V O L U M E 7 , I S S U E 6

THE Q.E. NEWS

QEHS

Morton Terrace

Gainsborough

Lincolnshire

DN21 2ST

Telephone Number:

01427 612354

Fax Number:

01427 612856

Email: office@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Website:

www.qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Twitter:

@QueenElizHigh

Article by

Mr D Allsop, Headteacher

J U L Y 2 0 1 6

After an extremely busy and eventful year,

it’s hard to believe this will be the last

Newsletter of this academic year. Over the

past few weeks, our students have been

working hard to prepare for their exams,

and we have continued to focus much effort

into supporting those students who have

needed extra help in their preparation. My

thanks go to all of our mentors, both

students and staff, who have given so freely

of their time to support their mentees as

well as all our parents for helping the school

in preparing and supporting their children.

Looking back over the year we have had

several foreign trips including China and, of

course, Ofsted visited us back in January. It

sometime seems that we have squeezed two

years’ worth of activity into a single year!

Our Parental Information Evenings for

supporting students in their exams have

gone well and this year we have done

evenings for parents of students in Years 9,

10 and 11. This is because feedback from

parents of Year 11 in the past has told us

that they would prefer the evening to be

earlier. In future years we will run this

evening for the parents of Year 9 only in

Term 6.

We were all delighted that Cheree Carson

gained a Highly Commended Award and Mrs

Cook was a finalist for TA of the year at the

recent Lincolnshire Education Awards.

Their achievement was celebrated at an

Award Dinner and Presentation Evening on

4 July. I extend my hearty congratulations to

them, and you can find out more about the

event and the winners later in this

Newsletter. We have continued to host

visits from our Chinese partners in

Tangshan, the last one taking place in July.

The opportunities for these visits is greatly

appreciated by our Chinese guests, who

always leave us with such a high regard for

our students and staff. Thank you to

everyone who works so hard to

accommodate our guests.

As always, September will bring several

staffing changes, which Mrs Brown will

outline later in this Newsletter. We are

always sorry to see colleagues leave us,

but it is good to know that careers are

being advanced, retirements are eagerly

anticipated and generally those staff have

‘new worlds to conquer’, which is always

an exciting time. At the same time as

losing several colleagues, it is of course

and opportunity to welcome new staff to

our school, and to work alongside them

in their integration into our excellent

team of people.

This year is the first one when we have

offered one week of work experience in

Year 10 and a further week in Year 12,

and I am delighted to say that both sets of

students have embraced their

opportunities to better understand the

world of work.

As always, I’d like to finish this piece by

once again giving my heartfelt thanks to

those people without whose support and

interest the school would be a much

poorer place. These much-valued

advocates and supporters include our

wonderful Governors, our hard-working

PTA, our Parental Focus Group and of

course our staff and parents, all of whom

have contributed so significantly to

improvements made in the school this

year. We are all working to ensure that

our students receive the best educational

experiences that we can possibly offer to

set them up well for their future.

Don’t forget that you can be kept abreast

of all the latest news by following us on

Twitter @QueenElizHigh. In the

meantime, I wish all of the students who

will be anxiously waiting for their exam

results the very best of luck; we will see

you all on results days in August. I hope

that our students, parents and staff enjoy

the summer holiday to come; it is well

deserved!

Welcome by Mr Allsop

2

Raising funds to raise a memorial for our

Old Boys who died in both World Wars

The team of staff who regularly accompany the annual Battlefields Trip to Picardy has established a student-led trip tradition of laying a wreath and performing a short but moving ceremony at the centre-stone of the glorious Thiepvaal Memorial, naming and remembering each QEHS Old Boy who fell in the Great War. This ceremony has become the emotional highlight of the trip, with a spine-tingling rendition of The Last Post, and is often watched and admired by other visitors to the site.

Each November 11th, QEHS holds a minute’s silence to remember these lost young lives, and those from the Second World War. At present, the focal point of this ceremony is a rusty flagpole.

The Battlefield team would like to create a more dignified focus for our students as they quietly reflect, and have designed and planned a brick and stone column to be sited in front of the school.

On July 1st, the centenary of the first day of the Somme battles, in which many of our 35 QEHS recruits fell, we held a non-uniform day to raise funds for the project, with another planned for early October. Monies raised will go towards the basic materials, and hopefully, if sufficient, towards upgrading aspects of the monument – for example, better quality name plaque, some artistic iron work, more expansive paving around the column, and so on.

The team have cut the first turf to get the project under way - we hope to have everything in place for this coming Remembrance Day.

If you would like to support this project with a small individual donation, your contribution would be more than welcome. Please send to Mrs. Rothwell (Monument Team) c/o Reception at QEHS.

We hope you will enjoy seeing our memorial column take shape and become an established part of the front-of-school landscape!

Mrs Rothwell and Ms Frecknall, Ms Jones, Mrs Marshall, Mrs Thorpe, Dr Day and Mr Williamson.

Final Standings

The winner!

A Very Talented Manager

We would probably all agree that the ability to manage is a very useful skill to

develop. Whether it is people or resources, the truth is that managing often

requires a great deal forward thinking. Keelan Lawcock (13C) has proved this

year that his thinking has been thorough and very well planned as he has

become the first student to be awarded the QEHS Fantasy Premier League

Manager of the Year. And he has accomplished this in style by placing himself

very comfortably in the top positions throughout the season. For those of

you unfamiliar with the idea of the Fantasy Premier League it is worth

mentioning that every member of the QEHS mini league had the same initial

budget to design their squad and also had the same amount opportunities to

make changes during the season. The key to success here was to predict

which players were going to perform better in order to achieve the most

points in each match day. As it turned out, Keelan’s selections proved to be

the most reliable on a regular basis. We are hoping to continue next season

with the second edition of the QEHS Fantasy League for students and staff so

if you are thinking about it please make sure that you pay attention to the

register notices when we come back in September.

