Dear Parent/Carer

Welcome to our weekly Highlights. I trust that you

have had a wonderful Easter break!

On the last day of term, we had a very important

visit from the Inclusion Quality Mark Assessor who

came to assess our suitability at being

reaccredited as a ‘Flagship’ school. This award is

only achieved if all pupils of all abilities are

stretched to perform to their maximum. The

assessor seemed very positive and we eagerly

await her report; as always I will update you via

the bulletin and the website as soon as we know

the outcome!

Also, before the end of term we held the second

of our Academic Review Days and it was lovely to

meet and speak with so many of you. I hope that

you found the opportunity to discuss your child’s

academic progress useful and also hope you liked

the new format, with everything (surveys, data

checks, meetings etc) available in our Main Hall.

Thank you to those of you who took the time to

complete our Parent survey; it was our best

number of responses to date! The results are

currently being counted and will be published

over the next couple of weeks. In addition, as we

move forwards together, I welcome your

constructive feedback on this event and would be

grateful if you could complete this quick two

minute survey (click here). All results will be

published in two weeks’ time.

Despite it being the holidays, we remained very

busy at the Academy! We held a wide range of

additional GCSE and A-Level revision classes,

which I am pleased to say were all very well

attended. I would like to thank both the students

who attended and those staff who gave up their

holiday time to lead these invaluable sessions!

Here’s to another very busy and enjoyable term

ahead!

Mr G Burke

23-26 April 2019

This Week’s Theme:

Punctuality to Lessons

Clubs - Spring 2019

Student Help Form

You will receive a text/email prior to fixture with all necessary information.

Summer Exam Timetable

No Fixtures this week.

U13 Girls Football vs Cressex: 3-0 Loss

U14 Netball vs St Michaels: 7-4 Loss

U15 Netball vs St Michaels: 6-6 Draw

6th Form Football vs Sir William Ramsay:

1-0 Loss

U15 Netball vs Sir William Ramsay:

23-5 Win

Year 10 Football vs St Michaels: Loss

Academic Review Day Survey

Year 7 Excellent attitude

towards her

studies and real

strides forward in

her resilience and

perseverance in

handling

situations.

Year 8

For excellent

effort when

participating in

the choir.

Year 9

For being a

helpful and

considerate

member of

the year

group.

Year 10

For her hard

work and

dedication.

Sixth Form For staying focused on her revision and completing lots of practice questions.

Year 11

For always being cheerful

and polite.

On Friday 5 April, over one hundred Year 11 students went to

Thorpe Park for a well-earned Reward Day after a long term of

exams and revision. Some even wore the leavers’ hoodies that

had been delivered a few days before.

With only a few weeks left before exams and revision sessions

over the holidays, it gave the students time to have fun away

from the books and stresses that exams bring.

It was an amazing day full of smiles and screams from the rides,

as well as a few worried faces. Even the teachers got in on the

ride action, big kids at heart. It was a great day and full of

memories that the students will take with them.

Mr Garden and Miss Wright

On Tuesday 2 April, a group of Year 9 students spent a day in London visiting

the Wellcome Collection and attending a workshop on questioning texts at

the British Library.

The students were presented with a range of ideas about science and

medicine at the Wellcome Collection. They reflect the experiences and

interests of scientists, doctors and patients, now and long ago. Sir Henry

Wellcome was an enthusiastic traveller and collector; amassing well over a

million books, paintings and objects from around the world. His collection was

mainly in the two areas that fascinated him the most: health and

medicine. The collection, which shows how people have viewed the basics of

life over the centuries – birth, health, sex and death - fascinated the students.

They were also impressed by a range of exhibits from science and everyday

life, as well as artistic responses to the issues presented in red art cubes.

The fulfilling visit to the British Library was a different learning experience for the

students. They were there for a workshop on questioning texts run by the library’s

learning department. They engaged the students with tasks that sparked their

curiosity by closely looking at texts they see everyday. Students were guided

through a variety of activities, inspired by items on display in the Treasure Gallery,

and encouraged to examine historical and contemporary extracts in order to

develop their ability to make critical comparisons across texts.

To sum it up, it was a day well-spent with different experiences that were both

intriguing and stimulating for our students.

Mrs Byard-Jones, English Teacher

“The Wellcome Collection had many

screens of information, a vast library, and

many intricately designed sculptures. Each

exhibit made me more and more curious.

We had the opportunity to see important

ancient texts from centuries ago at the

British Library. I was amazed by how

different writing was at that time, and how

people conveyed ideas through it. I

enjoyed the trip overall, because it gave

me insight into writing, and showed me

tales that will stick with me for a very long

time.” By D-G Bortey, 9 Green

How often do you read?

Not enough, but I read enough for my BA degree in Youth Work & Childhood Studies.

What’s your favourite genre of book to read?

I like Ancient Greek plays the best. They’re about amazing classical civilisations which is

really interesting. It also has relevance to life today.

