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Summer Term

2015

www.testvalley.hants.sch.uk

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STOCKFEST 7

Friday 1st May 3.30pm in the

afternoon saw our seventh

StockFest kick-off with a huge

line-up of school vocal and

instrumental talent, with no

fewer than 22 different acts

from Year 7 to Year 11 packed into two and a half hours. Over 300

people not including performers, stall holders and helpers flocked

to enjoy the atmosphere and support this unique school event.

Continued on page 3

Rights Respecting School Awarded to Test Valley School

On Friday 1st May 2015 Test Valley School were accredited with the Level One Rights Respecting School Award by UNICEF. The School has been working towards the award since 2013. Each year a number of pupils form a Pupil Rights Committee to promote pupils’ rights across the school and at the start of each year every member of the school community sign the Whole School Charter which puts ‘Rights’ at the centre of everything we do.

The accreditation involved two assessors from UNICEF visiting the school to decide whether we met the criteria for commendation. During their visit they met with a large number of pupils to evaluate how pupils felt about the school and their understanding of ‘Rights’. They also met with parents, school governors and staff.

In their report UNICEF workers stated that “It was particularly notable that the school has established an ethos of mutual respect with a strong sense of community and care in which everybody is valued equally.” The report also commented on the ‘listening atmosphere’ of the school and how Rights have been built in to the school’s vision. Achieving the award is the result of the combined commitment and effort of staff, pupils, parents and

governors and actively demonstrates the strong sense of community we value at our school.

Louisa Hiscock (Headteacher) said: ‘We are delighted to have achieved this award. It underlines so many of the values we hold up as important, particularly how we come together as a community. I congratulate all of those involved in working towards this achievement, especially Mrs Osborne (Head of RE and PSHE) whose commitment and leadership to secure accreditation has been superb.’

Above -Pupil Rights Committee: Sophie Bamber; Charlie-Mae Young; Sophie Dallolio; Mollie Sandilands; Oliver Dade; Kai Mumford; Daniel Finch; Hugo Leonard; Brogan Milligan; Sophie Bott; Francesca Sutcliffe; Luke Dennis and Maia McEwan-Hancock

Dan Finch

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Dear Parent

I write at the end of another very busy school year with the holidays still ahead of us. I hope you enjoy

this newsletter which celebrates the wonderful range of activities and opportunities our pupils have

been able to participate in during this term. My thanks, as always, to all the staff because without their

commitment, support and hard work many of these learning experiences would not be possible. It is

hard to measure the full impact of these and how much our pupils benefit from their involvement.

As many parents will be aware it is time of considerable change in education and some of these changes

are already having an impact on your child’s learning experience at school. Over the next few years this

will include the introduction of a revised curriculum, especially at Key Stage 4 (GCSEs), and the

introduction of number grades for awarding GCSEs. Whilst in Key Stage 3 (Years 7 – 9) we are already

planning for when our pupils are no longer required to be assessed by levels. We want their five year

journey through our school to enable them to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding they

need to fully succeed and go on to make their post-16 choices with confidence.

At Test Valley School our pupils’ progress and achievement remain at the heart of all we do and we

continue to work hard to manage through the changes to national requirements smoothly. Last year

our pupils achieved record breaking GCSE results with 69% achieving five or more A*-C GCSE grades

including English and Mathematics. We are looking forward to celebrating the results of our current

Year 11 pupils in August.

Finally, I take this opportunity to thank parents for your continued support throughout this year. Our

partnership with parents is very important to the school and we look forward to working with you next

year in our shared goal of wanting the best for your child, our pupil.

Miss L Hiscock

Headteacher

Headteacher’s Message

Andover Celebrates Young Authors

Young writers from Test Valley were recognised by the local community. The writing talents of Beth Bullpit, Mollie

Sandilands, Jing-Ying Wong and Megan Brett were recognised by Andover Celebrates Young Authors. Only twenty

entrants were selected from many across the whole of Hampshire so this is a significant achievement. Their work

is now published in an ebook available to buy on Smashwords.

There was a celebration presentation for the writers and their families and friends at The Lights on Tuesday 16

June in which a local dance group performed and there were videos of young authors reading their work and

commenting on their thoughts and the inspirations behind their writing. It was really impressive to see so many

Test Valley School pupils there.

Ms March—English Department

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Continued from front page

An unexpected surprise for the audience this year was a staff swimming dance

routine just for fun. A line-up of staff dressed in strange swimwear, including

swimming caps, performed on their makeshift stage complete with a screen to

simulate the pool and hidden crashmats to absorb their dives. It really was

quite hilarious.

The headline act this year was a specially formed band consisting of:-

Connor Fealy from Year 11, bass guitar

Mr Allon, our drum teacher, playing the drums

Mr Willcox, new to the school as Head of Computing, vocals and lead guitar

I am sure Mr Willcox will not mind me saying he was quite a show-off on the guitar playing some classic blues and it really

brought StockFest to a fabulous climax.

This event was planned and organised by a large group of Year 11 pupils who had been meeting weekly since January this

year. They are:

Michael Dunwell Promotions, stalls and liaison

Dan Bavister Programme, timings, running order

Connor Fealy Backing tracks, stage management, auditions

Josh Yard Auditions, assemblies, stage management

Meg Lee Stalls, promotions and liaison

Luke Henderson Auditions

Ben Reed PTA liaison

Emily Payne Auditions

Ollie Batchelor Staffing

Jacob Breach Staff band liaison

Josh Powell Ticket sales

Emily Nightingale Auditions

What makes this such a wonderful community event is the coming together of not just musical talent, but the support and

involvement of the school staff, the PTA who run the event BBQ, Year

7 & 8 tutor groups who run stalls to fundraise for charity and some

very special guys who supply the equipment.

STOCKFEST 7

A special thanks to;

Ian McDonald who supplies, installs and runs the sound system

supported by Steve Haines.

Trevor Johnson and his team who supply and erect the marquees

Test Valley School PTA

Stockfest Year 11 Committee

Huge number or school staff supporting the event

Looking forward to next year. Mr Langdown

The event raised over £1,400.00

Funds will go to replace the microphone system in the main hall

and support our ongoing commitment to fund the education of

a pupil in Uganda through the charity `Education Uganda`

Jake Hoadley—Year 11

Ella Cruz - Year 11

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Expedition 2015

You drop your son/daughter off on Saturday morning full of

anticipation for the experience ahead.

