GHS News February 2013

Sixth Form Academies

Evening

Page 2

Year 11 Mock Results

Page 3

Poetry is Truth

Page 4

Year 8 MAG&T Charity

Challenge

Parent Council

Year 8 Shakespeare

Event

Jack Petchey

Challenge

Page 6

Year 7 & 8 Swimming

Gala

Year 7 & 8 Athletics

Page 7

Page 8

Sports News

Page 9

Sports News

Gym Show

0

Sports Direct

Page 11

Dates for the Diary

Page 12

GHS NEWS

GLENTHORNE HIGH SCHOOL:

S P E C I A L I S T A R T S C O L L E G E

February 2013 Inside this issue:

OLIVER!! This week saw the end of four months

hard labour; four months of

choreography, vocal workshops, line

learning, long rehearsals, highs and

lows. Was it worth the waiting for? It

always is.

Glenthorne High School is famous for

its outstanding whole school

productions however, this year the

creative team have truly surpassed

themselves with their interpretation of

Charles Dickens’ infamous novel,

Oliver Twist. The story centres around

the life of little Oliver, the only boy to

ever have the courage to ask for more.

Oliver travels through the dark

underbelly of Victorian London as well as its glorious suburbs and is joined in his adventure by

a host of other characters – from cocky Dodger, to menacing Bill Sykes.

As well as our old hands, several new faces have appeared amongst the cast this year. Over

the course of the last few months the younger pupils have dominated rehearsals with their

sheer enthusiasm and willingness to give everything to their roles. Without them, most of

the joyous energy of the production

would have been lost. However, that is

not to say that older pupils weren’t as

committed as ever. An enormous

number of sixth formers appeared in

the show in support of their younger

peers and they acted as role models to

those newer members of the school. In

times of crisis they could always be

relied upon to work hard and take

performance risks. For many of our

year 13 students, this was their final

chance to show us all their impressive

talents before moving on to university

or pursuing their chosen career and

they certainly went out with a bang!

Moving away from those who stand in the spotlight, we cannot neglect the incalculable efforts

of those members of staff who operate it. These are the people who make the production

and just because you can’t always see them, it doesn’t mean that they are not integral to the

running of the well-oiled machine that is theatre. We must take a moment to recognise the

many hours that were set aside to plan,

direct, choreograph, score and bring

the show to life. It takes a lot of hard

work and the achievements of the

production show just how devoted the

entire team was to its success.

All in all, Oliver has been an enormous

achievement for every single person

involved and the only thing left to say is

good luck to next year’s directive team!

GHS News

Sixth Form Academies Evening 2013

Glenthorne welcomed visitors to the school on our Sixth Form Academies Evening on 16th

January.

Academies Evening was another hugely successful event where visitors and current students

alike learned about the exciting opportunities offered by the Sixth Form Academies at

Glenthorne: Football, Dance, Drama and Music. The evening gave visitors the chance to meet

the current Sixth Form Academies Team and current students. It enabled them to learn about

the synergy between an academic route and the professional training offered in our academies

while visiting the school’s excellent facilities and resources at first hand.

The evening was also an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and successes past and

present, such as our recent outstanding OFSTED Report, the best A’ level results we have ever

achieved in 2012 with a 100% pass rate and 38% of students achieving A and A* grades, and

the success of current students receiving offers from Oxford and Russell group universities.

The evening started with a presentation in the Hall to inform visitors of all of the opportunities

offered by Glenthorne and to hear current Football Academy student, Ashley Hook, speak about

how he had benefited from his experiences at Glenthorne. This was followed by subject specific

talks from the Academies leaders who explained their programme and the support offered

through the academies route.

Thank you to all visitors to the school and particular thanks for your positive and highly compli-

mentary feedback. We hope you enjoyed your visit and we look forward to seeing you again at

an interview or audition soon.

Y11 Mock Results Afternoon 2013

After much nail-biting anticipation, the Year 11s celebrated their mock results afternoon on Tuesday 22nd Janu-ary. Over a hundred students were rewarded with vouchers for their excellent efforts in achieving their targets. The students were given their results in an envelope and after a collective countdown, opened them together. Due to the arrival of snow on Friday 18th January, the original date for the celebration, the wait had been

agonisingly extended. There were cries of relief, excitement and, of course some groans of disappointment. The Headteacher urged students to turn any disappointment into determination over the coming months. Many students spoke with enthusiasm after the event, explaining how proud they were of their achievements but also how motivated they felt to improve in certain areas. We wish them every success in the coming months!

Poetry is Truth For most of the school, Monday the 28th of January was a normal day: assembly; five lessons, two breaks and

home at 3:10 as per usual. However, all was not normal in Key Stage 4 English lessons...

