Issue 21 | August 2015

Floyd FootnotesSir Henry Floyd Grammar School

www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk

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We re-branded the Activities Week experience and changed the focus for 2015 so that the vast majority of students in Years 7, 8 and 9 went away on a residential trip. I was bowled over when I first started planning the week at how many staff were willing to spend several nights away from home and their families both in the United Kingdom and in France and Belgium. I had made the wrong assumption that I would need to cajole, persuade or even subtly ‘press gang’. In fact, I had no issues at all with staffing the three trips and, when some replacement was necessary, I had people queuing up to take the place of colleagues.

The morning of 13th July dawned. It was dark. It was wet. It was a radical change of weather from previous sultry days. Despite the change in the weather and temperatures, students went off site with layers of clothing as opposed to factor 30 sunscreen. At 7.30am early birds in Years 7, 8 and 9 were arriving with their suitcases and gear. Many were not to leave until 9.00am so their excitement was harnessed in the gym (Year 8), the link corridor (Year 9) or in form rooms (Year 7) so as not to mix up Years 7, 8 and 9 with all their luggage! Staff arrived in good spirits too and, despite the weather, some sported beach shirts and shorts for their Dorset trip with cheerful optimism. Registers and roll call completed, all coaches on trips were waved away and Year 10 got stuck into being enterprising in the hall.

I had the pleasure of joining Year 7 in their Bushcraft experience for a few days. They were literally in the middle of the woods in the massive Cornbury Estate. The party had already set off for camp when I arrived on Tuesday morning but I was told by the coach driver that they “went that-a way” so I set off in good fettle. However, I realised after about thirty minutes of walking in the rain, in the mud, that I was without a phone signal and in the middle of the woods.

I decided that the group could be anywhere given that the land area was huge. So, I retraced my steps back to the car park up at ‘Forest Field’ and lo - there was a welcome member of Bushcraft to escort me to camp in a buggy on a ten minute bumpy, slippy ride. What fun! Hanging on, I enjoyed a sort of safari experience in Oxfordshire avoiding bushes and branches and spotting red kites and pheasants along the way. The buggy ride back that day was interesting too with Ed Parsons in the front and Mr Sharpe, Mrs Tolner and myself in the 3 foot square luggage compartment in the back with camera bags and muddy boots. A squeeze to say the least!

Aside from the team spirit and leadership skills of our students that I observed, I was impressed by the steely determination of the staff - Mrs Adkins, Mrs Horne, Mr Burge, Mr O’Loughlin and Mrs Ormston - keeping the staff fire going for two and a half days, including during the night. Wood gathering became a regular requirement to maintain the woodpile at Mr Burge’s ‘acceptable levels’.

Year 8 had a good time in Dorset too enjoying a variety of water sports and coasteering. The highlight of the week was apparently the ‘netting’ of a huge jellyfish (no harm was done to children or fish)!

And the Battlefields experience for Year 9 was worthwhile culturally, academically and socially. I heard that students and staff were visibly moved at the monuments, museums, battlefield sites and cemeteries. The opportunity to walk through trenches, visit dug-outs, hear individual stories and to discuss key moral issues such as ‘just war’ and ‘cowardice’ meant that the war became more ‘real’ and meaningful for the students. A memorable moment for all was at Tyne Cot cemetery, where there was reflection and silent contemplation for the millions of fallen sent from the many nations around the world. Two members of staff found the graves of their relatives and their tears were witnessed by a number of Year 9 standing quietly by as they paid their respects.

Students who did not go away also enjoyed a range of activities on and off site with some new experiences like geocaching, self-portraiture, Mission into Space and Greek mythology and performance. Favourites like bread making, sport and golf and walking reappeared. Here are some snippets about some of the activities back in school.

Self Portrait offered a very peaceful and creative day. The work of the students, and Mrs Tye, was impressive with great likenesses materialising using the most basic of materials – colour magazine pages being cut up and arranged in a mosaic-like collage! “This is relaxing,” said Mrs Tye. “We have just build texture using scraps of paper,” stated Hazel Phanchang Basra in 7A and Aiza Mirza in 8C and Hajrah Ahmed in 8W said they “Enjoyed it because it was calm and ‘chilling’.”

The Mission into space went well: “It was awesome, I learned loads!”, “Creating prototype Mars rovers was amazing”, “I liked creating spaceships” and “This was fun. I learned about mass and chemical rockets.” Floyd astronauts returned safe and sound.

The walkers on Monday had mixed reactions to some of the fauna they encountered: “I never knew cows were so scary” admitted Telby in 8A following bovine field encounters with two herds of cows! However, Telby, along with Jeremy Hanson, Nihal Amin and Harry Maunder in 8A concurred, “We now know how much fun it is to play stick races (Pooh sticks?) and catch with pine cones” and Harry confessed, “I’ve never seen this side of Aylesbury.” The rain did not dent their enjoyment, in fact, it added to the experience - “We could be free and wild without caring what we looked like,” Erika said.

Brrrr - it’s freezing!

Tribal Flag

Barrel Jellyfish!

Year 10 and the Future by Stephen BoxYear 10 students stayed on site for most of their Enrichment Week. They spent the week reflecting on what adult life might hold for them.

One day was spent looking at Personal Finance. Students spent the day imagining what job they might like to do, investigating the salary they might get and working out how much tax and other deductions they would have to pay. They then chose a house and worked out how much it would cost to rent or buy. Taking account of other living costs they answered the question “My life – can I afford it?” Some of their tastes were so extravagant that they would have to become (very successful) crooks to be able to afford the lifestyle they wanted.

Another day was spent playing a business simulation designed around commodity training. As the day went on students were making deals and gambling on the price fluctuations, responding to announcements about changes to world economic issues. A mix of good luck and behaviour that was close to fraudulent perhaps suggested that an opulent lifestyle might be a possibility!

Students focused on themselves for the third careers-related day. They went through a process to determine their own drivers and likely preferences for career types and also did some work on illustrating their own “brand”. They were drawing out their own personal, distinctive features that would help them sell themselves to a potential employer, learning in the process how to compete for a job.

Unfortunately, the university visit had to be cancelled so we had to add a new activity at short notice. I was deeply disappointed that the best thing we could think of was a trip to Thorpe Park, but I sensed that I was the only person who had any regrets about that at all!

Olympiad CompetitionOlympiad Day, our fourth, went extremely well thanks again to the organisation of Mrs Malone et al. This year I had the privilege of leading the Master ‘SHeF’ activity together with Mrs Lai with the five house groups in vertical cooking teams. They had to plan, budget for and cook a three course meal for six people including two staff members from their House. They were judged out of 150 for a range of criteria including taste, presentation, hygiene and value for money. Mrs Lai and I were honoured to act as judges and it was a tough call, truly. However, the winners were Hartwell with a menu of Greek salad, pitta bread and tasty roast-spiced chicken finishing with Oreo slice with vanilla ice cream. Mentmore came a close second and their roast sweet potato chips were simply delicious. However, all the teams worked from start to finish during the huge challenge (and we wondered, as the final minutes loomed, whether we had tried to do too much!). Other activities included nail painting, bunting-making, debating, Lego challenge, performing arts, art, knitting, monopoly, chess, video star, origami, dragons’ den, games cupboard, science, politics and survival skills.