The following afternoon you collect them with a wide range

of greetings, from the usual teenage grunts to “I’ve missed

you so much” but very little clue is often given as to the

massive changes which have taken place.

A journey of independence, endurance and time in the

outdoors. Time spent with a group of friends forming a

special bond and memories which can only be formed

because of the unusual experience. All this going on while

your peers are going about their usual daily lives.

What makes the expedition so special is that awareness of

accomplishment, going beyond what you thought you could

achieve and discovering an inner strength that you didn’t

know about yourself. For some this can be a big moment in

self-awareness and self-esteem.

Stranger things have happened!

I woke from my bunk early at 5.30 on Sunday morning and I

decided to get ahead of myself, packing my bag and putting

it in the minibus.

To my utter amazement, no word of a lie, the campsite was

a-buzz with movement. At least half the campers were up

and actively going about their morning routine and

preparing for the day ahead. In previous years, I usually

enjoy banging a wooden spoon against a frying pan, calling

wakey wakey at 6am.

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I was so proud of their efficiency, readiness and level of

independence. They are simply utterly brilliant!

Congratulations to all of you..

Behind the scenes

Parents, thank you for all your support with preparation,

encouragement and transport. Sorry some of the New

Forest locations are difficult to find!

Of course that encouragement is all the more important

now to ensure the other sections are completed,

uploaded and submitted in order to complete and gain

the award.

We are so blessed

Validating the expedition section with independent

assessors gives the award a high level of recognition and

we are grateful to the volunteers who give up their

weekends to do this.

I feel blessed by the support of the staff who train each

team. We have such a wide range of support from, not

just teachers, but reception staff and also John Maber

who volunteers from outside of our school.

This year we are celebrating 20 years of the Duke of

Edinburgh’s Award at Test Valley School.

By Mr Langdown - DofE Coordinator

Laura Hesp Isabelle Mountain Isabelle Woodfield Harry Greenwood

Emily Fitzpatrick Mollie Sandilands Morgan Cowley Beth Adolph

Heidi Faux-Whitehead Holly Waring Joshua Thomas-Buffin Daniel Finch

Will Cairns Charlie Heyward Georgia Pointer Cameron Maguire

Sophie Bamber Sophie Bott Millie Darbyshire Molly Alexander

Michelle Trigwell Kai Mumford Lewis Reed Max Sukhov

Owen Ridler Wesley Bloom Bailey Haines Charlie-Mae Young

Oliver Jeanes Cameron Langdown Luke Stephens Charlotte Weston

Liam Cook Jack Harvie Joseph Renshaw David Moody

Charlie Pointer Ross Appleton Matthew Cliffe Harry Lawley

Luke Nulty Lawrence White Courtney Collis Megan Strom

Alice Kitching Nina Stevens William Daykin Louis Andrews

Thomas Madden Luke Dennis

Duke of Edinburgh’s Expedition 2015

2015 Duke of Edinburgh Group

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GCSE update

This term has seen the majority of

Year 10 stuck into preparation for

their GCSE science examinations and

GCSE RE examination for some. I

feel this is a fantastic experience for

the tender Year 10 on their journey

towards Year 11 and the mountain

of examinations which awaits them.

Not only does this reduce the

number of GCSEs to be sat next year

but, far more invaluable, it paves the

way for understanding what level of

preparation is required for a GCSE.

This equips the adolescent with the

necessary level of experience to be

able to pace themselves correctly

next year, reduce their stress levels

and prepare fully to achieve their

desired result. I am looking forward

to results day for Year 10 in August.

No sooner have they completed

their GCSEs than their Year 10 mock

examinations appear. Although not

GCSEs, these are important

indicators for staff in preparation for

the correct entry level for some

GCSEs. Those entered for the

foundation paper can achieve levels

‘G’ to ‘C’, the higher paper ranges

from ‘D’ to ‘A*’. Most level 3 courses

require a minimum of 5 GCSEs at

grade ‘C’ however quite a few ‘A’

level courses require ‘B’ grades and

some establishments set even

higher entry requirements.

Work Experience

A big experience for those who put

themselves up for this, pupils complete an

application form and go through an

interview process. A limited number of

prefect places are offered so there is a

degree of disappointment. I would like to

thank all pupils who took the time to

apply.

Even more rigorous is the journey for

those who would wish to become Head

boy/girl. These pupils, once they have

become a successful prefect, execute a

presentation to staff who vote for their

chosen candidate.

This is followed by presentations to the

whole school in two separate assemblies.

Pupils then vote and a 50% weighting of

staff and pupil vote is combined in order

to ascertain who our Head boy/girl and

Deputy head boy/girl are.

Year 10 Examinations

Year 10 News by Mr Langdown—Year 10 Co-ordinator

Prefects and Head boy/girl

A week’s work experience is a

wonderful opportunity to step

outside of the school

environment and observe

adults in their workplace. For

quite a few, this is also an

opportunity to see first-hand a

work area which they may be

interested in pursuing. The

benefits to this are that it is

often extremely motivating as

it brings a touch of reality into

the lives of these young

people and gives them a

higher sense of purpose.

In September we will hold a Futures event during the school day. Pupils have chosen

talks from a selection of colleges and work areas. During this event pupils will also be

provided with an opportunity to commence preparations for their Personal Statement,

required for college applications.

Shortly after this in early October we will be holding a Parents Information Evening with

a careers fair attended by local colleges and apprenticeship providers. This event will

also host university workshops for parents and pupils to attend and a time management

planning workshop to assist with preparation for examinations.

Following this event I would advise parents and pupils to visit college open evenings in

the Autumn term where more specific course advice can be sought.

Towards the end of term, Year 11 pupils will sit their mock examinations and the results

will be used to form predicted grades. The predicted grades will be used by colleges and

training providers to help support their conditional offers for the following September.

