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Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster www.shebbearcollege.co.uk

8th September 2017Issue No 142

Dear Parents,

Welcome back. The first week of school is always exciting as everyone catches up on the summer’s news. On the exam front, our Form Five students survived the ordeal of the new GCSE specifications in English and Maths and several scored the prized grade 9 (worth A**). Perhaps more importantly all of our Upper Sixth left with a plan. Those who wanted to go to university (the majority) secured a place and we wish the best of luck to all of the class of 2017 as they begin their new adventures. A full summary of confirmed exam results and pupil destinations will be on the school website in the forthcoming weeks.

Of course, another group starting a new adventure are our Year 7s who began Senior School this week. At the service for new pupils our guest Chaplain was Deacon Debbie Marsh from Bude. She was able to speak passionately about the transformative power of education having not learnt to read herself until her teens.

Another transformative experience was the expedition to Uganda (right) which included five of our Lower Sixth students. The photos underline what must have been a rewarding and enriching experience.

There is no rest this weekend as all of our Girls’ teams play their first hockey matches against Mount Kelly and our Seniors undertake a pre-season rugby tournament at West Buckland. I hope to see you there.

Simon Weale

Our Year 7s enjoying their induction day into the Senior School earlier this week



to our new Head Boy and Head Girl, Fin and Demelza; to Maddie, William and Willow, our House Captains and to Rosie, Savanah, Sebastian, Millie and Heidi, who are Prefects.

I hope you have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you next Thursday for our Information Evening.

Matthew Foale

News from the Prep SchoolDear Parents,After a very well deserved summer break, it has been good to see everyone this week looking so refreshed, enthusiastic and ready to start the new school year, looking extremely smart in their uniform. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about the children’s trips over the summer and their many adventures. I would particularly like to welcome all of our new families starting this term and my thanks to all of the buddies and new classmates for helping them to find their feet so quickly. I am delighted to say that all of the children have made an excellent start to lessons, settling into their new classes and routines very quickly. Plenty of new friendships have already been made and I know that our staff have been very pleased with the children’s commitment to their work. I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to Mr Butler, who joins us as our Year 5 class teacher.

In our first assembly of the year on Wednesday morning, I spoke to the children about the importance of making a good start to the term. In all aspects of school life, they will be urged to push themselves as much as possible and to give their all. The start of a new school year is always a good time to set exciting personal challenges for the year ahead and the children will be encouraged to set their sights as high as possible in all that they do.

One of the changes made this term, is that our new Year 6 class (top right) have additional positions of responsibility, helping others around the school. These new roles include playground mentors, House Captains, wet break monitors and sports leaders. The children have taken the bull by the horn in these first few days and have embraced this additional responsibility. Many congratulations



News from the Pre-SchoolWe have had the most amazingly happy start to the year, with, Annie, Indie Boo, Max and Charlie joining us. Everyone has settled really well and enjoying the challenge for the week of greeting our teachers and friends in the morning to earn a sticker on the chart.

Yesterday we went blackberry picking to find that the birds had beaten us to them, so our flap jacks that we are making next week as part of our maths, will have to be plain. We are looking forward to our first swimming session at Ruby Oak Park on Monday morning.

Music successfor SebastianOver the holidays, Sebastian heard the excellent news that he had passed his ABRSM Grade 3 Piano exam and was awarded a merit.

Events in the Prep School for next weekMonday 11th SeptemberPre-School swim

Wednesday 12th SeptemberYear 5 swimU.9 netball and rugby vs St. Petroc’s (A)

Thursday 13th SeptemberYear 3 and 4 visit to Meeth Nature ReserveInformation Evening for Parents (6.30pm)

Friday 14th SeptemberAssembly: Mr M. Rogers

Rachel to Play at the Royal Albert HallWe are grateful to Rachel Pankhurst’s father for sending us news of the Upper Sixth Former’s impressive musical achievements over the summer holiday.

