Kirkby Stephen Grammar School

NEWSLETTER www.ksgs.cumbria.sch.uk

Issue 109, July 2015

A co-operative Academy

Year 10 Textiles Day The year 10 art GCSE students took part in a whole day textiles workshop. Prior to the day students designed six tie designs as preparation based on the theme of nature, choosing one to

develop into a silk tie on the day. During the workshop students were taught how to transfer their designs to the silk ties and how to use the Gutta outliner, this is required not only for a decorative element but essential in stopping the silk paints intermixing on the final design. Once the students had practiced with Gutta they used the morning to apply it to their tie in either black or gold. The afternoon session was spent adding the silk paint to complete their designs, students choosing to use bold block colours or blending effects. Everyone worked incredibly hard and both the students and I were very proud of their final results. By Suzie Wealleans

Art, DT and Food Exhibitions Evening at KSGS Kirkby Stephen Grammar School hosted their annual Exhibitions evening showcasing the work of the Art GCSE and A Level students, Product Design, Engineering and Food Technology GCSE students. The Art Exhibitions were displayed throughout the main school and art rooms. As usual the Art students did not disappoint in displaying exceptional talent and skill in their artwork, many visitors commenting on the high level of work on show. Work demonstrated challenging contemporary conceptual ideas alongside traditional subject matter in a variety of media such as printing, etching, textiles, fashion design, silk painting, 3 Dimensional work, installations and mixed media outcomes as well as the more

traditional drawing and painting. Suzie Wealleans Head of Art would once again like to pay tribute to all the students for their hard work and commitment. The Design and Technology projects on show ranged from wooden cupboards and iPod docking stations to a selection contemporary Pop Art inspired clocks, work from GCSE Food Technology was also seen as a rolling powerpoint of images of the food made. Upper Eden Rotary Club Design awards were judged resulting in Ben Andrew coming first with his iPod dock. Ben used the 3D Printer to excellent effect to produce commercial injection moulded parts. In second place was Tom Burrell with his beautifully engineered

and manufactured can crusher and in third place was Kim Ellwood with her modernist influ-enced flat pack coffee table. During the even-ing visitors enjoyed wine and Pimms as well as a delicious selection of Canapes made by the GCSE Food Technology students and expertly lead by Mrs McGregor.

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Headteacher’s Update - Newsletter July 2015 Dear Parents, Carers, Students & Local Community Members Welcome to our summer term newsletter, full of the many exciting things that have happened this term. To mention only a few: a sunny sports day, the summer art, technology and food exhibitions, the summer concert, the Year 10 trip to London, Geography and History visits and external and internal exams. Many congratulations to Harcla, who are this years winning house. We have also welcomed Year 6 students for their transition day, and we look forward to them joining the KSGS family in September. There are a number of staff who are retiring or moving to pastures new; congratulations to Mrs Crow who is leaving KSGS to be Head of Faculty at a school in Blackpool and to Ms Donnelly who has been so inspired by her experiences at KSGS that she has decided to train as a D&T teacher. Thank you and farewell to Mrs Shea and Mrs McGregor who are retiring. We would like to welcome Miss Barker to the Technology department and Mrs West to teach Music. Before the end of term, to remember Mrs Begg we will be planting a Sorbus Chinese Lace (an orna-mental tree), just to the right of reception, do look out for it next time you are visiting school. We would like to wish all those students who have taken exams “Good Luck” for results days, and we look forward to seeing many Year 11 students re-turning to the Sixth Form. To those who are leaving to go to jobs, university, or have other plans, we wish you all the best; we are very proud of your achievements and we will miss you. May I remind everyone that school uniform requirements are listed on the website and in student planners, do please check before buying new uniform in the holidays. In particular school trousers should be tailored trousers, not jeans, leggings or jeggings and school shoes should be worn not trainers. Make up is not a part of school uniform either and we would welcome your support in ensuring that KSGS students are as smart as possible. All students and staff deserve a well-earned rest; may I wish you and your family a very refreshing summer break, and we look forward to all students returning on 7th September in perfect school uniform fully refreshed for an exciting year ahead. Ruth Houston Headteacher

Oustanding Achievements Netball Well done to Catherine Marston who was se-lected for trials for the North East regional squad Hockey Well done to Georgia Chapman and Nick McWhirter who have been selected to train with the North East Regional hockey squads Swimming Yr 7 student Rebekah Parkin Thwaite has re-cently been awarded her mile swimming badge. Well done!

Parental Contributions 2014/2015 Thank you to all the parents and carers who support the school by donating generously via parental contributions. Your generosity means that we have been able to do extra activities including the following things this year: providing a motivational speaker to enthuse year 11 about revision and how to study effectively, contributing to new furniture in the sixth form room common room, extra books for the library, resources for celebrating world book day and other student resources. Many thanks to everyone who has supported the school in this way.