The application process begins this term with some colleges closing the application

process early in December. Interviews normally take place in the Spring. Some are held

in school, but most are held at the respective colleges. Either way, receiving an offer of

a place for September comes as a sense of relief and motivation for many young people.

I would therefore encourage you to make those applications as soon as you have made

decisions regarding the next step. Pupils are not obliged to commit to a specific college

until September and therefore they can keep their options open and apply to a few

colleges in order to keep their options open.

Hopefully I have covered most things which may cause you concerns for the coming very

important year.

Looking ahead to Year 11 – Getting ready for college or an apprenticeship

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On Saturday 25th April a group of fifteen GCSE Religious Studies pupils went to Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire. Pupils enjoyed a talk about elephants with the opportunity to touch one afterwards, a bird of prey display, a walk through the lemur enclosure, a drive through the safari where some monkeys decided to use the minibus as a climbing frame; and much more. Although this trip was mainly an enrichment activity it also ties in to a unit of work which pupils cover on the environment and the care of animals.

By Mrs Osborne—Head of RE

Woburn Safari Park Visit

Stockbridge Flower Festival 2015

The theme for the annual flower festival held at St

Peter’s Church Stockbridge was ` Famous People.’

Our very talented technicians, Mrs Gleeson and Mrs

Tucker chose Charles Dickens as their subject.

They created this wonderful display called

`You’ve got to pick a pocket or two.`

Charlotte chosen for GB Team

Many Congratulations to Charlotte

Dicker (Year 11) who has been

chosen to represent Great Britain in the Dressage

Team. We all wish her every success in forthcoming

competitions.

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Year 7 visit to Bletchley Park

In the Summer term a group of seventy one Year 7 pupils had

the opportunity to visit Bletchley Park as part of the school’s

out of class learning programme.

All Year 7 pupils have been learning about code breaking in

Maths lessons. They have found out about the Caesar cypher,

pigpen code and Morse code. They have also been research-

ing about Bletchley Park and how the code breakers contrib-

uted to the successful outcome to World War II.

The volunteers at Bletchley Park gave our pupils a walking

tour of Bletchley Park

teaching them about

the history of the

buildings as well as

the fabulous recon-

structions of the early

computers including

Colossus. Pupils stood in the place where code breakers had

stood when Winston Churchill visited to thank them for their

valuable contribution to the war effort. He called Bletchley

Park the ‘goose who laid the golden egg’ such was the value

of the information they were able to decipher.

pupils learned about Alan Turing and the Enigma Code. How

the Lorenz codes were broken using the Tunny and Colossus.

The cutting edge technology of the time is still a wonder defi-

nitely worth seeing.

There was some classwork too. Pupils learnt about the differ-

ence between codes and ciphers and then went on to do

some code breaking of their own. Perhaps one of the most

unforgettable sessions of the day was actually using an Enig-

ma machine to interpret a message which had been sent in

code from another Enigma machine. Yes, an original Enigma

machine!

I hope this has fired up the curi-

osity and a fascination for this

subject and, if we ever need

them, we now have a number of

budding code breakers ready

and waiting!

By Mr Muendo - Mathematics

Department

The Test Valley School Computing Department have been

very active within the local community this term.

Test Valley School have been collaborating with local Primary

Schools to develop innovative Computer Science sessions,

designed to increase pupil engagement and interest in the

cutting edge field of Computer Programming and Game

Design.

This term Test Valley School visited Lockerley Primary School

and Stockbridge Primary School to run the sessions, with

many more schools to benefit from the program from

September.

The sessions, run by the new Head of Department Mr

Willcox, allow Year 5 and 6 pupils to explore computational

concepts using game Design Software created by Microsoft

called ‘Kodu Game Labs’.

The 2 hour sessions engage pupils by introducing them to

Computer Science concepts such as writing algorithms,

exploring functions and understanding variables by

producing a computer game from the beginning.

Pupils are required to build a virtual world, insert characters

and objects, and then use ‘code’ to create algorithms and

control all aspects of the virtual game.

“It is so

important

to teach

Computer

Science

because it provides pupils with the fundamental skills to

interact in the modern world. It is great to see so many

young people engaged in Computer Science, learning and

applying their skills in a practical environment, the smiles

on their faces and the general sense of excitement is

testament enough to the effectiveness of the sessions.

When pupils join Test Valley School they are now learning

how to write algorithms, implement variables and

comment of the flow of computational information from

Year 7, it is such an exciting time for pupils to become part

of the new Computer Science Curriculum” - Head of

Department Mr Willcox.

Test Valley School will continue to run sessions for Primary

Schools across the local area into the Autumn term, engaging

pupils in Computer Science.

Computing Department Update

Computing Department

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Modern Foreign Languages News— Japanese Day

On Friday 19th June, Test Valley School celebrated all things Japanese! Our pupils started

the day with information from tutors about Japan and they discovered all sorts of facts

about various elements of Japan and Japanese life, such as the geography of the country,

what school life is like in Japan and many other cultural aspects such as sports, art and

food. Many pupils were surprised to find that the children clean the school at the end of

the day!

Pupils then continued the day enjoying learning about Japan in many subjects such as

drama and some even learned to do Japanese numeracy in their maths lessons.

In the languages department, pupils had Japanese language lessons as well as getting to know how the etiquette of greeting

someone in Japan works. Some pupils got to grips with origami and created some beautiful frogs, cranes and hearts to name a

few.

At lunchtime the canteen really embraced the day and

served a variety of Japanese dishes such as yakitori

chicken and various ramen noodle soups. They were all

delicious! Many pupils also attended the lunchtime

sessions of origami, manga drawing and watching the

Japanese anime movie ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ in

Japanese! A few older and experienced pupils in drawing

and origami helped out others to create a lovely

atmosphere.

The languages department would like to thank the

canteen and all those who got involved in the day. It was

a highly enjoyable and educational day for all.

By Mrs Williams - Head of Modern Foreign Languages

"Fancy walking down a 282ft building for Naomi House?" Asked my mum. "Yeah, go on then!" A few days later, my participation was confirmed and I could start raising some money. My target was £100, but I hoped to raise more. To be honest, I wasn't nervous until the day. But with my best friend by my side, I knew there was nothing to fear.