The Music for Youth committee has invited Cornwall Youth Orchestra, under Rachel’s leadership, to play in the Music for Youth Prom concert on Tuesday 14th November at the Royal Albert Hall in London. They will be playing Mussorgsky’s ‘A Night on the Bare Mountain’ and a new finale piece by Pete Letanka.

Their earlier concert, including pieces by Moldau and Smetana in the MFY National Festival at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall in July received high praise and led to this invitation to London.

‘The Music for Youth Proms concerts are a celebration of the entire Music for Youth annual season, showcasing high quality performances from some of the UK’s most creative, innovative and energetic young musicians’ - MFY quote.

Also this summer Rachel played in a concert in The Malvern Theatre following a week’s residential with the National Schools’ Symphony Orchestra at Malvern College. The programme included Bizet, Nicholas Maw and Shostakovich’s challenging ‘Symphony No 5 in D Minor’.

In other summer concerts Rachel played with Hartland Chamber Orchestra, including their 25th Anniversary Concert at Stoke Church, often referred to as the ‘Cathedral of North Devon’.



Upper School Students - University ChoicesUCAS have produced a new free MOOC (massive open online course) entitled ‘Smart Choices: Broadening your Horizons’ which is aimed at students who are unsure about what to study or where to study at university. You have to register for the two week course which begins on the 6th November and is completely free.

To find out more, Google any of the following and it will appear:

UCAS smart choicesSmart choices UCAS MOOCSmart choices MOOC

This is a fantastic opportunity for all students. Please investigate and see if it suits you. If you need any more details please email: [email protected]

Judith Aliberti

Well Done Angus!We are delighted to hear that Angus Crookes has received a Dean’s Commendation Certificate in recognition of his outstanding achievement at the first stage of his studies.

Angus is studying Physics at Exeter University.

Congratulations Eloise!Lower Sixth Former Eloise is pictured here at her NCS (National Citizen Service) Graduation.

Her team’s project was to renovate Sticklepath Primary School’s memorial garden (below). They raised money through a cake and plant sale outside the school and bag packing at Tesco in Barnstaple. A great effort, well done!

Toilet Twinning UpdateI am very pleased to let you know that we have received our toilet twinning certificate. We have been twinned with a school toilet block in Kanombe Village, Uganda. We have decided to put the certificate in the girls toilets in the Sixth Form building.

Lindsay Douglas

Related NewsMiss Body and the Sixth Formers who travelled to Uganda during the holidays contacted me and let me know that they were helping to put in the foundations for a toilet for a child-led family. They wanted to know if we had any money left over from our fundraising, which we did, and asked if we would be happy for it to be used to contribute towards the construction of the toilet, I felt that it would be a worthwhile use of the remaining money. The remaining £75 (and a few pence) has been used to help the child-led family have access to a clean toilet. Many thanks again for your support and generosity in giving.

Lindsay Douglas

Gum Shields ReminderOPRO are visiting Shebbear College on Wednesday 13th September at 1.00pm to fit gum shields to those who have registered and paid via their website. If parents wish to register their child for this service and haven’t already done so, it needs to be completed by 8.00am on Monday 11th September. It is not possible to just turn up on the day.

Nurse Rebecca Odlin, Medical Centre

Coming up in the Senior School:Saturday 9th September9.30-1.00pm: Boarders’ Barnstaple trip6.00pm: Boarders’ BBQ and games

Sunday 10th September8.00am: Abbots Way Training Walk5.15 - 5.55pm: Food Hygiene and Boarders’ Meeting

Monday 11th September5th Form Art Assignments begin3.45 - 4.45pm: NCS Visit L6 & U66.00pm: Form Three Introduction Evening

Tuesday 12th September6.00pm: Form Five Introduction Evening

Wednesday 13th September12.30 - 1.30pm: NCS Stand in the Sixth Form Centre1.00 - 5.00pm: Upper School Team Building6.00pm: Form Four Introduction Evening

Thursday14th SeptemberAM: Form 5 Futurewise ProfilingPM: Form 5 Futurewise Personality Workshop

Friday 15th September4.00pm: Bronze D of E Expedition depart

Saturday 16th September10.00am: 1st XV Rugby Training

Sunday: 17th September9.30am: Boarders’ Trip to Plymouth: Karting and Shopping



Visitors from PolandOn Thursday afternoon we were privileged to welcome a large group of senior pupils from Seven Secondary School in Wroclaw, Poland who are currently on an educational trip to England, based at an activities centre in Okehampton. After being shown around our school by our willing 5th and 6th Form guides the pupils were joined by our own pupils who will be attending our trip to Krakow in February next year.

