Hodgson Highlight learning for the future…

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I CAME across a thought provokingpiece of research recently. If a flea,capable of jumping a metre inheight, is placed in a glass with acard on the top, it will make two orpossibly three attempts to jumpout. Clearly its capacity to escapewith ease is denied. Interestingly, ifthe card is removed, the flea willmake no further attempt to jump tofreedom. It will languish in the glass,having lost the urge to escape. It isthe job of schools like Hodgson toidentify and remove all the cards!Our students must never encounterglass ceilings.

It is with a great sense ofpride that I pen my first contribution to the HodgsonHighlight as Headteacher. As youwill no doubt be aware, Hodgson

again topped local league tables forKS2 to KS4 Contextual Value Added,demonstrating the sustained andexceptional progress students makeduring their time with us. Results of76% 5+A* - C grades includingMaths and English, further underscores our credibility as anoutstanding academic school.However, that was last year; we havecelebrated and we have moved on!

We are heading towardsspring with optimism, having completed much during the longwinter months. Indeed it is duringthe period from November toFebruary that exceptional schoolssuch as Hodgson secure the ‘deeplearning’ that underpins summerexamination success. We maintainhigh attendance throughout the coldand flu season. We uphold high standards of behaviour throughoutthe wet and windy Fridays.We keepthe focus on our core business -quality teaching and learning.

Our purpose now isensuring our students continue toengage with deep learning, enjoyingwell planned, consistently good and

increasingly frequent outstandinglessons and for Years 9 and 11,making the necessary preparationsto secure individual and wholeschool examination success.

Hodgson has an infectious‘achievement culture’. Bucking thenational trend, boys at Hodgson doextremely well. They, like the girls,want to achieve. With such positive‘can do’ attitudes, Hodgson will continue to forge ahead.

With three school daysnotice, we recently underwent atwo day Ofsted subject inspection ofDesign and Technology.This was partof a national system of inspectionthat feeds into the annual ChiefInspector’s report on the state ofD&T teaching within the nation’sschools. An intensive and rigorousprocess led to the following conclusions with regard to D&Tteaching and learning at Hodgson.‘Achievement and Standards’ and

‘Leadership and Management’ wereboth graded ‘outstanding’. The quality of Teaching and Learning was‘good’, with assessment regarded as‘excellent’. The overall quality ofprovision was graded ‘good withoutstanding features’.

We are delighted with thisreport and thank the departmentfor their excellent work,particularly at a time when MrGrundy, our Lead Teacher of D&T, isoff work recovering from very serious surgery. Our thoughts arewith Mike and his family.

May I wish you all well forthe coming months and requestthat, to the greatest possible extent,our students are present in schooland not on term-time holidays,punctual and in the correct schooluniform. Together we will take ourschool into its next exciting phaseof development.

Mr A. Nicholson Headteacher

FIVE dancers from Hodgson will

have their chance to shine on the

national stage following a

performance in Blackpool. Emily

Lofthouse-Hedley, Lucy Bryer,

Natasha Dickinson-Turner, Penny

Riding and Catherine Murphy joined

other aspiring dancers in the Royal

Ballet aDvANCE dance partnership,

which delighted an audience at

Bispham Performing Arts College

last month with a series of specially

choreographed pieces. And after

months of working with tutors from

the Royal Ballet School, they have

now been invited to grace the stage

at the Royal Opera House in

London later this year.

During the Blackpool

show, the star turns came as our

students performed alongside

young people from two Blackpool

high schools, Blackpool Sixth Form

and Blackpool and The Fylde

Colleges in front of VIP guests from

across the Fylde. They showcased

their abilities as part of a mixed

group by choreographing and

performing a modern ballet piece.

Thoroughly impressed was

Ballet Masterpiece

Headline

Blackpool councillor Maxine

Callow, who said following the

performance: "That was fantastic. I

can't get over the talent that was on

display.There are some real stars of

the future here.”

aDvANCE is a specialist

school partnership scheme by the

Royal Ballet School. Renowned

dancers and choreographers Paul

Bayes-Kitcher and Rhian Robbins

introduced the scheme to Hodgson

with two ballet workshops for 18

Year 10 and 11 students last

September.