On the day, once I was harnessed up, helmet on and my luminous socks at the ready, I was set to go. "Let go of the bar" the man said. Scared stiff inside, I let go of the bar and away I went. Sliding down on my knees, because of the glass, I let the rope feed through my hands. It took me five minutes to complete the abseil, therefore, when I reached the bottom, I was proud to see what I had achieved. Would I do it again? Yes, definitely, but maybe higher than a 14 floor glass building. It was an incredible experience and another thing ticked off my achievement list. Overall I have raised just under £600 without gift aid, which is an outstanding amount that will give the children at

Naomi House the support they need. My fundraising page

is www.virgingivingmoney.com/sydneyreidy

Naomi House Charity Abseil—By Sydney Reidy Year 7

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I am delighted to have appointed a selection of prefects from Year 10 applications this year. Applicants attended an interview with their form tutor and answered a few ‘seen’ questions. Some of the successful applicants also put themselves forward for position of Head Boy and Head Girl, these applicants were required to perform a speech in front of staff. After staff votes the top four candidates went through to the final voting stage. This required them to give a speech in key stage assemblies, following final voting from pupils the successful candidates are: -

Head Boy; Hugo Leonard

Head Girl; Francesca Sutcliffe

Deputy Head Boy; Kai Mumford

Deputy Head Girl; Isabelle Mountain

There are two prefect teams, one team assists with school events, mainly after school. The other team organises events or memorabilia such as StockFest, Prom, Yearbook and Charities.

Mr Langdown—Year 10 Co-ordinator

Prefects 2015-16

Ross Appleton 10S Sophie Bamber 10S Wesley Bloom 10S Sophie Bott 10S Alysha Brooking 10N Grace Brown 10D Luke Dennis 10G

Thomas Eaton 10S Alexander Farrow 10N Heidi Faux-Whitehead 10D Daniel Finch 10G Emily Fitzpatrick 10N Jack Harvie 10A Laura Hesp 10N Hugo Leonard 10G Thomas Madden 10A Cameron Maguire 10A

Maia McEwan-

Hancock 10G

Brogan Milligan 10S Isabelle Mountain 10N Kai Mumford 10N Matilda Murphy-

Moffitt 10S

Georgia Pointer 10A Lewis Reed 10S Mollie Sandilands 10N Piper Sarson 10A Danielle Short 10S Francesa Sutcliffe 10S Jasmin-Ann Thomson 10D Isabelle Woodfield 10N Charlie-Mae Young 10G

Kai Mumford, Isabelle Mountain, Francesca Sutcliffe, Hugo Leonard

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Library News by Kerry Natt –Librarian

It has been another exciting term for the Library at Test Valley.

On the 1st July, twelve Year 8 pupils, Mr Lucas and I attended the Hampshire Book

Award (HBA) Final at Kings School. The Hampshire Book Award is a long running challenge in which

Year 8 pupils have the fantastic opportunity to read a selection of 6 books and judge them. The books

are chosen from the previous year’s participants, school teachers and school librarians across the

county and they have to have been published within the last year.

At Kings School, they met with other pupils from across the county who had also been reading the

books. We separated into groups with a mixture of pupils from each of the 8 schools where we

discussed what we liked and didn’t like from each book. After a nail-biting discussion, each pupil voted

for their favourite and finally “The Screaming Staircase” by Jonathon Stroud was declared the winner.

We hope to have the opportunity to meet him in the Autumn Term at a ceremony in Winchester.

The final part of the morning was a literature quiz, the team that I was on won!

Following our adventures in Winchester, we were lucky enough to host the author Elen Caldecott who

spoke with our Year 7s on Wednesday 2nd July. We also invited a group of Year 5s from local primary

schools to attend too.

Elen was promoting her new book “Crowns and

Codebreakers” which had been released the

previous Friday. She was a fantastic speaker

and talked us through the process of how she

develops her storylines, some funny moments

which included a lot of laying down and

daydreaming. As a group we then “wrote” a

story using inspiration from the very willing

audience. She finished her discussion with a

short excerpt from her new book and a Q & A

session.

Afterwards, pupils were able to meet Elen and have

books that they had purchased signed. We were very lucky once again to have P & G Wells supporting

this event with discounted books.

Another exhilarating term discussing

books and meeting authors.

Ethan Bullis receiving his signed copies of Elen’s books

`The Great Ice-Cream Heist’ and Crown and

`Codebreakers’

Elen Caldecott inspiring our Year 7s

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The staff and governors of Test Valley School would like to thank the following employers and organisations for

their support of the recent Year 10 Work Experience programme. Work Experience is a vital part of our on-going

commitment to preparing our young people for adult life and is highly valued by our pupils and parents.

Thank you, we look forward to working with you in the coming year.

Year 10 Work Experience

A W Garland Ltd

Amport Primary School

Amport Riding Centre

Andover College

Andover Golf Club

Anton Road Studio

AR UK LTD

Army Air Corps Pre-School

Arqiva

Beccys Greengrocers

Blue Zoo Productions Ltd

Bodybarn

Boots The Chemist - Andover

Bourne Valley Nursery School

Broadlands Lakes

Burrell Innovation Ltd

CEX

Chimflue

Clatford C E Primary School

Clos du Marquis

Clovelly Shoot

Compton Shoot Club

Conholt Park

Co-op Stockbridge

Creative Media Design

Cube Design

DBB Law LLP (DBB Solicitors)

Eva Hairdressing

Explore Worldwide Ltd

Farley Nursery School

Frenchmoor Racing

Grosvenor Hotel

Gymies

Halesway Limited

Hampshire Constabulary (Eastleigh)

Hampshire Constabulary (Andover)

Hamptworth Golf & Country Club

Harrow Way Community School

Hayball Motorcycles Ltd.

