Peacock Press Feb 2011.pdf - Belvoir High School

Entering the Dragon’s DenYear 8 English students were putthrough their paces this term infront of a Dragon’s Den panel of‘millionaires’.concern was whether this was theEverything from see-throughtoasters to a super chilled softdrink that made you healthier werepitched to the Dragons whose mainproduct that would generate enoughprofit for them to build a newwing on their houses. Withpupils asking for investmentsranging from £15,000 to£100,000 it was toughcompetition to get Dragons toinvest.Pictured are the Dragons grillingthe presenters, products on offerand some ofthe groupspitching theirproduct.NO SMOKING POLICY AT BELVOIRIn common with most organisationsnationally we are required to have ano-smoking policy.Smoking is not a particular issue atBelvoir High, neither amongst staff,visitors or pupils. However, there area handful of older pupils who havenot heeded the messages aroundhealth and smoking. We have aduty, therefore, both to continue totry to educate them and to ensurethat they do not provide a badexample to other pupils.Our policy therefore has a twopronged approach. Firstly, we needto make sure that education andsupport for pupils who happen to beaddicted to smoking is in place. Weaim to put them and their families intouch with the relevant healthprofessionals who can providesupport for quitting smoking, andsupport them in school if they arefollowing a programme to end theiraddiction.Secondly, there will be a clearhierarchy of sanctions for pupils whobreach the no smoking policy.These sanctions need to be in placeto both encourage addicted pupilsand their families to seek advice andsupport and, equallyimportantly, todiscourage other pupilsfrom taking up the habit.The sanctions includeschool detentions andpupils working inisolation. Parents will beinformed of the sanctionsand we will ask you to support yourchild to seek professional support tostop smoking.In addition, any pupil in the companyof smokers will be treated as if theywere also smoking. This is both todiscourage pupils from taking up thehabit, and to remove this scenario asa possible excuse.In all cases where pupils are caughtsmoking, their cigarettes or othersmoking paraphernalia will beconfiscated and destroyed.in order to protect the health of otherusers of the school and its facilities,and to enforce the ultimate authorityof the school and thepolicies of theGoverning Body, wherethere is persistent andflagrant disregard of theno smoking policy theschool reserves theright to exclude pupils.All staff, visitors andcommunity users will also beexpected to adhere to the relevantpolicies and procedures.The full policy will shortly bepublished on our website. If youhave any concerns about your childsmoking and need advice, pleasecontact either Miss Gant or MrsReed at school who can put you intouch with the School Nurse.Thank you for your continuingsupport.

Revising for examsParents and pupils are often veryeager to ask for advice onpreparation and revision for examsand as a school we aim to developthe skills of the pupils. At this time inthe school calendarthe Year 11 studentsare very aware thatthe clock is tickingdown to their finalGCSE examinationsin May and June. Last year we usedthe Specialist Science money toemploy Dean Thomas-Hay to workwith the current Year 11s on theirmotivation. On the first Friday of thisterm Dai Perks, an experiencedassistant head from a LeicestershireUpper School, delivered half daysessions to Year 11 on a variety ofrevision techniques. Pupils werealso given a booklet of revisionresources which they have beenworking through in their tutor time.There are some Year 11 pupils whoare really applying themselves totheir revision already and inreviewing their long reports earlierthis term we took time to emphasisethat successful revision isn’t aboutrevising longer than anyone else,Pupils’ Top revision methods: Spend 10 minutes a day buildingup sets of post cards with keyfacts on them for all your subjects Use the ‘test yourself’ questions inrevision guides and tick them offwhen you’ve learnt it Try the on-line revision tools suchas samlearning or mymaths Download podcasts onto yourphone or mp3 player and listen tothem on the busbut about getting the most out of thetime spent revising by using therevision methods best suited to theirlearning style.Many of the subjects the pupilsstudy are modular, meaning theyhave examinations during Year 10and Year 11 and even Year 9.Therefore, it is important that thepupils begin to develop their revisionduring the year rather than waitinguntil their Mocks in Year 11. Toencourage this revision habit, pupilsin Year 9 and 10 recently had anexamination week so that they couldbegin the process of preparing forexaminations in order to build up abank of revision materials duringYear 9 and 10. As parents youshould have received feedback onyour child’s performance at Parents’Evening.On the school website’s ParentPages is advice on how you canhelp your child with their revision(http://www.belvoirhigh.leics.sch.uk/index.php?page_ref=parentrevision)but the key messages arethat revision needs to be an activeprocess and there are no short cuts;the children have to put in the time.EXTRA BANK HOLIDAYThe date of the extra public holiday for the royal wedding, Friday 29 April 2011, falls within the previously-announcedEaster school holidays. As a consequence the school will now close for one extra day at the end of the Easterholidays on Tuesday 3 May 2011, so pupils will return on Wednesday 4th May 2011.THE ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE (OR EBac)This is a new measure of GCSEattainment brought in by thegovernment this year: as yet, it is not‘a qualification’ with a certificate.The EBac is recognised if a pupilachieves at least a grade C acrossEnglish, Mathematics, Science, aforeign language and a Humanitiessubject. It has provoked controversy,particularly regarding thegovernment’s definition of aHumanities subject which currentlyonly includes History andGeography. Having introduced thePhilosophy and Ethics GCSE lastSeptember at Belvoir (before thedetails of the EBac were announced)we are disappointed by thisrestricted definition and are makingrepresentations to the Departmentfor Education.While we have no plans toreconfigure our GCSE options forthe coming September to forcepupils down the EBac route, we aremaking them and their parentsaware of its existence. We feelconfident in taking this approach aslast year 34% of our pupils achievedthis measure which was easily thehighest in The County and almostdouble that of the next highestschool.