Mr Charman attempted to welcome the guests in Polish, ably assisted by Antonia Aliberti. Then the Polish pupils gave us a presentation about their beautiful city, school and culture.

Next, Mr Rogers gave an inspiring talk about his Polish grandfather and highlighted the strong links between our two countries. Following this, Mrs Aliberti hosted an amusing game where we all attempted to pronounce tricky Polish and English words.

This visit provided a very enjoyable cultural exchange for both schools.

One for the ArchivesMr Horn found this fascinating old photograph being sold online and secured it for the school archives. The photo shows the main front gates and school building prior to significant extension. We are unsure of the exact date but the lack of pavements and road along with the feature of a horse and cart give some idea of its age. We would welcome any further information.



GCSE ResultsShebbear College’s Year 11s are the first group to have taken the new GCSEs in English Language, English Literature and Maths, and a record number of UK pupils have achieved five passes including Maths and English Language (a Grade 4 would have achieved a C last year). The new top grade at GCSE is a score of 9 and this was achieved in each of the new exams.

Antonia Aliberti now proudly possesses the school’s best ever set of GCSE results including the equivalent of 13 A*s and a 9 in Maths. Other superb performances came from Tara Twomey with 7 A*s and 5 As, and Alex Yiu with 8 A*s. Alex achieved an A* in Computer Science in the first year that the school has offered the subject at GCSE.

Simon Weale commented ‘Our pupils cannot be compared against their predecessors because these new exams are fundamentally more testing. I am delighted that they have collectively risen to the challenge. GCSEs seem to induce the highest stress levels and the process helps everyone to find out about themselves and learn lessons for the future. These pupils are now well set to perform well at A Level and Btec’.

A Level ResultsShebbear College students have achieved a record number of A* grades and the vast majority of the class of 2017 have succeeded in gaining places at their first choice of university. Destinations include Imperial College, Birmingham, Leeds, Exeter, Reading, Loughborough, Plymouth, Bath, and Southampton.

Amongst the successes were the two Williams - Cox and Lam - who are both off to study Engineering at Imperial College, one of the leading technology universities in the world, having achieved five A* and three A grades between them. Twins Matt and Olivia Hill will study Pharmacology at Bath. Anna Bennett’s A* in Spanish ensures she can study the language at Exeter University and Tamsin Alderson gained an A* and 2As to secure her place to study Geography at Birmingham. Students have opted to study a wide range of courses from the Sciences to the Expressive and Creative Arts. The College’s Art Department had another extraordinary set of results with five A*s, one A and one B.

Simon Weale said ‘This has been a very stressful experience for the students who have been guinea pigs testing the new exam system. The results they have achieved are testament to their ability and resilience and I know that each one of our students will go and make a success of the opportunities they have been given’.



Picture this ... Uganda Expedition Summer 2017

2616¦Shebbear College¦September¦2017

OPRO has been providing a unique dental service to schools and clubs for over 20 years.

This year, an OPRO dental professional will visit the School and take impressions from all pupils who would like to purchase a Custom-Fit mouthguard. Please place your order a minimum of one week in advance of the visit date in order for your child to be included for the impression taking.

The OPRO dental professional will be visiting the School on:WEDNESDAY 13 Sep 2017 at 13:00

Click below for the full range and to order:

THE BEST DEFENCEAgainst facial injuries in all contact sports

www.opro.com

The School's custom design

THE OPRO MOUTHGUARD

• Wide range of colours and designs

• Antimicrobial additive for hygienic protection

• D3O option for the ultimate in protection and comfort

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