December 2015

HEADLINES Looking back over the term there are some obvious highlights which pupils have enjoyed and will remember….. To those who went, the very successful year 11 trips to China and Costa Rica created memories that will last for a very long time; it could be the Enterprise Event which many parents supported through joining us at the 'market place’ afternoon; for some it would be the visit of Pudsey where we raised £561 for Children in Need; or for others perhaps it was a more personal achievement…..getting all their sums right; achieving a reading level they had been striving to meet; scoring a goal in a football match; doing a reading or singing at the Carol Service or playing a role in the Panto…………. I hope every pupil has some positive memories of their achievements in 2015 and is looking forward to the New Year with some ideas of things they want to achieve and enjoy. For teachers, I hope they can reflect and appreciate the good job they have done. Producing interesting and enjoyable lessons day after day is hard work (honestly it is!) and enriching the curriculum as we do it is vital in ensuring ‘breadth and balance’ and brings the extra 10% that makes our school so enjoyable and accessible for children…….school is so much more than maths and English and classroom lessons, really important that those subjects are…..so to all teachers and LSAs, on behalf of parents and carers, a really big thank you for all your work this year! For me, I particularly enjoy hearing that our youngsters are achieving in the world of work…..the success of our sixth form retail students is one example…..they learn through work experience at Sainsbury’s two days a week and many are being offered paid work over the busy Christmas period which is really good news……the transition from school to employment is a difficult one for most school leavers…..so our students deserve many congratulations as this is the first step on that journey. Our visits and links overseas work is also something I particularly enjoy…….we are very lucky, Torbay really is a beautiful place to live and work……..but travel broadens and enriches the mind and encourages youngsters to be outward looking…….standing on a WW1 battlefield, visiting Paris or Berlin, working with animals in a tropical rainforest, or standing on the Great Wall, all contribute to this and I hope we can continue with these visits in 2016. But before we enter 2016…….can I thank everyone for their support to the school in 2015 and wish everyone a happy and merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year! Mr M Lock Head Teacher

Yellow Frog Café Hosts Christmas Lunch

Fabulous Christmas lunch for pensioners from Coleridge Court, Torquay, who will be returning soon By Mrs Langdon, Finance Administrator On Monday 14th December The Yellow Frog Cafe catering students served up a spectacular three course Christmas lunch for a lovely group of pensioners from Coleridge Court, Torquay. The pupils served some fantastic homemade food including Tomato and Basil Soup as well as some wonderful Brandy infused Christmas Pudding! The ladies and gentlemen said they had thoroughly enjoyed the meal and are already looking forward to booking again after Christmas.

The Yellow Frog Cafe caters for private functions – phone Tel 01803 321806 for more information

Lower School News By Mrs Gardner, teacher Class 4G 4G visited the Coastwatch centre at Daddyhole plain, as part of their topic on our local area. The children were taken up the tower to look across the bay and observe the coastline through a telescope.

Above: busy pupils of Class 4G, as they load the lorry with their gifts heading for Romania

4G Christmas Gift Boxes By Mrs Gardner, teacher of class 4G In 4G we raised £104 by selling cakes and toys at the Trade Fair, to buy things to fill up shoe boxes to be sent to the poor people in Romania for Christmas. Here is a photo of the pupils helping to load their gift boxes onto the delivery lorry at Rora House, to start the long journey to Romania. Saphire Ross & Corey Sampson observing the local coastline from the Coastwatch tower

Combe Pafford ECO Warriors By Miss Alcock, Year 9 teacher As part of our healthy eating Food Revolution, several children here at Combe Pafford have been successful in becoming Waste Warriors and Health Heroes! This role involves working at lunchtimes to encourage children to try different foods, to eat as much as possible to avoid waste, encouraging healthy lunch and packed lunch choices, and helping the meal time assistants with clearing tables, seating children and praising good behaviour. As part of this, Miss Alcock took some children to Collaton St Mary Primary School to be trained up by their waste warriors and health heroes. The children had a fantastic afternoon learning about their roles and got stuck in helping throughout the lunchtime. These children will now have the great responsibility of training our other waste warriors and health heroes ready to start their new roles in January.