Aberglaslyn by Year 8From falling on a jellyfish to threecourse meals, December’s trip toAberglaslyn was better than ever!Below, Year 8 tell us what made itsuch a greattrip.FolwellWhen I went toAberglaslyn I had greatfun. My favourite partwas when we had amassive snowball fight onthe last day.At Aberglaslynmy favourite bitwas ElephantRock when Ijumped into theice water andgot a brainfreeze – TomWhere do I start? Well,gorge walking was an experience.Painfully cold but utterly fun at thesame time. Another highlight wascanoeing. Now I have super strongarms as the wind was strong. Theopportunity of this trip was a ‘once ina lifetime’ – Hannah DixonI found Aberglaslyn really excitingand thrilling. It was the best week ofmy life and I learnt loads – PeterMumford.My favourite bit of Aberglaslyn wasjumping off theElephant Rockbecause it wasquite tall. Thefood waslovely we hada three coursemeal and atnight the Cookwould cook us some supper. Theweather was the coldest week, itsnowed more than it had for 30years. I learned that it is best to havea go at everything, going toAberglaslyn was a good experiencebecause it pushed youto do everything –Luke AtherleyI was really lookingforward to going toAberglaslyn and itexceeded all myexpectations. For theactivities we were put into groupswhich did not necessarily have yourbest friend in.This was goodbecause youmade newfriends. Thecold/snow madeeverything muchm o r ememorable. Myfavourite activity was beachscrambling because you challengedyourself. – Hannah SmithAberglaslyn was great I reallyliked going on the night-linebecause it was really darkand you got to go with yourfriends. The worst thing waswhen I was on the beach andI slipped on the ice andlanded on a jellyfish! – RebeccaCoatesI went toAberglaslynin week 3and I thinkthe bestactivity wedid was thenight-line.Earlier thatday MrCarter hadtold us that there were wolves, sowhenever I heard my own footsteps Iscreamed! - Millie PaineThe best part ofAberglaslyn was when itsnowed on the last day.We were meant to seewhich group had made thebest snowman buteveryone had a massivesnowball fight instead! -Tom HollidayYOUNG AMBASSADORS MEET LOCAL MPOur two gold Young Ambassadors –Jasmin Southamand ClaireHopkins, metlocal MP AlanDuncan onFriday 14 thJanuary.With the issue ofschool sportfunding cuts verymuch in the news at the moment thegirls were determined to let AlanDuncan know just how importantschool sportis. The girlsboth puttheir viewsacross veryimpressivelyand alsohanded theMP a fourpage letterto pass onto the Prime Minister outlining whatthe cuts in funding will mean for ourlocal area and schools.They were a real credit to the schooland it was hard to believe they areonly 15 when listening to themspeak. Let’s hope Alan Duncan nowchampions our cause and thegovernment re-think this devastatingdecision for school sport.Pictured are Claire and Jasminpresenting their letter to Alan Duncan

The Cavalry, Shopping and...a Shetland Pony Race?I was under no illusions that my maincontribution to the group travelling tothe Horse Show at Olympia was asChief Navigator on the LondonUnderground plus my skills at headcountingin a crowd. Of mattersequestrian I knowlittle more than yousit in the middleand must be waryof both ends.However, I wassurrounded by anenthusiastic wealthof knowledge inthe form of twentytwo Belvoir HighSchool pupils andall eager toenlighten me.Heading down to London on Thursday16 th December we had an absolutetreasure of a day; the train was on time,we were all seated in the same carriageand no one was missing, sick or hadlost their bag. Getting to Kings Cross injust over an hour, it was a tube toSCHOOL REPORTSEdgware Road, change for Earls Courtand then one stop to KensingtonOlympia. Once we’d found our seats andknew we couldn’t lose anyone in the tubemaze, the staff could begin to relax.There were twosessions of showjumping – obviouslyhigh quality stuffbecause even Irecognised the oddname (rider not horse).They also kept talkingabout “top ten” and“number three in theWorld” and the fenceswere huge so Iappreciated it was thereal thing. Anycompetition ‘against theclock’ can be exciting but this was withriders trying short cuts and the crowd“oooohing” and “aaaarghing”. Even thesurreal spectacle of Shetland Pony MiniGrand National had us all going, but forme nothing matched forty mountedHousehold Cavalry Soldiers, armourThe Olympia Horse Show by Mr Griffithsshining and colours streaming fromlances held aloft charging