The start ofthe summerterm saw theAcademyexperience avery positiveOfstedinspection.

Despite a significant increase innational performance expecta-tions (a new schedule for Ostedwas introduced in January 2012)and The de Ferrers Academy beingone of the first large Academies tobe inspected, we were graded‘good’ in all categories with ‘out-standing’ capacity for futureimprovement. The report reflectsthe excellent students and staff inthe Academy and the supportiveparents and community we serve.

The exam season has just begunand we are on target to achieverecord results across the board. Onbehalf of all the staff at theAcademy, I would like to wish allour students the best of luck intheir upcoming exams.

A record number of Year 11 studentshave also confirmed their intentionto return to the Academy to studyin our highly successful Sixth Formand, yet again, our Year 7 intake isat maximum capacity (350), withunfortunately many families unableto source a place in the Academy.We are already looking to the futureand planning for an even moreexciting and successful 2012-13.Over half term I will be writing toall parents/carers outlining some ofthe exciting new developments,which include:� Sixth Form e-Learning develop-ments/allocation of iPads� New Academy day� New addition to uniform andclarification of expectations

It is a real pleasure to work withsuch fantastic students and staffand I look forward to a successfulsummer term for everyone at theAcademy.

Mr S.L. AllenPrincipal

DearParents

PPRRIINNCCIIPPAALL’’SS UUPPDDAATTEEMr S L Allen - Principal

C O M M U N I Q U ÉC O M M U N I C A T I N G T H R O U G H O U T T H E D E F E R R E R S A C A D E M Y

Number 064 Summer Half-Term 2012The

de Ferrers Academy

A ‘GOOD’ RESULT WITH‘OUTSTANDING’ POTENTIAL FORTHE DE FERRERS ACADEMY UNDERNEW OFSTED FRAMEWORKA newly published Ofsted report confirmsthat the Academy is now rated 'Good ̓withʻOutstanding capacity to improve ̓underthe newly introduced Ofsted framework.The inspection, which tookplace on Tuesday 24 andWednesday 25 April, ratedthe Academy ʻGoodʼ forʻquality of teachingʼ, ʻqualityof leadership and manage-mentʼ, ʻbehaviour and safetyof pupilsʼ and ʻachievementof pupilsʼ. Principal, Steve Allen, said:“A ʻGoodʼ result is an excel-lent achievement under thenew framework and Iʼm veryproud of all the staff, stu-dents, parents and governorswho have helped us toaccomplish this.”

The report highlighted thatʻteachers have very goodsubject knowledgeʼ and les-sons are ʻwell designed andtightly structured” and thatthey “enable students tomake good progressʼ. Thereport concluded that ʻat theend of Year 11, the majorityof attainment measures aresignificantly above thenational average.ʼ

With regards to meeting theneeds of individual students,the report stated: ʻIndividualpastoral and academic needsare identified and catered forpromptly and effectively.ʼ

The promotion of spiritual,moral, social and culturaldevelopment was ratedʻOutstandingʼ and studentsʼbehaviour was praised:

ʻStudents are respectful totheir peers and have goodattitudes to learning.ʼ

It was also noted thatstudents partake in extra-curricular activities andʻextensive charityfundraisingʼ in the localcommunity and world-wide.

The Leadership andManagement teamwere observed as hav-ing ʻan ambitious visionfor the school, high expecta-tions of students ̓and a ʻdriveto improve students ̓achieve-ment.ʼ

The Leadership andManagement team were alsopraised for ʻsuccessful strate-gies to engage with parentsvia regular parent focusgroup meetings.ʼ

The new Ofsted framework,introduced in January thisyear, has been designed toraise standards in educationeven further to ensure thatchildren and young peopleget the best possible educa-tion.

Mr Allen said: “Ofsted iscommitted to continuouslyraising standards and so arewe. We have been rated ashaving ʻOutstanding capacityto improveʼ and this high-

lightsour efforts to improve acrossthe board.”

The report noted: ʻTheschoolʼs capacity to improvefurther is outstandingbecause rigorous and com-prehensive quality assurancesystems identify promptlyareas in need of improve-ment ̓and that ʻhigh levels oforganisational efficiency areevident and staff are stronglycommitted and very able.ʼ

Mr Allen added: “We arecommitted to ensuring everychild achieves their individualgoals and we will continue tostrive for excellence in ourAcademy.”

The de Ferrers AcademyOfsted report is availableat www.ofsted.gov.uk

21st CENTURY LEARNING AT THE DE FERRERS ACADEMY - SEE PAGE 5

de Ferrers Academyand gameswearalways in stock

D&T TASTIC!Lunchtime on Trent took on a new look recently as theʻA Level Product Design: 3D ̓and ʻProduct Design:Textiles ̓students displayed their fantastic projectsthat they have completed for their coursework elementof the A Level courses.

