Poland and Italy. The programme<br />
Sport and<br />
culture in<br />
Dubai<br />
IT was <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s most<br />
ambitious sporting trip ever – taking<br />
47 pupils from Years 9 and 10 to<br />
Dubai on a rugby and netball tour.<br />
As well as the matches, the trip<br />
was also a very cultural experience<br />
for the pupils, who visited a Bedouin<br />
camp and a spice and gold souk<br />
(market), as well as trying the rare<br />
treat of camel riding.<br />
“It was great to play other schools<br />
from around the world and test our<br />
strengths and playing capabilities<br />
against them,” says Jameel Karim,<br />
Year 9. Casey Brownbill, Year 10,<br />
agrees: “It was great fun playing<br />
against local opposition and<br />
experiencing the cultural diversity<br />
Dubai has to offer.”<br />
Fountain of youth: Pupils pump it up in Poland.<br />
included the launch of our joint<br />
recipe book, Europe on a Plate,<br />
and students were able to practise<br />
what they had learnt in their Polish<br />
lessons prior to the trip.<br />
A group of 45 Year 8 pupils<br />
flew to Barcelona, where they<br />
visited the Camp Nou stadium,<br />
Parc Güell and the Sagrada<br />
Familia cathedral, as well as our<br />
partner school IES Montserrat.<br />
June was a busy month for<br />
Year 7, with 45 pupils taking part<br />
in the annual trip to Le Touquet<br />
in France, and 40 pupils visiting<br />
Cologne in Germany.<br />
A trip to<br />
remember<br />
THE History department’s trip to<br />
Flanders proved to be a poignant<br />
experience for the 44 Year 9<br />
pupils who visited battlefields and<br />
monuments at Vimy, Thiepval and<br />
Ypres, as well as smaller cemeteries<br />
such as Langemark and Brandhoek.<br />
Several students found memorials<br />
to their relatives and a wreath<br />
was laid at Brandhoek in a moving<br />
ceremony.<br />
“One of the aims of the trip was to<br />
provide an opportunity to reflect on<br />
the scale of industrial warfare and<br />
consider the relevance and nature<br />
of remembrance today,” explains<br />
History teacher Victoria Canon.<br />
In Flanders fields: Year 9 pupils on<br />
the History trip to Belgium.<br />
History lesson: Laurell Malpass and Josh Blundell, Year 12.<br />
Harrowing history<br />
YEAR 12 students Josh Blundell<br />
and Laurell Malpass recently<br />
travelled to Poland with other<br />
students, local MPs and a<br />
Holocaust survivor to take part<br />
in the Lessons from Auschwitz<br />
project, which included a visit to<br />
a Jewish graveyard in the town<br />
of Oswiecim and a guided tour<br />
of the two Auschwitz<br />
concentration camps.<br />
On their return, Josh and<br />
Laurell passed on their learning<br />
by giving a talk to Year 8 students,<br />
who study the Holocaust as part<br />
of their work on Judaism.<br />
Peak fun on ski trip<br />
Ski Sunday: Pupils enjoy the facilities at Sunday River resort.<br />
THE <strong>2008</strong> ski trip was <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s fourth visit to the legendary<br />
Sunday River ski resort in Maine, USA.<br />
Tucked away near the Canadian border, the complex boasts no<br />
fewer than eight peaks, offering a huge range of skiing experiences.<br />
This year was one of the best on record for snow, and the 60 pupils<br />
made the most of the amazing conditions, despite the slight chill –<br />
one morning recorded a low of -13°C!<br />
Team spirit: Members of the netball<br />
4 and rugby squads that visited Dubai.<br />
5
Movies in Media Studies<br />
Material world<br />
IN an exciting development from the Media Studies<br />
department, as of September it will be possible to take a new<br />
course – A-level Film Studies.<br />
Designed for students with a real interest in cinema, the<br />
course studies British and American films and the industry<br />
that creates them. Students will also have to prove their<br />
own skills behind the camera, as this is an entirely practical<br />
course, requiring students to assemble a portfolio of work<br />
demonstrating their talent.<br />
Year 13 student Rowan Purvis has been particularly<br />
successful in his Applied A-level group, receiving full marks for<br />
his stylish and atmospheric horror film Exposure.<br />
YEAR 10 Product Design pupil Chris Rawlings came<br />