What’s your favourite book and why?

My favourite book is ‘The Aeneid ‘by a Roman poet called Virgil. It’s after Troy gets

ruined, Aeneid sent followers on a journey to form a society that is now known as Rome.

There are problems along the way and it’s a difficult journey. The story is very

descriptive.

Would you recommend this book to the younger generation? If so, why?

Yes, it changes your mind about ancient stories and texts. It’s not boring either; it has

violence, humour and a complex narrative. The problems they had back then are still

relevant today. You think you know how you feel about something, but you don’t really

know how you really feel about it unless you really dive deep into it, and that can

change your mind.

Mr Croft is Year Manager for Years 7 and 9 and is also a Staff Governor.

Written by L Adby & J Colley, School Reporters

On Thursday 4 April a group of Year 11 students went to Bucks

New Uni for a Maths Super Day. They were introduced to

Mr Samuel who would be teaching them for the day and they

reviewed lots of different topics and different ways of solving

equations.

One student’s view of the day was, “It was really useful and I

finally understood some of the topics that I was finding difficult.”

There are more Super Days coming up this term and I hope that

the students find them just as useful.

Mr Rogers and Miss Wright

Our Breakfast Club has been successfully running for four years, supporting our students by ensuring that they have the best possible start to their school day and that they are ready to learn. This valuable provision, which opens at 7.30am every morning and is completely free of charge, also gives parents the opportunity to drop their children off early for school. Unfortunately, due to our current sponsorship coming to an end, we may need to cease running our Breakfast Club next academic year. Funding such an additional provision has become increasingly difficult in the current education financial climate. The funding pays for the staff time as well as the range of drinks, cereals, breads and spreads. Amelia said about the Breakfast Club, "I really like Breakfast Club because I don't have time for breakfast at home so when I have it at school it's really useful and tasty." The club costs approximately £1,000 per academic year to run, so we have set ourselves the challenge of trying to raise this amount to keep the club up and running! If you are able to make a small donation it would be very much appreciated – every little counts! Keira from Year 7 said, "I really enjoy going there every morning to socialise with my friends and have a nice warm hot chocolate and toast." Alternatively, if you have or know of a business that would be interested in supporting the club, please call Caroline Hardaker on 01494 529866.

Henkel are offering Degree Apprenticeships from September 2019 for Sixth Form students who will be

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Click here to find out more.

K Pusey 7 Pink won first prize, Ms McCall our English

Teacher won the Easter cake, and the two Ms White’s

from Caterlink won 2nd and 3rd prizes! There were also

100 other Easter eggs in the raffle, so we had many

happy students and staff. A total of £106 was raised

towards our school charity, The Horse Trust.

Mrs Premarthe from

Caterlink pictured

with the Easter cake

she decorated so

amazingly!

Big Bucks Sales Apprentice Challenge Winners enjoy

a celebratory tea with Mr Burke and Mr Evans.

Last week’s answer: Party Time!

Several people of different ages brought things for the party:

Charlie, who’s 12, brought the POTATO CRISPS. Wayne brought the FIZZY LEMONADE

(he’s 13). Helen (11) brought the PAPER PLATES, and her brother Peter (9) brought the

PAPER CUPS. Sheila is the same age as Charlie: she brought the PARTY POPPERS.

Young Horace brought the PEANUTS: how old is he? Have a great party!

He was born on

31 December

and spoke

about it on

1 January.

Deadline extended to

Thursday 25 April 2019!

Blue

Excellent overall

attitude towards her

learning and her

attendance and

punctuality have

recently been very

good.

Green H Azhar

Always working to the

best of her ability and

prepared for all aspects

of school.

Orange

Excellent attitude

towards her studies and

real strides forward in

her resilience and

perseverance in

handling situations.

Pink T Falconer

Showing compassion

and awareness of

mistakes and reacting in

a positive manner.

Purple

Excellent contribution

towards Form activities

and high effort

maintained in all

subjects.

Yellow

Has shown lots of

perseverance and

resilience in the last few

weeks and making great

progress in her academic

ability.

Johnson & Johnson Bridge to Employment Graduation Ceremony

After the success at Voice in a Million, The Highcrest Academy Choir performed in assemblies

before the Easter break. They did a fantastic job and we are all very proud of them, well done!!

The BTEC Performing Arts students performed ‘Jet of Blood’ by Artaud in the style of theatre

of cruelty.

On Wednesday 3 April we ran a practical mock exam for our Year 11 GCSE students. All students performed two

scripted pieces that they have been working on for the past two months. All students were amazing and did very

well. Their actual exam took place yesterday, Tuesday 23 April.

The Highcrest Academy, Hatters Lane, High Wycombe, HP13 7NQ

T. 01494 529866 | F. 01494 472850 | E. office@highcrestacademy.org.uk

www.highcrestacademy.org.uk | Principal: Mr G Burke