Supporting the school as prefects Year 10 students were asked to apply for a position of responsibility within

the school to help with the smooth running of break and lunchtimes and to contribute to good order throughout the school. 41 students from year 10 applied and were successful in being taken on as prefects. All 41 took part in

a 2 hour training session, expertly delivered by Mrs Roberts, about the role of a prefect and how to deal with those tricky situations that arise. All students have embarked on their specific roles, from queue management at break

and lunch to corridor duty. Many staff and students have commented on the professional way the new prefects

have taken to their roles, being firm but fair and polite in their requests. Thank you to all the year 10 prefects.

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The Rotary Business Challenge 2015 Year 9 ICT GCSE students took part in the Annual Rotary Business Challenge. This is a competition that involves students working in a partnership or as a sole trader to set up a theoretical business enterprise. Some of the tasks they complete are: the design of a unique corporate image; logo, business card, marketing material, website, market research of both customers and competitors, price lists and forecasted turnover, set up and operating costs, all based on their research and a business and marketing plan. Mr Begg and two other members of the Rotary Club, Mr Barnes and Mr Hallam, came in to school to judge students portfolios and presentations . The presentations consisted of a Power Point presentation with supporting speaker notes. The following 8 business were selected to go through to the final. After much deliberation the final judges, Mr Begg and Mr Houston chose

the winning 3 businesses. 3rd Place Caitlin Potter and Jessica Harrison, 2nd Leah Dodds and Nick McWhirter and in 1st place went to Marianna Stephenson and Catherine Marston The 3 winners will attend a Rotary Club meeting in September when they will present their business to all members of the club. Students thanked the Rotary Club for their continued support and Mr Begg, in particular, for his continued commitment in helping co-ordinate and judge the challenge. As usual this was a proud day for all concerned. Mr Bacon

PTFA Newsletter June 2015 Thank you to everyone who helped in any way with the profitable Easter car parking & an Easter Egg tombola at the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally, we were able to raise over £400 for school funds and we intend to extend the car parking to both days of the Easter weekend next year. The PTFA have been able to support the following departments within school this year with the purchase of additional resources; Music, Geography, PE, Science and Art. In the autumn term we will be supporting a horse riding and animal care transition activity for some year 7 students. We also hosted an Internet safety information evening for parents on 16th April. We are only able to do this with the support of the whole school community for PTFA activities. 100 Club – this year we raised over £500 via the 100 club, if you would like to join or continue being a part of the 100 Club all the forms are on the school website. Dates for your diary; Next meeting 15th September 6pm, AGM 11th November. Our next event will be held on 9th October keep the date free!

Students Business Name

Caitlin Lawrence & Lauren Newitt Fresh Flesh

Lauren McWhirter & Maisy Tams Tasty Cakes

Ben Clarke & Noah Evans NEB & Jangles

Joshua Bainbridge & Ben Holmes

Cumbria Dating Service

Leah Dodds & Nick McWhirter Dodds Inks

Marianna Stephenson & Catherine Marston A Taste of Eden

Caitlin Potter and Jessica Harrison JC Cakes

Francesca Crosby, Emma Simpson & Chloe Longstaff The Cake Corner

Year 9 students who took part in the Rotary Challenge

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Yr 8 Malham Fieldtrip. Malham Cove was the destination for year 8 geographers on Wednesday 3rd June, to investi-gate carboniferous limestone landforms and their impacts and management. After a lengthy coach journey we arrived and, in our groups, walked up the base and then top of the cove,

carrying out activities and geographical skills en route. Students were able to ob-serve, sketch and annotate the spectacular scenery that carboniferous limestone creates which helped them to understand why the limestone pavement was chosen as a film set for a particularly desolate moment in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. At the base of the cove pupils spotted a glimpse of the Peregrine Falcon, which nests on the limestone scar, as well as a

group of daring climbers. This illustrated the many opportunities that the limestone creates for people to make money. Through-out the day students were looking for evidence of impacts that tourists make to the area, and a brief investigation of Malham village itself, enabled them to see the need for and evidence of management already in place. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all and year 8 were a real pleasure to take out of school. I would also like to thank all staff that assisted with the trip helping to make it meaningful and successful, both in school and on the day. Mrs C Thompson

Apprenticeship Recruitment afternoon at KSGS - CAREERS Well over 50 pupils attended an apprenticeship recruitment drive held in the Sports Hall Gallery room at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School. The afternoon was aimed at providing pupils with information on up coming apprenticeship opportunities. Attending were representatives from Eden Housing association of Eden District Council and CITB Construction Industry and PPM, Planned Preventative Maintenance. The pupils were able to sit and talk to the various colleague's at the event and get valuable information and insight into the world of work. There were exciting opportunities on offer at the event and many pupils showed a real interest in these future career possibilities.