Hodgson School

Moorland Road • Poulton-le-Fylde • Lancashire FY6 7EU

Tel: 01253 882815 / 891415 • Fax: 01253 899971 • E-mail: admin@hodgson.lancs.sch.uk • Web: www.hodgson.lancs.sch.uklearning for the

future...

THE Gazette article headline says it all! We are thrilled for our magnificent Class of 2009; they performed brilliantly in the summer examinations with 97% achieving 5 or more A*-C Grades and 79% did so with the magic combination of Maths and English. An amazing 49% were awarded 3 A*-A grades. We are so very proud of them all. To have our school described as the ‘Sparking Jewel in the Crown’ is immensely rewarding and is testament to all the hard work of the entire community.

At Hodgson, teachers, students, parents and governors all work together with a common purpose; quite simply to be the best we can be, to achieve and exceed expectations and to realise our true potential. The Hodgson family is stronger than ever with so much to celebrate. What a wonderful way to return from the summer holiday. We succeed because we get the basics right; high standards and traditional values underpin all our work and provide the foundation of our continued improvement. An essential element of our identity is a uniform, which I firmly believe is worn with pride by our students. Please support the school by adhering to the uniform requirements as outlined in the Student Planner. School shoes should be black, without logos and not of a canvas or gym shoe material. Small but important matters such as these define a school with high standards and confidence. We are very excited about the year ahead, particularly since we have secured funding to build a new Sports Hall. Plans have already been drawn and we are looking towards a completion date of August 2010. This new facility will

significantly enhance our ability to offer a full range of activities in a state-of-the-art environment. This is fabulous news for all students and for the wider community. I welcome all new students, parents and staff to the Hodgson family.

We have hit the ground running and we are embarking on another exciting, challenging and hugely successful year ahead.

Mr A. Nicholson Headteacher

Headline

learning for the future…

HODGSON’S GOT T LENTAFTER four gruelling heats, 15 acts showcased their

talents in this year’s Hodgson’s Got Talent. Among the impressive line-up, on the evening of Thursday 17th September, were a cheerleading team and a whole host of dancers and singers.

Y11 dancers Natalie Pollard and Polly Thompson, who were overall winners in 2008’s competition, defended their title with an extremely energetic routine they had choreographed themselves. They were up against stiff opposition from Lucy Fallon and Lucy Willman, of Y9, whose version of the classic track ‘Hallelujah’ had been a firm favourite during the heats. Y10 student Tony Kwok had also emerged as a talented singer and musician and was also destined to do well. Hannah Almond’s dance was full of grace and was beautiful to behold. The Year 11 band, headed by Tom McCloud, was highly professional and the haunting singing voice of Molly Fenton, of 10D, also made her a likely contender.

The judging panel included representatives from Christie’s Cancer Care in Manchester and former Maths teacher Carolyn Sharpe, who produced Grease at Hodgson before

retiring two years ago. All proceeds raised on the night through

ticket sales were being donated to Christie’s.

All the acts that performed could have been worthy

winners; the judges’ job to choose an overall winner was

certainly a hard one. But Lorna Daniels was crowned champion

after singing her own interpretation of the Whitney Houston

classic I Will Always Love You. Hannah Almond, Natalie Pollard

and Polly Thompson carried away trophies for dancing and Tom

McCloud for singing.

* The school will stage a fundraiser for Marie Curie

Cancer Care on Friday 2nd October. Students must wear

normal school uniform but can wear a yellow accessory for

example a belt, tie, scarf or gloves etc. All money raised will

go towards supporting Blackpool Gazette News Editor Jon

Rhodes’ attempt to raise £3,000 for Marie Curie by running the

New York Marathon in November.

Hodgson School continues to be the jewel in the Fylde’s GCSE crown with another year of sparkling results.

The Poulton school has maintained last year’s impressive standard of 97 per cent of students picking up five or more GCSE grades A*-C.

Pupil Kirsten Squirrell, 16, from Great Eccleston, shone picking up a whopping 11 A*s and one A. She said: “I’m still in shock, but I’m so happy. It’s such a relief.