Competition at Radio Devon By Miss Puffett, teacher of Music Pupils from our Lower School singing club, sang and recorded a song to enter Radio Devon’s Star for Christmas competition. We sang and recorded “In a Stable Long Ago”. The judges were impressed with the enthusiasm of our signing and sent us a certificate – (pictured below), to say well done for taking part! The prize winners have an opportunity to sing at Exeter Cathedral during the Christmas celebration period.

The school website is available with all our up-to-date information that you need to know – find us at: www.combepaffordschool.co.uk Jeans for Genes 2015. We collected £162 for charity. Thank you for all your efforts.

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National Enterprise Week 9th – 13th November 2015 By Mr Dowell, Deputy Headteacher A brilliant week was had by the whole school for our National Enterprise Week with children working on business and enterprise projects from Year 4 to 8 and social enterprise projects in Year 9, 10 & 11. The week was launched with an exciting whole school assembly on Monday including our own children getting creative designing new Wellington boot prototypes for our Horticulture teacher, Mrs Davey! We had our famous entrepreneur teacher, Mr Bamsey, who came up with another fantastic idea with chair football which he hopes to sell to the masses! We also had a very special visit from Pudsey who prepared us for more money making for Friday with Children in Need Day. Many projects took place over the three days. These included 4G, who raised money to buy items to fill shoeboxes for poor people in Romania and Year 8 raised money to help Fairtrade through a variety of Fairtrade food and drink selling including in their own fantastic Fairtrade Food Café! A huge variety of other items were designed and created by the children throughout the school including class calendars, tea towels and a variety of stationery. Years 9, 10 and 11 worked on social enterprise projects with the money raised going to Macmillan Cancer Support and Brainwave with proceeds going to help children who will not have much this Christmas. The Trade Fair event on the Thursday afternoon had a fantastic turn out with parents, grandparents, governors and other locals who came to celebrate the children’s work. The children were a credit to our school and were proud to confidently share their work with our visitors and also in persuading them into parting with their cash! Our total profit from the week was a stunning £436.34, which will be shared between the children’s chosen charities. A BIG thank you to everyone’s efforts in making our Enterprise projects such a great success especially the children!

By Miss Puffett, teacher of class 7P Lower school recently held their Harvest festival in the school hall on Thursday 22nd October. Each class had their own role to play with pupils taking part in various ways. 5E began with a poem about Harvest linked to various crops. They made some giant peas, turnip and other vegetables to show during their performance. 4G then shared their Harvest paintings and a simple poem about Harvest. They spoke with confidence and enjoyed sharing their pictures with the audience. After that it was 7W's turn dressed as scarecrows performing a Harvest Rap they wrote themselves, with a great bit of beatboxing to finish. 7M and 7P then took to the stage to perform their version of The Problems of Harvest. Owen took the main part as the farmer who had problems growing his crops. First the birds ate all of his seed - this was demonstrated by 5N wearing glittering bird masks that they'd made and pecking around the corn field, moving through the audience. To help scare the birds away 7W returned dressed as scarecrows and did a fantastic job. Then pupils from 7M and 7P performed a rain dance and sun dance to help the crops grow with singing in the rain being one of the favourite dances...although watch out for the umbrellas! 7H then explained how Harvest is celebrated around the world with their top ten favourite Harvest celebrations. 6N shared with us a video of their trip to Anode Foodbank in Paignton where they delivered donated food to them for sharing with families in their time of need. Anode were very appreciative of all they had received and said a massive thank you to everyone who donated! 5N finished our Harvest festival with a prayer. Throughout the Harvest festival pupils sang songs together to celebrate Harvest with confidence and enthusiasm. It was great to see so many adults there to support and the pupils really appreciated having a large audience to perform to. I am sure anyone who saw it will agree it was a great success. Well done to all pupils in Lower school!