This is the first event of its kind to be held at KSGS and it was invaluable, we hope to continue to work closely with EHA and develop links with other companies to help to ensure our pupils always have the best career prospects and opportunities. If you or your company are looking for any work experience pupils or could offer an apprenticeship then please contact me on katy.beckwith@ksgs.cumbria.sch.uk

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Science Department News Year 8 Festival of Chemistry, Newcastle University Earlier this month, a team of 4 students, Hollie Appleton, Ned Baker, Grace Harrison and Dylan Walton, from year 8, represented the school at the Festival of Chemistry at Newcastle University. This was one of 50 such events across the country. We originally had eight volunteers, all of whom had to undergo a practical as-sessment to narrow it to down to four and ultimately the team we took were then voted for by their peers. We were one of 19 teams competing in the Salters Challenge and the University Chal-lenge. In the Salters Challenge, our students had to use test tube reactions and chromatography to help solve a murder case! The University Challenge involved a simple iodine clock reaction being used to create a timer for ex-actly 1.5 minutes! We were all entertained by a demonstration lecture entitled ‘The Chemistry of Jelly and Ice-Cream’ and enjoyed a tub of instant ice-cream, made with liquid nitrogen, at the end!The students worked in the University laboratory with professional chemists, undergraduate and postgraduate students. They worked extremely well as a team, without any teacher input, on both challenges. The opportunity to visit such a prestigious university department and work in their labs was an invaluable experience. We did not win a prize, although all teams were awarded certificates and fun chemistry-related prizes. A good day was had by all and I was very proud of our team. Michelle Thwaites

Extreme Physics Winners 2015 Over the first three days of the Easter holidays a team of four year 10 pupils travelled to Barnard Castle School to take part in the nationally recognised Extreme Physics challenge run by the Insti-

tute of Physics and sponsored by the Ogden Trust. Many physics based activities were com-peted for against 11 other schools from all parts of the north of England, as far down as Leicester-shire. The activities were judged, with marks awarded for knowledge, creativity, achievement and teamwork. Scientific journals were completed for each activity as well as individual challenges and written tasks. After many fun challenges and working late into the night the team from KSGS had to deliver a presentation on a Galileo. With the scores finally totalled KSGS was awarded first place. The purpose of the competition is to raise the awareness of physics as a career choice, par-ticularly as the country is so desperately short of scientists and engineers. Pete Wareham

The team from left to right Dr Pete Wareham (Physics

Teacher), James Metcalfe, Jamie Carter, Kayleigh

Barnes and Charlotte Marsh. The foreground shows the

helpers, undergraduates and A-level students.

Solar Eclipse On Friday 20th March millions across the UK turned out to witness the partial solar eclipse of the Sun. At KSGS we were no exception and we were able to catch a glimpse through a cloudy sky. One clever year 7 pupil, Jordan Earnshaw, built a pinhole camera which was an excellent and safe way of observing this phenomenon.

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Year 7 visit to the Bible Times Exhibition at Upper Eden Baptist Church On Friday 24th April all year 7 students visited Upper Eden Baptist Church to take part in a special ‘Bible Times’ exhibition and workshop. Pupils were welcomed initially to the Baptist church by Minister Peter Studd, who then handed over to members of the Zephania Trust to deliver the interactive workshop.

Year 7 students learned that the Old Testament was written in He-brew, the New Testament was written in Greek and that at one time in England it was illegal to own a Bible without having a li-cence from your Bishop. We were also told the story of a man called William Tyndale who translated earlier writings and printed his own New Testament in English. These Bibles had to be smuggled into England from Germany wrapped in bales of cotton and sacks of flour in the early 1520’s. Unfortunately for his efforts, Tyndale was put to death and burned at the stake by Henry VIII.

Fact: The Bible is the most widely printed and read book in the world, and has been translated into all languages. After learning about William Tyndale, students were then given a quiz sheet to complete. This encouraged them to move around the interactive exhibition and find out the answers, whilst being able to handle items associated with the bible. The Bible Times exhibition and workshop was very engaging and enjoyable and everybody left having learned that little bit more about such an important religious book. Joanne McGarr

WANTED! Past pupils to star in our Sporting Hall of Fame.