Sixth Form Student RepresentsUK in International DisabledTable Tennis Competition Congratulations to Sixth Form student, Charles Sketchley,who has been awarded second place in an internationaltable tennis competition for players with a disability.

21st – 22nd June 2012Following on from ten successful years of theʻTechnology Showʼ, thisyear we are launching theʻAcademy Showʼ, whichcombines the best parts ofYear 7, 8 and 9 ThemeDays with the TechnologyShow that was held onTrent.This year, every yeargroup and subject area will

Charles, aged 17 from Burton, waschosen to play in the InternationalSchool Sport Federation (ISF) com-petition after he was ranked as oneof the top five standing disabilityplayers in the 2011 English SchoolTable Tennis Association (ESTTA)competition.He said: “I feel honoured to havebeen chosen to represent the UKand people with disabilities in aninternational competition that raisesawareness of table tennis and dis-abled players.”The competition, which took place inCagliari in Italy between 31 Marchand 6 April, consisted of nineteeninternational teams from countriesincluding France, Belgium andBulgaria. The UK disabled squad, consistingof Charles and fellow standing dis-ability player, Sam Bell, took part ina group training session before theirIndividual Championships. Theyalso participated in the friendshipdoubles with all other players.Charlesʼs coach, Duncan Stewart,said: “Weʼre all really pleased thatCharles got through the ISF compe-tition as heʼs a good player with a lotto offer.”He added: “What really stands out ishis positive attitude; heʼs a pleasureto work with and gets on with every-one.”

Charles was diagnosed with cerebralpalsy when he was six months old,which causes him to have limitedmovement in his right hand and legbut he hasnʼt let it hold him back.He started playing for the EnglishTable Tennis Association (ETTA) inearly 2010 and has played in manycompetitions and tournamentsacross the UK. This year, Charles has participatedin English Table Tennis Grand Prixcircuit and has been invited to attenda training weekend and inductionwith the pre-development team forthe Paralympics. Another of Charlesʼs coaches fromthe ETTA, Sean Alvey who also hascerebal palsy, added: “Heʼs willing torise to any challenge and is commit-ted to proving that having a disabilitydoesnʼt stop you achieving yourgoals. Heʼs a very inspiring youngman.”Charles added: “I hope that Iʼveshown people that having a disabilitydoesnʼt stop you doing anything andthat, if you work hard enough andhave the right attitude, you can doanything that you want to do.”

The Academy Principal, Mr Allen,said: “Charles is an exceptionalyoung man and we are very proudof his achievements.”

A lot of the projects have beendesigned for ʻlive briefsʼ, withsome of the students workingclosely with the emergencyservices who were full ofpraise for the quality andrange of the products. Textiles students have pro-duced superb garments andaccessories worthy of any cat-walk.

They also exhibited their workat the recent Year 11 Promevening to help in the prepara-tions for the leaversʼ specialnight out. The Design and Technologyteam is really proud of theeffort and commitment shownby our students and wish themevery success in the forthcom-ing exams.

be taking part over a periodof 7 days. Once more, wewill be opening up theevent for an evening sothat families can come in,take part and see what stu-dents have accomplished.

We hope many of you willtake time out of your busydays to participate in theworkshops and masterclasses, organised andconducted by our students.

COOKIE WORKSHOPS STUDENTS RAISEOVER 2K TO HELPDEAF CHILDRENIN GAMBIAStudents and staffhave raised £2082.62for the Gambian DeafChildrenʼs SupportProject (GDCSP).A ʻDay of Silenceʼ and a ʻDayof Silence Concertʼ wereorganised earlier this year toraise money and raise aware-ness for the project.

Top fundraiser LydiaMcFarlane, in Year 7, collect-ed £85 for the GDSP. Shesaid: “I think itʼs really impor-tant that everyone knowsabout and helps the school inGambia so that they can havea good education.”

Other Year 7 students, CallumGuest and Kehaan Akrameach raised an impressive£55 for the project as well.

The Day of Silence Concert,held in January, also celebrat-ed five years of de FerrersYear 7 students supportingthis charity and raising agrand total of £7287.26 todate.

The money raised over thelast five years has been usedto provide teachers for deafstudents, training programmesfor aspiring CommunicationSupport Workers, upkeep forSt Johnʼs School for the Deafand other projects that helpreach deaf children through-out Gambia.

Steve Tucker, Sign LangaugeInterpreter andCommunication SupportWorker at The de FerrersAcademy, has been organis-ing the Day of Silence eventssince 2008. He said: “Iʼvebeen overwhelmed by thesupport the students haveshown for the project; theamount of money theyʼveraised will really make a dif-ference to deafchildren inGambia.”