Help for the MacMillan Charity By Mrs Hutchins, Learning Support Assistant On Friday 25th September, the school hosted a MacMillan coffee morning. The event was brilliantly supported and we had cake available to buy all day. We raised £271.04 for this very worthwhile cause. A special thanks goes to the kitchen and the café staff who baked the cakes for the event. Thank you to everyone that bought cakes and made donations. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day, so we aim to host the event and beat this amount next year.

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Pirates Ahoy!

Representing the school was Marcus Reed, Ellie Robinson & Chantelle Cockram

By Mr Bamsey, Year 8 teacher Year 8 swapped their pencils for eye patches and their pens for swords as they enjoyed a day out in Brixham as a hook for learning about pirates. The children were split into two groups and had the chance to climb aboard the five decks of the Golden Hind Museum Ship, with many hands-on exhibits, giving visitors an insight into life on Sir Francis Drake's Tudor galleon. We had our own guide dressed as a pirate and he gave us a flavour of what life was like aboard a pirate's ship hundreds of years ago. The children enjoyed getting dressed up in pirate costume and indulging in a spot of role play. Part of the trip saw the children visit the Smugglers and Pirates Experience which allowed them to see other pirate artefacts and learn more about how smuggling used to be rife around our shores.

An Act of Remembrance

‘They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.’

By Mrs Kendall, PA to Headteacher On the morning of Remembrance Day a group of our pupils, along with pupils from other local schools, joined in the Act of Remembrance in St Marychurch. The last post was played before tributes were paid to those who fought in the wars. Wreathes were laid on the memorial and the pupils remembered and reflection was made.

The Amazing R.A.M.M. in Exeter

Life Skills & Learning for Life By Mrs Williams, teacher of class 7W On Friday 16th October, 7W went to Boots Pharmacy as part of their life skills/ learning for life. They were looking for products that help us to keep clean and healthy, and took photos of all that they found. It was much like a ’scavenger hunt’ style activity, as they had a list of things to find e.g. something to keep teeth clean, something to clean your hair... The pupils did us proud, as they politely asked store staff for assistance in locating products.

Pupils hunting for ‘Keep Clean’ products at Boots

Pupils displaying their incredible Greek masks By Mrs Hanbury, Head of Lower School Over the last couple of weeks all of Year 7 have visited the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. Everyone had a fantastic time which complemented our work on timelines and the different periods we’ve looked at throughout history. Pupils were able to look at different sources of information and learn about how historians have developed their knowledge over time, by investigating artefacts. The RAMM museum also has a small collection of Ancient Greek Artefacts that pupils were able to explore, along with an interactive section where we could all dress up and try out some Ancient Greek masks! The RAMM museum offers free entry to visitors and would be a lovely day out if you are stuck at the weekend for something to do! 4

Combe Pafford Fossil Hunters By Mrs Williams, teacher of class 7W 7W and 6B had a wonderful trip to Charmouth Beach on Monday; with a talk and opportunity to handle fossils with our guide, and then a guided fossil hunting session on the beach, during which all of the children found a fossil of some kind, many filled their pockets with fossils and stones that they liked.

7W would definitely recommend Charmouth beach for fossil hunting. We didn’t need any tools, or to go near the cliffs - just by walking along the beach we were able to find many different fossils. The main fossils we found on Monday were Ammonites, Belemnites and Fools Gold.

Year 9 Step Back in Time to Find Out About Life on Board SS Great Britain

Class 7W Brought Learning To Life At Paignton Zoo By Mrs Williams, teacher of class 7W Monday 28th September, 7W went to Paignton Zoo as part of their learning about climate zones, animals and adoption. 7W did us all proud with wonderful behaviour throughout the day! We explored the zoo, rode on the train, and had a learning session in the Education Centre. 7W were very interested in the animals and where they were from, and asked lots of thoughtful questions during our learning session in the Education Centre. A wonderful day was had by all, and this trip really brought our current topic to life and reinforced what we have been learning in class.

