Welcome to
Pittville School

NEWSLETTER

MAY 2013

Dear Parents/Carers

I am delighted to be welcoming Karen Foster to Pittville as our new deputy Headteacher.  As I am sure you are aware Karen is joining us from Balcarras. She joins the school officially after half-term.

Year 11 Study Support

Year 11 students have been given information about extra study support sessions that staff are offering during the half-term break. Please encourage students to attend these sessions.

Cotswold Bike Ride

Congratulations to Mr Gilpin who completed the 40 mile Cotswold Bike ride on Sunday 19^th May 2013 in record time (at least that is what he is telling everyone).  Currently he has raised over £150 for the British Heart Foundation.

Jazz Festival

On Sunday, 5^th May 2013, the Soul Band took to the stage at Cheltenham Jazz Festival for the "Jazz It Up" event in Montpellier Gardens.  Each year, jazz ensembles from local schools are able to perform as part of this prestigious event.  The Soul Band performed five songs, led by Greg Davies (who is leading the band whilst Mrs Smith is on maternity leave), to a large audience, including many staff, parents and pupils, as well as members of the public.  Kyle Gamble made his debut on the bass after learning the instrument for a matter of weeks and only joining the Soul Band a month before the performance. It was, sadly, one of the last chances to see the Soul Band in its current format as we are saying goodbye to the Year 11s.  Thank you to everyone who came and supported and we hope to see even more of you next year!

Geography Field Trip to Dorset

16 students and 4 members of staff enjoyed a sunny weekend in Dorset. Students explored and investigated the River Wey from source to mouth, and looked at the processes of coastal erosion which have created magnificent land forms such as Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. It wasn't all geography though; students and staff enjoyed fish and chips on Weymouth beach and held a very competitive game of beach volleyball! Every opportunity was taken to consume ice cream in the warm sunshine. An enjoyable fieldtrip, which will give these students invaluable, hands on understanding of fluvial and coastal processes.

Summer Fair – Saturday 22^nd June 2013

Pittville School’s P.T.F.A. is delighted to announce that they will be holding a Summer Fair on Saturday 22^nd June 2013, between 12.00 and 2.30pm.  Admission is free. There will be stalls, performances, competitions, inflatables, light refreshments, raffle and bar to name but a few.  Entertainment and fun for all!  Please support this major fund-raising event.

Impact – After School Literacy Workshops

This term we have successfully implemented our after school literacy club, IMPACT.  We have been joined every Tuesday afternoon by up to seven students and two sets of parents.  The students have been learning and consolidating their knowledge through lessons focussing on spelling strategies, how to use capital letters, how to choose the correct homophone and have developed their writing skills in line with the whole school literacy targets.  Students have shown excellent levels of commitment and parents have been extremely supportive.  These sessions involved paired work, small group work and one-to-one support.  The students approach activities with enthusiasm and always achieve the challenge learning aims.  These workshops will continue after half-term and begin again in October with the new year 7 and year 8 students.  If you would like to be involved, please contact Mrs R Green or Mrs L Gough.     

Accelerated Reading Scheme

The Accelerated Reading Scheme has been running for a whole year now.  We have been pleasantly surprised by the success of the scheme so far, and have decided to include next year’s Year 9s, so that we have all our Key Stage 3 students being encouraged to read more.  This will impact on all their school work, as an ability to enjoy reading will give them more confidence and set them up for better exam grades and therefore a better future.  We have seven pupils (3 Year 7s and 4 Year 8s) who are word millionaires, i.e. they have read over a million words since September 2012, and two of our Year 7s have read over two million words! Every time a student takes a quiz on a book which they have read, they will get points, depending on how well they do in the quiz.  We have linked the rewards which students receive for successful answers into the school’s Vivos reward scheme, so pupils can see an immediate reward for their efforts and be encouraged to read more books and get more points from quizzes. Please help us by encouraging your child to read at every opportunity and together we can give them a better future.

