December Newsletter

Welcome.
As the term draws to a close, I would like to take this
opportunity to make you aware of forthcoming events and
of our plans for the end of term. School will close at
12.20pm on Friday 18 th December and reopen to all
students on Monday 4 th January. The final day, Friday
18 th December, will be a non-uniform day to coincide with
the Sixth Form Talent Show. Students are requested to
bring charitable donations of £1.50 and all proceeds will go
towards the Text Santa Christmas Appeal.
House News
This year the House System has continued to flourish and
whilst Ashwell, under Dr. Quipp’s stewardship, achieved
overall victory last year, Mr. Hillary (Dakin), Ms Alderson
(Wolfendale) and Mr. Crowley (Pankhurst) are already
conspiring to bring Ashwell’s reign to an end this year.
Pankhurst
Pankhurst are currently second in the House System, trailing
by 28 points. Their next challenge is to organise the
“Wacky Races” charity radio-controlled toy race on Thursday
17 th December, in aid of the house charity, Women’s Aid.
Dakin
Dakin House has been hard at work this term. Mr. Hillary
would like to thank all those in Dakin House who contributed
their time and effort to raise funds for the NSPCC. The
recent “Bobble Hat Day” raised £180 in donations and
involved a number of creative activities such as “Selfies with
Santa”, “P in the nose on Rudolph” and “Catch the Ping
Pong”. Students were even treated to Mr. Mullins sporting
Farhan’s dancing santa hat in the canteen. Dakin also
hosted a bake sale in October which raised a further £250
for the NSPCC. The event followed a Halloween theme and
bakers were awarded prizes for their artistic achievements.
First Prize went to Mustafa Hafezji for his ghost cake and
second place went to Louis O’Rourke for his ghoulish cake.
Well done Dakin.
Sporting Success
Congratulations to the Year 9 Boys’
Football team who have made
excellent progress in the Daily Mail
cup. Through their teamwork and
sportsmanship, they have won
through to the last 16. Well done
to: James Allatt, Che Boothe,
Gabriel Burke, Declan Connolly,
Sean Hopwood, Ahmed Issack,
Lewis Lord (Captain), Jos Medley,
Tom Morris, Josh Okwelogu, Daniel
Rankine, Eoin Ritchie and Laurie
Telfer.
‘Jam Packed’ with Success
In support of St Ann’s Hospice, the
Dragons’ Den ‘Jam Packed’ team
have been hard at work selling
homemade jams, chutneys and
flavoured oils. So far, they have
raised £724 through attendance at
Parents’ Evenings, open evenings
and local fayres. On 14 th December
the team were awarded first prize
for their presentation at Manchester
Airport. Well done to: Sophie Jaffa -
Brown, Florrie Barton, Sadie Hiorns,
Morgan Ollerton, Gwydion Smit and
Daniel Rankine
Duke of Edinburgh
Congratulations to Husna Ahmad-
Sofee, Liam Bradbury, Phoebe Jaffa-
Brown, Kaung San and Meredith
Stevens who were presented with
their Silver Duke of Edinburgh
awards by the Mayor of Trafford,
Councillor John Holden. My thanks
also go to Miss Weston for her hard
work in getting the Duke of
Edinburgh Bronze Award up and

Wolfendale
Newly appointed Head of House Ms Alderson is here to build
on the heritage of the house. She has written to Sir Arnold
Wolfendale who has made contact with her – hopefully a
visit is to follow.
Business Studies
Year 12 and 13 students visited the Institute of Economic
Affairs to hear Dr. Stephen Davies discuss his views on
ticket touts and their economic impact. The “Make It
Happen” challenge final saw Year 11 students developing a
business proposal to sell aircraft, presenting their ideas to
the manufacturing institutes.
Wood Street Mission
Thank you once again for your support of Christmas projects
at Wood Street Mission. Each year, Miss Heald and Miss
Platt promote this worthwhile charity within school and yet
again the school community has come together to provide
many generous donations – thank you for your continuing
support.
Nanowrimo 2015
Miss Sanchez Gonzalez continues to work miracles in the
Library with creative ideas. This year students are making
festive Christmas trees out of old books. She also led on
the National Novel Writing Month which is a worldwide
initiative that invites people to write a first draft of a novel in
the month of November. Congratulations to Zoya Anwar
(Year 9) and Urwaa Khan (Year 10) who managed to
complete the challenge writing 50,000 and 15,000 words
respectively. This is a huge achievement - well done!
Children in Need
Mrs. Flanagan led on the annual Children in Need events in
school. Over £1200 was raised for this worthwhile charity
which again exemplifies the care, consideration and
community spirit that our children have.
running for Year 10. Let’s hope
there are more successes to come!
Cross Country
On Wednesday 9 th December
Trafford held their annual Cross
Country championships. With
competitors from across the
Borough of Trafford, Ethan Belfonte
achieved 3 rd place in his age group
and goes on to represent Trafford in
the Greater Manchester competition.
Abel Ashby (9 th ), Seamus Bradbury
(2 nd ) and Usman Dar (6 th ) also
produced some fine performances in
their age groups.
October 2015 TOP READERS
Dawud Kazam
Hirra Azhar
Nima Babiker
Harvey McKim
Aun Raza
Sara El-Lami
Christmas Concert
20 books
17 books
15 books
13 books
11 books
11 books
Once again, we were treated to
some wonderful performances by
our students. The concert
showcased a variety of different
ensembles including Fusion, Pop,
Choir, Voicescape, the String Group
and Folk Group. Soloists from Years
7 to 12 ensured an excellent
evening. On Wednesday 9 th