We are looking for past pupils to star in our sporting hall of fame! Are you a past pupil or do you know anyone that used to attend Kirkby Stephen Grammar School that has achieved greatness in their particular sport? We are a small school and have an excellent PE department and facilities to match. In our new

sports hall, Eden Valley Sports Partnership are updating our current displays and would like to make a display of past pupils with sport-ing success, to help create a legacy and inspire current pupils. Have you run for Great Britain? Played Netball for the North of Eng-land? Played Rugby for the Newcastle Falcons? Are you a World Champion Darts player? We are interested in any sport-ing success; many people may be too modest to put themselves forward, so please, if you know anyone that could star in our wall of fame, nominate them! We would really like to include a photograph and per-haps some sporting memorabilia on the display.

Please email me at: sportsbookings@ksgs.cumbria.sch.uk let me know your name, age, years attended KSGS and your sporting suc-cess story. K Modlin

Thank you to everyone who

supported the recent 6th Form Bag2School collection. £144.00 was raised through recycling, making a total of £624 from the last three collec-tions! We hope to hold anoth-er next year, so please keep supporting this and help raise funds to support our 6th Form Students! Heather White – Link Governor to KS5

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Year 7 Castle Building In History this year we have been learning about castle de-sign. We learnt that after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 Wil-liam the Conqueror wanted to control his new kingdom. His men soon set about building Motte and Bailey castles to con-trol the surrounding areas. Motte and Bailey castles were quick to build but had many disadvantages as well. The main one was that they were made of wood. This was a problem if attackers used fire arrows. Also wood buildings cannot be as big as stone ones. We learnt about how castle design improved throughout the Middle Ages. We thought about the strengths and weakness-es of Square Keep castles and Concentric castles.

After we had learnt all of this we got the chance to work in teams to design and make our own castle. We had to be creative but make it historically accurate as well. In the end many great castles were creat-ed including cardboard castles, wooden castles and even edible cas-tles! Mrs Steels, Head of History and Mr O’Doherty, Head of Year 7 judged the models and decided who would come 1st, 2nd and 3rd. To make it even more exciting the Sixth Form chose a castle which was given a special effort prize. The winners were announced in assembly and priz-es were given out. Mrs Butterworth was overwhelmed by all the de-signs and said everyone had worked very hard, done very well and produced great castles.The results were: 1st Conner Elliot and Euan Hayllar, 2nd Ellie Hall, Kara Simpson, Chloe Steadman and Annoushka Tarney, 3rd Caitlin Baxter, Annie Dodds, Bridget Tams and Milly Walls. The Sixth Form prize went to Jodie Bowman, Mia Larkin, Hannah Law and Kirsty Robinson. Annie Dodds and Tilly Wallington Year 7 History Students

Isaac Dent, Kian Nicholson, Simon Fawcett. Shaun Mason and Carl Potter making their cas-tle using Paper Mache

Rory Bell built a castle from Lego. Tilly Wallington with castle walls made from chocolate fingers. Both castles showed great creativity and many hours of hard work

Summer Concert

June 23rd this year once again saw our fantastic students take to the stage to perform in our annual Summer Concert. There were per-formances from students in all year groups and a mixture of ensem-bles and soloists. The concert began with a performance from year 10 GCSE music students who performed three songs. They were then followed by a selection of soloists and a performance of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ by year 13 students which was breath-taking. The sixth form band ‘Reign on Me’ ended the first half with a flourish. The choir took to the stage to open up the second half, once again demonstrating their beautiful voices and ability to sing in glorious harmony. The second half went from strength to strength with a range of fantastic performances ending with everyone per-forming John Lennon’s classic hit. ‘Imagine’. This was the last con-cert for a number of our students as well as being the last concert for me (Mrs Crow). Thank you to all performers who have performed in this or any of the concerts that I have been able to organise whilst here. It has truly been a pleasure to work with you all and I hope that you will continue to enjoy music for many years to come. Mrs Crow

Future Star

Lower school students were treated to a perfor-mance from up and com-ing pop singer, Chris At-kinson. Chris is currently doing a tour of schools before launching his first single and we were de-lighted to be able to host him. Chris performed a set of songs which were full of energy. GCSE mu-sic students were able to talk to him and to ask him questions about his career to date. They were told some really in-teresting things (and a few trade secrets!).

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Growing a successful business from inside the poly tunnel! A small team of green fingered students has recently started their own market gardening co-operative, which is based in the school garden and poly tunnel. The re-generation of the existing garden site and the subsequent setting up of the co-operative enterprise project has been made possible thanks to grant funding awarded by the ASDAN exam board. Students have been invited to take part in the practical project where they will work as part of a team to: Repair and develop the existing school poly tunnel and raised beds. Cultivate vegetables and flowers from seedlings. Conduct market research to help price up fresh produce, then market and sell them. Design, make or cook associated products to sell. The overall aim of the project is to provide hands on work experience and for students to gain employability and life skills. Students will also benefit in other ways, they will: Learn how to work as part of a team. Develop speaking, listening and organisational skills. Develop financial planning and management skills. Learn to handle uncertainty and risk. Grow in confi-dence. Develop thinking and problem solving skills. Hopefully earn some money for them as individuals and also to put back into the business. On completing the project successful students will also have gained a Wider Key Skill in working with others and 2 credits to put towards their ASDAN Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) qualifi-cation. The team has been working hard to make improvements to the school garden.