This was because Monday the 28th of January just so happened to be the day that Mark Grist came to visit Glenthorne High School. Walking casually into the room, dressed sharply in a smart grey suit and colourful tie,

Mark Grist looked like any other English teacher. That is, until he opened his mouth. You see, Mark Grist is most certainly not just 'any other English teacher'. Why? Because he has devoted almost every moment of his spare

time to perfecting his skills as a rap battler and poet.

Grist is truly an undiscovered genius although that seems to be about to change. Just over a year ago, Grist battled fellow rapper Blizzard in an epic 'Don't Flop' battle which went viral on YouTube. The video has since

received over 3 million views and consequently Grist's career has rocketed. He has performed on several tours, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in schools and clubs around the UK and now Film4 have decided to make his

story into a feature length film. Being a professional poet may not sound particularly glamorous, but it was surely one of the most enlightening experiences any of us have ever witnessed. As soon as his mouth opens, every sin-

gle person in the room is aware of the sheer enormity of his talent. His work is complex, intelligent, thoughtful, clairvoyant, honest and utterly hilarious.

So before the spotlight of fame whisks him away forever and places him firmly on the guest lists to 'red carpet' parties and a-list social gatherings, it was a genuine pleasure that he visited us for the day. Some of the stand out

poems he shared with us were based around his secret board game love (bordering on obsession it seems), his attraction to girls who read and a very embarrassing mistake he made when he was seventeen.

Modest, humble, devoted and quite simply hilarious, Mark Grist, you made missing a lesson of short story

analysis, more than worth it.

Holly Mackinlay

On Monday the 28th January students from year 10 and 11 were lucky enough to participate in a poetry work-

shop with ex- English teacher turned rapper: Mark Grist. It was an unusual change from our regular English les-sons and you could feel the excitement in the air.

We learnt how he had changed his life quite dramatically, whilst using his skills with the English language to help him climb his way up the ladder of rap battles.

He helped us understand that with both poetry and rap there are many similarities. Essentially poetry and rap are

about truth and writing about what is genuine and real. Accordingly Grist showed us many of his rap (poems) ranging from the bittersweet of heartbreak to the impossible univocalic poem ‘The Fens’ which only used the

vowel ‘E’.

The way he performed and engaged with the audience ensured an entertaining workshop. I believe this definitely

set off some creative sparks in the minds of the students motivating them to try their hand at writing poetry. Overall the event was both inspiring and educational!

Tia Penfold

Y8 MAG&T Charity Challenge In Year 8, the More Able Gifted and Talented core group were set a challenge to raise as much money for

Children in Need as possible, using only their initiative and talents. The students worked very hard and had

some unique ideas. In total they raised £551 which is really fantastic and showed just how talented they

are! Below is a write up from one pupil who came up with an ingenious way of raising money!

Well done Y8 and I look forward to the next challenge, your school

fete!

Monopoly Challenge

On 26th November 2012, I went to London to raise money for Chil-

dren in Need as part of a MAG&T competition. I was trying to come up

with ideas that were different and not the usual type of thing to do.

Eventually, I came up with the idea to go to London and do the

‘Monopoly Challenge’. The Monopoly Challenge is when you go to

London and try to visit as many places on the monopoly board as you

can.

My family and I went up to London on a Saturday afternoon and

travelled around the city. We did lots of things and one of them was go

up in a lift to the top of Heron Tower.

In all, we managed to visit around 20 out of a total of 26. We all

enjoyed the day and we raised a grand total of £105.

My group in the MAG&T challenge won with £350 for charity!

Ollie Hobbs Y8

Parent Council – Next Meeting Monday 18th March 2013 Thank you to all existing members of Parent Council for your invaluable contributions throughout the

autumn term. Our next Parent Council meeting will be held on Monday 18th March at 6pm where we would

love to see as many new faces as possible.

On the agenda this time is the Headteacher’s forum, where Mr Hume will be in attendance to discuss any

questions or ideas you have about the school. Please email Sue Kirby on [email protected] to

confirm your attendance. We look forward to seeing you soon, Louise Bishop, Assistant Headteacher CPD

and Community.

mailto:[email protected]

GHS NEWS

Year 8 Shakespeare Event

Traffic of the stage: On Friday the 25th January, the whole of year 8 were transported back in time to Shakespeare’s Britain by

the ‘Traffic of the Stage’ theatre company. As well as learning about Shakespeare’s life, pupils watched a

selection of scenes from different plays by Shakespeare. There was even some audience interaction with

pupils taking part in some of the scenes, learning how to stage a sword fight as well as learning how to

perform the perfect Elizabethan stage death.

The chance to see some of these famous scenes performed live, as well as interact with them, was greeted

with overwhelming enthusiasm by the year 8 pupils, who said it helped to remove the fear from

‘Shakespeare’s plays’ and bring his words to life.

