NEW BENTLEIAN Volume 2

Issue 1 | September 2016

Welcome back to the new academic year after what I hope was a refreshing and rewarding Summer. I am absolutely thrilled to be writing the lead article for the New Bentleian in what is its second year already and I am looking forward to all the exciting opportunities in the coming year. Before we look ahead however, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding exam results of our Y11 and Y13 pupils. 83% of our Y13 students should, by the time you read this, have arrived at University. 80% of JBS students achieved the grades they needed to get into their first choice university with 16% of our students heading to universities within the prestigious Russell Group such as Imperial College London and University College London. This statistic is particularly impressive when you consider that the average proportion of children that go to Russell Group Universities in the South West is only 7%. However, university isn’t for everyone and as a school community we are equally proud of our Y13 pupils who have already begun apprenticeships in places as exciting as Porsche. The reason for these successes is that JBS pupils outperform their peers on a national basis in over 90% of subjects. That is a fantastic tribute to the JBS teaching staff and worthy of celebration! The performance of our Y11 pupils is also cause for celebration this year, with a 9% increase in the number of pupils achieving a suite of GCSE qualifications graded at C or above including English and Maths. In fact, over 60% of qualifications were graded at C or above and 35% graded at A*-B which is a real cause for celebration for our pupils. These results mean that those children can now go onto new opportunities that they may not have previously thought possible. Many of them know that JBS is the best place to help them achieve their ambitions and have elected to stay with us in sixth form and I look forward to them being equally as successful in due course. So it is with real impetus that we move forward into the new year. This year in particular is exciting as we begin a brand new 5 year curriculum which will introduce parents and pupils to a new way of assessing without levels. We will also begin our new extra-curricular programme in week three of the first term and I can already sense the energy around this new initiative, especially as 600 of our students have signed up to one club or another. We will needless to say be aiming to improve the academic outcomes for our pupils once again. Our aims, aspirations and expectations for our pupils is sky high and this is a message I have emphasised from the start of term. I would like to thank parents and families for supporting us in holding high expectations, especially regarding punctuality and uniform. It isn’t always obvious to pupils why I am so strict about uniform but a good answer came from a member of the Great Britain Paralympics team this week when she said; “When I pull on that team GB kit and look at that badge I feel as if I can fly and that no challenge is too great”. I would like our pupils to feel like that when they put on their JBS uniform in the morning. Through working together, no challenge is too great for a JBS pupil. Enjoy the rest of the edition.

Jason Tudor Principal

I Love You Mum, I Promise I Won’t Die Summer Performance

At the end of the summer term JBS Arts had the honour of being the first school to perform I Love You Mum, I Promise I Won’t Die. The play’s title is the haunting last words 17 year old Daniel Spargo Mabbs said to his mother before his tragic death from a lethal dose of MDMA in January 2014. Daniel’s death is a tragedy that needn’t have happened. His friends and family asked playwright, Mark Wheeller to create a piece of theatre that would eventually travel around schools in a bid to do whatever they could to prevent what happened to Daniel from happening to any other family. JBS was fortunate enough to be given early rights to the play. We had an emotional time working with the text, as it was made from the real words of Daniel’s family and friends. The students were phenomenal; mature, sensitive, creative and dedicated. They blew audiences away, and have left quite an impression on all that saw it. The main reason for doing the play was to show the rest of the school so that it could be used as an educational tool. Over three days the cast performed, not only to the entire school but also twice to an invited audience, including the playwright himself, and some of the original cast. We have received a wealth of positive feedback from students, staff and parents. It was on the last performance that we felt the weight of our achievement with this play, when we received a message from Daniel’s mother Fiona, who had been working with us; “The feedback has been phenomenal - these are clearly a talented group led by an inspirational drama teacher, and what’s been especially touching is their commitment to doing us and Daniel proud. The play has clearly had a huge impact, both on its cast and audiences, which is fantastic to hear.” To add to that the playwright; Mark Wheeller, also came to the final performance and spoke to the cast and audience at the end. We were all really nervous to meet him but he was so kind with what he said; “it’s just lovely to hear of a school that supports drama, and drama is supporting society. it’s fantastic, I’m really, really impressed.” As a cast we felt very connected to Daniel and his family and friends and wanted to help in any way we could. With the support of some generous audience members were able to raise an impressive £550 for the foundation set up in Daniel’s name; The Daniel Spargo Mabbs Foundation. Unfortunately there has been a lot in the news this summer of young people becoming ill, or worse, due to drug related incidents. This shows the urgency and importance of the message from the play. I know that from showing our students this performance it will stop poor choices being made in the future.