Media Group’s Report on Olympiad DayThe 17th of July saw The Floyd’s annual Olympiad day. Over 600 students took part in a diverse array of inter-house competitions that ranged from Bear Gryll’s Survival Skills to nail art. All of the students launched themselves into all of the activities, and one particular group of events where this was definitely evident was in sports. The sporting activities involved students from all year groups competing in tennis, golf and rounders. Rounders was run with the assistance of Year 12 students, and Year 10 students who provided excellent coaching and assistance to their Year 7 and 8 counterparts. The competition was intense, with Year 10 student Olivia Sheridan saying that she felt a “sense ofresponsibility” in helping her team and that she loved the chance to get to know students in younger year groups. The competition was intense, but Mentmore kept their cool and gained a valuable victory.

The tennis tournament/fierce competition, with students from all years flexing in a round-robin competition. Students seeded themselves and then played short set games, with the overall winner being the house who won the most games, this turned out to be

Mentmore. Many Olympic values were encouraged, with students showing respect to others as they were required to officiate their own games and excellence as the majority of games went down to the last game of the set.

The third sporting activity was golf, with Mr Bailey leading from the front, passing on his depth of knowledge to the keen golfers. One student quoted that they learnt “new techniques from Sir”. The competition was exhilarating, for the players and the on-looking supporters, but a superb performance from Claydon ensured a runaway victory for them - much to the disappointment of Head of Hartwell Mr Bailey! One activity that challenged and developed teamwork was Bear Gryll’s Survival Skills. This activity pushed students to work together in order to cool sardines on camping stoves, light fires and take ‘Selfies’ in their all-weather tents. Points were awarded for cleanliness, team-work and map reading skills, with Waddesdon showing their inner survival expertise with a comfortable win.

In a very different type of activity, Year 12 students led a group of budding politicians into a mock situation, where the political system of this country had collapsed, and the students were challenged to re-build it using their own parties and policies. The discussion that then followed (based on the 2015 election debates format) were heated, with students using a wide range of skills from different subjects to form well-spoken and persuasive arguments. The Year 12’s had a tough decision, eventually choosing Ascott as the winning political party.

A brand new activity that was well received was Video Star, where students created their own versions of music videos to a range of songs. This brought our ‘creative sides’ of the students, with a range of roles being taken up, including editing, directing and acting. These were produced using the popular app for iPad ‘iMovie’, which encouraged students to learn new technological skills.

Dragon’s DenLed by Mr Fell, and one of the largest Olympiad groups, was Dragon’s Den. The task was to look at presenting a proposal for hosting the 2023 Women’s World Cup in a country of their choosing. They had to come up with a country, a logo, and think about stadiums and accommodation. Participants were also asked to consider the legacy of holding the Women’s World Cup, thinking about women’s participation in sport. They were to present their ideas to both Mrs Nelson and Mr Fell. Countries such as Japan, India and Portugal were put forward, backed with reasons, and there was much effort put into making power points and scripts.

Performing ArtsIn Performing Arts, the groups of about eight had been given the task to create a five minute piece based on the quote “In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

For the Ascott piece, they had two groups, one diverse and one not. Someone from the

Lest we Forget

diverse group went to the non-diverse group and got rejected. The music they used was ‘Just the Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars.

The Mentmore group explored sexism. It started out with a duet between a girl and a boy, but then he dropped her and everyone turned against the boys, saying how they could not dance. The music they used included ‘Where is the Love’ by the Black Eyed Peas and ‘Hanging Hats’ from a TV show called The Next Step.

Hartwell gave an emotional piece. At the beginning the music was up-beat but grew gradually more sad. It sent shivers down our spines and made me cry!

Waddesdon used a speech composed in English by one of their members, Jaden Adigun. His speech briefly addressed the topic of diversity, with lines such as ‘We were not put on this earth as black, red, white, yellow, blue, green and brown, but as one human race.’

Claydon used dance as their strongest element and were organised in an efficient way, right from the start. By splitting into two groups, the musicians – Laura Moisey-Grey on piano and Katherine Oke on violin - and the dancers, they covered the different aspects of the piece at the same time in different rooms until they combined the two into a beautiful contribution which portrayed how we must embrace diversity and explored how we are stronger together. I enjoyed watching this number as it had different things going on at once and the message was shown through movements and music.

The students really enjoyed the day, having a bunch of Year 7 girls saying “I really enjoyed the day. I liked the independence and working as a group to create a piece with people I don’t usually work with”.

DebatingThe people who signed up for debating were surely good at it, as the results were very close and the arguments were very strong. Topics that this activity included were; ‘this house believes all children’s television programmes should be educational’, ‘This house believes there is no longer need for public libraries’, ‘This house believes sportspeople should not be seen as role models’, ‘This house believes space exploration is a waste of time and money’ and ‘this house believes ‘lads’’ mags degrade women’.

For the first debate, Claydon put out the arguments that children spend most of their life in education, and should have downtime. TV like Dora the Explorer can bring speech development to a halt and can stop relationships between children and their parents as their parents will see it as an excuse to get away from looking after their offspring. On Ascott’s side, they said pre-school children spend most of their day playing, so the need to learn, and learning through morals in TV is a good way to do it. Over all, the debating was stimulating to watch (and hear), and a way for people to get their views out there about the world in a fun, but competitive way.

ScienceThe labs were filled with eager students working together to solve scientific problems. We spoke with Dr Richards, one of the leaders of the event. ‘Well, what they’re trying to do is to solve a number of activities and problems which have a scientific basis. Students were expected to show team work and some knowledge of science. Then they’ve got to demonstrate the solution they’ve come up with. Fun, fun, fun!’ he informed us.

We also asked some of the students for their opinions on the activity: ‘It’s nice, you’re learning while you’re having fun! It makes me happy that the school has given me this opportunity.’ Christian (8C).

‘It’s actually really fun!’ Ronald J (10W).

Master SHeFOne of the activities on Olympiad Day was Master SHeF (like Chef, but Sir Henry Floyd). This involved the students making a full course meal to serve 6, including themselves and two members of staff they had invited. This is the first time this fun and exciting activity has been run.

One of the students, Amelia C (10M), talked to us about their chosen meal.

‘We’re making garlic bread and just doing a margherita pizza but we’ve got some sweet potato fries too!’ ‘What are you going to do to help Mentmore win?’ we asked.

‘My team are making some really pretty menus at the minute!’ she replied, busily cooking away.

ArtWhen we walked into the art rooms, it was alive with students working busily to make some wonderful pieces of art. We spoke with some of the talented students, for example, a year 8 student, Hannah W (8M), explained how they were making an Alice in Wonderland themed 3D model.

Nathan Chow (10M) gave us his opinion on the activity:

‘It has been fun, but quite challenging!’Every student seemed to be enjoying themselves whilst working well together, using a variety of materials.

And finally, the final ceremony was held in the courtyard this year as the weather held out. With Hartwell declared as the overall Olympiad winners, all and sundry, winners and runners up, finished the week on a high note in time for buses - but more importantly to herald the start of the summer holidays!

(compiled from a range of sources) Andria Hanham, Deputy Headteacher

We begin this year in a very positive position. We are welcoming a large number of new students – a hundred and eighty into Year 7, thirty into Year 8 and a total of two hundred into Year 12, two thirds of whom are our own ex-Year 11 with the remainder joining us from other schools. We now have nearly twelve hundred students in our community. This is the largest the school has ever been!

The main driver for this growth has been the increasing popularity of the school. We admitted an extra thirty students into Year 7 because there were large numbers of students who had qualified for grammar school who had put us their first choice school but could not be given a place. Even after we made this move, we still had a large number of disappointed families appealing for places with appeals hearings running well into the summer holidays.

This growth will leave us tight on space. We have made some adjustments to rooms over the summer, arranging for one of our IT rooms and our textiles room to be adapted so that they can also be used as normal classrooms. We have ordered a large number of portable computers, laptops and tablets to increase students’ access to computers. We are planning for an expansion to our buildings but it will be a while before the funding streams available to us generate enough money to provide the buildings that we need.