By Mrs Bradfield, Miss Alcock & Mrs Cooper, Year 9 class teachers On Tuesday 2nd November, Year 9 had a fantastic trip to Brunel’s ship the SS Great Britain. With a talk from our amazing guide Eddy, the children had the opportunity to soak up life on board the ship and learn a lot about the ship’s history. Before this the children took part in a Victorian workshop with Sarah (another one of SS Great Britain’s specialist guides), so that they could experience what life was like for the people travelling on board the glorious and most luxurious ship at the time. They had chances to try on clothes, play with genuine Victorian toys, try out writing like a Victorian with quills and calligraphy pens and look at artefacts that passengers would have taken or had on board the ship. I know the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot about this fantastic ship.

Plymouth Trip, Monday 14th September 2015 By Mrs Bradfield, Year 9 teacher As a hook to our humanities topic ‘Dive and Discover’, all the Year 9’s took a trip down to the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. With such a range of marine life to see there was a moment to spare and we dived straight in. After being split into two groups we were guided around the aquarium by our own aquarium expert. Although lots of us had been there before we had a great day finding out even more facts about the animals and plants that lived there.

Pupils visit the SS Great Britain in Bristol

Richard Cozens and Jack Baldwin were seeking Stingrays at the aquarium.

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Projecto ASIS Animal Care Students Volunteer to Work in Costa Rica, Central America By Mr Bamsey, middle school teacher Six children had the trip of a lifetime when they visited Costa Rica as part of a link between Combe Pafford School and a wildlife rescue centre. It is the second time the school has sent a party over to the Central American country, which boasts a vast array of stunning scenery and wildlife. The 12-day trip started with a two-hour flight to Madrid followed by a 10-hour flight to San Jose. The journey to the hotel provided an interesting snapshot to the manic nature of the capital as the taxi driver weaved in and out of traffic during rush hour traffic. After a good night’s sleep, the first full day saw the children have the chance to visit La Paz which maintains a range of native Costa Rican animals. There they were able to hold butterflies and encountered a number of different animals. The following day comprised of a trip to Tortuga Island – a dreamy island paradise fringed with tall swaying coconut palms, sugary white sand beaches and emerald waters which invited absolute tranquillity and luxury. On the Monday, we were picked up for a two-hour taxi drive towards La Fotuna and our destination Projecto Asis. There we would be staying with a host family and volunteering at the wildlife and conversation centre.

Our pupils arriving at the wildlife centre to gain valuable work experience From painting monkey cage fences to making toys for the animals, the children got to experience a host of different jobs designed to help animals brought in from the wild for their own protection. The highlight was feeding the animals and having monkeys grabbing fruit out of your hands and parrots swooping down on you as you filled their bowls with tasty treats. We were greeted each evening with a tropical downpour and the odd power cut. During the six-day stay with the host family, we embarked on a trip to the natural hot springs where the children were able to bathe in the warm waters overlooked by one of the country’s active volcanoes in the shape of Arenal. The final trip was to board a boat near the Nicaraguan border and head for the wildlife reserve of Cano Negro for more glimpses of native Costa Rican wildlife. We saw all three species of monkeys native to Costa Rica and were even lucky enough to see a caiman relaxing in the swamps. The next day was an early start as we packed our bags and set off for the capital San Jose for the last part of the trip. A walk into the capital during the afternoon was a real eye-opener for the children and the chance to trade in Costa Rican food for a MacDonald’s. The final day of the holiday provided just enough time for a swim in the hotel pool before we boarded the taxi en route for the airport and the flight home. The children were a real credit to the school and our Costa Rican hosts commented on how they had behaved and conducted themselves during the stay.