Mrs Mitchell

Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold Expedition

Just before the summer holidays, 22 students from the school set off to the Black Mountains as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold practice and assessed expedition. Students in Year 12, have spent the year undertaking a variety of activities from first aid training, to understanding the impacts of the weather, all in readiness for their practice expedition. The students set off from school on Sunday morning and despite the early hour were soon heading off towards Hay on Wye, at the foothills of the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are a wilder and more remote range of mountains from their more famous cousins, the Brecon Beacons, and the next few days would certainly live up to their reputation. The students set off from their starting points and headed towards the steeply sloping Hay Bluff, a hill which would test even the fittest of students. The students managed to navigate themselves successfully onwards, after a brief chat with the staff, and safely into camp. The next day would see temperatures rocket from the previous days and students set off early to avoid the midday heat. After a leg aching climb to the top of the hill from camp, the students enjoyed a beautiful ridge line walk taking in the remote peak, Waun Fach. The wild and desolate hill top revealed the splendour that is the mountain vista of South Wales, as the clear day gave views for miles around. Once the students had cleared the top they were soon heading downwards towards their camp and the promise of rest and relaxation. The forecast for the next day was of the hottest day of the year and so students were woken early and set off by 7am to avoid the main heat of the day. With a bit of luck, the day turned out to be cooler than originally thought, with a lovely breeze giving the students great walking conditions while up on the tops. Down in the valley though, the temperatures were soaring and the students were relieved to be able to bathe their feet in the cool of the stream by the campsite. On the final day, the students would climb a familiar mountain to them. The silver training scheme requires students to have a practice navigation day on Sugarloaf and it was on this peak that they would summit for the final mountain of their Gold expedition. The students reached the summit without much of a problem, although some might argue they zigged when they should have zagged, before heading down into Abergavenny where they quickly loaded up on much desired food items (mainly ice cream and fruit). The students did incredibly well over the four days and covered a large distance in difficult conditions. A huge congratulations to the Year 13 students who all passed and a big thank you to all staff who took part in running the expedition.

Mr Parry

Summer School 2016 Review

Summer School started in the lovely July sunshine, with over 120 of our new Year 7 students attending throughout the week. We certainly had an action packed week, with students completing lots of different activities. All students completed the English and Maths activities during the morning sessions. Miss Hamilton-White and Miss Hare introduced our Year 7s to the topic that they would be studying once they began at John Bentley and this gave them time to help prepare their homework task that had been set previously during the Year 7 Induction Day. Mr Strange had the students running around the field, doing lots of exercise during his session, practicing their football and communication skills. Lots of students had many positive things to say about how much they enjoyed their animation sessions with Miss Parsons and the work they produced was very impressive. Even more so as some of the students had never used the software before. This year Mrs Roach not only got everyone participating in body percussion, but also playing the ukulele and glockenspiel. Students soon started to learn their way around the school site with the treasure hunt that had been organised by Miss Hamilton-White and It was lovely to see some of our Year 7s confident enough to practice their new French skills, ordering food at Miss Hare’s French Cafe. Year 7 really embraced the star fish story, which explained to them all why we have a star fish on the JBS logo. They produced art work that was exhibited around the hall, following the theme of the star fish story, but a real highlight was the group that delivered a performance of their interpretation. All of our Year 7 students should be congratulated for their participation and contributions during the week at Summer School. They made it a very positive and enjoyable experience.

Miss Giddings

Year 7 in Focus

Review of their first week Mr Tudor started off the academic year for our Year 7s with a warm welcome in the main hall, with a clear message of how proud we were of our previous Year 11s and 13s for achieving such good results this summer and how happy we were to introduce our new students to our spiralled curriculum and extra curricular opportunities. It has been a busy week for Year 7, going off to all their new lessons, new subjects, learning their way around the school and getting to know their tutor and everyone in their tutor group. Considering all the things they have had to get used to, they have made an exceptionally settled start. Many students commented on how confident they have been due to coming to Summer School during the holiday and how they already felt like a JBS student from that experience. As a Head of Year I have received numerous comments from lots of different staff about how much of a pleasure it has been teaching Year 7 during the week, with over 170 STAR points being awarded to them already. We have the Oxenwood trips later in the term and Meet the Tutor on Monday 26th September, so lots to look forward to.

Miss S Giddings

House Update

2016 / 2017 Championship The House Team are INCREDIBLY excited to start the 2016-17 JBS House Championships! COMPETITIONS: In the first week back the Heads of Houses, Deputies and their Head Student Mentors have met to formulate their plans to try and win this year’s competitions. First up is the Wipe Out competition where students show agility, concentration and resilience to avoid being knocked down by the cunning revolving arm. HOUSE COUNCIL ELECTIONS: The House Team are very busy at the moment encouraging students to apply for the current House Council Elections for years 7 to 10. Have you taken a risk and challenged yourself lately? Being on the House Council gives you a chance to voice your opinions, work as a team to achieve great things and be responsible for improving your leadership skills. Applications have now closed - good luck to those who have applied. SUPPORTING YOUR HOUSE: There are many, many ways to earn points for your House this year, whilst challenging yourself to become a better learner at JBS. NEW this year – earn points every time you attend one of our new extra-curricular clubs from 3.10pm to 4pm. Also NEW this year – earn points for every teacher nomination you get; do something in school or outside of the school and make sure your tutor or a teacher knows, and then we’ll reward it! Of course you still earn points for attending school to achieve, earning STAR points, getting no behaviour referrals, Secret Student, Department Student of the Month and House Competitions. Our Heads of House look forward to leading you all this term and celebrating your academic and extra-curricular success!