Tablet ComputersWe are beginning a project to help us discover whether regular use of tablet computers can make a considerable difference to how effectively students can learn. All of the students in one tutor group will be loaned an iPad that they can use all of the time for the autumn term. The teachers of that tutor group have also been loaned an iPad. The project is being run by a company called “Jigsaw24” who have worked in a number of other Buckinghamshire schools. If the project is successful, and we can see some educational progress as a direct result of using this equipment, then we will seek to extend the use of tablet computers more widely. The usual model in other schools has been to work with one year group at a time and “Jigsaw24” have arranged for parents to fund equipment on a lease-purchase scheme.

Some details can be found at http://www.jigsaw24.com/fcp/content/e7-project/content. More news will follow as the project develops.

Staffing NewsAt the end of term we said farewell to Mrs Debbie Kratt (history/politics teacher moving to a promoted post in an independent school), Mrs Rhiannon Graham (religious studies – moving to an independent school), Mr Roger Hunter (Faculty Leader for English - moving to an independent school), Ms Charlotte Vella (English teacher), Mrs Janet Sampson (English teacher – moving to another local school), Mrs Emma Prior (textiles teacher – going to Beaconsfield School).

We have promoted our own Mr Greg Thomas to replace Mr Hunter as Faculty Leader for English. Mr Ryan Scott will be joining our Religious Studies department, Mr Cameron Bashford comes to teach history/politics. Two Canadians, Mr James Kim and Ms Leah Waldes will provide an interesting freshness to our English department. Mrs Carol Innes will join the same team. Mrs Vivienne Kemp will be teaching French and German. Mr Praveen Phillips will join us to teach computing.

Mrs Aly Perrett is stepping down from her role as Assistant Head of Sixth Form but I am delighted that we will not lose her expertise as an English teacher as she will stay with us for a few more years yet on a part time teaching contract. Her role in the Sixth Form pastoral team will be taken on by Mrs Caroline Craigie.

Mr Matt Sharpe has taken on a new role, as Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and Head of Interventions. He will be leading the SEN team and also beginning some work co-ordinating the work of the SEN team and the Raising Achievement Team. We hope that in time all the personalised interventions and support programmes for students with a whole variety of needs requiring special attention will be managed under one umbrella. Mr Jamie Wilkins (who worked in the SEN team last year) will be covering Mrs Libby Brown’s maternity leave as a Raising Achievement Officer.

Mr Vincent Forshaw has been promoted to the Faculty Leader role in Performing Arts.

Prevent DutyThe government has recently offered fresh guidelines to schools to remind us of our duty to do all we can to prevent the radicalisation of young people and to prevent them from being drawn into terrorism. The principles are to be seen as part of our wider safeguarding duties and are similar in nature to protecting young people from other

harms (e.g. drugs, gangs, neglect and sexual exploitation) whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences. We will be following the advice we have been given carefully. It is easy to think that such issues are only the concern of inner city areas but there have been some convicted terrorists who have attended Buckinghamshire grammar schools. None of us can be complacent. We will certainly continue to celebrate what the government likes to call “British values”. My personal view is that these values are a feature of Western Christendom and they are by no means exclusive to Great Britain.

In my Prizegiving address this year I celebrated the excellent intellectual development of our students, evidenced in their examination results. I also paid tribute to all who have contributed to our amazingly rich co-curricular programme. I finished by drawing attention to the quality of relationships in our school.

I said, “I want to celebrate every act of kindness, every time someone has gone across to talk to someone on their own and invite them into their own friendship group, every time someone has chosen to speak a kind word rather than a sarcastic one, ever time that a senior student has given up a lunchtime to help junior student, every time that a young student has responded by turning up and taking part, every time that one of you has looked out for a fellow student in pain and let someone else know that they are hurting, every time that you have accepted and appreciated someone who is different from you.

In our community this year there have been thousands and thousands of little acts that have helped people who are here accept themselves and enjoy being who they are. That is very precious and it should be celebrated.”

Maintaining such a supportive and accepting climate must be helpful in producing a generation of young people who know what it is to build a healthy community. That should be a major contribution to the government’s Prevent strategy!

Stephen Box

Headteacher’s Update

IntervIew of Mrs Malone on olyMpIad day1. Why did you start Olympiad day? Mrs

Hanham and I decided it was important that we had a day where we had different years groups working together, and it was the year we had the Olympics in Britain so it felt like a good launch point. And all the families of the Olympics fitted very nicely with what we wanted to achieve with our interhouse day. Equality, dedication, courage, commitment and all of those aspects fitted into our goals.

2. What range of activities do you cover? We do everything from creative, intellectual and physical. It gets quite emotional because people are very passionate about their houses. This includes the staff!

3. How do you feel Olympiad Day could be improved? The first two years we did Olympiad day we had the marquee and that meant there was a central place where everyone could meet at the beginning and at the end of the day and that really made it much more of a whole school event. We got round it today by being in house assemblies this morning and then this afternoon in the courtyard with a short result assembly. It hopefully leaves a few memories for the people doing their last Olympiad Day as Year 10 will not be able to do again.

4. Who do you think will win? Well, Waddesdon have had a very good track record on Olympiad Day in the past. But your guess is as good as mine. Points are evenly spread depending on how many students there are taking part in the activity, depends on the ratio of the points that are available. (Hartwell in fact won.)

5. Why did you chose to do Olympiad Day instead of normal school lessons? Olympiad Day allows students to show off all their skills, not just intellectual, but also their social attributes as well in their ability to apply teamwork skills. This is important to be able to work well with others, and learning to compromise, in the real world and adult life.

Rounders Round upThe weather for the summer term has not been kind for some of our rounders fixtures, with rain at just the wrong times! However, the Year 10 team did particular well in the district rounders tournament, coming 2nd out of eight schools and only narrowly being beaten to full victory by Aylesbury High School.

The Year 7 team also competed very well in their district tournament, wining against The Grange School, Buckingham School and John Colet School, drawing against The Royal Latin School and only losing by half a rounder on the last ball of the game to Aylesbury High School! Their batting was notably good and consistent throughout the tournament; a real improvement. Well done girls!

Mrs Selby, Faculty Leader for Physical Education

District Athletics 2015The district team of sixty two athletes from Years 7 to 10 have worked spectacularly well this year showing perseverance and dedication towards their training. Most of them have been turning out for both Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime clubs and after school for the Satellite Club. Year 8 boys won their event and Year 7 girls came third.

Some special mentions for district champions go to the following. In Year 10: Corey Moore got the district record for 1500m with a time of 4 minutes and 35 seconds, Year 9 Kia O’Niell won 300m and secured the record for the triple jump at 10.19m and Iris-Mae Morse won the 100m. In Year 8 - Youseff Chawdart came first at the shot putt and Jake Baldwin in the hurdles. In Year 7 Margot Hodgkinson clinched 200m and Devon Russell the hurdles. We also had numerous second places with credits in Year 10 such as Geriant Minney and Oyin Alli, in Year 9 Kia, Sam Skeggs, Mo Selim and Oliver McCabe, in Year 8 Oli Hassall, Louis Winter (in both 100m and long jump) and Eve Williams and James Turner, plus Harvey Springell and Carmen Williams for Year 7. The team’s hard work paid off and the school team came third overall out of 14 schools. Congratulations to all involved and a special thank you to Mrs Barber and Mr Burge for all their help this year. Mrs P Taylor, Second in Physical Education Faculty

Sports Day 2015Tuesday 23rd June was a fine, but not too hot day; perfect for a day of athletics competition on the field. The students were eager and keen to perform and with much support from Sports Ambassadors, House Captains in the Sixth Form, the Year 12 Sports Leaders and Mr Dyke with the mathematics department to mention just a few people that helped, the day was a roaring success.

