NEWSletter

happy

easter

Dear Parents/Guardians As we approach the end of the Spring Term the school roll has risen to 922 which is now well above capacity. There have been a number of appeals for places, the majority of which have been successful, though not all. At the time of writing, numbers in each year group are: Year 7 8 9 10 11

BUDGET Early indications from many Somerset secondary schools is one of fear and trepidation in relation to school budgets for 2014-15. The picture is not entirely clear as yet, though per pupil funding has been cut. However I suspect that we will be shielded from the worst of this storm by virtue of the following:

Number 187 191 184 181 179

For Year 7 in 2014, the LA have allocated 183 places and made 59 refusals. It is anticipated that there will be appeals. I am of course delighted that the school has become so popular with parents in Taunton and beyond. This is a very positive feature of our efforts to continue to improve our school. STAFFING We have recently had some really impressive training for staff including the first Somerset “Teach Meet” organised and led by Bob Ayres, a series of Somerset Challenge meetings as well as National Pixl led training particularly in the core subjects. I do believe that some of this work has led us to adopt a more “smart” approach to how we do things and many colleagues have been inspired by some of the training on offer. We are currently seeking to recruit to a number of posts following resignation from Miss Higgs and Mrs Branfield and the request from Miss Hart to work a part-time job share arrangement. Vacancies recently advertised include those for: • CTL Science • Teacher of Maths and PE • Job share teacher of Dance. • Teacher of Science We have also recently welcomed back to school Mrs Evans who is now job sharing with Mrs Keedwell who was her replacement during her recent adoption leave. Sadly Mr Bowditch has been away from school due to ill health for the bulk of the last half term, though we hope to see him return soon. It has been very difficult to find a suitable replacement, though I remain grateful to colleagues in Science who have been so supportive.

• the high numbers of students in receipt of pupil premium funding • the growth in numbers on roll • the removal of protection against school budgets where we are a gaining school. • the additional opportunities for income generation from the solar panels and the new Astro. Nonetheless for the time being, the jury remains out. EXTRA CURRICULAR Some impressive opportunities have been offered to students of late, including the second curriculum immersion day, the Key Stage 3 performance of Cinderella, the Media trip to Paris, the cultural trip to London at the beginning of half term and the recent Dance show. I remain eternally grateful to my colleagues for their willingness to contribute so much beyond the norm; it is indeed provision of this kind which makes us the school we are. EXAMINATIONS In terms of some “good news” we are delighted with the performances of Year 11 students who sat their Maths and English examinations early in November. Of the 27 students entered for Maths – 26 achieved a “C” grade or better, whilst in English 84% of students achieved the same benchmark. Indeed although only 153 of 171 students have so far sat their English language exam, 72% of the cohort have already achieved an A*/C grade. The story in relation to levels of progress is even more impressive with 75% of the cohort having already made 3 or more levels of progress from KS2. My thanks go to my colleagues for their efforts in securing such impressive performances from our students who in Year 11 remain extremely well motivated to achieve well. Thank you for your continued support. I hope you have a good Easter break with your family.

SITE We have been working to finalise the arrangements for the Astro Turf which is due for completion at the end of May. Sadly the completion date has slipped as a result of such poor weather. We have agreed the costing and staffing arrangements for the new facility and are currently eagerly awaiting its use.

Paul Scutt, Headteacher

High Standards & High Expectations

Year 8 and 9 STEM Day

A group of 50 students took part in a STEM day run by Smallpeice Trust. The aim of the day was to develop awareness and enthusiasm towards the STEM subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Students in teams of 5 were set the challenge of designing a costed railway bridge and build a battery powered locomotive that could span a 50cm gap. Teams had to use all their STEM abilities to complete the task and work effectively as a team to do so. Teams were judged on their performance with Steve Summerill, Chair of the School STEM action group saying ‘this type of activity really helps develop their awareness of where STEM subjects can take you!’

Geography

October was the month our Year 10 geographers embarked on their first GCSE field trip to Lulworth. Half the group got more than they bargained for with an additional tour of the south of England as their bus driver lost his way - several times!! After a late start we all managed to see the spectacular land formations and beautiful scenery. The students worked well taking notes and sketching before observing the tourist facilities offered at Lulworth which, as always, included sampling the chips and/or ice-cream! Now they’ve finished their Coastal Unit and are working on Urban Environments before their Year 10 exam after the Easter break. Have a great holiday but don’t forget to do some revision!