Mr Wiley

My Favourite Books Mr Tudor

This is a new feature in the New Bentleian where two members of staff will share the book they loved at school, their favourite book of all time and the book they are currently reading. The feature will shed a light on our staff members’ reading interests and may even give you some ideas about books that may interest you. This month, Mr Tudor and Mrs Mitchell give us their reviews!

A book from my school days: Danny the Champion of the World – Roald Dahl My favourite book whilst I was at Primary School was ‘Danny the Champion of the World’ by Roald Dahl. I loved that particular Dahl book as it wasn’t as ‘off the wall’ as his more famous stories and I found it much easier to relate to. My main memories are about the sense of adventure and danger that are central to the themes of the story and also the relationship between the two main characters, Danny and his father William. I am currently reading the BFG to my little boy at home but secretly I can’t wait to read Danny the Champion of the World with him when he’s old enough.

My favourite Book: Hyperion – Dan Simmons My favourite book of all time is a Science Fiction novel called ‘Hyperion’ which is written by an American author called Dan Simmons. The book’s structure is inspired by The Canterbury Tales, which is a fourteenth Century collection of stories by a famous English writer called Geoffrey Chaucer. I know it sounds very odd for a Sci-Fi novel to have a link to such an old collection of stories but I promise it works. Hyperion is classed as an ‘epic Sci-Fi’ novel as it is set in the very far future where fantastic things are possible such as instantaneous travel across the galaxy using giant spaceships fitted with ‘Hawking devices’. For all that technology however the book is based entirely on one planet called ‘Hyperion’ and tells the individual tale of a group of strangers on a doomed pilgrimage. There has been talk of turning the book into a film but so far nobody has, due to the sheer scale of the story and the challenge of turning some really bizarre ideas on the page into images on screen.

The book I am reading now: Black Box Thinking – Matthew Syed The book I am reading at the moment is a factual book called ‘Black Box Thinking’ by an English journalist called Matthew Syed. I am only 80 pages in at the moment, but the basic premise is that without failure, none of us can succeed; or more accurately, without learning from failure none of us can succeed. The author compares lots of different professions and industries such as medicine and aviation to argue that for young people to learn to succeed, they must first learn that it is OK to fail sometimes.

Mr Tudor

My Favourite Books Mrs Mitchell

A book from my school days: To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee We had to study this book at school for GCSE English, we read it as a whole class when I was in year 10. It haunted me, the cruelty and ignorance of people versus the kindness and innocence of others. The characters are so full of colour and I believed every one of them and therefore began to understand some of the terrible circumstances that arose from such a desperate time, which in turn helped me understand people and how many angles you have to regard them from.

My favourite Book: Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier This book has been a big part of my life since university. I chose it as a stimulus for my final performance piece, and it occupied my mind and body for almost a year. I now own four copies, one from 1943 and my prize possession; a first edition from 1938. What I first loved about the book was that I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next in the story. The writing is beautiful. Later, when studying the book, I became obsessed with the author; Daphne Du Maurier, her life is almost more intriguing than Rebecca itself.

The book I am reading now: Joan’s Book: Joan Littlewood’s Peculiar History as She Tells It – Joan Littlewood This is the autobiography of one of my favourite people in Theatre. Joan was a theatre director who revolutionised the arts – she was known as ‘The Mother of Modern Theatre’. I first became aware of her when I watched her most famous production ‘Oh! What A Lovely War’, performed by prisoners at Winchester Prison. It blew me away and changed the way I thought about theatre and community drama, as she once said; “I really do believe in the community... I really do believe in the genius in every person. And I’ve heard that greatness come out of them, that great thing which is in people. And that’s not romanticism, d’you see?”

Mrs Mitchell

Alumni Corner Miranda Griffin

Miranda Griffin was a student at The John Bentley School from 1983 to 1990 during which time the teachers she fondly remembers were her Modern Foreign Language teachers. Mr Goddard, Mr Charnley and Miss Morgan taught her German and Mrs Peters taught her French and sowed the seed that inspired Miranda to pursue Languages when she left school. “The teachers were so supportive and enthusiastic when I was at JBS” was Miranda’s response when asked about her memories of JBS. Miranda was lucky enough to attend exchange visits to Charlieu in France and Eningen-unter-Achalm in Germany, both towns that Calne is twinned with, and these trips helped her develop her love of languages. Miranda clearly had a real flair for languages and as a result she won a place at Cambridge University where she went to study French and German in 1990. After graduating Miranda remained at Cambridge and took a Masters and PhD in Medieval French Literature and she still lives and works in Cambridge where she is the Admissions tutor in Arts and Humanities and Director of Studies of Modern and Medieval Languages at St Catharine’s College. Miranda has fond recollections of JBS and was delighted to hear that her favourite Science teacher, Mrs Witts, is still inspiring the students at The John Bentley School. Miranda’s final memory she shared was of sitting in the old Sixth Form common room in a “beaten up old sofa” and listening to a cassette of the Stone Roses’ eponymous first album. If you don’t know what a cassette is, ask your mum or dad!