Dance Gala

Congratulations to all the students who performed in Pittville’s annual dance gala, ‘Got 2 Dance’ on the 18^th March 2013. Over 70 students dazzled us with their dancing skills, performing all different styles of dance ranging from contemporary to street and breakdance. It was a very successful evening and the students were fantastic. Thank you to everyone who came and supported the show, we hope to see you next year.

Little Shop of Horrors

Pittville students recently performed in the iconic musical, ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’. Both nights were very well received, with people dancing in the isles to the catchy tunes conducted by Miss Underhill. The leads of the show did a fantastic and professional job and were supported by an enthusiastic and energetic chorus. Overall the experience was wonderful with the entire cast and crew coming together to produce a memorable show.  

French Students

On Thursday 25th April 2013 we welcomed 32 French students from the outskirts of Paris into the school. Our year 10 students gave them a tour of the school and spent the morning talking to them, then the students joined together to teach nursery rhymes from each language and to write songs. In the afternoon the French students gave a presentation about their school and about the French Candlemas celebration. Both our students and the French students thoroughly enjoyed the day and many friends were made. The French students and teachers also came to watch Little Shop of Horrors and were amazed at our students' performance. All in all a great day for Pittville!

Glenfall Primary School

The Art department visited Glenfall Primary School this term to run a ‘pattern portraits’ workshop. This was part of a week-long exploration into the theme of pattern by Year 5 students at Glenfall. Miss Addison, along with Tallulah Palmer-Wilcock and Niracha Singchaiyapoom from Year 8, were delighted to be able to go along and take part. Students created their own collaged portraits of famous Artists before adding patterns using a range of different materials. Miss Addison and the Pittville students were incredibly impressed with the work that the Glenfall students produced. The art department welcomed the Year 5 students back to Pittville on Monday 20th May 2013 to participate in a clay workshop.

Swindon Village Primary School

Students from Swindon Village Primary school attended a Photography & Art workshop. The students from years 2-6 learnt how to take professional portrait shots using a DSLR and studio lighting. Once the photos had been taken they worked with them to create unique, interesting self-portraits.

Scaling the Peak

On 10^th and 12^th April 2013 we hosted an event for trainee teachers at the University of Gloucestershire which culminated in some very creative and inspirational lessons being taught to some of our KS3 classes during the afternoons. One of the lessons, for example, involved simulating an evacuation in the event of a missile strike from North Korea! Our students responded very positively to the event and gained some useful knowledge about current affairs. All of the trainee teachers commented on the positive learning climate which they experienced at Pittville.

Flying Start

"Flying Start" is a group of KS3 students working in teams in collaboration with GE Aviation to manufacture a glider, this exciting project has now led to an increased uptake to the Technology Club. The club runs every Thursday after school in Room 42 with Mr Simkiss.

House Art Competition

Students and Staff continue to enter House Art competitions. The calibre and quality of the work is improving with each competition. The results are hugely varied with some fantastically creative images/work created. See the school's website for an online gallery of the work.

PE News

Congratulations to Brittany Sutton-Page who has been selected to join the South West regional hockey squad and to Ross Barnes who has been offered a place on a 2-day training course at a south-west camp for England rugby.  Well done!

We have a busy half term coming up. Listed below are some of the events as a reminder for students and parents:

• Year 7 science trip to Bristol 14^th June 2013
• Sports Day 1^st July 2013
• Work Experience week 8^th – 12^th July 2013
• YES Pod – Year 9 – 10^th July 2013
• Pittville’s Got Talent – 11^th July 2013
• Activities week 15th – 19^th July 2013

Bike It

After half term we are launching 'Bike It.'' Our 'Bike It' team have been working hard to create a promotional video clip to encourage more students and staff to cycle to work. We are starting a cycling club next term which will be on a first come, first serve basis. So make sure you get your letter back in to the PE department as soon as possible. Another initiative that is taking place is 'Golden Lock.' This is where a golden lock will be randomly placed on a bike - whoever's bike it is gets a prize!