Welldone toeveryoneinvolved!

TAEKWONDOCHAMPIONCongratulations to ElysiaRichards who took part inMWTA (Master Wolf'sTaekwondo Academies)British Championships 2012held at the Winter Gardens,Margate, Kent on Saturday5th May 2012.The competition was tough but,after a long day and severalrounds, Elysia emerged as theBritish Open Sparring Champion!This, adding to her previousaccomplishments, means that sheis now a Double British OpenSparring Champion at only thir-teen years old!

As well as being accomplished atTaekwondo, Elysia is also a blackbelt kick boxer. She trains everyThursday, helps teach martial artson Tuesday and trains once amonth with the British squad.

Everyone at the Academy wouldlike to congratulate Elysia onthis tremendous achievement.

DON’TFORGET TO SUP-PORT THE SIGNLANGUAGE CHOIR BYGOING ALONG TO THESIGN 2 SING

CONCERT ON 15thJUNE!

May has seen the wel-come return of the Year 5Primary workshops inDesign and Technology.

Outwoods PrimarySchool children fromYear 5 came for themorning and workedwith our Year 11 Cateringstudents to make short-bread cookies and fan-tastic packaging to takethem home in.

It goes without saying, agreat time was had by alland we look forward towelcoming our other pri-mary partners over thenext few weeks. Great job Year 11 stu-dents and well doneOutwoods Year 5 pupils!

Nicaragua News

Burton Open Awardcamps and expeditionsare now underway!Seventy two Silver candidatesstarted the ball rolling withtheir three-day ʻPracticeExpeditionʼ in the Peaks, brav-ing the freezing May weather.The following weekend, ninetyeight of our deFerrers candi-dates completed a two-daytraining weekend at Wetton inglorious sunshine.Twenty one Gold candidatesare also out on their five-dayʻAssessment Expeditionʼ onthe 16th of July in Wales.

COMMUNITYSPIRITPHOTOGRAPHYCOMPETITIONYear 12 BTEC Art studentshave, as part of theirArchitecture project,entered the LocalPhotography Competitionrun by Burton Rotary Clubwith a theme ofʻCommunity Spirit.ʼ Students reflected on thistheme and have takeninteresting images ofBurton and other areas.

YEAR 11 ARTEXHIBITIONYear 11 BTEC FirstExtended Certificate Artand Design students heldtheir end of course exhibi-tion on the 16th of May inthe Trent Hall. This was tocelebrate the hard workthat students have put inover the last two years onthis demanding course. A 100% pass rate is antici-pated on the course with a

Raffle Winners The team has been working reallyhard over the past couple ofmonths in a last ditch attempt toraise maximum funds for ourNicaraguan expedition. Our most recent fundraiser was araffle open to the public and to ourfriends and family; there was agreat response to this and theteam raised over £1,400! Themoney came from the groupʼsindependent sales, an inset dayand two coffee mornings held atour Academy and a Year 9Pathways Evening. Anywherethere was an audience to sell to,we were there! We were lucky to get some fantas-tic prizes for our raffle. Third prizewas a meal for two at ʻPascal atthe Old Vicarageʼ, second prizewas a Supercar driving experienceand the top prize was a four starLondon hotel break with top pricetheatre tickets to see BloodBrothers. Despite the popularity,there could only be three winners.Huge ʻcongratulationsʼ go out to:1st prize: A. Lovatt2nd prize: Falaq Raheel 3rd prize: Jane KnightThe group would also like to say abig thank you to Coopers SquareShopping Centre and to the staffhere at The de Ferrers Academyfor supporting us; it really made allthe difference.

Expedition updateWith the expedition fast approach-ing, itʼs all starting to feel real!Whilst weʼve known from thebeginning a general idea of whatwe will be doing in Nicaragua, wenow have a detailed itinerary andknow exactly whatʼs to come. From the word go, the part of thetrip the group have most beenlooking forward to is the projectphase. We decided months agothat we wanted a mixture of softand hard labour and the chance tointeract with the community. Wenow know we will be working witha volunteer group, La EsperanzaGranada, at a school or in a localcommunity in the Grenada area. The company started in 2002 byhelping one small village on theoutskirts of Granada and they now

help seven villages. La EsperanzaGranada assist these communitiesin many ways, such as buildingnew classrooms, paying a localnurse to visit the schools, makingcopies of exams for the childrenand helping women to start uphandicraft groups. We will beworking with the volunteers ontheir projects, which may includerenovations like building additionalclassrooms, storage huts andcooking areas. We will not bealone on site, as there are oftentwo or three teams workingtogether, and it just so happensthat we will be working near to ateam from Derby High School!The team is really excited aboutthe project phase and the rest ofthe expedition, but thereʼs still a lotof organising to do before we canget out there!