Jack Petchey Challenge

On Tuesday the 5th February, 27 students from year 10 took part in the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’

challenge, the world’s biggest youth speaking event. Funded by London-born entrepreneur Jack Petchey,

the ‘Speak Out’ challenge aims to give a voice to young people everywhere, encouraging them to ‘Speak

Out’ about the issues that matter to them.

The day consisted of a series of workshops run by Julie Holness, a representative of the charitable

foundation ‘The Speakers’ Trust’, in which pupils developed their public speaking skills. The participants

learned about every aspect of delivering a powerful and memorable public speech, from the content of the

speech itself, to the delivery and structure of the speech.

The workshops gave all students a chance to ‘Speak Out’ about something, and it was wonderful to see

even some of the quieter pupils in the year group transformed into confident public speakers. Among the

students present was Ollie Paxton, who said the event was: "Such a great experience, and helped me

become much more confident with my speaking skills". While Elizabeth Lane said it was the "best fun I've

had publicly speaking ever. I really gained in confidence".

Good luck to: Dominique Bongo, Daniel Langridge, Ellen Cann, Adam Lahlou, Lola Rutter, the five

winning students from the event. They will now go on to compete in year 10 assembly for the chance to

take part in the regional finals where they will face other students from across the borough of Sutton for

a chance to take part in the national finals.

GHS News

Year 7 & 8 Swimming Gala 2013 The Glenthorne “Games Makers” took an active role at the annual Glenthorne Swimming Gala, 31

st January.

Their roles involved helping with the swim test, time keeping and recording results, helping to support the younger pupils and encouraging the swimmers. The event was a huge success with parents and fellow tutees filling the spectator gallery, watching and cheer-

ing in anticipation as each event was called to the start. 7L and 8G were crowned the winning Tutor Groups

and will receive their trophies in next week's assembly. All participants will receive 5 vivo points and those who

won their event will be presented with a Gold medal, also in next week's assemblies.

Huge congratulations to all those who took part, especially Gemma Harris, Oliver Beckenham and Pavel; who

all gave outstanding performances in their individual events.

Year 7 and 8 Indoor Athletics On Monday 14th January the Year 7 and Year 8 Girls Indoor Athletics Team competed in an indoor athletics match at Nonsuch High School. This was the first time many of these girls had represented Glenthorne and

they did the school proud with their effort and enthusiasm. It was great to see the whole team supporting

and encouraging each other in a variety of running, jumping and throwing events. The Year 8 girls finished sixth and the Year 7 girls were fourth overall. Well done to all pupils involved and we look forward to seeing

you competing again in the summer.

Year 7 Boys Team Year 8 Girls Team

Well done to all pupils that competed in the sports hall athletics competitions that have taken place this term. All of the pupils put in their best efforts against strong opposition with the year 7 boys coming first in one completion and coming second only to John Fisher in the next.

Results: Year 7 Girls: 4

th Place

Year 8 Girls: 6th Place

Year 7 Boys: 1st Place and 2

nd Place

Year 8 Boys: 6th Place and 6

th Place

Sports

Sports Football Results

Year 7 Football Surrey Cup 3rd Round Well done to the year 7 football team who won 4-3 against a strong Winston Churchill School. The oppo-

sition started the game strongly having a high percentage of possession and numerous shots at goal,

Glenthorne defended well with match winning performances from Scott Walker, Rob Lynch, Liam Harvey,

Sid Dack and Josh Astwood.

Around 20 minutes into the first half, Josh Tully opened up his account followed by goals from George

Walker, Ben Drake and a second from Tully. The opposition scored on the verge of half-time and soon

after the restart, making it 4-2 with lots of time left in the game. Glenthorne held out for the remainder of

the game conceding one more goal late in the second half, after a tense last few minutes the final whistle

blew and we were victorious. The quarter final will be played away against Whitgift School on the 12th

February where the team hope to get ever closer to the final.

Year 7 and 8 Netball

Teams Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10

Carshalton Lost 6 - 4

Cheam Won 4 – 1 Won 5-0

Greenshaw

Overton

Stanley Park Drew 2 – 2 Won 7 - 3

Wilsons Won 5 – 1 MOM – Charlie

Lost 4 - 3 Lost 7-3

Date Against Home/Away Year 7 Result Year 8 Result

24/9 Beacon H Lost (6-2) Won (13-3)

1710 Tournament @Cheam 5th Won – 1, Drew – 2, Lost - 2

22/10 Carshalton A Drew (4-4) Won

23/10 Greenshaw A Lost (7-1) Lost (9-8)

15/11 Stanley Park H Lost (10-3) Lost (22-9)

20/11 Overton H Lost (8-3) Lost (12-10)

4/2 Beacon A Lost (4-0) Won (3-2)

5/2 Greenshaw H Lost (7-4) Won (6-5)

Sports

Year 10 and 11 Netball

Year 9 Basketball Well done to the year 9 basketball team who showed a

great deal of progress in their recent game against

Greenshaw. The scores were close throughout the

game and the boys worked hard defensively to

prevent the opposition scoring. Andrew Lindsay,

Michael Callender and Ayran Kugathas performed

particularly well both in defence and attack, with An-

drew scoring a particularly memorable three pointer

which took Glenthorne into the lead. After a well-

fought contest against a strong, more experienced

opposition the game finished 34 – 18 to Greenshaw,

but a step in the right direction for a quickly improving

team.

