COTSWOLD NEWS D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

PERFORMING ARTS!

When school resumed after October

half term, Music, Drama and the PE

Department’s Gym and Dance

groups perfected their performances

to provide us with a moving Festival

of Remembrance. It was a solemn

evening, commemorating the centen-

ary of the outbreak of World War I,

raising funds for services charities.

At 11.00 am on 11 November 2014

more than 1200 students and staff

stood in silence on the school field

and heard the names of the fallen of

Bourton on the Water called by Sixth

Form drama students. Our young

cadets in their uniforms and the fal-

ling rain made this very solemn occa-

sion all the more poignant as Sixth

Former Matt Lewis played ‘Last

Post’. Mr Ben Edwards, Head of

History, who organised the Remem-

brance Day ceremony said: ‘It is

especially important that now, more

than ever, we continue to remember

the first World War, and all the other

conflicts that have happened since.

Teaching the young generation about

the importance of remembrance, re-

spect and taking the time out to con-

sider the commitment, suffering and

sacrifice of others is crucial.’

In Gloucester, our Chamber Choir

performed at two Citizenship Cere-

monies at the Coroner’s Court at

which new citizens were welcomed

into the community of the United

Kingdom and all were reminded of

British values such as charity, de-

mocracy and respect for law and

order. At the close of these important

ceremonies our choir led the citizens

and attending dignitaries in singing

the National Anthem.

At the beginning of December, our

full school choir lead the Spirit of

Christmas carol concert in Glouces-

ter’s magnificent Cathedral, raising

thousands of pounds to combat Mus-

cular Dystrophy. Singing to a

packed cathedral and in front of

many local dignitaries, Ms James, of

our Music Department, said ‘The

Cotswold School choir received a

huge number of compliments - about

their wonderful level of professional-

ism and the superb quality of their

performance. I am extremely proud

of them.’

The Christmas celebrations contin-

ued with a carol concert in St Ed-

ward’s Church, Stow on the Wold.

As well as the main choir, the con-

gregation enjoyed performances

from the Chamber Choir and The

Harmonics—the school’s junior

choir for pupils in Years 7 and 8.

Impressively, a small group of dedi-

cated senior choristers from Year 11

and Sixth Form had set themselves

the challenge of learning and inde-

pendently rehearsing an extraordinar-

ily complex acapella piece: Eric

Whitacre’s ‘Sleep’ - which they per-

formed beautifully.

There were also instrumental per-

formances from Treble Clef Clarinet

group and the String Squad, followed

by the Big Band sounds of our

school band: Back in Black. Their

rendition of the Sussex Carol had a

lot of feet tapping in the audience

(and choir stalls!) while Sunday

Lendis gave an outstanding perform-

ance of ’Have Yourself a Merry Little

Christmas’.

Finally, for those more senior mem-

bers of the school’s community who

were unable to attend carol concerts,

our Junior Choir and Chamber Choir

visited Bourton care home—Jubilee

Lodge - to sing for an appreciative

audience of residents and staff.

In the New Year, we are looking

forward to our next big Performing

Arts event: Singin’ in the Rain, - a

very exciting production which will

be staged in February. Rehearsals are

well under way for what will be a

huge showcase of theatre, music,

gym and dance. Tickets will be on

sale through Pupil Reception.

It was an extraordinarily busy half-term for Performing Arts at

The Cotswold School... and there is more on the way in the New Year!

cross-party political forum

On 11 February, local political party candidates—hopeful of success at the next general election —will face an

audience of some 400 young voters at The Cotswold School!

We have organised an exciting cross-party political forum for our Sixth Formers who will soon be of voting age

and engaging in the election process. In this unprecedented event, our students—and some other Sixth Formers

we have invited from local schools—will have the opportunity to put their questions on the issues that matter to

them to local candidates for Labour, Conservative, LibDem, UKIP and Green parties. Our students are re-

nowned for putting forward mature and testing questions so we anticipate an interesting afternoon of debate!