We want your oldclothes!In every newsletter this year wehave asked you to bring in anyunwanted clothes, shoes or cur-tains to the clothing recycle binbased on Trent campus. Withfewer than sixty days to go, weare urging you all to clear out yourcupboards ready for your newsummer wardrobe and let us takeany unwanted garments off yourhands. For every full bin of clotheswe collect the team gets £100,which will go a long way duringour project phase in Nicaragua. If you wish to donate your oldclothes, please notify a teammember or bring your donation toTrent campus. The blue bin islocated by the tennis courts - youcanʼt miss it!

Thanks toBob FraserAnd finally, theteam would liketo thank MrFraser for the grant we havereceived from the StaffordshireLocal Community Fund. Thismoney will help us to fulfil ourdreams and change the lives ofthose less fortunate.Francesca GalloneTeam Nicaragua

high proportion of studentsgaining a doubleDistinction* grade. Work showed ranged fromGraphics, Photography, 3D,Craft, Fine Art and Textiles.Well done all involved!

21st Century learning atThe de Ferrers AcademyStaff and students at The de Ferrers Academyare making full use of the latest technologies and ICT to advance teaching, learning and com-munications. In the last few months we haveintroduced:GCSE PodGCSE Pod is a service for ourstudents that allows them todownload and listen to thou-sands of hours of revisionpodcasts on their phones,iPods or via a computer. Wewill also be loading all thepodcasts onto some iPodsthat can be loaned form thelearning centres on Trent andDove.I Am Learning This is a website students canaccess from the VLE, linkingthem to revision quizzes andtests in most KS3 and KS4subjects. Teachers can setquizzes for homework or revi-sion and even write their own.The more quizzes theyanswer correctly, the morepoints they earn. Students caneven try to top the UK leader-board!The official de FerrersAcademy app We now have our own freeapp on the Apple iTunes store!We know that many of ourstudents use iPods, iPhonesand even iPads, so now theycan use of free app to accessmenus, e-mail, timetables anddocuments on our Frog VLE.We had over one hundred andfifty downloads in the firstthree days!Redesigned studentpages on the Frog VLEWe have totally revamped ourstudent homepage and built anew student area - The Hub –to access many of the new

features, such as the YoungPhotographer pages and examnews.As if that wasnʼt enough, wehave now expanded our use ofTwitter with several specialaccounts for curriculum areas: � Our official twitter stream:@deferrers� Sports news:@deferrerssports� Physics news:@defphysics� de Ferrers Sign LanguageClub: @dfsign� Design Technology News@defererrsdtWe are also looking to thefuture, and as well as aredesigned Academy website,

the New Technologies teamand key staff are triallingiPads with Y7/8 inductiongroup students and SixthFormers. They have beenlooking at how they can revo-lutionise teaching and learn-ing, in lessons and at home.

Lastly, the Academy has beenapproved to deliver free onlinecourses via the Apple iTunesUsite. We are already planningsome exciting courses inMaths and Science that stu-dents and parents can down-load and study.

PSFAPRODUCT DESIGN GOESWILD AT TYWCROSSDuring April, students from Year 10 Product Designvisited Tywcross Zoo to gather some field researchfor their Controlled Assessment.

Sign language ChoirCelebrate in SignConcert 2012Come along on Friday 15June 2012 and join Mr Tucker, Mrs Tunstall andMrs Wakelin along with theWorld Record Breaking deFerrers Sign Language ClubChoir (dFSLCC) and theirspecial guests for anevening of entertainmentwith a difference.Celebrate in Sign 2012 is ourthird concert evening andshowcases the special abilitiesof some very talented studentswho have been learning a newlanguage during this academicyear – British Sign Language. This amazing language is unlikeany other; it is wholly visual andthe students have been signingsongs to consolidate their learn-ing. We have made various publicappearances, both in and out ofthe Academy, but ʻCelebrate inSignʼ is the Choirʼs own eveningwith performances from them-selves and specially invitedguests. You will be in for anevening of signed song, danceand storytelling and one or twospecial performances that theChoir has been working on.This year we are raising fundsfor ʻHearing Dogs for the Deafʼwho, like their sister organisa-tion ʻGuide Dogs for the Blindʼ,breed and train dogs to helpthose with a sensory loss; in thiscase deaf people both adult andchildren. In 2012 ʻHearingDogs for the Deafʼ are celebrat-ing their thirtieth year of trainingdogs and helping deaf people.There will also be a raffle withsome great prizes and refresh-ments will be available too. Tickets are on sale now and arepriced at £4 for Adults and £2for Under 16ʼs andConcessions. Ticket reserva-tions can be made by callingReception on either Campus orby emailing sign@deferrers.comCome along and join us for a

fantastic night out!