Year 8 go lead mining 40 year 8 students visited Killhope Lead Mining Museum in Coun-ty Durham as part of their history course. The main reason for the visit was to allow students to see at first hand how the In-dustrial Revolution shaped the landscape and communities of the North Pennines, with a particular focus on child labour and min-ers working conditions. We visited the lodging shop where some of the miners and washer boys had to stay for the week and

were also shown around the Park Level crushing mill and water wheel. One of the highlights of the trip was the underground tour of Park Level Mine, where we all had to wear wellies, hard hats and take a battery powered head lamp with us. The poor miners 150 years earlier had very little safety equipment and wore a pair of leather clogs on their feet, a felt hat hardened with clay and they only had a tallow candle for light. Students tried some of the jobs that the washer boys would have done in the 19th century. Here they used rakes, shovels and buckers (flat ham-mers) to process some of the mixed up lead ore, or galena as it is known, after it was brought out of the mine. As galena is much heavier than the waste rock, ‘washing’ the rocks and miner-als in water meant that the heavier galena sank to the bottom and the waste stayed on the top. The trip to the museum was a hands on and active way of learning about the past. Reflecting upon the visit, Year 8 student Ryan Capstick said “Some of the things I learned from the trip were that lead, before it was smelted, was called Ga-lena. The best bit about the trip was going underground in the mine as it was fun. I also learned about how much the washer boys got paid- not very much!” Emma Thorpe said “I learned that the miners had to pay for all their equipment for the mine and if they couldn’t get home at night they had to sleep in a tiny room with 40 other people in a small bed with four people in. The smell would have been horrible.”

The team hard at work preparing garden for seeds

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Eden Valley Sports Partnership

With a packed calendar of competitions and festi-vals throughout the year leading up to the Cumbria School Games Final, Eden Valley Sports Partnership was absolutely delighted that ‘Eden’ has been crowned 2015 Winners. Schools representing Eden were Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, Kirkby Ste-phen Primary School, Tebay, Skelton, Yanwath, Beaconside, Appleby Grammar School, Plumpton, Patterdale, Brunswick, North Lakes, Stainton, Kirkoswald and Penruddock. Based at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, Eden Valley Sports Partnership deliverers a service to over ‘30’ Primary Schools in Eden. Their philoso-phy is to provide an offer for all young people to enjoy and participate in PE, sport and physical ac-tivities. The partnership delivers sessions in schools throughout the year from specialists devel-oping fundamental basic movement competences of running, jumping, throwing, catching, balance and co-ordination for under 7yr olds, through to highly competitive events including games based sports such as Quicksticks hockey, Tag rugby, Kwik cricket, High 5 Netball, football, and Inclusive events, as well as the more individual events such as swimming, orienteering, Tri Golf, Boccia, Sportshall athletics, and Key Steps Gymnastics. If you would like any further information about Eden Valley Sports Partnership, please contact Becky Wolstenholme, Development Manager, e-mail becky.richardson@ksgs.cumbria.sch.uk

Two teams from Kirkby Stephen Grammar School

took part in the Cumbria School Games Final. The Y7 netball team and the Y7 table tennis team both

KSGS YOMP TEAM KSGS entered a team for this years medium Yomp. (Not so medi-um to some of us though!). Our team was made up of 7 pu-pils and 3 staff, An-drew Pinder, Jamie Carter, Samantha Bousfield, Josh Wind-

er, Freddie Lofthouse, Nick McWhirter , Joss Warren, Sarah Evans, Clare Donnelly and Ruth Houston. The weather was just right and we set off in fine spirits with our maps and compasses and bags full of goodies including a high quantity of Jelly Babies! 1 mile in, and a few people needed a clothing change due to the heat which sounds easy however with walking boots on soon became a Bushtucker Trial. Nick, Joss, Samantha and Josh soon became the leaders of our pack at a brisk pace and showed us the way. Along our route we had many mini adven-tures; Mrs Houston lost a walking stick, Mrs Evans didn’t like the smell of what she soon learned wasn’t mud it was peat. We all made very good time and the view from the Nine Standards was amazing. Our team made it back in one piece and in fine spirits collecting our well-deserved medals and certificates…….and cups of tea. So very well done team and lets beat our time next year….

