A New Year message from Mr Mckeon
It has been a fabulous first term so far this academic year. The newsletter provides a small snippet of some of the
wonderful achievements of our students and a taste of some of the many different experiences we are able to provide
both inside and outside the classroom.
Finally on behalf of all the staff at Little Lever we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year.
We will see you all again on Monday 9th January.
Mr Mckeon
Headteacher
Thank you to all our parents and carers who continue
to support the school and your children. Our overall
attendance has risen to over 95% this term and punctuality
has improved dramatically. While attendance and
punctuality are good we want to keep improving and
ensure every student has at least 97% attendance (this
means no more than 5 days absence per year). Our
current Year 7 are leading the way with a Year group
average of 97%. Fantastic!
Our Year 11 students are working hard in preparation
for their GCSE exams and Pre Public Exams in January.
To support them and you, as parents/carers, we have
created Personalised Learning Checklists (PLCs) for
every subject your child is studying. This allows you
and your child to see the areas of the course or exam
that they are performing well in and those areas that
need to be improved. Our Y11 students have received
their updated PLCs before their break for Christmas.
We are also in the process of creating a 24/7 learning
site for all students. It was initially launched with Y11
before Christmas and will support them with the areas they
need to improve on their PLC. It will eventually go live with
all students and provide parents and carers with valuable
resources to support learning at home.
The students, staff and community never cease to amaze
me with their generosity. The school raised over £4,000
for various charities last year and we are well on our way
to beating that record this year.
We have a fantastic set of young people who attend
our school. They are immensely talented. What is very
humbling is that many of them do not realise how talented
they are or what they are truly capable of. The newsletter
provides some examples of many of these talents but we
try to share as many events as possible with you via our
social media site and our website. If you haven’t had a
look yet I urge you to do so.
Little Lever School Newsletter January 2017
On Tuesday 15th November the school hosted it’s annual
Awards Evening at the splendid setting of the Victoria Hall in
Bolton.
The event is held to recognise, celebrate and reward outstanding
effort, achievement and contributions which students from all
years have made over the last academic year in all areas of life
in school. The awards recognise subject excellence throughout all
years, outstanding attendance, charitable work, sporting excellence,
leadership qualities and leading by example through superb conduct,
wearing our uniform with pride and helping others.
For a visual tour of the event, with over 40 pictures, visit the
Awards Evening photo album at our Facebook page www.
facebook.com/littleleverschool.
It was fantastic to see so many students (past and present) attend
the evening, along with their families.
This year, the school presented a special award in memory
of our late colleague, Gary Wilkinson, a popular and well
respected member of the maths department, who sadly passed
away earlier this year. We were honoured to host Gary’s
wife Jayne and his mother, Jean who presented the Gary
Wilkinson Shining Star Award to Ellenor Ratcliffe and Stephen
Marshall, who went above and beyond in raising money for the White
Horse Project and the Red Cross charitable organisations.
In addition, the audience was treated to an amazing musical
performance by our Little Lever X-Factor winner, Drew Gudojc.
LITTLE LEVER SCHOOL AWARDS EVENINGNOVEMBER 2016
Each academic year the students and staff of Little Lever School participate in a wide range
of fundraising events for the school’s House charities of Macmillan, Tomlinson, Marie Curie
and Christies cancer care organisations and also for other charities close to the hearts of
students and families. These include the Whitehorse Project, Text Santa, Children in Need
and Bolton Children’s Services and Bolton Hospice.
The school is proud to report that the total amount of money raised during the 2015/16
academic year came an amazing total of;
£4,105.10
A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to this amazing total.
Little Lever School Raises Over £4000 for Charity
On Tuesday 13th December Little Lever School Music Department hosted
their annual Christmas Concert. This year saw a packed crowd of over
250 people be dazzled by the sheer talent on show throughout the
evening.
The first half featured special guests St Matthew’s Primary School Brass
Band, who wowed us with their skills once again. The second half took
the usual format with the guest appearance of Foden’s Band. The band
was once again on top form with festive music and soloists that gave
performances worthy of inspiring any budding musician, young or old.
After the final note of a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells, the audience
and pupils were left with a sense of fulfilment and festive cheer as they
made their way home.
Little Lever School Christmas Concert
Staff vs Year 11 Charity
Netball MatchFriday 21st October saw the annual epic sporting
contest of the staff versus Year 11 students netball
match which the school runs in order to raise money
for Marie Curie house and the cancer care work
they provide. The game took place in the sports hall
during lunch time and students and staff all paid a
donation to watch the game.