Stem

On the 20th June 2013 there will be a STEM event after school. Run in conjunction with "Young Engineers" the project will be looking for budding engineers and designers to work in teams to design and make a "device" for moving water. Look out for a letter inviting you and your child. The session will run from 3 - 5.30pm.

Art Exhibition

The Year 11 Art and Photography students will have their work displayed in an end of term Exhibition in Studio 46. The work will be on display for the week 1st July - 5th July 2013 and there will be a private viewing for students, parents and governors on the evening of Thursday 4th July 2013 from 3-5pm.

Goodbyes

We say goodbye to Miss Chrishop, Miss Simeon and Mrs Crighton.  On behalf of all the staff, students and governors I would like to thank them for their contribution to the school.  We send our best wishes for their future.

R Gilpin

Headteacher

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2013

Dear Parents/Carers

It has been a short but very busy term. I would like to update you on the many events that have taken place. The new term begins on Monday 8 April 2013.

Deputy Headteacher

Mr Davis will be leaving the school at the end of this term to take up an appointment as Headteacher of a school in Birmingham. The Governing Body would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Davis for his service and loyalty to the school over the past 9 years. On behalf of all the students, staff and governors we wish Mr Davis every success in his new role.

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Miss Karen Foster, as the new Deputy Headteacher, who will be joining the school on 1^st June 2013. Miss Foster is currently head of the science department at Balcarras School and previous to that worked at Chipping Campden School. Miss Foster has worked closely with the school for many years and I am sure you will join me in extending a very warm welcome to Pittville.

Scott Lewis

We were all shocked and saddened to hear the news of the tragic death of Scott who left Pittville last year. Scott was a popular student who worked exceptionally hard. He was simply a terrific young man. Our thoughts continue to be with Scott’s sister, Megan, who is in Year 10, his family and his many friends.

Year 11 Easter Revision

There are a number of revision sessions taking place for Year 11 students during the school holidays. I know that these will be well attended by students. Year 11 students need to keep up the hard work as we move closer to their final examinations this summer.

Attendance

We continue to work hard as a school to raise the profile of attendance and the link between good attendance and excellent performance at GCSE. It is vitally important that we work in partnership with parents to ensure that our students’ attendance remains high so that they continue to make excellent progress at Pittville. 

Medical Room Protocol

Can I remind parents/carers that they should only collect their children from school due to a medical reason if they have been contacted by a member of staff. Students must not contact parents themselves and arrange to be collected.

Options Evening

We were delighted with the attendance at the Year 9 Options Evening and also with how positive the students were. There was much well informed discussion taking place between parents/carers, students and staff. Well done to all who attended.

Y11 BTEC Concert

On Wednesday, 16^th January 2013, the BTEC music group's hard work paid off when they successfully staged a concert as part of their coursework.  They were completely responsible for organising the concert - from initial planning meetings to choosing the acts, advertising the concert to setting up the equipment, performances, selling tickets and hosting the event.  A variety of acts were performed, including solos, duets and band. The audience were treated to some of the finest talent Pittville has to offer.  The support for the event was fantastic and the BTEC music group raised nearly £60 towards the Year 11 Prom.

Pates Visit

On Thursday 17^th January 2013 we took a small group of students to Pates Grammar School.  They attended an Information, Advice and Guidance session given by an outside speaker and then spent time in the lessons for subjects they are considering studying at sixth form.

Year 11 High Achievers’ Workshops

Thank you to Mr Davis for organising workshops for students working towards the highest grades at GCSE. The students have been involved in workshops delivered by Vicky Taylor, an outside consultant. The workshops have offered the students advice on study skills and revision techniques.