Bishop Fox’s visit London

52 students accompanied by 7 staff visited London on a 3 day cultural trip. Students left on Friday 14th February and returned back on Sunday night. Highlights of the trip included a boat trip on the Thames, visiting the London Eye and the IMAX cinema. We also visited the British Museum, National History Museum and the National Gallery as well as seeing the sights of London including the Houses of Parliament and Frank Lampard’s house! Steve Summerill, trip organiser said ‘ we feel it is important to give all students the opportunity to visit their capital city and raise their awareness of some of the cultural treasures of our country. The trip was offered to Year 8 and 9 and will become a biennial experience for the students at Bishop Fox’s.

High Standards & High Expectations

Fox’s Finance Wiz Kidz

Year 9 students at Bishop Fox’s have taken part in a number of finance capability lessons run by “Money matters” advisors from the Citizen Advice Bureau. As part of the sessions, students were set a quiz testing their knowledge. Giles Cosgrove was the overall winner and was presented with a £25 Itunes voucher as a prize. Chris Mitchell, District Advisor for the CAB said “I was so impressed with the response from the students. They showed a very mature response to the questions.” Steve Summerill (Assistant Headteacher) added “All students in Year 9 take a short course in GCSE Business and this type of activity helps their understanding”.

Bishop Fox’s gets Enterprising for the Philippines

Year 9 students at Bishop Fox's ran an enterprise event at school to raise money for the  Philippines disaster.  Students ran an enterprise fair but with a twist.  Each group was given £10 to run a mini  enterprise for one day.  45 groups took up the challenge with the Business Department investing £450.  On the day students raised £750 so making an overall profit of £300. This money was paid to CAFOD who collected the money on the school’s behalf.  Furthermore a collection at the carol concert and a non-uniform day raised another £700 so the school in total raised £1000 for the Philippines disaster fund. Pictured is Deacon Jones and Anna Curry collecting a cheque from Mr Summerill who organised the event 'We are really pleased to support such a splendid cause, it is a testament to the students who showed so much commitment to such a good cause'.  Mrs Curry added 'All the money raised will help someone in the Philippines and I am so grateful to Bishop Fox's in being so responsive and supportive'.

Maths

Excellence Award Congratulations to the following students on achieving their half or full Maths Excellence Award: Half: Lauren Knight, Sam Cunningham and Phoebe Causley Full:

Lori Barnes, Seoungmok Shin, James Lovelock, Bradley Perry and Jake Nichols

UK Intermediate Maths Challenge In February, 33 students from Years 10 and 11 took part in this demanding national competition which tests mathematical thinking. Well done to all who participated and particular congratulations to the following for being awarded certificates: Bronze: Year 10 Rosie Brain Year 11 Chloe Adams, Adrian Lane, Diogo Santos Ganga Silver:

Year 10 Phoebe Causley, Will McKenna, Mark Sanders Year 11 Gabrielle Joslin, Seoungmok Shin, James Lovelock, Jake Nichols

Gold:

Year 10 Jakub Kozuch and Adam Turner who was also ‘best in school’

Bishop Fox’s Careers Fair

Bishops Fox's ran a careers fair and students from Years 9,10 and 11 visited the fair which was part of a whole days curriculum  focusing on careers.  Students in Year 9 were  considering  options and had  separate talks and presentations from Richard Huish College, Somerset College and Bridgwater College as well as sessions from Citizens Advice looking at  finance and  careers website.  Year 10 spent the day focussing on work experience and Year 11 on the options after school and had  sessions looking at all  their options  including apprenticeships, university and were supported by all the local colleges.  A careers fair with over 20 contributors attended the school and each year group had timetabled access to the presenters.  Bristol University, local colleges, the army and navy, local apprenticeship providers and local employers such as Barclays all supported us. Diane Dalling, careers coordinator, who organised the event said 'We  were so pleased to see such positive responses from so many local education and training organisations as well as local employers, it really did help our students with  their careers ideas'.  Steve Summerill, Assistant Head added 'As a 11-16 school all our students need to make a positive choice about the future and it is vital we organise these types of events to gives students as much support as possible’.