Home Farm Stables

IBM UK Ltd

John Robinson Butchers

Jools UK Ltd

Jungle Jungle

Kings Somborne Primary School

Lanterns Childrens Centre

Lanterns Nursery School

Lillies Café

Lockerley Primary School

Londis Stores

London Underground

Longparish Playgroup

Marks & Spencer (Andover)

Marks & Spencer (Winchester)

MOD Gym Wallop

Moleroda Finishing Systems Ltd

Multi Media Replication Ltd

Multi Platform Support Unit (MPSU)

Norman Court School

Painters Direct

Public Health Scientific Research &

Development

Qinetiq

Romsey Fast Fit

Roslyn Swimming School

Simplyhealth

Smannell and Enham C E Primary

School

St Martin's CE Primary School

Stockbridge Primary School

Stringbrokers Music Ltd

Symetrica Security Ltd

Tesco Extra Supermarket

Test Valley Borough Council

The Alternatives

The Aviary Nursery

The Boot

The Greyhound

The Lights Theatre

The Little School Pre-School

The Salon

The Wallops Pre School

Thruxton Motorsport Centre

Waitrose Ltd (Salisbury)

Waitrose Ltd (Andover)

Wallop Primary School

Waterstones (Winchester)

West Tytherley CE Primary School

West View Stores

Wherwell Primary School

Wilton & Barford Primary School

Winterslow Primary School

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Year 10 Geography London Trip

A few weeks ago a group of Year 10s went to London on a

Geography Trip. The day started with a river boat cruise

along the Thames. Pupils had the opportunity to view the

Thames Barrier and consider it as a sustainable flood defence

for the future. The group then had the chance to see the

Olympic Park, saw the Olympic Pool and Velodrome.

In the afternoon pupils compared Westfield Shopping Centre

to the older shopping district. In the evening we did a walk-

ing tour starting at Covent Garden and ending at Buckingham

Palace. It was a fantastic day.

The department would like to thank staff and pupils for mak-

ing the trip a success. We would also like to take this oppor-

tunity to announce that in Year 11 the Controlled Assess-

ment will focus on urban parks and therefore if you have the

opportunity to visit an urban park over the summer that may

be useful to help support the work we will do in class.

Wishing you all an excellent Summer.

The Geography Department

Battle of Waterloo—200 years on by Rory Palmer Year 9

Thursday 18th of June 2015 marked the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo,

which defined the course of European history for the next 70 years.

As part of the celebrations 200 schools were asked to study 200 soldiers that fought at

the battle. Test Valley undertook the task of researching John Himbury, a private (later

sergeant) in the 95th regiment of foot, the rifle brigade.

On the 19th of May, Hugo Cragoe, Cameron Lewis, Ethan Bullis, Mr Murdoch-Smith and

I visited the Royal Green Jackets (as the regiment came to be known) museum in

Winchester. Whilst we were there we saw John Himbury’s own medals, we also saw

several uniforms of the 95th regiment of foot that were used at the time along with a

whole host of other period artefacts. When we were there we created a video to put in

to the online book that was being made for the anniversary.

After the visit to the museum, Mr Murdoch-Smith and I got our heads down to write a

great biography of John Himbury. This was then published in the Waterloo 200 online

book, with the video and pictures taken at the museum. You can see them here:

https://www.theonlinebookcompany.com/OnlineBooks/SchoolsWaterloo/Celebrations/WaterlooSoldiers/318

On Thursday 18th June Mr Murdoch-Smith and I headed off from Winchester station to go to London. There was a small miss

hap on the way to my house though as Mr Murdoch’s car un-fortunately broke down on the way to pick me up. Thanks to my

mum Victoria Frazer and Mrs Murdoch-Smith we managed to get to Winchester station on time and from there to St Paul’s

Cathedral.

The service was good. Diaries from the soldiers who were at Waterloo were read out. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of

Cornwall were in attendance along with other senior officials and the Prime Minister!

All in all it was a brilliant day to celebrate a defining moment in Europe’s History.

Cameron, Hugo, Ethan and Rory at Museum with 19th Century

Green Jacket

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Activities Week Round Up

Italy Tour 2015 This activities week saw the third trip to Italy which

was once again a huge success. Both pupils and staff had an amazing

(but very tiring) week, visiting all the main attractions in Rome such as

the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, St Peters Basilica, and

Castle St Angelo, as well as fitting in a half day trip to Villa Adriana at

Tivoli and a 4D cinema experience on the history of Rome.

On Wednesday morning we left

Rome, and headed for Mount

Vesuvius. Which was a hot and

tiring climb but very worth the

effort. We then spent a fun

and relaxing evening learning

how to make pizzas and taking

part in a Tarentalla show.

On Thursday morning we boarded a mini

cruise and travelled around the coast, via Capri, to Amalfi and took in the amazing

scenery along the coast. During the evening pupils were given free time to explore

Sorrento and do some souvenir shopping. We finished off the week by visiting Pompeii

and seeing the casts which were on display within the ruins, followed by a final pizza.

With temperatures topping 43 degrees Celsius at times pupils found the week hot and

tiring but everyone behaved outstandingly and we received a number of compliments

about their conduct and manners.

By Mrs Osborne

15

Activities Week Round Up - Our French Trip by Isabel Henrys 7A

France Tour Monday 6th July the Test Valley School

Year 7s arrived at the school bus bays, where the teachers

were waiting at 5:30. Some pupils were upset about leaving

their families and going to a foreign country for long time

without them. However, others couldn’t wait to get going

and be away from England for a while. There were two

coaches at the bus bays, ready to take the children on their

way. The bus driver on coach A was called Steve and was

really kind and fun, we were extremely lucky to have him as

our bus driver.

Coach B had Tony, who was amazing. He would put on

popular music and we would all sing along to it.

The coaches departed Stockbridge at 5:45. It was a relatively

short journey to Portsmouth, where we departed on the

Brittany Ferries at 8.15. We arrived in Caen, France at

approximately 15:00. On the ferry, we had plenty of oppor-

tunities to do things. At our main meeting point where at

least one teacher always was, we could sit and talk quietly

together. There was also a games room, which was quite

like a miniature arcade. We had to be quiet and calm

because there were quite a lot of other passengers on the

ferry crossing too, including several other school groups on

their way to France. Even though we weren’t used to getting

up that early, we did manage to enjoy ourselves.