Many students from every house competed in a wide variety of field and track events and some healthy competition between some of the more able athletes was experienced through the pentathlon event, involving long jump, 800m, high jump, javelin and 100m. This event was won by Sophie Morrison and Oliver Hassall in Year 8, and Casey Simons and Corey Moore in Year 10.

With such perfect conditions, many long standing school records for Sports Day were broken. Congratulations extend to record breakers:

Asa Merali 14.25s Year 7 HurdlesDevon Russell 13.53s Year 7 HurdlesSakander Khan 18.64m Year 7 JavelinEve Williams 4.56m Year 8 Long jumpGeraint Minney 14.38s Year 10 HurdlesAnson Chan 11.59s Year 10 100mWaddesdon Boys 54.44s Year 8 4x100m Relay

The final results for the day were as follows:

Waddesdon 550 1st Ascott 540 2nd Mentmore 487 3rd Claydon 470 4th Hartwell 458 5th

The ‘winner of the games’ Victor Ludorum went to Anson Chan and the Victrix Ludorum to Casey Simons. Congratulations to them both!

Many thanks to Mrs Barber, Mrs Malone, Mrs Taylor, Mr Roberts, Mr Burge, the caretaking staff and Mr Cole, who worked tirelessly all day to hold such a brilliant event.

Mrs Selby, Faculty Leader for Physical Education

Ascot Claydon Hartwell Mentmore WaddesdonCompetition Points 146 114 109 126 138Sports Day 16 8 4 12 20Achievement Points 55 51 52 44 46TOTAL 217 173 165 182 204POSITIOn 1st 4th 5th 3rd 2nd

House Points 2015

The week for Year Seven was extremely exciting as we went on a very adventurous trip to Bushcraft! From Tuesday to Thursday we stayed in a huge forest in Oxfordshire, playing games, camouflaging ourselves, lighting fires and even sleeping in shelters that we created ourselves to sleep under the stars.The Tuesday started off on the coach on the way to Oxford. When we arrived we were given a quick introduction in our ‘yurts’ to the camp and then we were all sorted out into our day tribes. There were two camps at Bushcraft which meant constant competitions to see which one was the best! In our tribes we went off with our leaders to make fires and delicious kebabs. After lunch we played some games, a common favourite was predator, this involved running around and quickly hiding in either the long grass or behind one of the many trees. We also created a shelter in each tribe. These were made from a plastic sheet, moss and lots of sticks. Overnight we either stayed in our shelters (most of the girls!) or in a tepee.

On Wednesday we did lots more activities: we had a full day ahead of us. In the morning we watched the camp leader Chris prepare a ginormous salmon for our lunch. It was quite a revelation to see all the insides of the fish, as well as when eight brave volunteers ate the salmon’s eyes! Later that day we went swimming in a freezing cold freshwater lake. Most people stood in the corner, but soon people were swimming up and down, including Mrs Ormston! We also learnt how to camouflage ourselves using the nature around us and face paints. That night we had a huge campfire, we sang lots of songs and drank hot chocolate. Everybody was really tired so we soon went to sleep in our shelters.

On the final day we woke, packed our bags and crowded into the camp fire area. For breakfast we had bacon and pancakes, which was a good start to the day. After that most of us gathered around to watch the skinning of a rabbit. If you wanted you could get involved in jobs to prepare the rabbit for cooking. Our final activity was survival first aid. We got into groups of two or three and once again watched a demonstration done by Chaz and Chris on how to keep somebody alive in the outdoors whilst waiting for the ambulance. We learnt how to check airways, get a response from the casualty, all while keeping ourselves safe and out of danger. After lunch we all got onto the coach and set off for Aylesbury. On the way back many were extremely tired and fell asleep.

Overall I think this experience was a great success and I would definitely do it again. It was really fun and all the staff were kind and good at teaching us. I cannot wait for the next Enrichment Week!

Heidi Pickover, 7A

Wood-gatherer

Camp Fire

Making Kebabs!

“I think this experience was a great success and I would definitely do it again.”

Bushcraft

Summer

It was a real privilege for us to perform our concert again at this professional venue. This enabled us to have even more combined music and dance items, culminating in an item based on the dream ballet from Billy Elliot and including a complex flying scene performed by Jack Buchanan and Connor McGwyre, ably accompanied by the Senior Orchestra.

The concert began with Years 7 and 8 singing and playing ‘On Top of the World’ accompanied our very own House Band. The programme included Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2, and Rossini’s Barber of Seville, as well as some less familiar repertoire such as Catherine Howard by Rick Wakeman and Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo.

The Floyd Rock Challenge group’s performance of ‘The Ultimatum’ was truly stunning. This multi-award winning production gave a dramatic and ambitious start to our second half and was followed by several other outstanding dance items choreographed by Mrs Durose. It was also a pleasure to see the Tap Squad make their debut performance accompanied by the Jazz Band.

The ensemble Dolce Canto under the direction of Miss Bahra made their debut performance with the Rhythm of Life and Run to You. This was unquestionably one of the finest performances of recent years.

In addition there were several top quality solos: Anna Hale, Sammy Voong, Laura Caldwell-Nichols, Chloe Wilson and Hugo Piper all gave impressively talented performances.

So many students helped behind the scenes by writing full orchestra transitions in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, designing the programme, writing the introductions, calculating the ‘safe fly zone’, and writing stage and lighting plans. Many thanks go to Abbie Foy for her excellent photographs.

The concert was truly memorable and a fitting end to a thoroughly exciting year. Well done to all of the students and staff involved!

Mr Forshaw, Subject Leader for Music

We ended the Summer Term with another rousing performance at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre. This was our biggest concert ever with over two hundred and fifty students performing live.

Celebration of Achievement at the Waterside TheatreRecognising all of the work that Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School’s students complete successfully over the year is very important to us and so, each year, we hold a Celebration of Achievement which acts as a kind of finale to recognise the year’s efforts and plaudits. Again, we were fortunate to be able to host this wonderful event at the stunning Waterside Theatre in order to congratulate those who have achieved exceptionally over the year.

We had the honour of being comperes for the afternoon, and it was truly humbling for us to see once again the amount of talent that we have here at our school in a wide range of areas – academically, socially and physically.

This year’s event took place on the 3rd of July, and students from across the school joined parents, staff and governors to watch prizes being awarded to those students who had ‘gone the extra mile’, not only in their schoolwork, but also in the areas of sport and performing arts. Certificates were awarded to students in Years 7 to 10 for Effort and Achievement with a Form Tutor Prize as well. In Year 12, students who have excelled in each subject were given awards, and others who have done well were given commendations. The prestigious Governor’s Awards were also presented by the Chair of Governors, Mrs Bull. This year, the Governor’s Award for best A level scholar was awarded to Michaela Chan, and the best IB scholar was presented to Theo Keeping. There were some stirring words about these two truly outstanding students from Mrs Hanham.

We were delighted to have been joined by West End actress and singer Claire Moore, who delivered an engaging and meaningful speech, encouraging students to follow their passions, and to continue with determination in order to achieve their goals. We are very grateful to Miss Moore for her attendance and the fact that her sentiments are very much in line with our ethos here at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School – the ‘can do’ attitude that Mr Box endorses!