Extra-Curricular
This term has seen some excellent opportunities for Trips
and Visits. Year 13 English enjoyed a gothic literature day at
MMU whilst Year 12 attended a study day on Linguistics.
This week Year 7 are off to the theatre to see Inkheart.
I am pleased to report that our new Year 7 have settled
extremely well and have enjoyed a wonderful trip to
Conway. Whilst we were once again blighted by the
breakdown of a coach, thankfully all students arrived safely
to enjoy a thrilling three days of activities. Thank you to
Miss Raw and Miss King for their hard work in making this
an excellent trip.
Key Dates for your diary this term
School Re-opens Monday 4 th January 2016
Year 11 Parents’ Evening Wednesday 6 th January 2016
Year 12 Mock Examinations Monday 11 th January 2016
Year 13 Mock Examinations begin Monday 18 th January 2016
Year 10 Parents’ Evening Tuesday 26 th January 2016
Year 8 Parents’ Evening Wednesday 10 th February 2016
End of term Friday 12 th February 2016
Geography - Iceland trip
February Half Term
School re-opens
Monday 22 nd February
Provisional Term dates 2016-2017
Autumn Term 2016
Staff Training Day Thursday 1 st September 2016
Student Induction Year 7 and 6 th Form Students
Only
Term begins for all pupils Monday 5 th September
*School Closed – Entrance Exam Tuesday 12 th September 2016
Term breaks
Friday 21 st October
Half Term Monday 24 th to Friday 28 th
October 2016
Term resumes Monday 31 st October 2016
Term Ends Friday 16 th December 2016
Spring Term 2017
Term begins Tuesday 3 rd January 2017
Term breaks Friday 10 th February 2017
Half Term Monday 13 th to Friday 17 th
February 2017
Term Begins Monday 20 th February 2017
Term breaks Friday 31 st March 2017
December, the local community
were invited to join students for an
afternoon of festive music, carol
singing and an opportunity to
sample the delights of the Sixth
Form Bake Off. A special thank you
must go to Mrs. Swales, Miss
Weston and Miss Lees for another
wonderful evening.
Study+
Ms. McCarthy launched Study+ at
the Manchester United Hotel earlier
in the term. The programme is for
Year 12 students and aims to
develop additional skills beyond the
curriculum which the students are
following. With a range of
opportunities on offer, students are
encouraged to choose a range of
activities aimed at enhancing their
independent learning whilst
enriching their experience in the
Sixth Form and enhancing their
UCAS application.
Important Information -
Entrance Examination
Over the last term we have been
working in partnership with
Altrincham Grammar School, Sale
Grammar School, and Urmston
Grammar to review the testing
arrangements for entrance to
Stretford Grammar School. In
September 2016 we are
proposing to change our testing
arrangements from GL Assessment
to Durham CEM, the same test that
Sale Grammar School and
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
ran this year. Students will only be
required to sit one entrance

Summer Term 2017
Term begins Tuesday 18 th April 2017
School Closed : May Bank Holiday Monday 1 st May
Term breaks Friday 26 th May 2017
Half Term
Monday 29 th May to Friday 2 rd
June 2017
Term Begins Monday 5 th June 2017
Term breaks Friday 21 st July 2017
Staff Farewells
Sadly we bid farewell to Miss Raw at the end of term who
will be taking up an Assistant Head post at a school in
Leeds. Whilst not leaving immediately, Mr. Barman, Head of
Sixth Form will be stepping down from his role in January,
but will continue to deliver mathematics at A Level. I would
like to thank them both for their excellent work and
commitment to the school over the last six years.
examination for entry to the above
schools but scores are standardised
for each individual school for a
different cohort of applicants and
hence individuals may qualify for
some schools and not others. e.g.
AGGS only standardises for
girls. We hope that the changes will
help to alleviate much of the stress
that is associated with the testing
arrangements. If you have any
concerns regarding this change of
arrangements please do not hesitate
in contacting me at school, at
admin@stretfordgrammar.com by
31 st January 2016.
Mr. Marshall has been appointed the new Director of Sixth
Form and he will be taking up post in January. We will also
be welcoming Miss Chlebek who will be teaching
mathematics in Key Stage 4.
Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued support
of the school over the last term. I hope that you and your
family are able to enjoy a relaxing break together and I
would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and
prosperous New Year.
M. Mullins, December 2015