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Meet the Governor The following information concludes our series on the KSGS Governing Body. For some of our

Governors the Summer Terms marks the end of their term of office. Thank you to those who are standing down and also to

those continuing to serve in this important aspect of school life.

Sarah Harrison I have been a primary school teacher for twenty years, teaching throughout the primary age

range. I live in Warcop with my husband Colin, who is a farmer. Our daughters Jessica and Grace attend Kirk-

by Stephen Grammar School. I served as a Governor at Warcop Church of England Primary School for six

years and was Chair of the Curriculum Committee for some of this time. I was also part of a group of Gover-

nors who set up Warcop Children’s Club. I currently work in different local schools providing cover for teach-

ers and find the experience of working with the children I meet rewarding. I also enjoy being on the Grammar

School PTFA and help organise and support events. I have also taken up jogging and have just signed up for

my first 10km run in July! My drive and enthusiasm for being on the Governing Body comes from my belief

that young people will achieve their full potential and have the confidence to try new experiences, if nurtured in the right envi-

ronment and I believe that Kirkby Stephen Grammar School has this. I serve as a Co-opted Governor and am currently on the

Curriculum Committee and the Pastoral and Welfare Committee. I am also the Link Governor for Science and Safeguarding.

Mike Birtles I was born in 1949 in Rochdale, Lancashire and educated at Bury Grammar School and then at

Bristol University. After graduation, I came to Kirkby Stephen in 1972 and worked there and at Appleby as a

Solicitor until 2010, when I and my son Alastair, moved our business to Hawes where we now practise, whilst

still living in Kirkby Stephen and Appleby respectively. I and my wife, Susan, who was born and bred in Kirk-

by Stephen, also have a daughter, Charlotte, who is herself a Solicitor living and working in Appleby. Both

Charlotte and Alastiar were educated at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, before going off to University. I

have been a Governor since 1987 and am at present on the Finance and Buildings Committee. I took on the

role of Chairman of the Save our School Committee when the Grammar School was threatened with closure in

1988. We won that particular battle and the School continues to thrive today. Long may that continue.

Linda Walker I am a Liverpudlian by birth, but was brought up in Cheshire where I spent my schooldays

and my working career. I worked as a teacher for ten years and then had a break when our daughter was born

becoming a stay-at-home Mum. During that time I set up a Mother and Toddler group, established a commu-

nity Playgroup and a Scout Group and became a Parish Councillor. I went back into teaching when our

daughter started school and then moved into education management. I managed a Traveller Education Con-

sortium for Cheshire, Halton, Warrington & Stockport Local Authorities and within Cheshire was responsible

for work with Asylum Seekers & Refugees, English as an Additional Language, Highly Mobile Children and

those who were educated at home by parental preference. Mike and I used to come to Kirkby Stephen for

most week-ends from 2001, so when we retired in 2007 we decided to move to Winton. I have been a Community Governor at

KSGS since 2008 and I am Link Governor for Modern Foreign Languages and the Eden Valley Sports Partnership. I serve on

the Finance Committee and the Pay and Staffing Committee. My work related knowledge of education has been helpful as a

Governor, but it was something of a challenge in that I had no ‘history’ with the school. However, our daughter and family have

recently moved into Kirkby Stephen so hopefully our grandchildren will become students in years to come.

Jo Brabbins I have lived in the Appleby area most of my life. After A levels, I read English and French Law

at University and came back home to take up a job with Eden District Council (EDC) undertaking general

property law work and conveyancing. I moved to the Wirral in the late 80’s working for Knowsley Council.

When Phil and I married we decided to move back to Cumbria to have our family, and when Rebecca, (now

21) started at Appleby Primary School I became a Governor there. I have also served on the Governing Body

at Appleby Grammar School. Having taken some time away from work when the children were young, I

returned to EDC into the Democratic Services team, arranging the Council meetings, keeping the Constitution

and designing and providing training for Elected Members. Latterly I have done temporary in-fill work as

Clerk to Appleby Town Council and Ousby Parish and am now Office Manager at Warcop C of E Primary. I

am proud to serve on the Governors at KSGS. Our son Josh decided to come to KSGS to study for his A levels. One of the rea-

sons for this is the impressive results the school achieves at A level. The school is the friendliest you will find and the staff and

students show amazing enthusiasm and ‘can do’ spirit. For me, being a Governor is about contributing to a team, knowing when

you can offer your own experience and skills and knowing when to leave it to others. I am currently Link Governor with Ad-

ministration, ICT and Business.