Under 13 Gym Competition On the 25th January 2013 the U13 gymnastics, squad competitors were required to compete in the Surrey

Schools Floor and vault competition. The U13s team included Grace Allen, Rochelle Hollis, Megan McAndrew,

Anna Merca, Ellis Stokes and Ellie Trayfoot. The girls worked extremely hard every day in preparation for the

competition and made a great achievement!’– Well done girls!

Table Tennis Competition On Friday 1st February Kieran Mezroui (Y8) and Oscar Williamson

(Y9) competed in the London South Schools Table Tennis competition

at Stanley Park High School.

This is a highly prestigious event and being nominated to take part

proved these two boys have a real talent in the sport. Kieran compet-

ed in the U13 tournament and won two matches before being defeated

in the third round by a member of the national squad. Oscar compet-

ed in the U16 category and so was playing boys a year and even two

years older than him. He performed excellently in his first round

match and won through to round two, where he also faced a national

squad player. Oscar battled hard but unfortunately didn't quite have

enough for victory. However, the tournament proved valuable experi-

ence for both Kieran and Oscar and I am sure they will achieve much

success in tournaments to come.

Date Against Home/Away Year 9 Result Year 10 Re-

1/10 Beacon A Won Won (16-6)

15/10 Greenshaw H Lost (13-10) Won (18-10)

16/10 Stanley Park A Lost (1o-6) Won (14-2)

24/10 Carshalton H Won (9-7) Won (10-9)

26/11 Overton A Drew (10-10) Won (16-4)

24/1 Stanley Park H Lost (8-3 No Game

28/2 Overton H No Game Won (14-5)

GHS NEWS

ADVANCE NOTICE: Could parents please note the dates for the academic year 2012/13 and 2013/2014. Please avoid

booking holidays in term time. All holidays taken in term time will be classed as unauthorised

absence.

TERM DATES 2012/2013

SPRING TERM : Monday 7th January 2013 to Thursday 28th March 2013

Half Term: Monday 18th to Friday 22nd February 2013

SUMMER TERM : Monday 15th April 2013 to Tuesday 23rd July 2013

Half Term : Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May 2013

INSET Days

Monday 15th April 2013

Friday 28th June 2013

TERM DATES 2013/2014

AUTUMN TERM : Monday 2nd September 2013 to Friday 20th December 2013

Half Term : Monday 28th October to Friday 1st November 2013

SPRING TERM : Monday 6th January 2014 to Friday 4th April 2014

Half Term: Monday 17th to Friday 21st February 2014

SUMMER TERM : Tuesday 22nd April 2014 to Friday 18th July 2014

Half Term : Monday 26th May to Friday 30th May 2014

Inset Days

Monday 2nd September 2013

Friday 25th October 2013

Friday 27th June 2014

CHALLENGE WEEK: 7th July 2014 - 14th July 2014

Key Dates

26th February 2013 Y7 Immersion Day, Cohort 1 (7G, L, N, T & O)

27th February 2013 Y7 Immersion Day, Cohort 2 (7H, R, S & C)

28th February 2013 Y11 GCSE PE Exam

1st March 2013 Y10 GCSE Art Visit

5th March 2013 Y9 Shakespeare’s Macbeth Performance

6th - 7th March 2013 Gym Show

8th - 11th March 2013 Y12 Geography Visit to Norfolk

11th March 2013 Y11 English Literature Mock Exam. 8.30am

12th March 2013 Y11 Maths Mock Paper 1, 8.30am

Y10 GCSE Photography Visit

GCSE Dance Performance (Evening)

13th March 2013 Y9 Choices Evening, 6.00-8.00pm

15th March 2013 Y11 Maths Mock Paper 2, 2.00pm

20th - 28th March 2013 Y10 Exams

19th - 20th March 2013 GCSE Dance Exam

20th - 21st March 2013 AS Drama Exam

21st March 2013 Y8 Immersion Day: School Report

22nd March 2013 A Level Music Exam

25th - 26th March 2013 AS Music Exam

26th March 2013 A Level Dance Performance (Evening)

27th March 2013 Spring Concert

28th March 2013 Last Day of Term: Pupils finish at 3.10pm

GHS News February 2013

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