Jubilee ʻRightRoyal ̓QuizAt the time of writing thiswe are putting the finishingtouches to our JubileeʻRight Royalʼ Quiz Nightdue to take place onThursday 24th of May atDove Campus. Then, apartfrom an appearance at theNew Parentsʼ Evening inJuly, our fund raising activi-ties will be drawing to aclose for this academicyear.

Easy Fundraising Did you know that you canstill help to raise funds forthe PSFA by going throughthe easy fundraising web-site when you do yourusual shopping online atsites such as Amazon,Next, Debenhams andVodafone, to name but afew? Go towww.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/deferrerspsfa ,just register and select thecause you want to support– de Ferrers PSFA. It'scompletely free. Then, sim-ply click on the retailer youwant and shop as youwould normally. When youmake a purchase, easy-fundraising will send you anemail telling you how muchyou've raised and will passthe donation on to yourcause. Please note that allfunds raised by the PSFAare ploughed straight backinto Academy projects.

Recycling ofAcademy uniformDonʼt forget that we happilyreceive donations ofAcademy uniform itemswhich your son or daughterhas long since grown outof. Please just hand in toeither Dove or Trent recep-tions.

Have a wonderful Jubileeweekend!

Anita McLean,Chair

SCIENCEWONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

celebratein sign 20

an evening featuring:SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCEall in sign language.Refreshments Available - Special GuestsFRIDAY 15th JUNE 20127:00pm

For tickets & more information contact:

TRENT CAMPUSAdults £4.00Under 16’s & Concessions £2.00

web: www.deferrers.comemail: sign@deferrers.com

Tel: 01283 239 936 Fax: 01283 239 971

St. Mary’s Drive, Burton on Trent DE13 0LL

2012

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celebrate

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in sign 20 21

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all in sign language.

SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCE

an evening featuring:

all in sign language.

SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCE

an evening featuring:

all in sign language.

SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCE

an evening featuring:

SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCE

SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCE

SONGS | STORYTELLING | DRAMA | DANCE

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Refreshments Available - Special Guests

all in sign language.

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Refreshments Available - Special Guests

all in sign language.

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Refreshments Available - Special Guests

all in sign language.

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Refreshments Available - Special Guests

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Refreshments Available - Special Guests

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Refreshments Available - Special Guests

7:00pmFRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Under 16’s & Concessions

Adults

For tickets & more information contact:

7:00pmFRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Under 16’s & Concessions

£4.00Adults

For tickets & more information contact:

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

Under 16’s & Concessions

£4.00 TRENT CAMPUSFor tickets & more information contact:

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

£2.00Under 16’s & Concessions

TRENT CAMPUSFor tickets & more information contact:

FRIDAY 15th JUNE 2012

£2.00

TRENT CAMPUSFor tickets & more information contact:

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For tickets & more information contact:

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The students were askedto produce a range of lifedrawings of the animals inorder to gain inspiration forfuture designs. Our stu-dents produced some bril-liant results and, apart fromthe rain putting a dampener

on the day, they showedreal enthusiasm eventhough it was a little cold! Mrs Wilde, Mr Kirkland andMr Lambert would like togive a big thank you to thestudents for being excellentthroughout the morning.

As part of our plan tomake Physics relevant,we recently took Year12 and 13 students toKeele UniversityʼsObservatory.

Astronomy and astrophysicshave rocketed in popularity inrecent years, the ʻBrian Coxeffectʼ no doubt. Many of ourstudents had never reallylooked at the sky. The recentalignments of Jupiter, Venus

and the Moon gavesome students thefirst chance to iden-tify the “stars” in thesky as planets. Italso gave a greatchance for theobservatory to showus Venus, the Moon,Jupiter and Mars inone session.

As part of our on-going programme oftrips so students cansee real Physics inaction, we will beplanning more tripsto the observatoryonce the dark nightsreturn.

SWIMMINGSUCCESSWell done to ImogenHardwick, in Year 7, whohas been chosen as thisyearʼs Burton SwimmingClub Junior Captain. Imogen has been swim-ming at the club since shewas seven and now trainsfour times a week with atMeadowside and Repton.So far this year she hascompeted in her secondCounty Championship andcaptained the junior teamin ʻ2 Diddy Leagueʼ galas. In May, she will be headingto Coventry to competewith the team against otherclubs in a 50 metre pool.She will also be joined bySenior Captain, and fellowde Ferrers Academy pupil,Ben Ward in Year 11. Benhas also been swimming atthe club from a young ageand competed in theCounty Championshipsearlier this year.A big ʻwell doneʼ goes toImogen and Ben fromeveryone at theAcademy.