Interspersed between the awards, attendees were treated to a number of exceptional music and dance performances, culminating in a collaboration between the Senior Orchestra and some phenomenally talented dancers, who performed a moving piece inspired by Billy Elliot to the music of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Other highlights included the Chamber Choir, the student-led Jazz Band accompanied by the Tap Squad and Hugo Piper, whose solo performance of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ using his bass guitar and loop pedals, proffered an impressive showcase of talent.

As always, it is inspiring to see so many high-achieving students receiving recognition for their achievements. Congratulations to all the prizewinners, and many thanks to staff, both at school and the Theatre, for ensuring that the day was such a resounding success.

Harry Frost and Maxine Thomas-AsanteHead Boy and Head Girl Summer

On Monday morning we were quickly registered in our form rooms before being taken to the courtyard and put on our coaches for the two and a half hour journey. As we walked into the centre at Bristol, we were taken straight to the planetarium which was a huge dome that looked like the night sky and, with the 3D glasses, it was as if we were travelling through space. We learnt about Greek myths, light pollution, different stars and how long it would take to get to them and the constellations. next, we were taken downstairs and given one hour of free time to explore the ground floor where I was not bored for one second! My favourite thing was the spinning spiral that you had to stare into the middle of for one minute and when you looked at the floor, it looked like bubbles were appearing on it. I also tried to hypnotise my friend but it did not work.

After we ate lunch, we were allowed to play on the top floor where my friends and I made a stop motion film. There was also a section where you could make giant bubbles. My friends almost managed to make one around me but something made me jump and I popped the bubble. We were then told to collect our bags and line up outside for the leg home.

James Clifford, 7H

Science MuSeuM

This year’s SHFGS Chess Club Champion is Gregory Mayell in 7H. Gregory won our own in-house knock-out competition, part of the Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge, beating all seven of his opponents across all age groups and notching up twenty-one points in the process.

With only eighteen points necessary to qualify for the next round, Gregory took part in the Buckinghamshire Megafinal where he qualified joint third for the Gigafinal in the 12B age category, an achievement that marks him out as an outstanding player at school and county level. Jolly well done Gregory!

Mr Merrow-Smith, Chess Coordinator

CHeSS ClUB

Information, Advice & SupportThe Buckinghamshire Family Information Service can be contacted on:-

Telephone 0845 688 4944 Text 07786 202920email familyinfo@buckscc.gov.uk or at www.bucksfamilyinfo.org

The Buckinghamshire Family Information Service (BFIS) provides free information, advice and support on a wide range of topics that may affect your family. This includes activities, events and services for children up to the age of 19 (25 with a disability). Information can be found on all your childcare needs including full time nurseries/preschools, childminders, after school provision and what’s on offer in the holidays.

SIR HENRY FLOYD GRAMMAR SCHOOL 110Satellite Club

Club Chairman Graham Gorman announced that he and the Club President Peter Hoare have been in discussion with us at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School and launched a Satellite Club for students on Thursday afternoons after school. Teachers Pam Taylor and James Burge were instrumental in getting the project underway with them, and are enthusiastic about the possibilities for the budding athletes at SHFGS.

“The satellite club link with Aylesbury Vale athletics club has been really well received by both staff and students with 40+ students attending on a weekly basis. It is inspiring for all and allows those who would not normally be able to attend a club to gain the experience of well qualified and knowledgeable coaches. They really enjoy it!” states Mrs Taylor. And one of the Year 10 students who attends told us, “It’s helped us improve our fitness and skill. Bring on district athletics! I’m hungry to compete after every session!”

Gorman said, “We know from seeing youngsters training at the Club that athletics is unique; it caters for so many types of people. Many assume that if they can’t run then athletics isn’t for them. This isn’t the case, the field events are just as important and a completely different set of skills. We want youngsters to have the opportunity to try things and hopefully find that they either really enjoy their events or have an ability they would like to develop.” Coaches from ‘Vale’ will be working on sprints, hurdles and endurance events. The club started on Thursday 4th June and will continue throughout the next academic year.

(adapted from an article in The Bucks Herald)

Teenagers at the Vale of Aylesbury Athletics Club have enjoyed success at local, national and international level over the past few years, and the club is keen to encourage more youngsters in developing their skills in track and field, along with cross country running.

SHFGS vs Hazeley School University Challenge

Lewis Cole led his team of Alex Matthews, Falk Spellerberg and Alysha Wilson to victory with a healthy score of 110 – 60. Our students confidently answered questions on a variety of topics including the following ‘starters for ten’:

Q1 Whose assassination heralded the First World War? (Archduke Ferdinand)

Q2 In which European country did the International Baccalaureate originate? (Switzerland)

Q3 How do you make 100 using four 9s? (99 + 9/9)

In May some of the Year 12 International Baccalaureate students were invited by the IB students at Hazeley School in Milton Keynes to compete in a friendly version of the television quiz show.

Q4 Who first drew plans for a helicopter in the 16th century? (Leonardo Da Vinci)

Q5 How many men have walked on the moon? (Eleven)

Q6 Which film does the quote “Some people are worth melting for” come from? (Frozen)

Our winning team members were each presented with a cup.

Thank you to Eloise Lomax for liaising with Hazeley School to organise this CAS activity. We hope to continue the relationship with our fellow IB World school by inviting the Hazeley students back to Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School for an event in the future. Kathryn ChapmanAssistant Head of Sixth Form

Well done to Ishan Bhakta in 8M1 and his family, including his grandmother, for raising over £500.00 for Kidney Research UK. They successfully completed their sponsored charity walk in London taking in several historical landmarks along the way on 12th July.

Seven Bridges Walk

Parents Society NewsWelcome back to the new academic year to all students and staff and a special welcome to all our new students and their families. We hope everyone will enjoy their time at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School and look back on coming years as some of the best in their lives!We would like to thank everyone who supported our fundraising efforts last year. With fantastic support from students, parents and staff, we are delighted to confirm that we were able to raise a total of more than £9,000. This amount reflects the generosity of all those families, students and staff who have supported our fundraising efforts last year, and also to the success of the many and varied events we have been able to run. Hence we are very pleased with the monies accumulated as we have been able to use these funds to support our school in many different ways.

Events which have stood out for us in the last school year have been the Summer Raffle which raised over £1,000, together with the ever-popular Christmas Fayre and the Italian-themed Quiz Night. More than a hundred students from Years 7 and 8 helped us to celebrate post internal examinations at the school disco, enjoying the barbeque and dancing the night away in the Theatre.

We decided to use the funds raised from last year’s events and donations to support the school’s iPad initiative to buy equipment, accessories and a portable trolley so that the iPads can be safely.

So far, the Parents Society has donated £8,000 towards this initiative, allowing the school to purchase a set of thirty-two iPads and a custom trolley to allow them to be recharged, maintained and moved around the site safely to whichever class has booked them.

This year, we have been asked to allocate part of the funds we raise towards funding additional iPads for use by those students with Special Education Needs. We are pleased to do so.

You have helped us to raise this money over this year - and the last eight years – aiming to allocate the funds fairly in ways which will benefit the whole school.

Over the past eight years a total of more than £67,000 has been donated to the school by the Parents Society as a direct result of fundraising initiatives – thank you to everyone who has made this possible!

So our challenge for this year – beat last year’s total and fundraise a minimum of £10,000! We have a number of great events lined up for this term and the year ahead; more details of these can be found on the Parents Society page on the School web site.

Year 7 Family Challenge: Friday 16th October, 7pm with supper included Open to all new Year 7 students and their families. It is an opportunity to meet your child’s new friends and their parents, exchange contact details and get to know others from your tutor group. Full details will be sent out shortly with ticket application forms on the school website.