It was an excellent game, with both staff and
pupils playing really well. There was exceptional
teamwork by the students, with some outstanding
shooting skills.
As a result of this, the pupils took the lead 3-0.
The staff continued to work hard and with some
fantastic play began to make a comeback. The final
score was Staff 11 - Students 6.
Students were very generous in their donations
and support, raising a total of £94.38. Thank you
to everyone who took part and helped to raise
money for Marie Curie.
Students meet Mikel Rueda, Movie DirectorOn Thursday 24th November, twenty nine Year 9 and 10 Spanish
students went to the Cervantes Institute in Manchester to see the Spanish
film ‘A Escondidas’ (Hidden). The film dealt with many themes as well as
problems facing teenagers of a similar age in the Spanish (Basque) city of
Bilbao. On the whole the film was well received. Our students were then
treated to a Q&A session by the Director of ‘A Escondidas’, Mikel Rueda,
a huge privilege given that we were the only school there and none of the
students had previously met a film director before.
The Spanish experience did not end there as students were then taken
for tapas at the well known ‘El Rincon de Rafa.’ Students tried a variety
of dishes and enjoyed the experience. Given that the restaurant was
open to the public, the students were an absolute credit to the school,
displaying courteous and mature behaviour.
On Monday 14th November, the English department took thirty two Year 7 students to the historic John Ryland’s Library in Manchester for a special tour and writing workshop.They were shown valuable texts such as a second edition Shakespeare folio from the 1600s and a piece of the actual bible found in Ancient Egypt.After the tour, the students took part in a Gothic writing exercise in which they produced a story for publication on the Manchester University website. This built upon their prior learning of Gothic literature which they have been studying in lessons this half term.Mr Gilgun, who led the trip reported,“Being able to see books that were over 2,000 years old was really interesting and the students produced some fantastic descriptions of the library”.
Well done to everyone involved.
Students Learn About the Art of Gothic Writing
On Wednesday 5th October, Little Lever School hosted the ‘Final’ of their annual X-Factor competition
in which eleven fantastic acts took to the stage in the Drama Centre to perform their chosen songs.
After a week of enjoyable auditions, it was a tough decision on which acts should advance to the final
and in the end there was a range of talented performers from Year 7 all the way through to Year 10.
The final itself saw a packed drama centre of around 130 pupils, family and friends enjoy the
excellent performances.
For all students involved, it was a great opportunity to perform in front of a live audience to
develop their musical skills, their self-confidence and the opportunity to work as part of a team.
This is vital in developing them as musicians, performers and pupils for future years.
This year’s judging panel comprised of returning veteran judge Mr Cooke, Mrs Westwood and Mr
Tuff. Head Judge, Mr Cook, ‘I’m a veteran of these events now, and this was certainly the best
standard we’ve had yet!’
In the end, the audience voted for their winner, Drew Gudojc (Year 8), who sang a powerful
version of the Whitney Houston classic, ‘I Have Nothing,’ whilst the judges selected their winner
in the shape of Chelsea Walsworth (Year 9), singing the emotional ‘Jealous’ by Labrinth,’ which
saw many a tear shed in the audience. A big well done must go to ALL 11 finalists who excelled in
the event, our three judges, Mr Poole for his work on sound and Mr Jackson for organising and
hosting the event.
Little Lever School’s X-Factor Competition
Adam takes on Shakespeare at the Octagon Theatre
The school is proud to report that another of our students has recently performed in a
professional stage production. Adam Tyerman in Year 7 took on the role of Mamillius in
Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale” at the Octagon Theatre.
Adam reports that he found the role ‘great fun’ and he really enjoyed working with a
team of professional actors. The role required Adam to interact and react with the main
players. He had to learn all the monologues of all the lead actors in order to ensure his
timings were accurate and effective in creating a smooth performance. Adam dedicated
his free time to attending rehearsals.
David Thacker, director of the production, contacted school to share how impressed he was with Adam’s perfor-
mance. David writes, “I’d like to share with you, and the staff that teach Adam, how admirably Adam conducted himself at every
stage of the process. He was diligent, courteous, respectful and considerate. He tackled the task of seeking to express this beauti-
ful and complex play with great dedication. He worked extremely well with the 15 professional actors and was very popular with
them and the technical staff. Adam is a credit to his family and to his school.”
In recognition of Adam’s outstanding work, Adam has been presented with a special Headteacher’s award in the Year 7 assembly.