Michelle Thwaites I arrived at KSGS in 1989 after teaching for two years in Crowthorne, Berkshire. I planned to stay here for

2 – 3 years and move on. I hadn’t banked on meeting my husband Peter (a DT teacher) and having my twins, Rachel and Wil-

liam during that time! Twenty-six years later, I am currently the longest serving full-time member of staff! I grew up in a vil-

lage called Turton, Bolton, Lancs and did well at school, until a disastrous set of A Level results (by today’s standards) ruined

my dream of discovering a cure for cancer by becoming a pharmacologist. Instead I went to Bradford Uni-

versity to study Chemistry – my one decent A Level! I then moved to Reading for my PGCE and became a

teacher. I love music and have been known to “play” my saxophone in school productions and previously

played the bass guitar in our staff band Cliff Rescue and the Helicopters, which some readers may remem-

ber! I enjoy cycling and photography in my spare time. I am passionate about science (chemistry in particu-

lar) and am proud to be leading the successful Science Department in this unique and fascinating school. I

serve on the Governing Body in the capacity of Teacher Governor

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Jo Cottrell Ten years ago, I moved from Hampshire, into a dilapidated old farm house on North Stainmore,

with my husband Adrian and two children, Jess and Ben. Since then, I have been working as Office Manager

at Brough Primary School. Prior to our move, I spent many years working in the motor racing industry, pri-

marily as Office Manager of a racing driver’s school, and later as coordinator for a corporate hospitality busi-

ness based at a racing circuit. Although not a dedicated student, (don’t tell my kids!) I finished with a diploma

in Business Studies and became a member of the AAT in 1998. I spend my spare time either helping Adrian

renovate our house, or in my art studio, painting, sewing and crafting. I became a Parent Governor last year,

and have recently been appointed as Responsible Officer. I chose to volunteer to become a Governor as I understand how vital

this role is to any school, and think that my knowledge of education will allow me to ask the right questions in my role as

‘critical friend’ of the school

June Codd I was born and raised in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Post ‘A’ levels I studied Medical Laboratory

Subjects whilst working as a lab technician at the University of Sheffield. I worked in the Anatomy Department

for 10 years, 7 in research and 3 in teaching, where I specialised in Histopathology and Cytology. As regular

visitors to the Eden Valley, my husband and I re-located in 1985. I first joined KSGS in 1987 but left at the end

of the following year to spend the next 8 years raising our 4 children. I returned to KSGS in 1993 and since

then I have seen many changes, but the ethos which underpins it and the outstanding commitment of the staff

remains the same. I have served as the Support Staff Governor for the past five years and sit on both the Health

and Safety and Finance and Buildings committees. It has always been a pleasure to work with the dedicated

and hard-working staff here at KSGS, and the Governing Body, as we all share the same passion for the success of our students

and for the future of our school

Nicola Brown I have recently joined the Governors as a Parent Governor. My youngest daughter has just

completed her GCSEs and will be staying at KSGS to study for her A levels. I grew up in Durham and went

to University in Hull. I qualified as a teacher in Leeds and taught Early Years (Reception) in a couple of

schools in Yorkshire before having my two daughters. In 2001 we moved to the Kirkby Stephen area. I

worked as Pre-school Leader at Biggins for four years and then became a child minder which worked well

around the girls' school hours. After a couple of years I began working for Barnardos in their Children's Cen-

tres in Eden and South Lakeland as a Manager. After redundancy I had to look further afield for jobs and man-

aged a Pre-school and Out of School Club in Yorkshire and then worked for Worcestershire County Council

as a Project Manager and Team Leader within Children's Services. Redundancy struck again so we decided to return 'home' to

Kirkby Stephen. I am enjoying being part of the Curriculum Committee.

Julie Monteverde I have five children, including one at KSGS, one at Kirkby Primary, and one due to start

Primary in September (Yipeee!!!). I have been employed at KSGS as Food and Art Technician since April 2014

and became a Support Staff Governor just a few months later. In September last year, I enrolled at Appleby

Heritage Centre to study to become a Higher Level Teaching Assistant and have recently completed the course. I

am also an active member of the PTFA, which is great fun. I serve on the Health and Safety and Pastoral and

Welfare Committees. I hope to continue to grow in my role as Governor, and have found recent training for the

role to be inspiring. My background is in catering, and from the age of 14 I have been employed in some area of

the catering industry. I was born in London, but fell in love with Cumbria on holiday here aged 11, and spent

every subsequent school holiday here, helping out at a bed and breakfast on a farm, until I left home aged 17, to live here. I feel

very blessed indeed to live and work in Kirkby Stephen,.