High Standards & High Expectations

English News YOUTh SPEAKS

We entered two intermediate teams into the Rotary Club Youth Speaks this year. Fahamina Hossain, Charlie Penny and Maria Stennett did brilliantly, getting into the District Semi-Finals with the speech on Friendship. Emilie Gunn, Victoria Jacobs and Jason Ashman (pictured right) made it one step further, participating in the District Finals at Cheddar. Miss Tabb and Miss Smith were incredibly proud of both teams. These impressive Year 9 students proved to be excellent ambassadors for the school and Victoria was particularly proud of her two medals, achieved in the semi-final win at Danesfield School.

AMAzING RESULTS

RADIO 2 500 wORDS COMPETITION

We would like to say a massive thank you to the Year 11 students who worked so hard to achieve amazing results in GCSE English Language. It was seen as a risk entering students early, in November, however we always knew that the ability and the work ethic of the people in this year group would mean that they would excel. The amount of pressure placed on some students to respond to the changes brought about by government policy was massive. However, all students entered, reacted positively and should be proud, as they completed the whole of the IGCSE in 6 weeks. This really shows the calibre of the young people who come to Bishop Fox’s.

Year 7 and Year 8 have participated this year in the Radio 2 writing competition run by Chris Evans. Every single Year 8 also entered a story for an in-school competition. Miss Smith read every entry and offered advice on how to improve. So impressive were the results that we decided that there must be a significant reward for the winners of the Year 8 competition. Holly Ward (8HFR) won the overall prize with an amazing piece about Syria. The maturity of the vocabulary and the imagery was amazing. Holly was rewarded with a voucher for the Odeon, which means she will be able to take three friends to the cinema to enjoy a film (and some popcorn too!)

We hope the current Year 10s will rise to the challenge and achieve the same in November. Year 10 have the bonus of having started the IGCSE from the beginning of KS4. I wonder what this means they will be capable of achieving.

There was also a competition between forms in Year 8. Miss Mallon was particularly pleased that her form won, mostly because she got to enjoy the bacon sandwiches, croissants and juice along with 8CAM.

Drama

A talented bunch of 12 Year 8 students have been working hard with Mrs Keedwell this term to explore and make a multimedia play for the Somerset and Avon Police. The play, 'Laugh at it - you're part of it!', tackles the important issues of Cyberbullying and Internet Safety. The play will act as a springboard for discussion about the importance of communication in fighting the dangers that we all face. The actors will perform the play in front of audiences next term  and hope to take this to a Theatre platform in the Summer term to show off their talents and raise awareness of this important issue. Watch this space!

Bishop Fox’s Drama Workshops

The Bishop Fox's junior theatre company visited 4 local primary schools over 2 days and ran student led drama workshops for Year 4 and 5 students.  The students from Bishop Fox's ran workshops with students from Thurlbear, St James, St Georges and Holy Trinity. The aim of the session was to help develop drama skills in primary schools, and the theme was Cinderella which Fox’s will be performing to the primary students later in the month. Selina Keedwell, drama teacher said 'I have a passion for community theatre and this type of experience enables our students to flourish'. Steve Summerill, Assistant Head who co-ordinated the project added 'This type of activity fosters a positive relationship between school phases and helps excite younger students to the possibilities opened up at senior school'.

High Standards & High Expectations

ACHIEVEMENTS Spring Term 2014

YEAR 7

YEAR 8

Successes on AR quizzes – highest average scores for the year

Success on AR quizzes – highest average scores for the year

Isabel Benham: 6 quizzes 96.7 % Oliver Seldon: 12 quizzes 92.5 % Elsie Collins: 13 quizzes 98.5 % Catherine Kellow: 10 quizzes 92% Elizabeth horsey: 13 quizzes 93%

Niall Dixon: 13 quizzes 96.9% Daisy Smith: 13 quizzes 93.8% Dylan wakley: 12 quizzes 91.7% Ben Sibley: 13 quizzes 88.5% Most Points Emma Colvin: 314 Points!!!