Paintballing for Years 9, 10 and 11: Saturday 17th October, 9am - 4pm Get your tutor group together and challenge your year group! Keep an eye out for more details via e-mail and communication via your tutor groups over the next few weeks.

Christmas Fayre: Saturday 21st november, noon - 3pm We hope the whole family will be able to join us for an afternoon of festive fun and gift procurement!

Christmas Raffle Draw: Friday 11th December If anyone is able to help with donations of prizes for this fundraiser we would be most grateful.

Amongst other events planned for the spring and summer terms, we are aiming to hold a Quiz Night again, and a Year 7 & 8 Disco is planned to top up the fundraising.

We would love everyone to come to all our events, but realise this is impractical for some people. However, you can STILL contribute to our fundraising initiatives from home by supporting our raffles, shopping via The Giving Machine, and joining The Floyd Flottery...

The Giving Machine: if you shop on the internet through The Giving Machine, retailers will pay a percentage of money spent to a nominated beneficiary at no additional cost to the buyer. So far we have received several hundred pounds of commission, paid to SHFGS through The Giving Machine. Full details are in the advert and at www.thegivingmachine.co.uk.

Fund Matching Schemes: do you work for an employer who offers to match funds raised by charity? Many employers enable employees who have been involved with charitable fundraising activities to apply for a matching donation of up to £500. You do not need to be a member of the Parents Society Committee, just be a helper in organising or running an event and a contribution in helping out is enough in some cases. Please check with your employer if they offer such a scheme – every donation helps!

The Floyd Flottery: this is a monthly draw where 50% of the money goes to the school and 50% is paid out in prize money. Last year the quarterly prize fund hit £200!!! More details are on the website and in the advert elsewhere in Footnotes.

Thinking of joining the Parents Society Committee? – we would love to hear from you – new members are always welcome.

Autumn term Committee meetings are planned for Monday 21st September, Monday 5th October (our AGM,) and Monday 2nd November at 7.30pm – everyone is welcome to attend and it would be great to have more people interested in joining the committee for this year.

If you can help us in any way please contact us by e-mail: parentssociety@sirhenryfloyd.co.uk. Alternatively, contact us via school reception on 01296 424781. In the meantime, to whet your interest, do have a look at our website page!

Duncan Spence, Chair of Parents Society

Nuffield Research Placements Summer 2015Congratulations to Atiya Henry in Year 13 who has been provisionally offered a Nuffield Research placement for this summer. This is a fantastic achievement: only 22 students in Buckinghamshire have been offered placements. Atiya will be working alongside professional scientists, engineers, technicians and mathematicians to complete a real research project at a high level for 4 weeks. The project will therefore be academically challenging - a brilliant opportunity that we know Atiya will thoroughly rise to and enjoy.

Sarah WilliamsHead of Sixth Form

Spectroscopy Masterclass at Reading University

On the 30th June, the chemistry department of the University of Reading opened its doors to 100+ aspiring chemistry students to view and learn about the various forms and styles of spectroscopy. Of these 100+, 15 hailed from Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. All of us are planning a future based in or reliant on chemistry, for example - chemical engineering, forensic science, biochemistry and veterinary science/medicine.

During the day we attended lectures by various academics who are some of the best in their field on the varieties of spectroscopy and were then given practical demonstrations of these techniques in a tour of the facility during which we were shown and in one case allowed to operate machinery which was worth over £2,000,000!

To end the day on a more relaxed tone the final lecture showed us the brighter side of chemistry and the developments that are being made. Although many of these demonstrations had little bearing on the chemistry involved they had a terrific ‘wow’ factor. The general consensus from the adoring audience is that chemistry is epic, colourful and in more than one way, rather ‘cool’.

Edward Hewitt, 6W3

Kavita Sharma was one of seven outstanding students shortlisted for the national law firm Freeths’ 2015 Legal Scholarship Scheme. Now in its third year, the award includes the opportunity to undertake paid work experience within the firm’s Milton Keynes office to provide a student with invaluable experience into the life of a commercial lawyer as well as contributing to their personal development. On top of that, the winner will receive a bursary that will help them to fund their studies.

At the end of May, seven exceptional candidates from local schools were invited to spend the afternoon at the Milton Keynes office where they learned about the work of commercial lawyers and their career paths.

Future Trainee Solicitor, Laura Robertson, was involved in the selection process:

“This is an excellent opportunity for a law student as it can be incredibly competitive to secure a job in the legal sector after university. This scholarship will provide a student with the ability to stand out when it comes to making job applications by demonstrating not only that a national law firm has recognised their potential, but also that they have experienced firsthand how a legal practice works. Having spent time researching law firms whilst applying for training contracts, I know this is a unique initiative that will help to develop lawyers of the future.”

Partner Valerie Warman, who masterminded the scheme, commented: “We’ve been running the scheme for three years now and every year we are really encouraged by the enthusiasm and calibre of the applicants. It was encouraging to see students using their initiative with a significant enthusiasm to gain hands on experience at a law firm. The finalists all demonstrated the potential to succeed in

a law career and we wish them the best of luck in their future studies.”

Freeths are committed to corporate social responsibility, especially when it comes to supporting local communities. Freeths’ Limited Liability Partnership, (formerly Freeth Cartwright) are dedicated to acting and thinking differently and this award highlights their commitment to innovation in terms of community development. The scholarship scheme was embraced by both local schools and students, making it a very worthwhile project that has provided application and interview experience to all candidates.

Alongside this award, Freeths are known for helping with reading in primary schools, attending and presenting at careers fairs and their “solicitors in schools” initiative providing support to GSCE and A Level students.

For more information contactlaura.robertson@freeths.co.uk

local law Student Shortlisted for law Firm Scholarship

Science FairS

Over the five days, over two hundred and fifty students visited and were set to work on experiments ranging from testing flame-colours to analysing the ecosystems of the school pond. The visitors were aided by a team of dedicated Year 9 Floyd scientists, all of whom deserve special thanks for their effort and professionalism. I can see a number of those students becoming very effective teachers, in future, if that is the career that they choose to pursue.

Science Fairs allow Year 5 students to experiment and to access equipment that they are not able to use at their primary schools. Although the learning was intense, the emphasis was that our visitors should enjoy the day and that they would remember that sense of fun in active learning when they make their secondary school choice in September.

My favourite quote, for the week, was from a young chap who exclaimed: “If I was here,

I’d actually enjoy coming to school!” It made me reflect on what a rich and enjoyable experience our students have at the Floyd and how we sometimes take that for granted.

Each day ended with tired but happy visiting students, grateful accompanying teachers and very positive Year 9 Floyd students, most of whom would love to have done more than one day helping at the Science Fairs.

Next year, there are plans for Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School to work with Aylesbury Grammar and Aylesbury High in a co-ordinated three year programme of activities and events for primary schools in the local area funded by theBuckinghamshire Learning Trust.

Mr Dwyer, Co-ordinator of Science Fairs at SHFGS

In the week before half-term in May, we ran five days of ‘Science Fairs’, inviting Year 5 pupils from our partner primary schools to the Sir Henry Floyd science laboratories over the week. This year, Science Fairs have been incorporated into a wider programme of primary school link activities, involving different subject areas from the school including a simulation day in Performing Arts for another 50 Year 5 pupils.

Do you RiDe?

Do you have youR own hoRSe /pony?

woulD you like to RepReSent ShFGS at CompetitionS?

If you would like to know more please contact:Wendy Kerr 07979 861652 orwendykerr48@gmail.com

Well done to Lucy Porter in Year 11 who won £500 in a competition by Glue Guns Direct for her owl made using different materials and glue. This piece was exhibited with her GCSE art in May.