I hardly slept at all with worrying, but I can’t wait to get to sixth form.”

Headteacher Tony Nicholson said: “I’m delighted for all the students who’ve worked hard to achieve these amazing results. They deserve great credit for their commitment and ambition.

With so much talk of challenging times, it is so encouraging to see our young people show the confidence, intelligence and enterprise to achieve so highly.”

Sparkling Jewel in Crown

Blackpool Gazette – Friday 28 August 2009

By Mrs GilBert, DrAMA

Angelic - voiced singers Lucy Willman and Lucy Fallon

Learning Resource Centre Autumn Update By Mrs C Baran, LRC Officer

AS we start the new academic year, the LRC is buzzing. Lots of Hodgson’s new Y7 students have discovered the LRC and are making good use of the facility.

Here a couple of our volunteer LRC Student Assistants give updates on what’s happening in the LRC. Gemma Collins, of form 9D, said: “The LRC Student Assistants ran competitions for students during the European Day of Languages (Wednesday 23rd September) and put together a display of the wonderful work created in lessons on this themed day.”

Jack Ball, of 9M, reported: “The LRC has recently purchased a Nintendo DS for students to play learning games, and this is proving to be very popular. We are also about to purchase some educational puzzle games for students to play at recreational times, so by the time you are reading this they should be available to book a go on.”

There’s a lot happening in the LRC. Why not come along and enjoy the facilities the LRC has to offer?

Nutritional Meals Key at Hodgson

HODGSON’S fifth Summer School was run from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 31st July. This year’s theme was space, and included a trip to the Jodrell Bank Observatory for Astrophysics in Manchester and a talk by the Blackpool and District Astronomic Society.

The Summer School coincided with the 40th anniversary of the first moon landings by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Around 50 Gifted and Talented students from Years 7 and 8 attended. Y11 mentors led their groups around a wide range of activities, which include making model aliens and finding out about rockets. The remains of the moon buggies that were made with art teacher Miss Ward have been on

display in the Learning Centre, along with posters and display work that was produced about rockets.

Charlotte Spindler, 8H, said: “Summer School was really fun. I enjoyed the visit to Jodrell Bank and making animations.”

Aimee Collins, 7M, added: “My favourite part of Summer School was drama, when my group acted out a dance off on the moon with Michael Jackson and Neil Armstrong! I loved Summer School and it has helped me a lot to settle into my new school.”

We would like to thank Mrs Wade for planning the Summer School and making it extra special, and a big thanks to all of the teachers who gave up their time to help.

Cheque PresentationA CHEQUE for £1,000 was awarded to the Save the Children

charity at the annual Student BBQ in July. The money had been raised by the Christmas Tree Bauble Appeal in 2008.

Jackie Kenyon, who accepted the cheque on behalf of Save the Children, said at the presentation: “Thank you so much. The fantastic amount of money raised demonstrates the hard work and commitment you put into this as a school. Your money will help thousands of children around the world. Thank you for supporting Save the Children again.”

Here’s how Hodgson’s £1,000 could be spent:Buying 238 mosquito nets to protect children at risk from malaria

Providing 38 malnourished children with a month’s supply of

micronutrient peanut butter

Vaccinating 200 children against childhood diseases

Buying 200 water filters to help provide clean water for children and

their families

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Space School

By G

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NEW school meal menus have been unveiled this month. These are in line with national guidelines, in which school caterers must meet 14 nutrition-based standards. The biggest change has been made to menus for the Hot Pot Dining Room. A range of four nutritious Meal Deals are on offer daily, which incorporates a main course and a dessert or fruit-based drink for £2.10.

The food served in the Express Diner at breakfast, break and lunchtimes remains the same as last year.

• The new menus will be

listed on Hodgson’s website www.

hodgson.lancs.sch.uk soon. Please

note that the website is currently

undergoing an overhaul so some areas

can not be viewed at present.

• Bradley Hudson, 8H, and

Natasha Thornton, 11H, were overall

winners of the school canteen’s Great

Summer Giveaway. Scratch cards were

given out with school meals. Those

that revealed a star were put into a

prize draw, and Bradley and Natasha

won ipod vouchers.