Most Points Elsie Collins: 103 points!!! Most words Read Elizabeth horsey: 682,266.00 Elsie Collins: 675,074.00 Glenn Keates: 589,192.00

Most words Read Emma Colvin: 1,981,857.00 Arthur Rawles: 1,092,315.00

ACCELERATED READER MILLIONAIRES EMMA COLvIN: 4,002,247.00 Brett wordsworth: 2,803,348.00

Dylan wakley: 2,359,718.00

Ben Sibley: 2,258,338.00

George hogben: 1,750,359.00

Sam Morris: 1,553,983.00

wojciech Toczydlowski: 1,315,830.00

Alex wagner: 1,290,739.00

Ryan Strickland: 1,266,539.00

Arthur Rawles: 1,261,404.00

Lucas Marlow: 1,223,165.00

Ryan Cullingham: 1,189,169.00

Daisy Smith: 1,142,868.00

We celebrated World Book Day with a fancy dress competition again this year. Miss Dennehy excelled with her Mr Toad costume and Mrs Bell certainly looked the part as Miss Havisham. The array of flapper girls from The Great Gatsby was amazing. We are grateful to staff who participated by including literary ideas in lesson. It is wonderful to see people inspired by literature and hopefully a few more students will enjoy engaging with a novel. The winners in KS3 were: Sam Morris Elleanor Atkins The winners in KS4 were: Goncalo Santos Ganga

Tia Coleman

Martin Griffiths

Janielle Saballe

High Standards & High Expectations

in Emma Colv s x’ o F p ho Bis ionaire! ill M le p ru d Qua

s w e N s t r o

Sp

NETBALL SUCCESSES There has been a great turn out to Year 7 training on a weekly basis, which has meant that we have entered 3 teams into each of the central venue league tournaments. The ‘A’ team have been highly successful and will hopefully be representing Taunton Deane at the County Finals. The Year 8 girls have been reasonable with their commitment to training which is good considering their first game against Castle, which they had to play in horrendous conditions. They lost this game but remained in high spirits and enjoyed playing. The squad then had a closer game against Kingsmead, but unfortunately came away defeated. They are still to play Academy and Heathfield. Year 9 netballers have been coached this season by Emma McCormack, although there have been some issues with commitment many of the girls have shown some good improvement as individuals and as a team. They come away from the Netball season with wins against Kingsmead, Courtfields and Academy. Their match against Castle, which had to be played in poor conditions, was narrowly lost. West Somerset School are still to be played. This team have the potential to be very successful in the future.

The Year 11 girls have unfortunately had minimal training due to huge demands placed on them. The squad has also been hit by their ‘centre’ player being injured. Re-scheduled matches were played this week; Academy and Kingsmead. They are still yet to play West Somerset and Heathfield. Well done Girls and thank you for your commitment and effort during your time at Bishop Fox’s. We now look forward to some sunshine and the rounders season. All are welcome! Year

Player of the Season

Most Committed Most Improved

7............ Holly McKenna.....Lauren Knight.........Elleanor Atkins 8............Emily Robinson.....Lauren Hill..............Meredith Willis

Year 10 have done well to juggle their training and match play around other commitments in school. They have had a fair season and as individuals they are very skilled players, match results have highlighted the importance of training as a squad as at times this has had a detrimental effect on performance.

9............Laura Herbert........Charlie Penny.........Maisie Pring

CROSS COUNTRY

The Year 8 boys cross country team won their team event at the Junior Cross Country Championships. Excellent runs contributing to this win came from; Tom Higham, Joe Sawyer, Ashley Bennett, Ryan Treagus and Ben Sibley.

Some superb runs this year in the cross country events. Jonah Billington (pictured below) ran in the area competition and finished 5th, which then qualified him for the South West Schools. Jonah competed and came 34th – very impressive. In addition Matthew Trump ran superbly at the areas and qualified as a reserve to compete in the Nationals. Unfortunately Matthew was not required to run, regardless of this, it is an outstanding achievement.

10..........Chelsy Dingle........Abbey Hawkins......Shelby Pearce 11..........Chloe Mayhew.......Ellie Causley..........Jess Walding

We look forward to the athletics season and would like to wish the athletes competing at the Somerset County Combined Event at the end of April, the best of luck!

hEALThY LIFESTYLES All students at Bishop Fox’s have been looking at their Health and Lifestyle within PE lessons. They have completed a series of challenges and have worked towards bronze, silver and gold awards. Students were given the opportunity to take part in a healthy workshop led by Personal Trainer Lee Owen. They did a popular session called Body Combat which they all thoroughly enjoyed.