MUSICSpring ConcertSuccessOur annual Spring Concerttook place just as the lastnewsletter was going topress. The evening, themed'Back to the 60s', was a roar-ing sell-out success and hada huge diversity of talent, tak-ing in all years of theAcademy. The only thing that each act hadin common was that the musichad to come from the 1960s, sowe heard music from TheMonkees to the Sound of Music,via minimalist composer TerryRiley. This was all held togetherby some hilarious Monty Pythonsketches from the Sixth Form,topped off with all the perform-ers joining together for a rousingrendition of ʻHey Judeʼ to finishthe night.

Peter Pan iscoming to theAcademyMost lunchtimes andevenings after the Academyday are now being taken upwith preparation for our forth-coming production of 'PeterPan', which will be runningfrom 11th to 14th July. Tickets will be available soon sokeep checking Frog and thewebsite for updates.

DEFJO perform at TutburyMusic FestivalDeFJO are in full rehearsal fortheir performance at the TutburyMusic Festival, taking place inthe grounds of Tutbury Castleon Sunday 8th of July. If youwant to go to the festival, youcan find out more information byemailing da.kennedy@tesco.net

Year 12 Rock Band play inNational Festival of Music forYouthWe have some really excitingnews to announce: the Year 12rock band ʻDouble Helixʼ hasbeen selected to play in theRock & Pop section of theNational Festival of Music forYouth at Birmingham's HMVInstitute on Friday 6th of July. This really is the crowning gloryof their year, which has seenthem perform not only atAcademy events, but also atvarious venues across Burton.They'll also be taking to thestage at the upcoming Burtfestin June. If you would like any informa-tion on obtaining tickets forthe event on Friday 6th ofJuly, please contact Mr Aston.

Ski America 2012After considerable planning, theskiing trip to America finallytook place during the Easterholidays. A group of over sixtystudents and staff left theAcademy for the journey toHeathrow. Following our longtrip to Boston, we eventuallytransferred to our hotel at ʻTheBeacon Resort ̓in NewHampshire.The weary travellers settled into theirrooms for the night. The next morning,Sunday, we were greeted by brilliantsunshine and an air of excitement asthe first day of skiing approached. Ofcourse, this could not start without ushaving our first American style break-fast! After being warmly greeted byʻDadʼ and Wendy, the group then tuckedinto breakfast, including warm pan-cakes and maple syrup with a multitudeof other delights.

Breakfast over, the group then travelledto the ski resort of Loon Mountain. Theski hire process was quickly completedand the students met their ski instruc-tors. A strong bond was quickly estab-lished and then the hard work began.Slipping and sliding down the small, notvery steep slopes, the students wereconvinced that they would never get tothe top of the mountain. As the weekprogressed the students got the hang ofit and, despite some stunning falls,twists and turns, eventually everyonereached the magical point of seeing theWhite Mountains from the top. All of theskiers, regardless of their ability, werechallenged throughout the five days andeveryone could leave the resort sayingthat they could ski. No mean feat!

During the week there were many spe-cial moments and phrases that will livewith us for a long time. The groupregarded themselves as “Awesome”and every hurdle crossed resulted inthe chanting of this. Equally special wasMiss Lynchehanʼs tutorial on the wear-ing of sun cream and lip salve.Unfortunately, she quickly discoveredthat Lip Salve does not work the sameas sun cream and a snow white facewas the outcome. This entertained thestudents for several days. The WhiteMountains are known for their bearsand we did reassure the students thatthey were unlikely to come across oneas they were skiing. Miss Lynchehan(again!) was expecting to see one atany time leaving the wood wearing his“Onesie”. As you can sense, the tripdoes give everyone special memoriesto treasure. Whilst in the resort, the stu-dents also had a pool party, quiz night,free swimming and a disco / presenta-tion evening. Of course, no trip is com-plete without entertainment and the stu-dents were treated to our own renditionof the title song fromʻTitanicʼ - boat andall.