P A G E 2

Year 13’s Callum Mitchell ‘felt honoured’ when he heard the

news that he had been nominated for an award at the Royal

Yachting Association (RYA) Volunteer Awards in November.

Callum has been a dedicated volunteer at the Oxford Sailing Club for

six years. A representative from the Club described Callum as an

‘excellent role model’ to young sailors and said ‘Callum has played

an invaluable role in efforts to reinvigorate youth sailing at Oxford

SC...designing a new Oxford Pirates website and liaising with the

RYA to expand the club’s youth sailing and arranging a winter train-

ing programme.’

Callum was one of 47 winners honoured for their exceptional dedica-

tion to boating at the awards ceremony in London. Callum received

his award from HRH The Princess Royal who praised the volunteers

for their work at the very forefront of yachting and its promotion as a

sport for all.

CONGRATULATIONS, CALLUM!

Inspirational Callum honoured at RYA Awards

Recent accolades in the national press

are a reflection of the hard work and dedication

of our staff and pupils, and the vital support the

school receives from parents and carers.

In case you were not aware, The Cotswold School was listed in the

Sunday Times’ Top 20 Comprehensive Schools in England and

Wales for our academic results (Nov 2014). And then, at the

dawn of the New Year, the school has been listed again, this time

in Tatler’s second guide to the country’s ’best’ State Schools.

Listed amongst 22 secondary schools, The Cotswold School is

marked out by Tatler for ‘top notch’ academic results and also for

our pastoral care, transition programme and extra-curricular ac-

tivities.

It is fantastic to have our wonderful school recognised and we look

forward to building on our successes in 2015! Go Cotswold!

CONGRATULATIONS!

C O T S W O L D N E W S

representatives, easily holding their

own and gaining praise for the detail

they offered in support of their interest

rate decision. They also held their

nerve when being questioned for 10

minutes in the aftermath, answering

questions such as 'what emphasis do

you place on the role of inflation ex-

pectations' and 'how big an impact

do falling oil prices have on the agri-

culture'. In Cotswold style, they nailed

the farming question!’

Sixth Form Econo-

mists, James Clarke, Tom Eve, Gavin

Haseler and Tom Kirkman, guided by

Mr Hemsley and Mr Sweetlove, took on

stiff competition at the prestigious Bank

of England Target Two Point Zero com-

petition.

Target Two Point Zero - The Bank of Eng-

land and The Times Interest Rate Chal-

lenge— gives teams of students the chance

to take on the role of the Bank of Eng-

land's Monetary Policy Committee, assess

economic conditions and the outlook for

inflation and tell panels of judges what

monetary policy they would set to achieve

the Government's inflation target of 2.0%.

Mr Sweetlove explained: ‘It is a fantastic

privilege to be taking part in this competi-

tion that is generally entered by independ-

ent and selective schools. Entries are not

unlimited so to be selected for the second

year in a row is an honour and shows that

our students are really developing eco-

nomic skills and

presentation style.

Our presentations

are comparing

very favourably

with our regional

competitors and

we look forward

to competing again in the future.’

‘It is the perfect way to apply the mac-

roeconomic theory covered in the con-

fines of the classroom to a genu-

inely 'real world' context and investigate

what the Monetary Policy would con-

sider when making their recommenda-

tions on interest rate changes, quantita-

tive easing and forward guidance.’

Mr Hemsley reported

on our team’s perform-

ance: ‘The team gave a

fantastic presentation

to the Bank of England

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN Performing Arts @ The Cotswold School proudly present:

4th, 5th and 6th February 2015

The Cotswold School Hall

TICKETS ON SALE AT PUPIL RECEPTION

Thirty-four Sixth Form students took part in

the Senior Maths Challenge, an annual compe-

tition run by the UK Mathematical Trust.