Adam reports that it his ambition to further his acting potential and possibly pursue it as a career. He is considering auditioning
for a part in the Octagon Theatre’s adaptation of Anne Bronte’s book ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ in March 2017.
The school is very proud of Adam, and we wish him every success in his future drama productions.
Great Success in the Girls’ Bolton Cup Competition
Year 9 Boys’ Football Success
The school is very proud to report of a fantastic achievement from our Year 7 and 8 girls’ football team in the final of the Bolton Cup
competition which took place on Wednesday 23rd November at the Power League facilities at Leverhulme Park.
During the group round they played and beat teams such as Thornleigh, Canon Slade and Ladybridge which took the girls to a place in the
knockout stages. During the semi-finals against Bolton School, the girls fought and played extremely hard and managed to secure a place
in the final with another win of 1-0!
During the final they were faced with St Joseph’s and the score at full time was 1-1.
The competition went to a penalty shoot out and after the 3 penalties each they were
tied at 3-3, taking it to sudden death. The score remained tied until the final player
penalty where both keepers were required to take a penalty. Unfortunately for us the
keeper of St Joseph’s made an outstanding save, making us overall runners up of the
competition. A fantastic achievement.
The organisers approached Mrs Jackson to not only praise the girls for their amazing
football skills but to express what a credit to the school the girls had been and what
sportsmanship they had shown throughout the entire tournament.
The whole school is extremely proud of their success. Well done to everyone involved.
Many congratulations to our Year 9 boys’ football team who have
qualified for the fourth round of the English Schools Cup, scoring 20
goals and only conceding 5 in the previous three rounds.
They have also qualified for the quarter finals of the Bolton Town Cup,
with Sam Tonge scoring 8 goals.
Three boys have been selected for the Town Team:
Adam Thomas, Sam Tonge and Alex Birmingham
Three boys have got into the final 28 for the county squad:
Byron Weekes, Adam Thomas and Keagan Barlow.
This is a fantastic achievement for all the boys. The school is very proud
of you all.
Spring Term begins Monday 9th January 2017
Half TermSaturday 18h February to Sunday 26th February 2017
Spring Term endsFriday 7th April 2017
Easter BreakSaturday 8th April to Sunday 23rd April 2017
DATESFOR YOUR DIARY
Owen Ward-Scott - Darts Superstar!
Success in the Bolton Schools’ Cross Country Competition
Owen Ward-Scott in Year
10 has for many years had
a real passion, interest
and skill in playing darts.
He has been committed
to working really hard
on perfecting his darts
skills, and as such, is
now performing at
a high level for his
age where he is now
becoming recognise at
a senior level.
To put his into
perspective, Owen tells us how he recently played and came within
one dart of achieving the magic nine-dart finish (two 180s, treble
20, treble 19 and just missed the treble 12!)
Owen represents Lancashire County u21s. He plays in the
Manchester Super league on a Sunday, Monday/Tuesday Bolton
league and Thursday Bury league. He has been entered to play
darts in the Isle of Man Competition on the 9th - 12th March 2017.
He has also been invited to play in the German Open in April.
Owen is currently in talks and is having a meeting in the near
future to play for Bolton Super 8s after being seen perform superbly
in Bury darts competition recently. He has also recently signed a
sponsorship deal with D. Havilland Ltd, which cover all his playing
costs and which will give him a real opportunity to pursue his
ambitions. Owen goes by the name of ‘Wardy Wipeout’ and his
moto is the Latin word ‘Ferox’ which means ‘fearless’!
Owen is playing a lot of darts but is aware of how important his
education is. Owen chose not to play in a key competition due to
his exams. Owen shows a fantastic attitude and a hard working
approach to his work in school and his burgeoning darts career.
The school is very proud of Owen and wishes him every success in
his upcoming competitions.
On Wednesday 12th October, students from Little Lever School took
part in the Bolton Schools’ Cross Country Championship held at
Smithills School.
This was a fantastic opportunity to compete in an individual and
team event against 14 other schools in Bolton. Any competitors who
finished in the top 15 qualified to represent Bolton in the Greater
Manchester Cross Country Championships in February 2017.
The school is delighted to report that a number of Little Lever School
competitors did qualify. Please find below some of the outstanding
results of students from Little Lever. Congratulations and well done to
all our students who took part in the event.
From all the Governors and Staffat Little Lever School
Wishing you a prosperousand healthy New Year!
01204 334 177Call to book your place:
GymSquash Court
BadmintonFootball
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