After five fabulous days at The BeaconResort, the staff and students left forthe next stage of the holiday and trav-elled to New York. On the way we

Funding CreativeSubjectsThe Creative Arts CurriculumArea was successful in gain-ing funding for Art and Designstudents from StaffordshireCounty Council through theStaffordshire LocalCommunity Fund. The bidwas also supported byCouncillor Bob Fraser. The funding has been spenton an A3 Colour printer tosupport Sixth Form studentsin their portfolio presentationand exhibition. It will also beused by Key Stage 4 studentsto support their photographyand graphics work.

called at Woodbury Common, anexceptionally large shopping village,for some retail therapy. Purchasesmade, we then travelled to the hotel onthe outskirts of New York. A very quickturn round saw us back on the coachfor an evening trip into ʻThe Big Appleʼ.Everyone was overawed at the specta-cle as skyscrapers came into view andfamous landmarks were seen. We trav-elled to the Financial District and sawthe site of 9/11 before visiting WorldTrade Centre 1. The journey back tothe hotel saw us travel through thecentre of New York and everyone gotthe see the ʻCity that never sleepsʼ atnight. The sky was lit up in a myriad oflights.

On Saturday morning, we left the hoteland returned to New York. Our tourguide took us on a sightseeing tourand shared a wealth of informationabout the many landmarks. A shortwalk to the Dakota Building, famous forthe shooting of John Lennon, wasquickly followed by a saunter intoCentral Park. The students went toStrawberry Fields and saw theʻImagineʼ memorial. The tour conclud-ed with our trip to the 9/11 Memorial.

This was certainly one of the highlightsof the whole trip. The sight behind theenclosure was breath-taking whilst alsooverwhelming. The pools, surroundedby the names and the ever fallingwater of the waterfalls, made a specta-cle difficult to comprehend. Theimmensity of the events of that day inSeptember 2001 all seemed to cometogether. Everyone found it difficult tocomprehend just how tall the originaltowers were. They are currently build-ing four new towers which will eventu-ally spiral towards the sky and willdraw visitors upwards. Our guide toldus of the stories of some of the victimsand many of the students weretouched by this.

On leaving the memorial, we had achange of scene and took the studentsto ʻThe Rockefeller Centreʼ. From herewe walked to Fifth Avenue and assem-bled at ʻTrump Towersʼ. We then hadsome time to visit the local shops,including Tiffany & Co… not that any-one bought diamonds! In the after-noon, the students were taken to theʻTop of the Rockʼ where they couldview the spectacular sights of NewYork under bright blue skies.With photos taken, and enough memo-ries to last a lifetime, the trip was overand our long journey home began.The whole trip was a success frombeginning to end and our studentswere a credit to us. Many commentswere passed by all the adults whocame into contact with them. The skiinstructors made special comment andemphasised to us that they were thebest group of students that they hadhad the pleasure of working with dur-ing the season.

Special thanks go to FergusMcGoldrick, our Company Rep forthe week, who supported usthroughout and was a major contrib-utor to the smooth running of thetrip.

TRENT CAMPUSSt Maryʼs Drive, Burton upon Trent DE13 0LLTelephone: 01283 239936 Fax: 01283 239950

e-mail: office@deferrers.com www.deferrers.comDOVE CAMPUSHarehedge Lane, Burton upon Trent DE13 0ASTelephone: 01283 239961 Fax: 01283 239971Principal: Mr S L Allen BA NPQH

The

de Ferrers Academy

SPORTWith the weather being so consis-tently poor since Easter, the start ofour summer fixture programme hasbeen significantly delayed with fif-teen cricket and eight rounders fix-tures postponed in the first threeweeks of the term! Despite this,there have been some notable suc-cesses as our winter sports pro-gramme draws to a conclusion.

RUGBYThe highlight this term has been theinvolvement of the Academy in a num-ber of County Finals. Both the Year 8and Year 9 Rugby teams reached theCounty Bowl Final at Stafford RugbyClub and both teams won their respec-tive finals to claim the County title! Year8 beat Erasmus Darwin Academy 36-10and the Year 9s beat Blessed WilliamHoward 19-17.Just before Easter we also had anotherfantastic achievement with the Year 8Rugby Team winning the District cham-pionships at Burton Rugby Club.

YEAR 7 BOYSʼFOOTBALLThe Year 7 Boysʼ football team playedtheir County Cup Final against StMargaret Ward School in Stoke andagonisingly conceded a goal in the lasttwo minutes of extra time to lose 2-1.However, the success of the team inreaching the final is an excellentachievement. Just before Easter, the Year 7 footballteam also won the District Cup.

YEAR 10 GIRLSʼBASKETBALLThe Year 10 Girlsʼ basketball teamreached the County Cup Final wherethey lost to St John Fisher of Newcastle52-32. Reaching the County Cup Finalis an excellent achievement - well doneto the team.