Prized Owl

‘Closed Greens And Dashed Dreams’ – or so the BBC coined the near disaster of the 2015 Year 11 Prom. When the Prom Committee learned of their chosen venue’s closure, their resilience and resourcefulness came to the fore. The committee contacted various local media outlets, like the Bucks Herald and Mix 96, who picked up and reported the story but little did Lauren Murphy think that her email to the BBC would result in a prime time news slot.

The reporter, Peter Cook, who normally spends his time on gruesome crime stories was happy to spend a morning on one story with a happy ending. Due to the media-frenzy whipped up by the savvy Prom Committee, they were soon met with a very kind offer of venue and food, for free, from Horwood House, Milton Keynes for which we and the Year 11’s are very, very grateful.

Year 11 Prom Committee

YeAR 11 PROM IN JeOPARDY!

Athletes across the year groups from Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School took part - Niklas Adio, Iris-Mae Morse, Oliver McCabe, Akilash Shureshkumar, Felipe Mugari, Louis Winter, Camen Williams, Matilda Cox, Madeleine Smith and myself. My race was very challenging with boys who had personal best times in the four minute region for the inter-boys 1500m. Competing in an event with six runners I finished third: this was a massive achievement for me as I was the lowest year group in my race. Hopefully, next year I will be able to come first!

Congratulations to everyone who took part. I hope that they train hard for next year and we will perhaps see a Floyd County champion.

Corey Moore, 10A

The Buckinghamshire Track and Field ChampionshipsThe Buckinghamshire track and field championships held on the 13th June at Stantonbury Stadium turned out to be a spectacular day despite the heavy showers.

With the close of the academic year we are able to look back on another successful period for our Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Run under the expert guidance of Dave Goss of Zest For Adventure this co-curricular activity has gone from strength to strength. Over fifty Year 10 students took the bronze challenge, attending meetings during lunch periods and after school, interspersed with three weekend expeditions in the local area. A small number signed up for the Silver Award, following a similar in school meeting structure. Their initial two day Chiltern Hills based training expedition was followed by two further three day expeditions in the Cotswolds and the Peak District - a case of the hills getting higher with each trekking venture.

All award levels require students to complete information online at various stages to provide evidence of their involvement and Dave Goss advises and moderates on this process. Following the final expeditions in June, and with a little more information to put online, all the students should receive their awards during 2016. I should also mention here that school staff play an integral part in providing pastoral care over the expedition weekends and we are indebted to so many of them for giving up their time, and in some cases their beds for a roll mat and sleeping bag. Without their assistance we simply could not run this important co-curricular activity.

Our plans for the new academic year will be launched at meetings during the Autumn Term to which parents and students are most welcome. The DofE Bronze Award Information Evening is on Thursday 10th September at 6.00pm. The following week on Tuesday 15th September the DofE Silver Award Information Evening will start at 6.00pm, followed at 7.15pm by the Gold Award session. We look forward to the Year 10 students taking up the challenge of completing the Bronze Award. Those in the senior years considering Silver and Gold may also be joined this year by a greater number of Year 12 students who can opt for the DofE Award Scheme as part of their Enrichment Programme. Full details of the various scheme award levels will be on the school’s website following the information meetings.

Ian Bryant, Assistant Head

at Rock Challenge

The Floyd’s piece this year was based on the Hans Christian Anderson version of the Little Mermaid with all the horror, drama and death that the original story is renowned for. With help from their dance teachers, technicians and other Performing Arts staff, the piece was largely the work of the students and provided a fantastic opportunity for them to take on leadership responsibilities. Sixth formers played a leading role in choosing the concept, choreographing and teaching as well as heading up costume, lighting and set teams hence making it a real team effort.

With auditions and rehearsals starting all the way back in September, it was a long but incredibly rewarding process getting the eight minute piece ready for the show, and the day itself was a fantastic experience. Students were thrilled to have placed fifth out of twelve

in the finals, against some very stiff competition, collecting a fantastic eight awards along the way and retaining Premiership status for next year as well!

Everyone is very proud of this fantastic achievement and the Year 12 students are already busy starting to plan next year’s piece! Having been involved in Rock Challenge since Year 9, it has been the highlight of my school year ever since and I am sad that because I’m leaving the school this year I won’t get to compete in Rock Challenge again. However, I am excited at the prospect of volunteering at events next year and coming to the premier finals to support the Floyd!

Evie Aspinall, 6A2

Students took to the stage at Portsmouth Guildhall to compete in Rock Challenge, a national dance competition. The competition gives young people a chance to showcase their talents and experience the high of performing, to highlight to young people that they don’t have to get highs from drugs and alcohol. Having won two highly competitive heats back in 2012, to become Southern Open Champions, the Floyd competed in the highly competitive Premier Division of Rock Challenge, against other previous champions.

Hello readers! My name is Pauline Herring though when I was at Aylesbury Technical High School (yes before Sir Henry Floyd Grammar) I was known as Pauline Pearce. I left school in 1962 (that makes me 69 now, but I don’t know where the years have gone). I never attended the Oxford Road site although my sister Vanessa Pearce did!

When I was at school the teachers wore black gowns, although one of our teachers Mr Bargery used to keep his trousers up with an old tie. We were taught ‘technical’ subjects rather than traditional school subjects so I learnt to touch type (the very best and most useful thing that I did learn). My current staff are all fascinated that I can type away whilst looking at them and having a conversation. We also learnt shorthand, commerce, accounts and tailoring. I had a very happy time, the boys were separated from the girls for lessons, although we were all based on the same site at Walton Road, Aylesbury.

I left school at 16 years (with a few GCE’s) and there was never a question by my parents of my going to university. My father happened to know the bank manager of Lloyds Bank so I left school on a Friday and started at the bank on the Monday, without an interview. Back then we even use to hand write the accounts, certainly there were no computers. At 18 I left home, and the bank, and went off to Los Angeles USA to become an au-pair for a number of years. I married (had two children) and worked in Union Bank in Los Angeles but later moved to Seattle.

When we returned to England we bought a block of holiday flats in Teignmouth in Devon, eventually we converted this into sheltered housing accommodation. When my boys were older we adopted a daughter from Taiwan (she is now grown up with a son of her own). Once the children were more independent I decided to go to University in Plymouth and qualified as a Probation Officer, I divorced and moved up to Surrey where I became an Assistant Chief Probation Officer. Was that my final career? No!

Whilst working in the Probation Service I did a management degree at the University of Reading and I left the Probation Service to become a Management Consultant working in the National Health Service. This I did for fifteen years working mostly in Mental Health Services across all ages.

I haven’t retired yet, as three years ago I decided to open a Home Care and Nursing Agency (one of my sons is my manager) in Guildford. I had some experience of seeing the work of some agencies that was not how I would have wanted my parents to be looked after or, indeed how I would like to be looked after myself.

My plan is to ‘almost’ retire next year when I will be 70 so that I can play golf a bit more and have more involvement with my Rotary Club.

I never would have thought my life would take so many twists and turns, life has been a big adventure. I have been to Base Camp Mount Everest, kayaked in Antarctica to Shackleton’s grave, cycled from Jerusalem to Eilat, zip-wired from Zambia to Zimbabwe!

I am pleased to write this little article to encourage others that you cannot predict what is round the next corner so try not to worry, if anyone had told me at 16 how my life would be I never would have believed them. I have a wonderful family and lovely friends, including my good friend Sue Hawes (Sue Harris when we were at school together). We still meet up with another couple of school friends, we had a reunion at Sir Henry Floyd about twenty years ago which was great. I would love to do that again. Anyone up for it?