After arriving, we got on the coaches for our final part of the

journey. When we arrived at Le Château Beaumont,

everybody was shown to their rooms to put their suitcases

and rucksacks away. We only had time to unpack a few

things before we were greeted by our instructors; Jemma

and Fay and were given a short tour of the Château and oth-

er buildings. We were told a bit about the history and they

showed us where we would line up in our activity groups

before each activity, where they counted us to make sure

we were all there and had what we needed.

After our tour of the accommodation, we had dinner,

unpacked and sorted out the rest of our things and then we

got ready for ENTS (evening entertainments). That night we

were doing a treasure hunt. We were given a sheet of paper

with questions and requests on it in French. Once we had

translated and answered one, we showed a member of the

Château staff. They would give us one letter of a famous

French phrase. The first person to complete the sheet was

the winner and had to run around shouting winner in

French.

On the second day we had activities in the morning and visit-

ed Le Mont St Michel and Abbey in the afternoon. It was

amazing! We found out that the Abbey was where the idea

for Hogwarts came from. It was extremely exciting because

we got to walk through and shop in ‘Diagon Alley’. I even

bought an ice cream. Delicious! Then we had dinner, which

Continued on page 16

16

Activities Week Round Up

was also delicious. Followed by the scrap heap challenge. This

was where we were given an egg to protect. We were given

fairly random materials and told to protect our egg as best we

could, which included our egg being dropped from the top a

very tall building (out of a window). For this we worked in

groups and had to listen to everybody’s ideas before we start-

ed. This was very successful and only a few of the eggs broke.

The parachute idea was very popular, which worked because

we were all given a bin bag which was used as the parachute.

The third day started with breakfast as usual. Firstly, we went

to St Hilaire town and market. This was one of the best days

because of the freedom we were given. And we showed the

teachers that they could trust us because we all came back

safe and sound. Then we had a packed lunch in St Hilaire,

which was lovely because it was a gorgeous day. Afterwards,

we had activities, then dinner, then fancy dress and a quiz.

The quiz was really fun and enjoyable and the fancy dress was

hilarious. Even the teachers had made an effort to look

French. My favourite costume was the French fry packet.

Ingenious! And the horse made me laugh hysterically too!

Thursday was my favourite day. First we had breakfast. Crois-

sants!!! Then we paid a delightful visit to St Malo and the

aquarium. In the aquarium, they had loads of bright, multi-

coloured fish and they even had sharks! The jelly fish looked

really cool in the special UV light that had been placed over

them. We were given tickets that we used to go into a simula-

tor and the walls were animated with pictures to make it look

like we were going deep into the ocean in a submarine.

IIt ended with all the glass being smashed by a giant squid. I

thought this was really cool. After that we got some time in

the gift shop where we bought gifts for ourselves, family and

friends. They had some beautiful items on the shelves and the

bracelets hanging up must have taken weeks to complete. I

bought one of these bracelets and am extremely pleased that

I did because it hasn’t lost any of its charm since then.

After the aquarium, we ate our packed lunch, which was

gorgeous as always and went to the market to go shopping.

Most of us bought ice creams, chocolate and other delicious,

edible items.

Once we had all finished our shopping, we went to the beach.

It was a beautiful day and it was the perfect temperature, a

light breeze, small elegant ripples in the sea and Test Valley

Year 7s to make it even more wonderful. Everyone really

enjoyed the beach and were also extremely sad that it was

our last full day at the Château! Next, we all got back on the

coach and went back to Le Château Beaumont. Dinner was

lovely, we had pizza! It was delightful! ENTS that night was the

talent show and disco. I didn’t know that we had so much

talent within our small group of Year 7s! And they’re great

dancers too, as everybody saw at the disco. Then we all went

to bed, happy and content.

On our last day everybody was sad to be going and excited to

go home, back to their family and friends! We started with

breakfast at the Château and packed our bags and suitcases

for the journey ahead of us. We said goodbye to the Château

staff and our much loved instructors Jemma and Fay and were

on our way. First we went to the hypermarket for more shop-

ping then we got back on the coach, which took us to the

ferry. It was a different ferry this time and yet it had the same

facilities and everyone was happy there.

There was Karaoke, which everybody joined in with even the

other passengers on the ferry and other school groups too.

An hour or so later, we were back at school and ready to go

home.

I would just like to say a massive thank you to Mrs Dover, Miss

Williams, Mrs Wingham, Miss Bushell, Mr Allsopp, Mr Willcox,

Mr Allen, Mrs Knight and our coach drivers, Tony and Steve,

for making this trip possible!

By Isabel Henrys 7A

Continued from page 15

17

Activities Week- Ferny Crofts Ferny Crofts is a Scout Activity Centre in The New Forest covering a whole 31 acres. This year a group of Year 7s,8s and 9s went there for our Activities Week where we took part in a variety of ac-tivities from a night walk to rifle shooting. The highlight of my stay was crate stacking, for some it was the archery and for others it was the orienteering, there was an activity for everyone to enjoy. Not only did we have lots of things to do inside the centre, but also we took trips to Hurst Castle, along a large expanse of shingle beach and to the Otter and Owl Sanctuary where there were many different species of animal including the Lynx and Wallaby. We had a lovely tour guide who showed us around and we learned many facts about the animals that were housed there. We also had time to go to the adventure playground and the on-site gift shop where lots of gifts were bought!

Activities Week Round Up by Harry Scobie Year 9

18

Activities Week Round Up

Creative Workshop Thirty five pupils took part in the

creative activities which included designing and making a graffiti

board, tie-dyeing T-shirts, glass painting, mosaic work, paper

sculpture, lantern making, ending the week with a visit to Roche

Court Sculpture Park near Winterslow, Salisbury. Members of

staff at the sculpture park introduced them to the work of a

number of world-class artists such as Antony Gormley, Michael

Craig-Martin, Anthony Caro, Laura Ford and Barbara Hepworth,

giving pupils opportunities to sketch exhibits, ask questions and

enjoy the art works in a beautiful setting.

Water and Land seems to have taken a different

turn this year with many new activities.

The week our teams started with a familiar activity,

laser in the woods in Nomansland. A somewhat

appropriately named place for battle which seemed

to leave all its competitors satisfied with their day.

We saw a new opportunity on Tuesday in Harewood

Forest with an activity called Tree Runners. This is

where the freefalling started, among other activities.