High Standards & High Expectations

FOOTBALL

SOMERSET SChOOLS GOLF

Unfortunately the season has been hampered by the poor weather we have experienced. All year groups have yet to finish their seasons and we are currently working hard to complete a full fixture list. The squads started training well, with particularly great numbers for Year 10 and Year 7.

Three students from Fox’s travelled to Farrington Golf Club to play in the Somerset Schools Golf Championships. Josh Sloman, Laura Herbert and Emily Herbert endured tough scoring conditions however can come out of the experience with their heads held high. Josh returned with a Net 82, Emily with an 85 and Laura with 74 with these scores reflecting how tricky conditions were. This score from Laura however was good enough to win the Girls Nett competition for a second successive year. Congratulations must go to Laura for this superb achievement.

Year 7 have taken part in 2 Central Venue League’s so far and have qualified for the top tournament in the final round to play for the top four teams in the area. In the first tournament, we took three teams and the boys won 7 games only losing two between them. In the second tournament the boys improved and were undefeated. They are also still awaiting their first round area cup game.

AREA hANDBALL ChAMPIONS

Year 8 have qualified for the second round of the area cup and have won 2 of their league games so far. Year 9 are still awaiting their first round cup game against West Somerset. In the league they have lost one game and drawn one game so far. Year 10 are waiting to play their second round area cup tie and have won one league game so far. Year 11 are also in the second round of the area cup and have played 2 league games and are currently undefeated. Year Most Improved

Most committed

Player of the Season

7........Tom Rossiter............Dan Parsons...........Jonah Billington 8........Laurie Stewart.........Tom Higham............Ross Burnell 9........Matthew Kingdom...Andrew Hayden......Joe Matthews 10......Harrison Burford......Tim Mckee..............Matthew Trump

Dance News

11......Bradley Welch..........Fahad Hossain.......Connor Noble

In the recent area tournament the Bishop Fox's Team proved too strong for the opponents and played some good handball to finish the tournament with a 100% record. The team controlled the ball well for the best part and will move on to the county tournament. Pictured: Vinny Gordon, Harry Smith, Sam Turner, Tom Whitworth, Liam Winter, Matt Kingdom, Charlie Penny, Maisie Pring and Laura Herbert.

An Evening of Dance Over 100 students took part in this years ‘An Evening of Dance’. Yet again our students put on a fantastic performance with a record number of boys participating.  A huge thank you to all staff who supported the show and also our team of students who took control of managing backstage, the lighting and sound.  It was great to see so many of you coming to watch and share in all the hard work that has taken place over the last few months.

Foxonic Boys Dance company Our Boys Foxonic Dance company now consists of 27 boys who all participated in a Dance workshop with  Earthfall Dance company on Friday 28th February.  With only 5 hours to create a performance piece the boys worked exceptionally hard and served themselves proud within 4 performances, including an Evening of Dance, that took place in the following week.  As we move towards the summer term Foxonic look forward to working on the planning and delivery of workshops to be toured to Primary Schools in the local area. 

Rotary Club Charity Performance On Monday 3rd March Year 10 GCSE Dance students and the Boys Foxonic Dance company headed out to Queen's College to perform in the Rotary Club annual charity performance.  The students were exceptional role models to the school and all performances were extremely well received.

High Standards & High Expectations

450 Minute Shakespeare

We are pleased to be supporting 450 Minute Shakespeare, a local group raising funds to help with the re-birth of Taunton's Brewhouse Theatre. This group is selling 'minutes' and the idea is to encourage as many people as possible to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday on 23rd April by doing something - anything! - vaguely or explicitly to do with Shakespeare. For this event, the Drama department are planning to film their own version of Much Ado About Nothing, as well as producing scenes from other Shakespeare plays on that day. There will also be busking in the courtyard, as well as a 'Fastest "To Be or Not To Be" Competition' at lunchtime... If you are interested in taking the 'one minute Shakespeare challenge', please see Mrs Keedwell or Ms Harvey for details, and you too could appear live on the 450 Minute Shakespeare website! Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare, and good luck to 450 Minute Shakespeare in helping to resurrect the Brewhouse!"

PREFECTS -

a big thank you.