Left: photos of our pupils experiencing the life, beautiful scenery and culture of Costa Rica

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Feedback from Employers: ‘I would just like to say that we have had an enjoyable week getting to know Rhiannon. She  has spent most of the week in our arts and crafts group, and has worked well with our staff and service users. Rhiannon has been a delight to work with and has been very enthusiastic’ (Rhiannon Forrest, ROC Creative)

Feedback from Employers: ‘Ellie was a lovely, responsible student and we would be happy to have her back’ (Ellie Robinson, Holy Angels PreSchool)

YEAR 11’s EXCEL ON WORK EXPERIENCE By Mr Thompson, teacher of Careers Year 11 pupils acquitted themselves with distinction on work experience in November, all 29 of them not only completing their one - week placements, but earning rave reviews from their employers. Placements were undertaken by pupils in a huge array of occupational areas, ranging from the building industry to theatre, including child care, motor vehicle maintenance, farming, retail and catering. What stood out this year was the mature manner and confidence with which all the youngsters approached their placement, many requesting to visit their employer beforehand, several of them working very long days, and one working evenings

FEEDBACK

Feedback from Employers: ‘Fred was a really lovely lad, very polite and has followed instructions well. He has remembered everything he has been taught during his time with us. He has been punctual and has worked well with the incoming cast and crew. He has a good future ahead, it was a pleasure having Fred with us for the production week’ (Fred Rogers, Palace Avenue Theatre)

Feedback from Employers: ‘A great lad, very hardworking’ (Aston Hartless, TJ’s MOT & Auto Centre) evenings only! It was also apparent from the staff visits that many of the pupils had engaged independently with staff, customers and members of the public. There were so many success stories it is hard to single out individuals, but worthy of mention are the following pupils – Aaron Jones at Morgan Sindall, Fred Rogers at the Palace Avenue Theatre in Paignton, James Pound at Dartmouth Museum, Ellie Robinson at Holy Angels Pre-School, and Marcus Reed at Mayfield School. However, this was an outstanding performance Year 11 – very well done indeed to ALL of you!

Above: Aaron Jones at Morgan Sindall Above: Aston Hartless at TJ Auto Centre & Francesca Pym at Torre C of E Primary School

Above: Fred Rogers at The Palace Theatre Right: James Pound at the Dartmouth Museum & Jay Frampton at the Arsenal Soccer School

Valuable work experience 7

New

Outstanding Horticulture Facility

Above: Mrs Davey teaching Sixth Form pupils how to pot on young plants in the new greenhouse By Mrs Davey, teacher of Horticultural The Year 11, 12 and 13 Horticulture Level 1 gardeners are settling into their new greenhouse next to the Yellow Frog Café on the school site. It has been built to replace the existing polytunnel at Brunel Manor to minimise travel time and maximise gardening time. The 6th Form students following the Construction and Horticulture pathway created the foundations and laid the brickwork footing for the large greenhouse, and are now using it for the Horticulture elements of their course. All gardening units for the NPTC and City & Guilds Level 1 in Practical Horticulture skills will now be taking place on site, allowing the younger pupils in the school to watch the older ones at work. This has already inspired lots of the younger pupils to come along to Mrs Davey’s gardening clubs on a Tuesday and a Friday lunchtime. Pupils will also be selling various plants from the greenhouse at school fairs, so look out for details coming your way soon!

By the pupils of Class 7P 7P have been learning all about the rainforest this half term. We have located rainforests on maps and found out about the people who live in the rainforest. We discovered that there are four layers to the rainforest, and that different animals can be found in the different layers. Take a look at our models - we created our own 3D rainforests to show the four layers and the animals you could find.

The Year 11 Drama Group Visited the Princess Theatre By Mrs Hutchins, Learning Support Assistant On Friday, 9th October 2015 the Year 11 drama group visited the Princess Theatre in Torquay for a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look. The theatre was built in 1961 and hasn’t changed since then. It was amazing to hear that the Beatles had appeared on their stage many years ago. Our guides were very welcoming and informative. We were shown the ropes and riggings used for scenery, the dressing rooms and the orchestra ‘pit’. Also we saw, how the lights and sound system work. The girls were amazed at how small the dressing rooms actually are! The pupils were allowed to use the spotlights and were shown that in this day of modern technology the sound system could be activated by an iPad. It was quite strange seeing the buttons move by themselves! The pupils behaved impeccably, they were attentive, enthusiastic and very polite.