Pauline Herring, Alumni

Old FloydiansAn Alumni says “Hello!”

Class of 1963

Old Floydians

When I look back on my days at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School, I remember my friends, the crazy Sixth Form common room and Mrs Hanham’s love of Tony Harrison. Have you written that book yet, Mrs H? It is not just Mrs Hanham that I remember (who insisted that I go to university despite me wanting to go to drama school) it is all the other teachers who dedicated so much to their students. It is only fitting with these memories that I trained to be a teacher! After studying a drama degree in Exeter for three years I took a year out then trained as primary school teacher at Oxford Brookes. Placements took me to Thame and Aylesbury where I taught Mrs Pilkington’s son; Buckinghamshire is a small county!

After my PGCE I hopped on a plane to Australia. In my time down under I have worked in a bar (hated it!), as a governess on a cattle station and now I teach in an indigenous community in North West Queensland.

The town I live in is extremely remote and when the wet season comes we are cut off from the rest of the state! We live a seven

hour drive from the nearest city (Mount Isa) so getting fresh fruit and vegetables can be interesting. I think the local shop must only be a tiny bit bigger than Tesco Express! In spite of the alcohol management plan (nothing stronger than 3.5% beer) things are quite amazing out here and living in an indigenous community is something that I never thought I would have done. I live on native title land, so local bush food is hunted for regularly. In my first few weeks of school I saw a rucksack outside my classroom. Two high school girls told me they had turtles in there. ‘Would you like to put your turtle in the fridge so they don’t go off?’ ‘nah, Miss! We put them in the sink and let them swim around!’ You can imagine mine and my colleague’s fright when we opened the bag and a turtle head popped out to snap our fingers!

Being a student at the Floyd has left me with much more than an education, it furnished me with the confidence to take on new challenges. If it wasn’t for the support I received from inspirational teachers, I would not be where I am today. Mrs Perrett’s hand written Antony and Cleopatra notes, Mr Maddocks’s informative tutor group sessions, Mrs Kratt’s patience with me bringing twisters to class and eating them and Mrs Chapman reading every single draft of my personal statement(s)! The Floyd teaches much more than qualifications and everyone who has, has had, and will have the privilege to study here is truly lucky.

Sarah Lankester (2009 leaver)

letter from an Alumni

Dear Ms Wil loughby

I must say it was a great pleasure t o have visited the schoo l last Wednesday (15th july) as part of a reunion which Denis Taylor also of the 1963 intake had organised for members of our year. I much appreciated al l the ef forts which you went t o accommodate a gr oup of reminiscing 63 year o ld men. The f ifth formers who t ook us for the t our were capable, fr iend ly and I think taken back by our enthusiasm. The three students who pr ovided the del ightful musical inter lude at the

end of the t our were extremely good, not only on the guitars, but also the young gir l who sang. It was much appreciated. P lease pass my regards t o Dr Footit for al lowing this t o happen and for displaying the or iginal register with al l the names of those in the year. I t ook phot os and I can now add the names t o the faces on the 1966 phot o. Thank you, t oo, for the hospital ity of fered.

Later during the reunion when other fel low students joined us for dinner at the Br oad Leys we al l remarked on how successful the visit had

been and was one of the highl ights of the day. I met several fr iends I had not seen since 1968 so you can imagine the emotion and thoughts that f looded thr ough our minds as we caught up on a l ifetime.

Once again, thank you al l very much for making this such a memorable occasion

Best wishesMichael Peasland

Sarah Lankester

Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk

Dates for your Diary

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Dates are liable to change. Please see the school website for up to date information www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk

September 2015Tuesday 1st – Wednesday 2nd Inset – School closed to students

Tuesday 1st – Saturday 5th Year 11 Geography Field Trip to Snowdonia

Thursday 3rd Years 7 & 8 (+ Year 10 ‘buddies’) & Year 13 in school

Friday 4th All year groups in school Year 12 Induction – Wet ‘n’ Wild

Tuesday 8th & Thursday 10th 11+ Transfer testing taking place in school

Tuesday 8th Freshers’ Fair

Thursday 10th Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Information Evening at 6.00pm

Friday 11th Whole School Photograph

Monday 14th - Tuesday 15th Year 7 Caldecotte Project, Milton Keynes

Tuesday 15th Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award Information Evening at 6.00pmDuke of Edinburgh Gold Award Information Evening at 7.15pm

Monday 21st Parents Society Meeting at 7.00pm

Tuesday 22nd Year 10 Elevate

Wednesday 23rd Individual School Photographs

Thursday 24th Open Evening 6.00pm to 8.30pm

Friday 25th World Challenge India Parents Evening at 6.30pm

Tuesday 29th Open Morning at 9.45am

Wednesday 30th Success in the Sixth Form Evening at 6.30pm

October 2015Thursday 1st Open Morning at 9.45am

Monday 5th Parents Society Annual General Meeting at 7.30pm

Monday 5th - Thursday 8th Year 7 & new Year 8 Examinations

Wednesday 7th Open Morning at 9.45am

Thursday 8th Year 8 Girls HPV VaccinationsWorld Challenge 2017 Borneo Information Evening at 6.30 – 8.00pm

Friday 9th Inset – School closed to students

Friday 9th – Sunday 11th World Challenge Costa Rica & Nicaragua Preparation Expedition in Snowdonia

Thursday 15th Year 11 GCSE Preparation Parents Evening at 7.00 – 8.30pm

Friday 16th Parents Society – Years 7 & 8 Family Challenge at 7.00 – 10.00pm

Saturday 17th Parents Society - Years 9 - 11 Paintballing Experience

Monday 19th – Friday 23rd Open Mornings at 9.45am

Wednesday 21st New Year 7 & 8 Parent & Tutor Meetings from 4.00 – 6.00pm

Thursday 22nd Autumn Concert at 7.00pm

Monday 26th – Friday 30th HALF TERM

November 2015Monday 2nd Parents Society Meeting at 7.00pm

Monday 2nd – Friday 6th Year 12 IB & A Level Autumn Examinations

Wednesday 3rd Year 12 ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ event 9.30am – 12.30pm

Wednesday 4th Junior Ski Trip Parents Information Evening at 6.00 – 7.15pmSenior Ski Trip Parents Information Evening at 7.15 – 8.30pm

Thursday 5th Senior Maths Challenge

Tuesday 10th Open Morning at 9.45am

Thursday 12th Sixth Form Open Evening 6.00pm to 8.30pm

Monday 16th – Friday 20th Year 13 A2 Trial Examinations

Saturday 21st Parents Society – Christmas Fayre 12.00 to 3.00pm

Monday 23rd – Wednesday 2nd December

Year 11 Autumn Trial Examinations

Thursday 26th Year 12 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm

Friday 27th World Challenge ‘Stay-Awake-A-Thon’ for Years 7 & 8 from 7.00pm to 7.00am

December 2015Tuesday 8th Year 13 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00 – 7.30pm

Thursday 10th Open Morning at 9.45am

Friday 11th Parents Society – Christmas Raffle Draw

Tuesday 15th Christmas Lunch available in school

Wednesday 16th Christmas Celebration at St. Mary’s Church at 7.00pm

Monday 21st – Friday 1st January

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY

Support the Parents Society fundraising from home!An application form is available on the Parents Society

page of the school website.

Quarterly prize fund of around £300!

January 2016Monday 4th Inset – School closed to students

Tuesday 5th IB & A Level Presentation Evening at 7.00 – 8.30pm

Monday 11th – Friday 15th Year 13 International Baccalaureate Trial Examinations