runner up in the Best Use of Materials category at the<br />
prestigious <strong>2008</strong> PrintIT! awards, having been shortlisted<br />
from more than 23,000 entries.<br />
<strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s strengthened its links with Harewood<br />
House when pupils attended a Chinese calligraphy<br />
session at the stately home in June.<br />
Year 13 Textiles students worked with garment<br />
designer Jo Palmer on patterns and clothing items for<br />
their final projects. The students learnt about designing<br />
pieces for specific clients and how to turn flat drawings<br />
into 3D products.<br />
“I learned a lot about pattern cutting and garment<br />
construction,” says Becky Burton, who worked with<br />
Jo very closely to produce her coat for theatre<br />
production Wicked.<br />
Best dressed: Garment designer Jo<br />
Palmer with Year 13 students Tessa<br />
Baston, Libby Toovey and Becky Burton.<br />
Camera ready: Rowan Purvis, Year 13, produced the superb horror movie Exposure.<br />
A winning ensemble<br />
IN March the <strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s brass<br />
ensemble won the Leeds <strong>School</strong>’s<br />
Chamber Music Competition at<br />
Temple Newsam. Competing<br />
against 11 other schools, the group<br />
received medals and a shield for<br />
their hard work.<br />
All Saints’ Church in Otley was<br />
the venue for the school senior<br />
music concert in May. The occasion<br />
was a grand finale and a sad<br />
goodbye for many of the school’s<br />
older musicians. Senior ensembles<br />
and soloists performed a variety<br />
of pieces, including barbershopstyle<br />
vocals, and orchestral and<br />
band pieces.<br />
“The senior choir sang beautifully<br />
as usual,” commented accompanist<br />
Richard Kenwood-Herriott.<br />
Where there’s brass:<br />
Members of the school’s<br />
brass ensemble following<br />
their win at Temple<br />
Newsam.<br />
Drama students<br />
play to the crowds<br />
THE Sixth Form Drama students’ examination<br />
performances proved to be exciting, entertaining<br />
and highly professional.<br />
Deadenders and Handle with Care showcased<br />
the full range of the Year 13 students’ abilities.<br />
Handle with Care was an ensemble piece about a<br />
psychotic postman and his unwitting victims, while<br />
knockabout comedy Deadenders dealt with a<br />
bizarre street and its eccentric residents.<br />
The same students also created workshop<br />
versions of well-known plays, which were<br />
performed on the same night to a packed theatre.<br />
Year 12 students performed Billy Liar, a comedy<br />
about a young man who has a lively imagination<br />
but lacks the courage to fulfil his dreams.<br />
Problem solving<br />
the Army way<br />
THIRTY Year 10 pupils were picked up by Army<br />
officials and experienced a day team building,<br />
working as a group and solving problems with<br />
Army officials.<br />
All aspects of enterprise skills were covered<br />
during the event, which took place at Batley<br />
barracks and gave the pupils the chance to show<br />
how well they could think.<br />
“They were such a good group, and worked<br />
really well as a team,” commented an impressed<br />
Corporal Squires.<br />
Science Week<br />
goes with a bang<br />
LEEDS University was the place to be<br />
during Science Week.<br />
Year 9 gifted and talented pupils<br />
completed a series of fascinating<br />
workshops on explosions, the earth<br />
and sensitivity.<br />
A group of Year 11<br />
students, meanwhile,<br />
witnessed the delights of<br />
chemistry as performed<br />
by Professor Mike Hoyland,<br />
who enthused the<br />
scientists with his famous<br />
crash, bang and<br />
wallop show.<br />
Long way round<br />
IT was a long hike, but it was worth<br />
it – that was the consensus when 22<br />
Year 10 pupils completed their final<br />
expedition for their Bronze Duke of<br />
Edinburgh’s Award.<br />
The group trekked more than 18<br />
miles around Nidderdale, carrying all<br />
Outward bound: Year 10<br />
pupils Tom Darbyshire,<br />
Abbi Hewitt and Casey<br />
Brownbill.<br />
Product placement: Chris Rawlings, Year<br />
10, with the BBC’s George Alagiah and<br />
Product Design teacher Dawn Smith.<br />
their food and equipment. Despite<br />