Developing The School – Parent’s Views

The Headteacher and the Governing Body are constantly working together to improve the school. We take account of the views of everyone involved in the school including the staff, students and parents. Members of the Senior Leadership Team and the Governing Body are meeting on the 10th April 2013 to plan the next steps towards making Pittville an outstanding school and we would be delighted if any parents would like to join us in the afternoon to share their views and be part of this forward planning. If you are interested please contact Linda Ferrabee on 01242 548755 by Monday 8th April 2013.

Maths and English results

We are delighted with the progress our Year 11 students are making. Students have taken GCSEs in maths and English; the results are very promising and indicate just how hard the students are working as they approach their final exams. Keep up the good work. A reminder to Year 11 that they cannot afford to miss any time from school at the moment.

French Theatre Company

On Monday 25th February 2013, the language department was pleased to welcome a French play performed by two actors from the professional Onati Company. All Year 7 and Year 8 pupils had the amazing opportunity to enjoy a funny and interactive play performed mostly in French.  Beth Hatten, Year 8 said, ‘it was amazing and I would love to see another one again if I was able to.’

Japanese Students

On Wednesday 6^th March 2013 we played host to 41 Japanese students from the Reitaku High School in Tokyo.  They were part of a 60 strong party on a visit to England organised by Inlingua of Cheltenham.  The Japanese students met their Year 10 student 'hosts' and were given a tour of the school.  They then took part in a question and answer session where both sets of students found out about each other's school and culture.  The visiting students then spent two lessons in various faculties to get a taste of what an English school is like.  At the end of the day the visitors performed to Year 7 students and their hosts.  They did a speech, sang two songs and performed a traditional Japanese fisherman's dance from Hokkaido.  Students were then able to try various cultural games such as Shuji (Japanese Calligraphy), Origami (paper craft) and Hanetsuki (badminton with wooden paddles and a shuttlecock).

Science trip to Balcarras

The science department ran a trip to Balcarras School on Tuesday 19^th March 2013.  This was a valuable opportunity to take part in two exciting science events.  These were a one hour Physical Science Workshop followed by a Robotics Workshop.

Science trip to London

On Friday 15^th March 2013 a group of students attended the ‘Big Bang Fair’ in London. The ‘Big Bang Fair’ consisted of an exciting array of stalls and events with a science theme. The trip was organized by the Design and Technology department at our partner school, Balcarras.

Comic Relief – Red Nose Day

To show our support for this charity we hosted an inter-house competition giving our students the opportunity to wear their own clothes to school.  The focus for Comic Relief this year was improving the life of people in slum/shanty town areas across the globe.  To give the students an understanding of the challenges facing these people, the geography department ran sessions throughout the week during tutor time.  This culminated with a competition in which each house was given the task of building their own shelter using materials provided; materials which would be used in real slum areas.  In addition, the students considered how we are connected to people across the world.  Students were asked to wear an item or items of clothing that have been manufactured in another country with a label indicating where they were manufactured.

New Cricket Wicket

Our thanks go to Jane Tetley, the clerk to the Governing Body, who has been busy bidding for money to fund projects here at Pittville. We are delighted to announce that the school has been granted £6,000 towards a new cricket wicket. This will be a tremendous resource to inspire both boys and girls to emulate their cricketing heroes.

Help the Heroes  

The school held a ‘Help the Heroes’ Day to raise money for charity.  Students dressed up as their favourite heroes and ate red, white and blue biscuits during the day.  The students organised the event themselves as part of their BTEC vocational studies course and raised £350 for the Help the Heroes Charity. 

Student Parliament meet Martin Horwood

On 1st February 2013 we held another meeting of the Pittville Parliament.  The meeting was particularly special as the guest speaker was the MP for Cheltenham, Martin Horwood.  Mr Horwood was invited into school to tell students about what his job as an MP entails.  Students had worked together in their last parliament meeting to think about some interesting and challenging questions to pose to Mr Horwood and by all accounts they put Mr Horwood through his paces.  Mr Horwood was very interested in how the roles and duties of a Pittville MP compared to those of his own.  Pittville Parliament is very grateful to Mr Horwood for giving up his time to come and visit us. Well done to all.