Hodgson Highlight learning for the future…

Hodgson Highlight learning for the future…

Fairtrade School By Mrs Ingham, Geography

HODGSON is to apply for Fairtrade School Status. It will help our students understand about how trade works and how to make global trade fairer. We have started to sell Fairtrade products to staff and pupils, and we plan to take action for Fairtrade in the school and local community. Why?

Because Fairtrade offers a better deal for farmers in the developing world. Seven million people – farmers, workers and their families – are better off because of Fairtrade. We can help increase this number.Because it’s only fair that the people who produce what we eat, wear and use should get paid enough to live on and a chance to improve their lives.Because learning about Fairtrade helps young people understand how their actions can affect people in the wider world.

Watch this space!

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A NeW school year always heralds a new team of Head and Deputy Boys and Girls. Here they introduce themselves and outline their plans for the forthcoming year.

Head Girl - Polly thompson, 11r I feel very proud to be given this role - it is a good opportunity to have more responsibility in the school during my last year at Hodgson. Firstly, as head girl, I want to make sure that Hodgson stays as one of the best school’s in Lancashire. I will be looking out for any signs of bad behaviour and will try to voice students’ ideas to the Student Council and teachers. I will also be making sure that every student is aware of after-school activities and homework clubs; so that they can work and meet new people of different ages and their talents can be recognised.

Head Boy - Alex Halliday, 11W I look forward to working with both students and teachers to build upon the success of the school so far! I will ensure that, with your help and cooperation, we achieve the best working environment, whilst enjoying our every day school life together.

Deputy Head Boy - Daniel Moore, 11C I’m looking forward to this year at Hodgson because there’s lots of exciting events coming up within school. I’m looking forward to taking part in them. It is great to be able to represent Hodgson at this level and I want to make sure it stays a great school.

Deputy Head Girl - Becky Green, 11D I’m very excited to be working with a great team this year as Deputy Head Girl and look forward to making positive changes to the school to make it even better. KS4 girls, the first thing I want to do is improve the toilet cubicles!

Congratulations to the following y11 students for being selected as senior Prefects:

Shaun Adams 11A, Robert Foulkes 11W, Matthew Griffiths 11W, Lewis Cameron 11W, Paul Kershaw 11C, Josh Vincent 11H, Joe Branker 11C, Chris Warren 11A, Jordan Knight 11C, Daniel Jackson 11D, Jake Apperley 11H, Tom Eckersall 11S, Christy Woods 11C, Elise Davidson 11D, Lisa-Marie Birtles 11M, Tara Crawforth 11M, Abigail Pritchard 11A, Hollie Holmes 11A, Hattie Pridmore 11A, Hannah Shaw 11W, Ellie Stavert 11D, Hailey Lappin 11M Helen Dawson 11S, Nataliya Barmak-Manifold 11D, Sarah Spindler 11S, Lauren Blight 11S, Natacha Boukernafa 11R, Phillipa Stock 11S, Rhianne Murray 11R, Hope Robinson 11R, Grace Harvey 11C, Sophie Heightley 11C, Hannah Kippax 11C, Megan Nesbit 11R, Bethany Astbury 11M, Ella Currie 11D, Evie Faraday 11W, Rebecca Wardman 11H, Hayley Gunson 11A, Emily Fisher 11R, Emily Young 11R, Becky Didsbury 11H, Heather Ferguson 11D, Kelly Garrett 11M, Sarah Hazlewood 11S and Kathryn Fryars 11H.

HEROES AT HODGSONOn Thursday 8th October, National Poetry Day will be marked at Hodgson.

This year’s theme is ‘Heroes and Heroines’, and lots of exciting events are planned by the English Department. This includes a ticket-only event for students to watch poetry readings by members of staff. See Mrs Tingey for further details or tickets.

There is also a fantastic chance to win a selection of prizes in a poetry competition being coordinated by Miss Fallon. All students have to do is write a poem based on the theme ‘Heroes’. It must be no longer than one side of A4. Entries must be submitted by Thursday 15th October to r.fallon@hodgson.lancs.sch.uk Please include you name, age and email address on your entry. Winners will be able to see their poems printed in Hodgson’s e-Book of Poetry. Good luck everyone!