Above: pupils checking out the dressing rooms at the Princess Theatre

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Vocational Skills & More in China Our China Adventure… By Mrs Milner, Careers Adviser I was very privileged to be part of the group of fourteen pupils and four staff that were invited to China this year by the Beijing Electrical and Engineering School. As we set off on our ten day adventure there was a feeling of excitement and trepidation… What would we see? What would the food be like? Where would we stay and what would school be like for a Chinese child? Our hosts from the Beijing Electrical and Engineering School invited us to experience a day with them on two of their sites in Beijing. We spent an interesting morning with students from the school who were studying vocational subjects in floristry, horticulture and the traditional Chinese tea ceremonies. Chinese schools have forty pupils in a class and the classes that we attended were really practical. Chinese children start school early in the morning and have Friday afternoons off school. The first class we went to was all about making a Terrarium. A Terrarium is a glass container that you place soil, plants, moss and colourful stones in to make a decorative arrangement of plants. We all found this really enjoyable and there were some amazing results! We then went to a Chinese Tea Ceremony class, where we learnt the traditional way to serve tea. There are thirteen steps you need to take to make the perfect cup of tea. I think the prize for best tea making has to go to Brioney, she remembered every single step. After lunch we visited the site of the Agriculture School, where schools in and around Beijing go to learn about agriculture. On the afternoon we visited there were 8,000 pupils there. Our afternoon at the school was one of the highlights of the trip for me, we all took part in a traditional dragon dance. The dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China, and they are believed to bring good luck to people. This was followed by a visit to the school’s orchard to pick apples. Our Chinese hosts were very generous and made

Our group pictured after exploring the Great Wall of China made sure that we experienced everything Beijing had to offer: The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City, Pandas, The Pearl Market and so much more. We were able to try a variety of traditional foods, including Cockerel, Pigeon and Peking Duck. I think my favourite day was our day spent on the Great Wall of China, it was incredible to be stood on it and such an achievement for all our pupils that climbed it! At the end of our time in Beijing we said goodbye to our new friends and boarded the night train to X’ian. Xian is an interesting city surrounded by an ancient wall. We stayed in the Shuyuan Hostel; a quirky place with plants & bird cages hanging from the ceiling with a host of interesting travellers from all over the world. X’ian had great places to shop and we visited the Muslim Market. We also had the chance to show off our cycling skills; Mr Lock and Fran cycling the wall on a tandem! The highlight of X’ian had to be the Terracotta Army, it’s impossible to describe the size of this handmade army, all with different facial expressions – you really have to see them to appreciate them! China in the words of all the pupils that went was “an awesome experience” and the memories of it will stay with us all for a lifetime.

Health & Social Care By Mrs Wallace, Upper School teacher This term in health and social care the Year 10 pupils have been very successful in delivering creative activities in a playgroup setting to local parents and their little ones. We have just set up a fantastic link with Watcombe Childrens Nursery where a group of 3 year olds will regularly come over to the play group so that the pupils can enrich their learning and get hands on with what working with children really consists of in a real life occupation scenario. A great vocational and real life experience for the pupils. Pupils learning about the ancient Chinese Tea ceremony

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Worldskills UK Treat is a Hit With Pupils! By Mr E W Thompson, Assistant Head Twenty-three pupils from Years 10 and 11 recently attended the annual trip to the NEC for the WorldSkills UK exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham. All the youngsters enthusiastically went round in small groups, sampling the ‘have-a-go’ activities, watching demonstrations, looking at exhibits and talking to the exhibitors and training providers. As always, there was a lot to see - from the Red Bull Formula 1 car and military vehicles to fake severed limbs for the horror film industry! As the largest event of its type in the UK, there were many things on show that the pupils would not generally see down in the South West, and so was enjoyed all the more. Behaviour throughout the day, both in the exhibition and on the journey, was exceptionally good (well done everyone!) and I am very grateful to the staff who gave up their time on a Saturday to go with us (Mrs Milner, Mr Wallace and Miss Coakley).