PE Update:

• Girls’ Football

Pittville is the only school in Cheltenham to have all three age groups (U12, U14 and U16’s) qualify for the Girls' County Football Finals. Pittville had an outstanding run of results coming 2nd in the Year 11 and Year 7 district tournaments and 1st in the Year 9 category. Special mention must go to the Year 8 girls who played a year above themselves and won the tournament. Pittville are fast becoming a school to be reckoned with and we hope this success will be replicated in the summer term with the girls’ rounders fixtures.

• PE ‘Jump Rope’

Thank you to all students who took part in this event.  We raised £758.07 for the British Heart Foundation.

• Staff netball match

The house netball match for staff was a great success. The year 11 BTEC students ran the competition on 7^th February 2013. Although it rained almost non-stop the competitive spirit was a determined one and saw three very hard fought games being played. Over 100 pupils came to watch and the pupils raised over £70.00 for the prom from a cake sale and entry fees. Although Abbott and Livingstone were good contenders, there was no beating the experience and organisation of Aston House. Aston won both their matches convincingly, congratulations to all who took part and to the pupils for organising such a great event.

• Inter-house Football Competition

Aston House won the inter-house football competition.  It was a very tightly fought battle with Aston and Livingstone both finishing on 220 points.  Aston then won the competition on goal difference.

Old Uniform

A plea from our PTFA:

“If you have uniform that your sons and daughters have grown out of (blazers, trousers, skirts) please don’t throw them out but bring them to reception. We can make excellent use of them in school”.

Mrs Radburn

Bike it

Pittville has officially become a “Bike It” participant (as has our Partner School Balcarras). We have a Bike It group of students who will be organising events to encourage students and staff to bike to school. Watch this space!

Summer Uniform

The summer polo shirts are now available to purchase from ‘Schooltogs’, the company that have taken over from ‘The Famous’.  They cost £7.50 for ages 9-15 and £9.95 for small, medium and large.  They can be worn after the Easter holidays.

Coming Soon!

Following on from our new kitchen, this summer we are delighted to announce the arrival of our new dining room ‘servery’. We are sure students will love the bright modern feel to the cafe where they will be able to select from a wide variety of freshly made healthy food.  We can now add to our existing hot food counters with a new deli counter, chilled salad bar & freshly filled sandwich & baguette bar.

We shall be offering cooked breakfasts every morning and a selection of savouries and brunch items at break. Students will still be able to buy a ‘meal deal’ from any counter at just £2.15 which includes a drink & free salad.  If you require any information regarding meals or paying online, please contact Mrs McDougall, Catering Manager on 01242 548705.

Staff Goodbyes

We say goodbye to Mrs Rolfe from the Art Department.  We would like to thank her for all her hard work and wish her all the best for the future.

We also say goodbye to Mrs Smith who is starting her maternity leave.  We wish her all the best for the coming weeks and look forward to hearing the news of her new arrival.  Mrs Smith will return in January 2014.

A big thank you from Mr Gilpin

I have been so impressed with the number of students who have helped with our interview processes, touring candidates and interviewing. They have also helped with visiting parents of Year 6 students who will be joining Pittville in September. They have all proved to be superb ambassadors for the school and I have been very proud of all of them.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and would like to wish everyone a happy Easter break. See you next term.

Mr Gilpin

Headteacher

On Monday 20^th May, Year 5 students from Glenfall Primary School, visited the art department to take part in a clay workshop. The students studied the work of the Artist Rachel Taylor, before creating clay tiles inspired by her designs. Miss Addison will be firing the tiles in the kiln at Pittville, before taking them back over to Glenfall for the Year 5 students to paint. The Glenfall students were absolutely fantastic and produced some outstanding work!

Please follow the link for the revision timetable for years 10 and 11

May 2013 Holiday Revision Timetable y10/11