Wyre and Fylde Dance FestivalHODGSON School is to participate in the Wyre and Fylde

Dance Festival on 24th November 2009, at Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom. School Sports Co-ordinator Mrs Brunskill is organising this huge community event in collaboration with the Hilton in the Community Foundation, Blackpool. All proceeds will go to charity.

The theme of the festival is ‘One World’ and all schools involved will be working on their interpretation of this idea throughout the autumn term. A total of 24 schools, both secondary and primary will take part across the School Sports Partnership in Wyre and Fylde.

The event will start at 6.30pm on 24th November. Tickets cost £5 for adults and £2 for non-participating children, and will be available from the end of September. Please see Mrs Brunskill for further information.

Heading Up the School

Front Row L to R: Daniel Moore, Becky Green, Polly Thompson and Alex Halliday

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l FANCY trying water polo? Want to learn the four move checkmate in chess? Need to brush up on your painting skills? All of these and more can be sampled at the extra-curricular clubs and activities currently offered to all Hodgson’s students. There’s something to suit everyone and they are all free. Why not make the most of your time here by signing up to one or more of the clubs below?

* MUsiCSchool Band (All Yrs) – Tuesday, 3pm; Training Band (Mainly Yrs 7-9) – Friday, 3pm; Choir (All Yrs) – Tuesday, 3.45pm; String orchestra (All Yrs) – Monday, 3pm

* sPOrt Boys Football – Days and times vary with Yr group; Boys Rugby – Days and times vary with Yr group; Girls Rugby (Yrs 9&10) – Days and times vary; Girls Netball (Yrs 7&8 matches) -Tuesday, 3pm–6pm or (Yrs 9,10&11 matches and Yrs 7-11 practice) –Thursday 3pm-6pm; Badminton Club – TBA; Badminton (All Yrs) – Lunchtime, 1.15pm-1.45pm; Boys Hockey (Yr 9) - Times vary; Girls Hockey (Yrs 7,8&9) – League nights Monday or (Yrs 9,10&11) – League nights Wednesday; Dance Club (Yrs 7-9) – Monday, 3pm-4pm; Table Tennis (All Yrs) Lunchtime 1.15pm-1.45pm; Trampolining (Yrs 7-11) – TBA for 2010 start; Tennis (All Yrs) – Moorland Tennis Club; Water Polo at Poulton Swimming Baths (Yrs 10 and 11) – Wednesday, 3.10pm-4pm* Taekwondo (All Yrs) – Tuesday 6.30pm-8.30pm and Thursday, 3pm-4pm by Mrs J Glynn, Administration * Chess Club (All Yrs) – Practice Tuesday and Friday lunchtimes by Mrs C Stobbs, History, or Mrs D Bradley, Science, in I4* Textile Club (Yr 11) – TBC by Miss K Turner, Design and Technology* F1/Tech Homework Club (Yrs 7-9) – Monday lunchtime by Mr V Bergon, Design and Technology* Art Club (Yrs 10&11) – Wednesday and Thursday, 2.50pm-3.50pm by Mrs J Bristow and Miss J Ward, Art * ICT Homework Club (All Yrs) – Most lunchtimes * Science Club (Yrs 7-9) – Thursday 2.50pm-3.50pm by Miss C Sweeney,Science* Homework Club (All Yrs) – Morning break; lunchtimes; after school, overseen by the Learning Support Staff* Year 7 Drama Club – Tuesday 3pm-4pm and Senior Drama Club – Friday 3pm-4pm by Mrs Gilbert, Drama* Reading Club at Alexandra Nursing Home - Tuesday 3pm-4pm by Miss Fallon, English* Year 9 G&T Media Club – Starting Soon on Thursday lunchtimes by Mr J Webster, English* Learning Resource Centre – Open before school, lunchtimes and after school, Monday-Friday, for homework and research, overseen Mrs C Baran, LRC Officer

Hodgson Highlight learning for the future…

Hodgson school’s 2009 GCse results

Hodgson School would like to congratulate all of the following Year 11 students (Class of 2008/09)

for achieving the best ever set of GCSE results in the school’s history. Well done!