Christmas I.T. Gift Inspiration By Mrs Cooper, I.T. teacher With Christmas almost upon us it’s looking like tablets, ipads and mobile phones will all be in the top ten lists of gifts this year. With this in mind we’ve put together a Top 3 great apps that are suitable for children. Please note that “freemium” means an app is free to download but has in-app purchases.

Night Zookeeper (Free) iOS/Android

This blends creativity, gaming & education in the form of a zoo full of magical animals. Children have to complete drawing missions based on story, creating digital books & playing a simple strategy game to defend the zoo from attackers. A wonderful way to get children excited about scribbling stories.

Doctor Who: the Doctor & the Dalek (Free) iOS/Android

Not all children are comfortable watching Doctor Who but this engaging spin-off game certainly isn’t scary. It has Doctor Who rebuilding a broken Dalek in order to battle against a host of aliens across a series of action packed levels. There’s also an educational angle. Upgrading the Dalek involves completing puzzles based on computer programming tasks, which gives them a good taste of coding.

Star Walk Kids (£2.29) iOS/Android If you’re searching for an app that gets your children out into the fresh air Star Walk Kids is a great option. It’s an astronomy app designed for children: they can hold up their device to the stars & learn about the solar system, constellations & everything else they see in the night sky. Serious Science presented in a fun, accessible way.

Sixth Form News By Mr Thompson and Miss Monnington A brief update on how some of our Sixth Formers are getting on:  Keagan Williams (13W) has had a very successful time on his very first independent, out-of-school work placement at the Munch Mill café in Chelston – well done Keagan, keep up the good work!  Clinton Williams (13W) embarks on his first work placement after Christmas at Margaret Clitherow House in St. Marychurch – good luck Clinton!  Coral Nelson and Reece Tarrant (12W) have excelled on the retail pathway and have secured paid work at Sainsbury’s over the Christmas period. This is a marvellous achievement and a significant step

 step towards independent employment  Leanne Carpenter (13W) continues to excel on her placement at Shiphay School as she works towards achieving her Level 2 in Child Care through Exeter College  Liam Hart and Joe Leach (12L) have been volunteering at Centrepoint in Paignton once a week which is helping to develop their confidence and work readiness  Alexander Cook (13W) is volunteering at Newton Abbot railway station for GWR over the busy holiday period – well done Alex for showing initiative!  Kyle Phipps (12W) has made a positive start to the Sixth Form, not least in his first work placement  at Eat That Frog – well done Kyle! 10

Pupils Excel on the Ten Tors Taster Day

Year 11 College Day By Mr Thompson, Assistant Headteacher Year 11 visited South Devon College today to have a tour of the campus and its facilities. The pupils enjoyed seeing first hand and learning about the provision in various different departments, including motor vehicle, construction, hair and beauty, drama and theatre, art and design, hospitality and catering, sport and leisure, animal care and horticulture. We were all treated to a free lunch in the college cafeteria before making our way back to school.

Community Church Assists with Class Topic By Mrs Hardwick, Year 8 teacher As part of our RE work and lifeskills topic 'community', 8H visited St Mary the Virgin Church. Father Roberts gave us a tour of the church and explained why different parts of the Church are special to Christians and the reasons behind this. The children enjoyed hearing the stories told in the beautiful stained glass windows. They were interested to learn about the Church community now, but also what happened when the Church was bombed during the Second World War.

By Mr Thompson, Ten Tors Manager On Saturday 26th September, a group of 12 enthusiastic pupils (mostly Year 9s) completed an impressive 12.5 miles trek around the southern hills of Dartmoor to see whether they enjoyed the taste of adventure enough to join the ten tors training programme in the Spring. Splitting the youngsters into two smaller groups, Mr Wallace and Mr Choudhury led their teams round the route, Mr Wallace in a clockwise direction and Mr Choudhury in an anticlockwise direction! The pupils coped extremely well with the challenge that had been set, and we were all impressed with how well the pupils walked, the pace they set and their behaviour. Of special merit were the efforts of Owen Bellamy, Jasmine Coward, Keone Gallacher, Rupert Masters, Ben Smith and Conor O’Rourke, who as an experienced Year 10 pupil, asked if he could come along and help. We parked at Harford Moorgate and walked up to Hangershell Rock together before dividing the groups up. Landmarks reached by the youngsters along the route included Piles Hill, Sharp Tor, Three Barrows, Hickley Plain, Spurrell’s Cross, Ugborough Beacon, Butterdon Hill and Western Beacon. Everyone was a little tired at the end, but on this showing we are going to welcome a fine bunch of rookies to the Ten Tors teams come next May, and we should have a clutch of newcomers bearing Bronze medals.