into thearena at full gallop. In between theseevents, the girls disappeared off withgreat purpose into the maze of stallsthat sold everything from flying jacketsfor small dogs to Champagne forinvestment. But these Belvoir studentswere girls with attitude as well ashorses and clearly knew what theywere after; everything from ridingboots, pots of treacle, braided ropesand leather straps - all with technicalnames and uses – were swept up. I’llalways remember Emma Woolhousesqueezing into a rush-hour tube trainwith her arms clasping the huge bundleof horse blanket.It was an eye opening and infectiousexperience. I bought riding gloves, awhip and a back protector. Now all Ineed is a horse. It was the best of daysout and I thank Mrs Varnam whoorganised it as well as the girls whowent and I look forward to nextyear.....especially the shopping.Belvoir students of all ages havebeen learning how to be videojournalists. Former East MidlandsToday, Sky and Channel 5 presenterRob Glass has been training a groupof committed students all about theart of capturing good stories usingvideo. So far they have learnt howto capture interesting footage, writea script and edit the video footageinto a news story.It has been a fascinating learningexperience for all involved and thestudents arelooking forwardto taking theirnewly developedjournalistic skillsout and aboutaround theschool, tocapture the manygood newsstories that occurhere every week.If there are any morebudding journalists, cameraoperators or presenters thatwould like to learn more,then they will always be verywelcome to join in. Thereporting team have grandplans to broadcast theirnews items on the plasmascreens around the schooland also on the schoolwebsite- so watch thisspace!‘VANDALISM’ AT BELVOIR HIGH SCHOOLYou may have seen an article in the localpress last month reporting on thesupposed increase in vandalism at theschool. These reports are completelyfalse. Regrettably, they do accuratelyrecord what was said by a schoolgovernor at a meeting in Bottesfordabout local policing.However, the governor concerned isfairly new to the Governing Body and hewas confusing vandalism with burglary!Last year the school was burgled onthree occasions, probably targeted by aprofessional gang. After each occasionwe worked with our insurers to upgradeour security at considerable cost.Vandalism on the other hand is virtuallynon-existent; this has been the case forat least the last decade.

Work ExperienceDespite the snow and ice Year 11students still managed to go out ontheir work experience placements inDecember. Working at placementsranging from farm hand to radio DJ,Year 11 got a good taste of the workingworld. Here’s what a couple of themthought:Olivia Heathcote spent her placementat Chine House Veterinary Hospital asan Equine Veterinary Nurse. ‘It was anextremely interesting experience andalthough I no longer wish to pursue thiscareer I was given a lot of challengingopportunities and thoroughly enjoyedit.’Teja Woods said ‘I was lucky enough tohave the amazing opportunity to go toan architect’s (HSSP Architects) inMelton which has helped to confirm thefact that I want to train as an architectwhen I leave school. I enjoyed everyaspect of the placement from going outon site in the freezing cold snow toworking in the warm office doing myown projects. It gave me a valuableinsight into the job of an Architect, Ihope other students were as lucky asme on their work experience.’Students received glowing reports fromtheir employers and Belvoir High staffwho visited them whilst on placementwere very impressed with how quicklystudents settled in to their new ‘job’.Pictured is Charlotte Romans with a catskeleton who spent her placement as aVeterinary Assistant at NewmanWatters Veterinary Surgery.NEW YEAR NEW MENUS!This term we have introduced moreinternational dishes to the menus suchas Hungarian Goulash, South AfricanChicken and Maize Rolls and Coq auVin. Along with a Carvery offering tworoasts, fresh vegetables and potatoes,where the students have the opportunityto help themselves, lunch time at BelvoirHigh is looking very interesting!The Breakfast Club has also seen achange with a view to a healthy start tothe day; a more continental style offeringhas been introduced. So whilst stillbeing able to purchase bacon andsausage rolls, croissants, cheeseomelettes, pain au chocolat, a selectionof yoghurts and a variety of cereals arealso on offer. Add a fresh orange juiceor glass of milk and you