High in the trees was a multitude of obstacles and

activities, some of which were not obvious until

someone was seen gliding

through the air from one

part of the forest to

another. There were a

multitude of very long zip-

wires, one 120 metres long

connecting this fantastic set

of courses together.

It is hard to imagine nearly

thirty pupils simultaneously

tackling all the different

obstacles high up in these

trees.

Dotted around the course in

a few place were auto-

belays, these are like giant Continued over

19

Activities Week Round Up

retractable dog leads and require a leap of faith in order to step off the tree

top platform into the air and be gently lowered to the ground.

Wednesday provided our regular orienteering challenge and BBQ. Pupils

are released into a wooded area in teams of seven to complete a course

with challenge bases.

For our teams, Thursday was a

completely new day of activities

which started at the New Forest

Water Park on their Aqua Park.

The Aqua Park is a cross

between Total Wipeout and

legalised pier jumping, A flotilla

of inflatable obstacles on a lake,

able to offer a range of challenges which included a giant poorly

inflated pillow which one person could lie on at one end while a

partner would jump onto at the other and eject their sleeping partner

into the lake.

Another obstacle offered a

mini mountain which could be

climbed with a slide and a pier

to jump and freefall from into

the lake.

During the afternoon we travelled to Romsey Golden Gecko Climbing

Centre, a brand new state of the art facility, second to none in this part of

the country, offering the pupils endless challenges and using the auto

belays to freefall back to the ground at the end of each climb.

The week culminated in an invasion to Splashdown for some serious

freefalling flume activities and the fulfilment of a takeaway of their choice

to top their week.

This exciting annual opportunity for pupils and staff to enjoy time and

challenges together outside of the classroom can surely only lead to

building positive relationships inside the classroom and in turn impact on higher

achievement. Mr Langdown

Continued from previous page

20

Activities Week Gallery Sport, Film and Horse Riding

21

Activities Week Gallery Bushcraft and Fishing

Activities

Week

2015

22

Gallery of 2015 GCSE Art Work

23

Gallery of 2015 GCSE Art Work

24

Sporting News Sporting News

Local company Hildon Natural Mineral Water, based in Broughton, sponsored ‘Well Done’ medals at a Key Stage 1 event for local primary schools held at Test Valley School. The medals were presented to all participants at the end of the event. Personal Best Education coaching company organised the seven individual activity stations all related to basic movement and multi skills with the help of 20 Test Valley School Young Sports Leaders. The movement and multi-skill activities were based upon motor development for the Key Stage 1 pupils. This

included balance, co-ordination, running and jumping. Pupils also developed hand and eye co-ordination with throwing and catching activities. The Key Stage 1 pupils had to listen and follow instructions given to them by the Young Leaders and they were encouraged to work as a team. The Young Sports Leaders worked hard to make sure the Primary School pupils knew what to do and kept them engaged for the 2 hours.

Well Done medals for KS1 pupils

The trampoline became the group’s favourite activity closely followed by the inflatable gymnastics track.

A big thank you to the coaches and to our sponsors Hildon Water who made this event very special for the young pupils.

25

Sporting News

The Year 10 Sports Leaders group organised, as part of their course, a circuit training & basic skills session for Wherwell Pri-mary school.

The Year 6 pupils, who worked hard at the session, listened to the instructions from the leaders and developed their basic knowledge and fitness level.

The primary pupils were shown how to do specific exercises and simple basketball skills and encouraged to do their best by the Sports Leaders. Throughout the session the primary school pupils were trying to increase their heart rates and the Sports Leaders

were able to describe the benefits of exercise to their young audience.

The Wherwell Primary School pupils enjoyed the variation in the circuit ses-sion. This included exercises to improve general fitness as well as specific exercises to develop their basketball and general ball handling skills.

Keeping Fit & Improving Skills

Wherwell School & Year 10 Sports Leaders

Well Done Wherwell Primary School!

Well done to all the

schools for completing the

challenges especially

Stockbridge School who

won their first ‘Masters’.

Six local Primary Schools competed in the Tri-golf challenge at Broughton Primary School on the 9th June.

Young Sports Leaders helped with the team scoring and watched as the Year 3 and 4 pupils developed their basic golf

skills with various challenges, including ‘reach the target’ and ‘driving range’ .

Broughton Leaders helped with the demonstrations showing the Year 3 and 4 pupils how to do the necessary techniques

to improve the swing.

Tri-Golf

‘Fore’

26

Primary Schools Dance Festival

Pupils from the local primary schools of Lockerley, Broughton, West Tytherley, Stockbridge, King’s Somborne, Wallop & Wherwell were invited to attend the festival over 3 days. This festival event has been running for 10 years. Sports Leaders, all pupils at Test Valley School, started planning this event in November 2014 with Mrs Smith (School Sports Co-ordinator).

Mrs Smith School Sports Co-ordinator said that :

“Despite the rather warm & humid conditions all the pupils and the Young Sports Leaders worked hard to show their varied dance ideas linking the performances to the overall theme and all the pupils seemed to enjoy the challenge. Another successful dance event”

Gremlin Dance Company taught elements of healthy living including physical, mental and social wellbeing to the primary school pupils in the morning workshop. Partner and group phases were created using mirroring and facial expressions.

The primary schools had been asked to base their showcase performance around the theme of healthy living, linking their performance to diet, exercise benefits and exploring the great outdoors. The primary schools showcased their own school dance in the afternoon.

Acting Headteacher from King’s Somborne Primary School David Roebuck stated :

“What a fantastic opportunity! Every child has been involved, active and enthused about dance. Despite the heat they all worked hard and participated with a smile on their faces. The Young Sports Leaders have clearly worked hard to organise and prepare for the event”

The schools showcases were very varied performances and included a fruit version of Little Red Riding Hood with a vegetarian wolf who loved fruit and vegetables, sporting actions and keeping fit elements as well as a cheerleading dance with ‘Healthy Living’ chants and bright coloured props.

A teacher from Stockbridge Primary School Jane Hughes stated:

“This is a super day for our children to experience dance. They clearly enjoy it. I am very impressed by the Test Valley Leaders, also how well organised the event is and their engagement with the younger children”.