Their results were outstanding with six stu-

dents achieving a gold certificate, twelve stu-

dents achieving silver and nine achieving

bronze.

Additionally, Ben Darwent, Andrew Everitt and Jamie

Bayliss were amongst the top 2000 results in the

country, qualifying them to proceed to the next com-

petition level. Meanwhile, Archie Hayward ranked

amongst the top 1000 results in the country and

qualified to sit the first entry paper for the British

Mathematical Olympiad. All fantastic achievements!

The Maths Challenge is a wonderful enrichment op-

portunity for our Mathematicians. It requires that

they apply their maths knowledge to a range of ques-

tions in a different format to their A-level prepara-

tion, stretching their already considerable skills yet

further.

We are enormously proud of all those that took part!

Well done everyone! - Mrs D Ashworth,

MATHS MASTERY

Impressive economists

COOKING UP A STORM It has been an action-packed term

for the Design and Technology Ca-

tering Department.

November saw the return of the annual Ro-

tary Club Young Chef of the Year competi-

tion. The club round saw 8 pupils from the

school compete against each other for a

place in the District Semi Final to be held in

January.

The students – Sara Augustinowicz, Charlotte Furniss, Lilly

Harris, Mason Palmer, Izzy Swallow, Courtney Vowles (Year

10), Jake Pugsley (Year 8) and Maisie Laughton (Year 11) ,

confidently produced a healthy three course meal in two hours

for two people with a budget of only £15.

All contestants excelled and the standard of presentation was

extremely high. Contestants were marked on their organisation,

hygiene, menu and table presentation.

Dishes such as: Pea and Vegetable Soup, Salmon Bread Cups

with Dill Sauce, Homemade Chicken Kievs, Risottos, and Mini

Strawberry Cheesecakes were showcased.

Judging again was lead by Shaun Naen, Head Chef and Lecturer

at Gloucestershire College who said “Standards were impres-

sively high again this year and the range of dishes showed great

skill and imagination by those

who took part”.

After some tough decision making, the eventual winner was

Maisie Laughton whose three dishes were pigeon and pear

salad, pearl barley risotto, and pineapple tart. She will now be

mentored by Shaun and go on to represent the school in the

January round which will be hosted in our teaching kitchen at

school.

P A G E 4

As part of their investigation for the

up-coming controlled assessment,

Year 11 Catering students were

treated to not one but two guest chefs this

term.

Firstly, Matt Laughton, the Head Chef from

the Swan at Swinbrook came in to talk eve-

rything fishy! The year 11’s are looking at international foods so Matt was given the task of

producing four fish dishes based around, Asia, Spain, France and Italy. And he didn’t disap-

point.

The smells from the Catering room, wafted around the school as he showed the pupils how to make Salmon and Spinach Ravioli

from Italy, a Spanish inspired Monk Fish Tail dish with Chorizo and Borlotti Beans, an Asian King Prawn Laksa, and Moules

Mariniere from France.

Chef Laughton’s visit really opened up the eyes of the pupils and allowed them to really think about the types of skills they

could include in their international controlled assessment.

As part of the investigation for Italy, the pupils were lucky

enough to have a session with Signora Sylvia Di Martini, who

took time out from educating Mr Smith’s children at Stepping

Stones Nursery to demonstrate how to make authentic Gnocchi

and Genoese Pesto.

Signora Di Martini, who once ran a number of family restau-

rants in London, including one in Mayfair, encouraged pupils

to get hands on and practice the art of

making gnocchi. After a few attempts

some pupils were able to achieve this, with

others generating some rather interesting

shapes. She also spoke of the importance

of regional variations in Italian food, with

a particular focus on Genoa. As with Chef

Laughton, Signora Di Martini’s visit has

given pupils access to first hand research

to aid their controlled assessment.

A big thank you must go to all of our visi-

tors, Chefs Shaun Naen and Matt Laugh-

ton and Signora Di Martini whose contin-

ued support for the catering students en-

riches their learning year on year!