the occasional organisational hiccup<br />
such as learning – the hard way<br />
– that north is the red arrow on a<br />
compass, all pupils did extremely<br />
well and look forward to more of the<br />
same next year.<br />
Students take on<br />
recruitment role<br />
WHEN 20 Year 12 Applied Business<br />
students took on the role of Human<br />
Resources executives, they headed<br />
straight for a smart hotel.<br />
As part of their brief, the students<br />
visited The Met Hotel in Leeds with<br />
teacher Amy Smith to interview<br />
employees about the hotel’s<br />
employment methods and policies.<br />
“The visit was really beneficial, as I<br />
was able to see how The Met actually<br />
recruits its staff,” explains Stacey<br />
Ward. “This really helped when it<br />
came to devising my own recruitment<br />
policy for my final portfolio.”<br />
Democratic<br />
debate<br />
DEMOCRACY was in the spotlight when<br />
<strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s hosted a conference<br />
at which local MP Greg Mulholland<br />
and the leader of the Conservatives<br />
in Europe Timothy Kirkhope gave<br />
their views on British democracy and<br />
the challenges it faces. Questions<br />
from Sixth Form students gave the<br />
politicians a tough time.<br />
Students were also able to enjoy<br />
the sights of London and observe<br />
politicians in their natural habitat during<br />
a visit to the Houses of Parliament to<br />
hear our democracy in action.<br />
6 7
WE ARE A LEEDS INCLUSIVE<br />
Double win for county’s best<br />
ONCE again we’ve proved that we’re Yorkshire’s leading<br />
state school for rugby.<br />
Both the U15 and U18 teams came away from the Army<br />
Foundation College at Harrogate as county champions. The<br />
U18s defeated Doncaster Hall Cross 18-6, with a brace<br />
of tries from captain Joe Robinson – a fitting finale to his<br />
rugby career at the school. The U15 team ran amok, winning<br />
comfortably against Richmond <strong>School</strong>, with captain Nathan<br />
Rogers leading by example throughout the game.<br />
These results are great rewards for the hard work put in<br />
by both squads throughout the season. All players involved<br />
have been a credit to the school, displaying a first-class<br />
attitude and true team spirit. The standard has been set for<br />
next season, and even more hard work is needed between<br />
now and next April to keep up this success.<br />
Finally, watch out for former pupil Danny Care, who is<br />
playing for England this summer in New Zealand.<br />
Worthy winners: Richard Goakes and Nathan Rogers of the U15 rugby squad.<br />
Four-way winners: The U14 netball squad.<br />
Best-ever season<br />
for netball<br />
THE U14 Netball squad has enjoyed quadruple success this<br />
season, winning the Leeds <strong>School</strong> League, two tournaments and<br />
the Benfield Ford Cup.<br />
The girls managed to fight their way to the top against<br />
tough opposition from Leeds <strong>Grammar</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Girls and<br />
Woodhouse Grove <strong>School</strong>. “I am proud to be captain of such a<br />
hardworking team,” says Hollie Phimister.<br />
<strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s swimmers won the ‘B’ group championship and<br />
Toby Rankin, Josh Walker and Marissa Balance secured four<br />
individual medals.<br />
Cyclist Gaby Shaw has been chosen for the British Cycling<br />
Youth Endurance squad.<br />
In cross country, the U14 boys and girls, and the U13 girls,<br />
all won their category in the Leeds <strong>School</strong> League. The U16<br />
girls and U13 boys both won second place, and the U12 girls<br />
finished third.<br />
In football, the U13 football team won the Aire Wharfe Cup.<br />
The U18 team reached the semi-finals, and the U12 team was \<br />
a quarter finalist.<br />
Sports in brief<br />
SCHOOL<br />
<strong>Prince</strong> Henry’s <strong>Grammar</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
SPECIALIST LANGUAGE COLLEGE<br />
Farnley Lane,<br />
Otley,<br />
West Yorkshire<br />
LS21 2BB<br />
Tel: (01943) 463524<br />
Fax: (01943) 850978<br />
Website: www.princehenrys.co.uk<br />
INVIEW<br />
Editorial Co-ordinator: Alison Hinchcliffe.<br />
inview is produced<br />
by Words&Pictures.<br />
Tel: 01943 854800.