Being a prefect can be a challenge. A positive role model to the students of the school 24:7; helping to maintain a calm, safe and orderly atmosphere, representing the student body at school and community events and there’s a job to do as well! Maybe doing a duty at lunchtime or peer support with the Reading Rebels, or helping out in C1 with Homework Club or organising the Career Library and making sure that all career interviews run smoothly. The school is a vibrant place and we need students to step up and take on these additional positions of responsibility. Year 11 prefects have had an exceptional year; they are a strong team who have really made a difference. The team of Head Prefects have been of an exceptional calibre too – Lucy, Jack, Coryn, Will, Adrian, Fahad, Lori and Alicia have been amazing.

Leadership skills are learnt when leading your peers, not always the easiest thing to do. Counselling, supporting, challenging, rewarding and leading by example are some of the main skills that have evolved over the last few months. No doubt the leaders of the future are here at Bishop Fox’s now. Many thanks to all of you for your hard work – I hope that you have learnt from the experience. NEwSFLASh – Year 10 are you ready for the challenge? The application process for the new cohort of prefects for 2014-15 will begin soon in the Summer term. We are looking for positive role models, with an impressive record of being involved with the school and the wider community. You need a good report, an excellent behaviour record and a “champion” to support your application (student and member of staff). Watch this space – more details to follow in a Year 10 assembly.

PREFECTS 2013-2014 High Standards & High Expectations

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES NEWS LANGUAGES DAY In order to celebrate the National Day of Languages on 26th September there were various activities on offer. All staff were encouraged to welcome classes from a choice of 26 different languages, original activities were organised for language lessons by the MFL department, tutor groups took part in a Form Quiz on languages in order to win themselves a French breakfast – congratulations to 10 KAS who won the French Breakfast!

FRENCh CLUB Year 7 French club has been busy this term, moving from language games, choosing French songs to listen to, and creating a puppet show version of Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (Little Red Riding Hood) This is currently being filmed and will be edited next term – watch this space! Thanks to the Year 10 stalwarts who never left French Club…who are now helping to run the activities!

SPANISh CLUB Miss Hennessy and Mrs Piper took the Spanish Club to North Town primary school on Thursday 13th March.  We went to show the primary school children how the Spanish celebrate some of their festivals

such as Christmas, Easter, bull running, La Tomatina etc. We presented each festival to the children then we let them ask questions and even take part in a pretend Tomatina tomato battle!  We made a questionnaire for them to complete as they went around each group learning about the festivals.  We will be presenting the winner with lots of prizes and goodies next week.  By taking part in this we have earnt ourselves half colours for languages and we are very proud to have represented our school and to have brought fun and enjoyment to other children in Taunton. French Club (L1) & Spanish Club (L3) – Monday 1.20-1.55 (all welcome!) Congratulations also to those students who have gained their Language Excellence Awards this term – to be awarded at the end of the year

KS3 Year 7 students have made a great start to their Language Learning, working on giving personal information and descriptions – we had a very successful Curriculum Day with Miss Whittaker, Mr Lawrance and Miss Freemantle with forms bidding for the business of the

Castle hotel by arranging and budgeting for a Bastille Day themed evening. Congratulations to 7AFW who narrowly gained victory over 7JF! 7JF have also had two exciting French lessons taken by Sam Cunningham (8CAM) this term who has planned and undertaken practical lessons on festivals as part of his Extended Study project – students loved following Sam’s French instructions to make Halloween Ghosts & Spiders in October! Year 8 have been working on Food & Drink and recently took part in a shopping task where they made their own French stores in groups, competing to purchase all their items in French from a shopping list in the quickest time possible. They have also undertaken an assessment where they were TV chefs presenting their own cookery show…in French of course! The French breakfast for Year 8 on Fri 28th March looks to be a fun (and tasty) way to start the day – thanks to French Club for their help in running this event for Year 8. Year 9 students undertook a French GCSE style Writing Controlled Assessment to complete the work they have

Vocational Courses at Somerset College

covered last term on the topic of Holidays. This was then followed by a Half Term of Spanish until - booster Spanish lessons after school on Wednesdays for those who wish to keep this up top GCSE level have been well attended.

KS4 Congratulations and good luck to Year 10 students who have begun their GCSE course well and who will be undertaking their first Written Controlled Assessment in April. Congratulations also to Year 11 students who have now completed both Speaking Assessments this year worth 30% of their final grade– they have a few weeks to catch their breath before preparation for a third Writing Task which will be undertaken March 2014.