P A G E 5

P A G E 6

to happen is that the junior grades will

play touch in mixed teams – boys and

girls together. When they get to secon-

dary school, however, the girls tend to

be encouraged to go into the more tra-

ditional sports of hockey and net-

ball. As an organisation we are facili-

tating touch rugby for Year 7 and Year

8 girls and by introducing it we hope to

see more schools, like The Cotswold

School, offer it as an option.’

Following their afternoon

training session, our girls

then had the opportunity to

take part in a Q&A session

with Sarah, asking her ques-

tions about her career and

the state of her nerves when

she plays in front of huge

crowds.

Several members of The

Cotswold School girls’

rugby side spent a fantastic

time at a rugby camp in Ci-

rencester over the summer learning the

game alongside other girls from the

district. During the course of that

camp, Rez Aminnia introduced the girls

to the game’s ethos, abbreviated as

TREDS: Teamwork, Respect, Enjoy-

ment, Discipline and Sportsmanship.

Sarah explained: ‘My visit is linked

to a national initiative to get more

girls involved in Rugby and particu-

lar ly to get U13s into the

game.’ Sarah began in Rugby League

as a 9 year old and inspired by her

local coach, pursued the game, mov-

ing into Union by the time she was

14. No one in Sarah’s family played

rugby and in a somewhat unusual turn

of events, it was Sarah who inspired

her brother to get involved in the

game also. From her early teens,

Sarah played through the grades at

club and regional level, and then fol-

lowed the England selection pathway

through the nation’s U19s team. In

2007 she attained her first cap in an

England vs Scotland match and in

2014 she was selected as Vice Cap-

tain when the England side played for

and won the Women’s Rugby World

Cup.

Sarah was brought to meet our stu-

dents by Rez Aminnia of Gloucester-

shire Rugby Union who has been

working with our players since the

summer. Rez explained: ‘It is so

important to have someone like Sarah

come and talk to the girls. This pro-

gramme to inspire U13s is all about

participation. Nationally, what tends

In an exciting turn of events during

their afternoon visit with Sarah, The

Cotswold Girls’ team were thrilled

to learn from Rez that they had been

selected as the TREDS winners from

the summer camp. Sarah Hunter

praised our team’s superb perform-

ance, and in recognition of their

dedication to the TREDS ethos, pre-

sented the team with a highly prized

rugby ball signed by all the members

of the world beating England

squad.

Sarah asked the girls: ‘So - are you

going to keep playing?!’and the an-

swer from our enthusiastic team was

a resounding ‘Yes!’

England player’s visit inspires Girls’ Rugby

The Cotswold School’s U13 Girls’ Rugby Team were thrilled to meet England player – Sarah Hunter –

the No. 8 on the champion England Squad that won the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2014 and came

home with the trophy!

Like several of last years’ graduates,

Emily has opted for a gap year. She has

been in Thailand for four months and is

already teaching classes in a school with

over 2000 students. Emily says ‘I have a

much more profound respect for my own

language teachers (back at The Cotswold

School). They are inspiring people, and

I hope to be able to help my students

as much as they have helped me.’

Emily’s enthusiastic newsletters in-

clude details of a three-week Thai

language course in Chiang Mai, fan-

tastic food, wildlife, trekking, breath-

taking scenery and amazing people C O T S W O L D N E W S

It is always great to hear from past

students and we are pleased to report

that we have had news from alumna

Emily Eaton who graduated from our

Sixth Form in July 2014.

Hello (or should that be: Sawatdii-kha?) from Emily

Photography by: Holly Markham

The Cotswold School Academy Governing Body has vacancies for some new governors. If you are interested

please read the information below about what the role involves. A formal election process will be organized in

the New Year but if you would like to discuss it further please contact the Clerk to Governors, Mrs Fran Hud-

son, on:

Email: governor@thecotswoldschool.co.uk Tel: 01451 820554

The SGOSS (Governors for Schools)

website explains:

Anyone aged 18 or over and living in the

UK can be a governor. Governors do not

manage a school day-to-day, but are re-

quired to oversee its long-term develop-

ment.