have a healthybreakfast offering at a very reasonablecost.Finally, we will be running a competitionfor the best Easter themed menu (entryforms from the tills in the dining room)with a prize of a £20 voucher for thewinner. The two runners up will receive avoucher for £10 each. The only criteria forthe menus is that they should bebalanced, nutritious and suitable to beproduced for large numbers as we shallfeature them in the dining room with thewinners invited to bring a guest along (freeof charge) to sample their food on the dayit is featured.YEAR 11—NORTHERN IRELAND HISTORYAt present Year 11 History pupils arecompleting an assignment on the recenthistory of Northern Ireland. The pupilshave found this aspect of ‘contemporaryhistory’ a challenging yet interestingcourse of study. Many pupils wereunaware or these relatively recent eventsand how they affected the UK. EleanorScott of 11VL said: “It’s amazing somuch was going on righton our doorstep, and notso long ago. Knowingthat really brings thehistory to life.” WhileLiam Howitt of 11BJcommented that hisresearch had made himthink about how deepseatedconflictscould be resolved.This assignmentforms a ControlledAssessment, withresult going towardsthe pupil’s finalGCSE grade.FREE SCHOOL MEALSAre you eligible for Free School Meals? The criteria for this is: Income Support Income Based Job Seekers Allowance Child Tax Credit, provided the annual taxable income, as assessed by the Inland Revenue is not in excess of £16,040If you believe you are eligible, please contact the main school office and ask about how to apply.

Sports NewsEQUESTRIAN TEAM UPDATEBelvoir’s Equestrian Team qualified andtook part in the National SchoolsChampionship held at Addington Manoron the 15th and 16th January 2011.Belvoir had a team in the 90cm and1metre ‘jumping with style’championship. The 90cm team (JessWalker, Abbi Denny, Hannah Dury andLauren Mulla) qualified at Onley Groundswith a win making them regionalBOXING BEGINSchampions. The 1 metre team (JessWalker, Abbi Denny, Hannah Dury andDanni Harris) qualified at KeysoeEquestrian.At the Championships, the teamfinished on 12 faults. However, JessWalker came second individually. Jessalso jumped in the Show-jumpingChampionship, finishing seventhBoxing has arrived at Belvoir forKey Stage 4 pupils. We havesecured the services of 2 highlyqualified boxing coaches to offerboxing in Key Stage 4 Core PE.overall.The course was taxing and schoolscame from all over the country tocompete. Most of the other schoolswere equestrian colleges, so we wereproud to have a team representingBelvoir there.By Hannah Dury, 10CPThe first session took place lastFriday and it was hugely successfulwith boys and girls alike. It is a greatway for the older pupils to keep fitand a brilliant stress relief for thosein the midst of revision and exams.BADMINTONThis half term has been a successful onefor the school’s badminton players. Lastweek competitions were held for KS3girls and boys and KS4 girls and boys.Belvoir’s badminton players woneverything but the KS4 competitions withthe victorious teams going on torepresent the School Sport Partnershipin the County Finals. Well done to allthose who took part! The girls taking partwere: Grace Pilcher, Lois Howson, AliceHickling, Hannah Collins, Amy Attewell,Olivia Heathcote, Hannah Folwell, NaomiChilcott. Whilst the boys taking partwere: George Crowther, Harry Simpson,Daniel Barrett, Ben Holt, John Pears,Hedley Lovegrove and Ross Dunlop.Special congratulations go to GeorgeCrowther who stepped in to help out at thelast minute to play up an age group withthe Key stage 4 boys in addition to playingin his own age group.CYCLING LEADERSHIP15 of our pupils, along with 4 pupils fromLong Field, took part in the British CyclingYoung Leader award on Friday 28thJanuary. The pupils learnt about allaspects of cycling and the course willequip them with the skills to run a cyclingclub, officiate at cycle competitions andcoach cycling sessions.As a school, we now have 30 bikes forour pupils to use, and our new cycleleaders all have written action plansoutlining how they are going to set upcycling activities in school. In addition, itis hoped they will offer their skills tosome of our family of primary schoolswho are also involved in the BritishCycling Coaching programme.Well done to all those who took part!AND FINALLY....Congratulations to Thomas Mawer of 8OP who has been selected to playCounty Cricket for Lincolnshire’s U13s next season.