Laura Roberts I was a student at Notre Dame Grammar School, Leeds, from 1976 - 1983, where I studied A

levels in English Literature, History and Art, and where both my parents taught. This was the precursor for me

studying for a joint BA Honours in English Literature and History at Keele University, in Staffordshire, be-

tween 1983 and 1987 and, after a year out trying to decide if I wanted to go into the family business, I decided

that teaching was something I was suited to and which I would do well. I trained in 1988, at Hull University, to

teach English and have taught ever since. I hope I remain suited to the job and that I still have days when I do it

well! I serve on the Governing body as a Teacher Governor because I feel it is important that the staff, who are

affected by so many of the decisions made by Governors, should have a voice amongst them. I think the voice

should be passionate, rational and truthful; I try to be all those things. I am a member on the Pastoral and Wel-

fare Committee and also the Curriculum Committee.

Heather White Unlike many of my fellow Governors, I am not an academic but am passionate about support-

ing the school, its students and staff and recognise that in any organisation it is good to have a broad mix of

abilities and personalities. The role of Governor is unique and at times it has definitely been a challenge for

me - however, having seen our two eldest children flourish at KSGS, it has been a privilege to support the

school in this role. My childhood was spent on a remote hill farm in Upper Wensleydale, Work for me started

as “office junior” for the town’s Solicitor, before moving to the local Veterinary Surgeons. Re-location due to

marriage brought me over the border to the Eden Valley where for the next ten years I worked for the District

Council in Penrith, leaving my role as PA to the Director of Finance in 1992, to start family life! I live in

Sandford with my husband Bryan and we have three children. I have served as a Community Governor and

am linked to the Sixth Form and the Performing Arts Department. I am a member of the Curriculum and

Health and Safety Committees and have recently represented the Governors at South Lakes Federation meetings.

12

Sports Day

Weather wise this year’s sports day was very different from the scorching heat of last year, but despite the somewhat damp conditions in the morning, the event went ahead. Many thanks must go to staff, 6th form and young helpers who made the day such a success. All year group houses were keenly repre-sented and the year 10 house captains did a brilliant job of supporting their ath-letes. Great role models, well done. MUSGRAVE were the eventual winners, with Wharton 2nd and Harcla 3rd. Well done to the following who broke school records: Year 7 Boys 4 x 100m Relay: Wharton

Year 8 Long Jump, 4.89m: Kurt Greenhalgh

Year 8 Girls Javelin, 18.11m: Ella Capstick

Year 9 Girls 4 x 100m Relay: Musgrave

Year 9 Girls Discus, 20.58m: Catherine Marston

Year 9 Girls Shot, 8.39m: Catherine Marston

Dates for your diary Mon 7 Sept Autumn Term Starts

Thu 10 Sept School Photographs for Years

7, 10 & 6th Form

Tues 15Sept PTFA Meeting, Library 6pm

Mon 21 Sept Year 11 Work Experience

—all week

Mon 21 Sept Year 6—Taster Day in School

—all day

Tue 6Oct Year 5/6 Open Evening

Mon 26 Oct to Half Term

Fri 30 Oct

Wed 11th Nov PTFA AGM

Wed 2 Dec Year 8 Parents’/Carers’

Evening

Thurs 17 Dec Last Day of term

SCHOOL UNIFORM – CHECK LIST for AUTUMN TERM

GIRLS

Years 7-9 POLO SHIRT - emerald green with badge Years 10-11 POLO SHIRT - navy blue with badge

SWEATSHIRT WITH BADGE - navy blue SOCKS / TIGHTS - navy blue or black

BLACK TAILORED TROUSERS - no jeans, ski trousers,

tracksuits, jeggings or leggings etc. or SKIRT – black, knee length

BOYS

Years 7-9 POLO SHIRT - emerald green with badge Years 10-11 POLO SHIRT - navy blue with badge

SWEATSHIRT WITH BADGE - navy blue SOCKS – navy blue or black

BLACK TAILORED TROUSERS - black - no jeans, corduroys,

chinos etc. FOOTWEAR - (Boys and Girls)

Sensible black shoes, with no heavy or studded boots or high heels.

Trainers are not to be worn.

And of course remember:

A maximum of one pair of earrings - no pierced noses, tongues etc

No other jewellery except one flat signet ring Hair of natural colour

No make up and no nail varnish

Required equipment for class: Black pens, Scientific Calculator, Pencil, rubber and ruler

Coloured pencils

UNIFORM FOR PE

GIRLS

Non-marking trainers for Gym and hockey shoes Yellow, navy and maroon Girls‘ PE Polo Shirt

Navy skort Maroon, navy and yellow sweatshirt

Maroon and yellow hooped socks

BOYS Non-marking trainers for Gym and football boots

Navy shorts

Maroon, navy and yellow Rugby Shirt Maroon and yellow hooped socks

Yellow, navy and maroon Boys‘ PE Polo Shirt