Ultimately, all governor responsibilities

come back to this task and can be split

into three core roles:

SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Does it matter if I’m not a parent?

You don’t need to have children or be a parent of a child at the school to become a school governor. Governing bodies

have representatives of school staff, the local authority, parents and members of the community (co opted governors).

Despite representing different groups, all governors have exactly the same role and voting rights. We are looking for 2

co opted and 3 parent governors. An interest or experience in the local Cotswolds business scene would be desirable

but is not essential.

What is the time commitment involved?

The average time commitment is 10-15 hours per term. This includes 6 Full Governing Body Meetings a Year of 2.5

hours each, membership of a sub - committee that meets 3 - 4 times a year, background reading and 1-2 school visits

per year. School governors are like magistrates or members of a jury and therefore have a right to reasonable time off

work for their public duties (this may be unpaid). It’s worth checking with your H.R. department for your company’s

policy.

How long is the term of office?

School governors have a term of office of four years. However, as a volunteer you can resign at any time if your cir-

cumstances change.

Is training available ?

Governing bodies rely on a variety of experiences and perspectives. No prior knowledge is required. Training and

support is available for new and existing governors and is free of charge. We recommend all new governors attend a

governor induction programme.

- Mrs F Hudson, Clerk to Governors

C O T S W O L D N E W S

News from the GOVERNORS

P A G E 7

see how they could exploit the

skills they develop in STEM sub-

jects in future careers.

The event was kindly sponsored

by EDF Energy, The Honourable

Company of Gloucestershire,

Gloucestershire Community

Foundation, Hitchins Family

Trust, Renishaw, Spirax Sarco,

YES Jobs and Zyex.

Many thanks going to

Miss Clarke and Dr

Pearce who supervised the

students on the trip.

Cheltenham Festival Lablive Science Lectures

Year 12 Biologists joined over 200 other A-level students from across

Oxfordshire to hear lectures on steroid hormones, cancer, stem cells and

curing blindness, delivered by world renowned University of Oxford

academics at the Museum of Natural History.

The students also got to hear and interact with a variety of postgraduates,

who gave engaging presentations on their plant science research

projects. A tour of the museum was also undertaken, with

Cafestar buckasaurus proving a popular specimen.

Many thanks go to Mrs Grimmett for organising the trip and to

Mrs Garratt who accompanied the students.

BIOLOGISTS TO LONDON LECTURES

actively in some challenging activities,

showing great determination to complete

tasks and understand some complex sci-

entific concepts.

Many thanks go to Mrs Garratt for as-

sisting the students so capably in the

activities.

Monday mornings have been busy in the

Science department, as keen and enthusi-

astic Year 5 students from Miss Gay’s

class at Bourton Primary School have

been regularly visiting as they undertake

their current topic “The Need for Speed”.

It has been a pleasure having the pupils

visit, as they have participated extremely

Bourton Primary Science

Thirty Year 8 and Year 9 students

got into the festive spirit as they

attended the 5th Annual Lablive

Christmas Science Lectures at the

Bacon Theatre.

With the help of coloured flames,

disappearing animals and a dash of

quantum physics, science presenters

Karl Bryne and Suzi Kundu dispelled

the myth that science has to be done

in a fancy lab, uncovering some of

the amazing science materials that

you can find in your own home, ex-

ploring why we see different colours

and searching for extra-terrestrial life.

They sparked pupils’ excitement

about science, technology, engineer-

ing and maths (STEM), with high

audience participation levels and Jack

Hauxwell ably assisting on stage

(pictured right). The event provided

students with a good opportunity to

YEAR 7 SCIENCE CLUB

P A G E 9

It has been another busy term for the after-school Science and Engineer-

ing Club with weekly activities including science and engineering chal-

lenges varying from: lighthouse design, Picaxe buggy programming, Prodesktop camera design,

solar powered car construction, egg parachutes, helicopters, fireworks and polymer investigations.