ChATEAU D’EBBLINGhEM 1-5Th MAY 2014 Thanks to all parents for final payments and all passport documentation for our visit to France on 1-5 May. I will soon be speaking to students regarding roomings and will be letting you know all the final information at the Parents Meeting on Wednesday 23rd April in the Lecture Theatre – we look forward to seeing you there!

15 Year 11 students are just weeks away from completing their 2 year Vocational Qualifications in Hair and Beauty and Construction Skills. Their commitment to attending this every week until 4pm is commendable, and has certainly paid off as some of them will start Year 12 courses at a Level 2, rather than Level 1. Well done to all. 13 Year 10 students are now over halfway through their first year on the same courses. For the first time, Year 10’s have been allowed to study plumbing skills (see photo) which involves gas and solder, and I am pleased to report that everyone kept their eyebrows! The same can be said of the Hair and Beauty students who have just finished their make-up unit and will soon be moving on to manicures. Well done to you all!

High Standards & High Expectations

♯

♩

♪♬

♬♩♪ ♪♪

Music

WANTED...

INSTRU

MENTA L LESSON S If you are intereste d please see the main off ice for a lett er!

S E i D ROA x Bishop Fo

Annual evening of Excellence Year 11 – watch this space for further details but this is an opportunity for parents, family and friends to watch GCSE music students perform their exam pieces that they have recently completed. Details to follow.

SEE MISS WRIDE FOR MORE INFORMATION

LION KING 2014 Once again Year 7 students had the opportunity to go to London’s West End to watch the Lion King. However, this year, the show was touring, so we all went to Plymouth to watch. It was interesting to see how they adapted the show for a much smaller stage. Students had a great time and also enjoyed a mini walk around Plymouth before the show. Next year’s Lion King trip for Year 7 will be back in London. If any students were unable to go on the Plymouth trip then there is a forthcoming trip to see Shrek the musical next year.

SUMMER CONCERT The Summer concert is fast approaching. Rehearsal schedules and details will be available soon. This year’s theme is Disney! If students would still like to be involved then please see Miss Wride for more details.

sing? o t like ? dance o t like w Ch

Sho

s

ition

ud oir A

COMING SOON! WATCH THIS SPACE...

BISHOP FOX’S CAROL SERVICE ST MARY’S CHURCH CHRISTMAS 2013.

High Standards & High Expectations

♬♩♩♪

in the

♬

r i o h C

High Standards & High Expectations

♯

♬♩♪ ♪ ♪♯

♪

Jo

♪♪

Tuesday and Thursday Lunchtimes in C2. All Welcome

♪

Tuesdays after school 3.05-4.15 in C2. See Miss Wride to discuss

♩♪

Orchestra

DID YOU KNOw... If you are entitled to Free School Meals, registering your child will bring more money into the school. Registering is confidential and taking up the free school meal is recommended but not compulsory. However, by registering, your child may receive additional help, for example help with one of our school trips or the cost of music lessons. If you would like futher details, please speak to Mrs Chapman in the school office.

SKI-TRIP 2015 There are some places still available. For further details, please contact Mrs Coombes in the school office.

vISITING ThE SChOOL Please ensure if you come into school you sign in at reception and receive a visitors badge. We take security very seriously and must know who is in our school at all times for Health and Safety reasons.

vALUABLES Please ensure that if your child brings anything of value into school they look after it!

AFTER SChOOL CLUBS Please note that if for any reason after school clubs are cancelled, then your child may make a phone call home, free of charge from Student Services to make you aware.

We installed bicycle sheds in order to prevent bike theft. However, the two we have had stolen were taken after school hours and weren’t locked up! Unfortunately the school cannot be liable for personal items.

i B f o s end i r F d n

a s e i l i Fam

S PRIzE FOR NG wINNI S TEAM

.

.. s ’ x o F shop

ALL PROCE EDS GO TOwAR DS ThE YEAR 1 1 PROM

A great fun night out! Bring your friends and family! Teams of up to 6 people. £3 per person in advance (£4 on the night)

Thursday 8th May - 6.30pm for a 7pm start Team details and payment to Mrs Coombes in the school office please

High Standards & High Expectations