KS4 Girls netball club By Mrs Wallace, teacher of P.E. This term we started an after school netball club on request from pupils. Ten Year 11 and 10 girls have been enjoying the sport on Monday evenings, coached by Kate Harper also helped by Mandy Caunter a parent. The girls have loved it and can’t wait to play some matches in the next term against other schools. Well done!

Above: Father Roberts showing pupils his church

Christmas Fair

A big thank you to everybody who contributed to the Fair. An amazing £1300 was raised for good causes at Combe Pafford this year. The Friends of Combe Pafford are seeking volunteers. If you are able to help, please phone Lisa Hutchins for more information. Tel: 01803 327902.

Above: Our enthusiastic girls’ Netball Club

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Important Parking Information for School Visitors By Mrs Eales, Premises Manager PARKING NEWS - We have a high number of cars, taxis and minibuses accessing the school each day. Our parking spaces are limited and reserved for staff. In the interests of the safety of our pupils, visitors, parents and staff we would like to request that you do not enter the school premises in your vehicle. There is NO on-site parking available at all during the school day and driving into the school creates unnecessary hazards for the school and the pupils. We would like to respectfully ask that you find the

The Combe Pafford Express

a space outside of the school grounds and walk into school as you will not be able to park anywhere in the school car park, any cars that are not parked in designated car parking spaces restrict access for other school vehicles such as minibuses, food deliveries and bin collection lorries. We have a space for blue badge holders but please ensure your blue badge is displayed if using this space. If you are dropping off a pupil after the school day has started or collecting them early for an appointment you can use the drop off area outside reception but please ensure this area is only used for this reason.

New Beyblade Club By Kai Webber, pupil of class 11c Get ready to Let It rIp at Combe pafford SChooL’S brand new Beyblade Club, with help from my friends Gareth Hill and Aidan McMahon. we have created the club based on the long running anime series Beyblade! No matter if you’re a rookie or expert, newcomer or returning face we’re proud to aLLow any ChILd who wISheS to joIn the battle! Will you go against KaI “tornado” webber and face the wrath of his Tornado Pegasus OR will you go against Gareth “teaCher” hILL and face his killer setups? The choice is YOURS and YOURS alone so come on down to the club and get your Blade ON!

3 2 1 LET IT RIP!

You’ll find us in the P.E Garage every break and lunch time

Christmas Carol Service

Our Carol Service was held at St. Mary the Virgin Church, in Torquay and officiated by Father Roberts. Here is some of the excellent art work displayed at the church.

Above: the audience waiting for the panto to commence

Panto Season at Combe Pafford This season’s panto featured “All Aboard the Combe Pafford Express”, a play written by Mr Stevens. It was produced by Miss Alcock and Mrs Wallace who put in an enormous amount of time and effort, and were assisted by many other staff throughout the school. The narrators of the story were Amelia Savage, Abbie Shermer and Jessica George, the dancers were Azrah Bradford-Jones, Georgina Page, Oliver Hill and Skye Adams to name but a few of the cast. Technical support was provided by Mr Wolsley of our school I.T. department. The performance was excellent and enjoyed by all who watched it.

Spring Dates 2016

If your child is unable to attend school for any reason, please ring the school on: 01803 327902 by 10.00am. We are rigorous about attendance; please visit our school website for further information.

Pupils return: ……… Tuesday 5th January Half Term: .......... Monday 15th February until Friday 19th February (incl) Term Ends: ………... 3.30pm Wednesday 23rd March

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