Many thanks to Miss Clarke for leading the range of engaging activities and to Tom Pawley for

acting as a science mentor as part of the volunteering section of his DofE Award.

After-school STEM CLUB

Over fifty students from 12 different primary

schools have attended the two after-school primary

science sessions held last term.

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils have had an amazing time investigating skeletons, bone strength, con-

vection, Bunsen burners, foam making and combustion.

Many thanks go to Mrs Madgwick for hosting the entertaining sessions, whilst Emily Inns,

George Luckett, Fay Bosher, Zoe Lenihan and Jenny Townsend acted as great science ambassadors at these events.

The next sessions will be held on Monday 9th February 2015.

Over sixty students have participated in lunchtime Science Club

this term, enthusiastically tackling activities ranging from marsh-

mallow tower building, to bouncy custard balls and investigating

the diet of owls via pellet dissection.

Many thanks to Year 13 biologist Grace New who has acted as a valuable subject ambassador in

these activities which are open to all Year 7s on Tuesday lunchtimes in the Science Department.

Primary Science Events

Well done to all those student photographers who took part in this year’s Rotary

Young Photographer Competition. This year’s competition theme was ‘Lighting up the

Community’ and the following students are to be congratulated: In the Senior Category, 3rd

prize went to Alessandra Vuolo; 2nd prize to Isabella Hoffmann; with 1st prize going to

Phoebe Gore. Meanwhile, at intermediate

level, Katya Mullins took first prize.

Year 8 pupil, Amity Thwaite, had her Christmas Card design se-

lected by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP as his official 2014 Christmas

card. The card was sent from Mr Clifton-Brown’s parliamentary office at

Westminster. He was delighted with Amity’s design and said “The card has a

joyous appeal, with a simple and effective design that was judged by a number

of people, who agreed that it was the best overall composition.”

Congratulations, Amity!

Photograph by Phoebe Gore

(Left) Amity Thwaites (Y8), with Mr Morgan, meets Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP

Congratulations from the Art Department!

P A G E 1 0

Kolik jazyků znáš,

tolikrát jsi člověkem.

‘The more

languages you

know, the more

you are human.’

(Tomáš Garrigue

Masaryk)

Ten years on and the French

exchange is as strong as ever!

Our French exchange students

were with us at the end of No-

vember and we are thrilled to

have welcomed 23 pupils and

their teachers from Lannion.

This is now an established

part of our school calendar

and it was excellent to see

them again. The weather was

not unkind and everyone was

warmly welcomed in the

families and at school.

We had an enjoyable joint trip

to London which included the

Natural History museum, a river

cruise and the London Eye for a

glorious view of all the main

sights. Other ventures included

Shakespeare’s birthplace at

Stratford, medieval Warwick

castle, the Roman way of life at

Bath, the Chipping Norton pan-

tomime (which doesn’t exist in

France so is serious cultural

immersion!) and a traditional

Cotswold cream tea.

Whilst in school the group also

experienced an assembly which

doesn’t happen in French

schools and sampled a school

dinner courtesy of Mrs Wright-

son and her team. Mrs Moss

did a guided tour of the school

and they were amazed by differ-

ences such as our lovely dis-

plays and school uniform. In

France jeans and a hoodie are

standard and walls are bare!

We were pleased to have the

French students in our lessons

too which gave ours the oppor-

tunity to practise their French

on some native speakers and to

ask them all sorts of questions

about their school and lives in

France.

The family party at school

on the Saturday night was a

great success too with a quiz

on English and French cur-

rent affairs and traditions

and a raffle that raised £83

for Cancer Research. Thank

you to all the families, to

Mrs Moss for organising it

and also to Pulhams for driving

us around all week. We shall

now be planning the return leg

in March.