The event’s sponsors were invited as VIP guests to present Gold & Silver medals to all the primary school pupils. Gold medals were presented to the pupils who were enthusiastic, showed consistent effort throughout the day and had excellent team work skills.

The key sponsors were Hildon Natural Mineral Water, represented by Debbie Jones (Environmental Manager), Simplyhealth represented by Mrs Marshall (Community Fund Co-ordinator) and ASDA, who provided healthy snacks to link with our theme. Without these key sponsors this event could not take place Other VIP guests who visited included the Test Valley Mayor, Councillor Mrs Andersen, with consort and the Town Mayor of Romsey, Councillor Mrs Baverstock, and consort Miss Morrish, formerly Headteacher of Test Valley School.

Continued over

27

The Test Valley Mayor Mrs Andersen and Consort stated:

“It was good to see the interaction between the Test Valley School Leaders and the Primary School children. The dance festival has obviously taken a lot of work with excellent organisation. It was interesting to see the theme ‘Healthy Living’ brought to life through the concept of five a day. A big thank you for showing us around Test Valley School and inviting us to such a lovely event”

Miss Hiscock Headteacher at Test Valley School summed up the event:

“This is always a wonderful event we all look forward to every year and this year it is celebrating its tenth year. The primary school pupils and Young Sports Leaders from our school all enjoy the activities and it is lovely to see them all working together and getting fully involved. We were also delighted to welcome our local sponsors and VIP guests to join us this year, their support is always valued and makes a considerable difference to the festival.”

Left: The Healthy Living Managers 2015— Lewis Reed,

Emily Fitzpatrick, Isabelle Mountain, Nirvana Climo, Hugo

Leonard, Kai Mumford, Holly Tims, Alex Farrow

Area Athletics 2015

The annual Area Athletics took place at King’s Somborne Recreation

Ground on 23 June

Six of the local schools participated in this anticipated event which had been

adapted by the coaching company Personal Best Education [PBed]

from last year’s competition structure. Schools were prepared for the

new schedule and enjoyed the continuity of both track and field

events.

The Young Sports Leaders were given instructions regarding the

scoring and competition format. They were then able to record the necessary results for each

competitor. Every athlete had to complete 3 field events, long jump, over arm throw and a chest

push as well as 3 track events which included two sprints and a 300m race.

Scores were totalled for each year group Year 3 / 4 / 5 and 6 and points allocated according to the best performance of each

athlete. An overall team winner was the school that had accumulated the most points which credited to over 4000.

All the athletes showed clear determination and

performed to the best of their abilities in all the

events. Lockerley were the winners with three 1st

place titles in the Years 3 / 5 and 6 competitions.

Well done on an excellent achievement!

Top 3 results:

1st Place—Lockerley

2nd Place—Broughton

3rd Place—Wherwell

Continued from previous page

28

Prom 2015—Oakley Hall

Year 11 pupils completed all their GCSE exams on Friday 19 June. The Year 11 Prom took place on Thursday 25 June at Oakley Hall in Overton.

It was lovely to see all arrive in vehicles ranging from motorbikes to Rolls Royces, Ferraris and Aston Martins.

All pupils looked spectacular and the girls dresses covered all colours of the spectrum.

There was a buffet of sandwiches, chicken and chips followed by a sweet trolley.

A photographer and photo booth were kept busy all evening and the majority of pupils danced the night away to the resident DJ.

Thank you to all pupils and staff who attended to make this a night to remember.

Mrs Crossland—Year 11 Co-ordinator

Right—Amy Metcalfe and Kieran Bunn

Below—Tom Farwell and Grace Knight

Above—Connor Fealy

29

Prom 2015—Oakley Hall

Left —Georgia

Spayes, Lucy

Hudson, Cody

Thomas and

Alice Monson

Above Left —Ollie

Day, Josh Climo,

Nico Wareham,

Edward Heyward,

Jacob Ford

Above right —Maia

Cavey, James

Robinson and Evie

McCann

Left—Kai Marsh and

Esme Stock

Right—Lillie Pearson

and Shacana Goudry

30

CHARITY CONCERT SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER

St PETER’S CHURCH, STOCKBRIDGE, 7.30pm

in aid of

THE ALEX LEWIS TRUST

THE JANE AUSTEN SINGERS (JAS)

(Directed by Tim Lowden)

“O Radiant Dawn”

Tim Lowden, a resident of Stockbridge and music director of Stockbridge Music, is delighted to have been asked by the Trust to bring his Jane Austen Singers back to Stockbridge for their third concert in this lovely church, (ideal for small choirs) to raise as much money as possible for the Alex Lewis Trust.

Alex Lewis, a 33 year old local resident, had a common cold followed by a sore throat which took a sinister path to Strep A Toxic Septicaemia and Necrotising Fasciitis (sometimes referred to as a flesh eating disease). The devastating result was the amputation of all four of his limbs and the need for extensive facial reconstruction as the infection ravaged his face as well as his limbs. The Trust was set up to help fund Alex’s rehabilitation costs including home adjustments and prosthet-ics. It is Alex’s aim to return to as an independent life as possible and be able to do the simple things we take for granted like go for a walk with his four year old son and partner Lucy.

For the first half of this concert, the JAS, known for their unaccompanied singing of sacred music covering the centuries will perform a selection of sacred pieces. The second half, however, will con-tain part songs and amusing pieces not normally associated with the JAS!

Tim urges you to come and support his efforts to support Alex and to make this an opportunity of raising a significant amount of money towards his aims.

Dickie Davis, a huge supporter of the Alex Lewis Trust, will be master of ceremonies for the even-ing. There will be interval drinks, raffles and other attractions to make this a very special and enjoy-able evening of fundraising for Alex.

Tickets £10 are available from:

The Lights Theatre, Andover 01264 368368(credit cards)

Robinsons Butchers, High Street, Stockbridge

Roger Tym, The Old Manse, High Street, Stockbridge 01264 810363

Wine Utopia, Stockbridge (01264 252080) + Winchester 01962 706666

For more information about the Trust go to:

www.alex-lewis.co.uk