UNDER 13 BOYSʼHOCKEY The Under 13 Boysʼ Hockey Team

LEARNING CENTRE KateGreenawayPicture BookAward 2012Thirteen students from TrentReading Club and Year 10English Literature classestook part in a ʻspeed datingʼvote for the best picturebook shortlisted for theCLIP Kate Greenaway Medal2012. Two visitors from Burton PublicLibrary brought in a selection ofshortlisted picture books to evalu-ate and assess according to crite-ria, such as level of language foran appropriate age, text and lan-guage, and quality of illustrations.Shortlisted book titles were:� “Wolves wonʼt bite!” by EmilyGravett� “Puffin Peter” by Peter Horacek� “A Monster Calls” by PatrickNess� “Slogʼs Dad” by Dave McKean(Text by David Almond)� “Solomon Crocodile” byCatherine Rayner� “The Gift” by Rob Ryan (Text byCarol Ann Duffy)� “There are no cats in this book”by Viviane Schwarz� “Can we save the tiger?” byVicky White (Text by MartinJenkins)

The overall winner was ʻCan wesave the tiger?ʼ by Vicky White.The runner-up was ʻA MonsterCallsʼ by Patrick Ness. Thesebooks will be available in theLearning Centres.

Further discussions and voting aretaking place with the DoveReading Club and Year 10 and 11GCSE Child Development groups. The Year 11 Child Developmentchose ʻPuffin Peterʼ and ʻThereare no cats in this book!ʼ as theirjoint winner.

UPCOMING SKI TRIPSKI AUSTRIAEASTER 2013Following the success of theskiing trip to America atEaster, the next skiing triphas been launched. This trip is open to all stu-dents who will be at deFerrers from September2012. You do not need to beable to ski as one of thegreat delights of the trip isseeing studentsʼ progressfrom ʻBambiʼ legs to compe-

reached the final of the MidlandsRegional Championships before nar-rowly losing in the final and just miss-ing out on a place in the NationalFinals. The Academy was the lastremaining non-independent school inthe competition in the Midlands.

YEAR 7 AND 8 GIRLSʼFOOTBALLAfter a fantastic season our Year 7/8Girlsʼ Football team played their CountyCup Final against Painsley School fromCheadle. The game was staged at BurtonAlbionʼs Pirelli Stadium as a reward forthe fantastic achievements of the teamthis year in reaching the last eightteams in the country in two differentcompetitions. In front of a crowd of over one hundredand fifty spectators, the girls cruised toa 9-0 victory to claim the County title instyle. Unfortunately key player Kira Raimissed the game with a broken armbut the rest of the squad put in a fan-tastic performance with goals fromShania Hayles (4), Megan Wildman(2), Leah Pye (2) and captain MayaKyriacou-Moyes sealing the win. Congratulations to the whole teamon a phenomenal season.

SPORT RELIEFSUCCESSThe Sport Relief event saw all studentsin Years 7-11 (and approximately fiftystaff at lunchtime!) complete the SportRelief mile course around Dove field.The Casual Wear Day also raised over£1,500 for Sport Relief. Well done toeveryone involved for making it such afantastic event!

BALL KIDSAfter the successes of the Carling CupFinal and Johnstoneʼs Paint TrophyFinal at Wembley, de Ferrers are onceagain providing the ball kids at thehome of football for the three FootballLeague Play-Off Finals. These shouldonce again be fantastic occasions forthe students involved and we aredelighted to be able to reward some ofour students for their effort and com-mitment to school sport and PE in thisway.

SIXTH FORM SUCCESSStudents WinFinal of BurtonDebatingCompetitionThree students from theSixth Form competed in,and won, the Burton CivicSociety Debating Final onWednesday 28 March atBurton Library. Becky Orton and MollyBartlett, in Year 12, and DanielJones, in Year 13, debated themotion ʻHosting the Olympicsis Follyʼ. The students compet-ed against finalists fromStapenhill Post-16 Centre andwere victorious in securingfirst place. Becky Orton, aged 17 fromTutbury, won best speaker inthe semi-final in February. Shesaid: “The debating competi-tion has given me lots of newdebating skills and made me amore confident public speak-er.”Mathematics teacher, Mr AndyGrady who trains the teams,said: “Students acquire manyskills through public speakingthat are transferable intomany aspects of life, such asuniversity interviews and pre-sentations in class or in theworkplace.”He added: “Debating and pub-lic speaking are very usefultools and we encourage allstudents to develop their edu-cational and professional skillsand reach their full potential.”Congratulations to the teamfrom everyone at theAcademy.

tent skiers in a week. We have used the travel com-pany previously and can con-firm that they will give us anexcellent trip that presentsgood value. The trip is allinclusive, apart from theclothes that the students needto wear.

The trip is definitely goingahead as some deposits havealready been paid but there isroom for more students.If you would like a letter forthe trip, or further information,this can be obtained from MrsJeffery on Dove Campus.