This will be our TENTH visit to

Lannion (The first one was in

2006) and almost 200 pupils

have participated in the ex-

change. We now regularly get

20 plus pupils per year whereas

the first pilot group was just 6

sixth formers. It is great to see

families coming back with

younger siblings wanting to

take part. Our greatest success

stories are two students who

have both been back to Lannion

several times under their own

steam and have developed long

lasting friendships. Indeed one

of our current sixth formers said

that it had inspired him to do

French at university and he now

has an offer to do just that at the

London University Institute in

Paris!

Mme Claire Lepage, who was

the founding member of the

original exchange along with

Mrs Hudson, has now moved on

to another job and we must

record our thanks for her su-

perb organisation and enthusi-

asm which were so important

in making the exchange what it

is today. Mrs Hudson has also

handed over the baton to Mrs

Moss and on the French side

we are delighted that Monsieur

Régis Lepage, after several

visits in a supporting role, has

taken on the organisation. We

are also pleased to welcome M.

Eric Millour on to the team.

Eric is a Physics teacher who is

keen to improve his English so

he can teach his lessons in Eng-

lish!

So as we approach our 10th

anniversary visit, we look back

with pride on how the exchange

has grown. Mrs Moss has al-

ready asked current Year 9 pu-

pils if they would like to take

part next year so if you haven’t

put your name down yet we’d

love to hear from you. A great

example of “l’entente cordi-

ale”, it really is an opportunity

not to be missed !

10 years of l’entente cordiale

C O T S W O L D N E W S

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Congratulations go to Freddy Gregory,

Emily-Jane Bayliss, Sophie Taylor, Will

Cleaver, Joe Salf, Peter Townsend, Theo

Godfrey and Sophie Basson on fully

completing their hard earned and well

deserved Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s

Awards.

As part of the final requirement of the

expedition section of the Bronze Award,

forty-two Year 11 students gave enter-

taining project presentations to an appre-

ciative audience of friends and parents.

A group of Year 13 students also gave

an informative presentation on New For-

est Ponies following their recent Silver

expedition. Twenty Year 12 students

have completed a 25km day training

hike around Leckhampton and Crickley

Hill. Many thanks go to Mrs Gluning

and Ms Trinder for helping supervise

the students’ hike.

Sixty Year 10 students have also reg-

istered for the Bronze Award and are

currently undertaking their volunteer-

ing, skills and physical sections and

undergoing some preliminary expedi-

tion training for fu-

ture expeditions.

It is hoped these par-

ticipants can follow

in the footsteps of

former Cotswold

School Head Boy and

Gold DofE Award

holder Richard Whin-

cup, who has become a DofE Am-

bassador and recently gave an inspi-

rational speech to Gold Award win-

ners at St James Palace.

- Dr B Major

Year 11 students welcomed over 80 senior citizens to celebrate Christmas — a

tradition that has been going on at The Cotswold School for over 15 years.

‘Our Year 11s host the entire event. The students decide on the menu, prepare the food,

provide entertainment, decorate the hall and socialise with their guests,’ explains Miss Eve

Tingle, Head of Year 11.

Waited upon by our students bearing cups and saucers and plates of carefully prepared mince

pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, trifles, shortbread and more, the guests enjoyed seasonal

music performed by the students as well as a raffle.

One of the guests, Mrs Joyce Heath of Bourton on the Water, who chatted with student

Grace Powell, commented ‘This is my second year here. It is wonderful to come out, visit

the school and see the students – otherwise it would probably just be me on my own at

home.’ Grace, speaking on behalf of her year group added: ‘We really enjoy it. It is a privi-

lege for us to be able to do this.’

CELEBRATING OUR COMMUNITY

The Cotswold School Academy Trust is a company incorporated in England and Wales operating as a charity and limited by guarantee

with registered company number 7338767