Passes A*-G

16 Passes: S Denton, M Fox, K Gildert, L Hindle,

A Shaw.

15 Passes: H Almond, L Beaumont, A Christodoulou,

S Clegg, J Crystal, L George, P Hartfield,

L Hodgson, J Kehoe, S Lee, E Lewis, E Lickiss, O

Lofthouse, E Lofthouse-Hedley, H Parkinson, G

Postlethwaite, L Schofield, H Taylor, O Wilkinson.

14 Passes: L Armitstead, S Ashby, A Bargelli, S Beckett,

R Beresford, R Bradley, L Bryer, A Carter, A Craggs,

C Davies, L Denney, B Dickens, N Dickinson-Turner,

L Eastwood, Z Fazzi, C Gouldbourn, N Illingworth,

B Jackson, S Jackson, D Jones, J Kemp, R Kennedy, J

Kenworthy, J Lane, B Lee, R Lee, R Lloyd, N Lydon,

J Marsh, H McCann, K McCann, L McCann, T

McNamara, D Molloy, M Moody, J Needham,

J Nevin, T Oakey, D Osbourne, M Parker, A

Parkinson, S Parsons, B Peters, A Redman, R

Redman, T Savage, J Skilbeck, C Slinger, G Taylor,

F Thirlaway, J Todd, K Tomlinson, W Toole, T

Wainwright, E Waterhouse, J Williams, M Williams,

E Wilson.

13.5 Passes: D Beddows, C Forsyth, K Squirrell.

13 Passes: J Almond, T Barnard, S Baron, L Barton-

Ambrose, S Birdsall, C Blundell, M Bullough, J Chivers,

C Coyle, K Emmett, J Evans, L Ferguson-Appleyard,

F Foulkes, J Gibson, E Gorrie, J Guy, J Hargreaves,

J Harrison, L Hearnshaw, J Heggie, D Hoey, H Holt, E

Keightley, L Kirkpatrick, C Lea, S Lenoir, T Leveridge,

C Livesey, A Loftus, C McGovern, D McMullen, J

Mellodew, S Moncrief, C Morley, D O’Connor, S Reed,

J Reeves, J Richardson, J Robinson, J Rogers, W Rothery,

R Saxon, B Shaw, S Shaw, M Stones, B Terrington,

J Valentine-Lynden, R Watson, M Whittingham.

12.5 Passes: J Lau, K Lloyd.

12 Passes: J Alexander, J Andrews, J Bannister, M

Barlow, R Boyd, A Buckley, D Burgess, M Butt, B Carthy,

M Cartwright, M Copsey, B Cox, J Cross, R Cunliffe, S

Currie, A Dixon, L Douglas, C Earnshaw, J Earnshaw,

R Eaves, L Fogg, G Gannon, Z Gardner, S Gowdy,

N Hadgraft, C Hainey, R Halligan, L Hardie, J Hardy,

D Heys, M Hulme, D Jackson, E Jones, F Jones, H

Law, J Leask, Z Loftus, R McLoughlin, R Medhurst,

A Moores, C Mowbray, J Mynott, H Needham,

J Nisbet, R O’Brien, A Roughsedge, W Shaw,

J Shepley, A Smith, O Stock, B Swift, S Taylor,

M Tootill, A Turner, M Upton, S Wainwright,

A Waylett, K Waylett, C White, E Whittaker,

T Whittam, E Wright.

11 Passes: L Beardmore, S Boland, C Conway, S

Croasdale, T Drury, T Fulton, M Hodkin, E Hough,

R Kanuritch, J Manning, P Mason, S Murphy, T

Ramskill.

10 Passes: B Marsden, D McGregor, L Vine.

Nine Passes: O Booth, S Boyd, B Brock, C Fleming,

S Richardson, S Waistle.

eight Passes: C Dale, H Greaves, T Moran.

seven Passes: J Rogerson, A Sarjantson.

six Passes: G Beresford, C Miller, S Rawlinson-Price.

Five Passes: N Davies-Allen, J Shuttleworth.

Four Passes: G Stuteley.

three Passes: L Hainsworth.