By Mr Fortis

3

Deutschland 2016

Day 1

Today we went up to the Burg Eltz castle and had a grand tour of

some of the rooms used by one of the important families that lived

there. It was a really enjoyable experience. After we visited the

castle we went on a long relaxing walk to get to know the area

better, we walked down to the statue of the famous Loreley and

we went to look at the visitors centre on top of a giant hill. Here

we learnt more about the legend of the Loreley and delved deeper

into German culture.

Day 2

Today we visited a very unique music museum, Siegfrieds

Musikkabinett with authentic, original music players from various

centuries. My personal favourite was a fairground music player for a

carousel that was intricately painted to blend in at a fairground.

After lunch we travelled on cable cars and chair lifts while looking

down on vineyards and beautiful villages. Although it rained a lot it

was still a very enjoyable day, looking down on such lovely

surroundings knowing that I was there amongst them.

Day 3

Today was the last day of activities, and in my opinion the best, we

went to a local theme park called Phantasialand and had loads of

fun, eating sweets and chips, going on fast rides, spending time with

our mates and generally having a good time. My favourite part was

the group carousel ride at the end, it is a compulsory tradition

where all staff and students on the German trip ride on the

carousel together at the end of the day, it is great fun and a good

laugh for everyone!

Going on the German trip was amazing! We learnt lots more about

German culture whilst having fun and spending time with our

mates. I wanted to say a big thank you to all the staff involved with

organising the trip.

By Hannah Croft (8B)

School Uniform

If you are replacing any items of school uniform that your son/daughter has outgrown, please would

you consider donating their old uniform to school.

We have a small stock of spare uniform for in the event of accidental spills/tears/rips etc., any

donations thankfully received.

4

Year 8 Extended

Projects Year 8 had a fantastic opportunity

to stretch their research skills,

imaginations and creative skills this

term. As part of their preparations

for the world of work, the students

were asked to bring their

independent study skills to bear and

to research a topic of their choice.

The students were then given a

golden opportunity to show off all

of their hard work by presenting

their projects to parents and to the

students of Year 7 during a project

display afternoon on Friday 8 July.

The students rose to the challenge

and excelled. The projects were

thoughtful, varied and showed the

results of many hours of research.

From John Peacock (Channel 5

Police Interceptors) and his trainee

pup, to bearded dragon lizards,

climbing walls, go carts, biscuits and

cakes, artwork, football, motocross

to ballet and home built computers

the students showed that, when let

loose, they can come up with

something really good. As one

parent remarked: ‘You should be

e x t r e m e l y p r o u d o f y o u r

students……!’ And we are! Well

done Year 8; a real success!

By Mr Kingdom

Lincolnshire Young Designer of

the Year Winner

On Friday 1 July a competition for young designers in

Lincolnshire was held at the National Centre for

Craft and Design Centre in Sleaford. QEHS was

lucky enough to have eleven of the twenty three

students shortlisted for the prizes available.

Some of the students and myself attended the event

alongside parents, other teachers, designers and

businesses. All the work was displayed in the roof

top gallery of the NCCD and there was a real buzz

around the event. It was great to see so much

excellent work from GCSE and A Level Design &

Technology students displayed in one space.

The judging took place before we arrived and prizes

were awarded for a variety of achievements. QEHS

student Livi Ablett won the award for Outstanding

Research and Development. The judges were

impressed by her involvement of outside agencies

and real life application.

When speaking to the judges and other attending the

event later in the evening they were very impressed

by the quality of work students at QEHS had

produced. As a department we are very proud of

our students and hope to have students shortlisted

for this event next year.

Congratulations must go to Livi and all of the other

students that were shortlisted: Nimah Cogley-Rock,

Robyn Steeper, Becky Codd, Zahrah Thomas,

Jasmine Ashurts, Alyssa Cort, Jade Ball, Ella Walton,

Lucy Thornton and Jacob Marfleet.

By Miss Spencer

5

School Improvement Plan (SIP)

2016-2017

As parents know, we had a visit from Ofsted in January

which concluded that we remain an outstanding school.

However, there is always work to do and each year we

look at all of our available information and evaluative

sources to identify how we can make things even

better for students the following year. We also ask the

opinions of staff and discuss options with senior staff in

the school. The final School Improvement Plan (SIP) is

then pulled together at a meeting with Senior

Governors, the Leadership Team and the Head

Students.

Next year, a major part of the plan is all about going

back to basics. With funding continually cut in the

public sector and significant changes to examination and

curriculums happening at all levels and in all subjects,

we felt it was important to ensure that we continued

to get the basics right. Over the years rules,

regulations and procedures can become forgotten or

remembered incorrectly by students and staff. As we

have been reviewing our rules we have realised that in

fact we adhere well to many, if not most, of them.

However, there are some, such as not eating at the

front of school, which have fallen by the wayside.

Some rules, we realise, are no longer needed or are no

longer sensible such as students must keep their coats

in their locker. We are not looking to change anything

but simply adhere to what we say we are going to do.

We will also be clearer about our expectations of

students in lessons, and what our students can expect.

So having the correct equipment, being on time and

engaging with the work will all be reinforced

throughout next year.

It could be said that these things should be happening

anyway and this is right, and indeed many of them are.

But we have had occasions when we realised it hasn’t

been clear what the rules are and that can lead to

confusion. Our aim is that everybody in the school will

be fully aware of what the expectations of them are

and what they can expect from others.

In preparation for September, students may wish to

familiarise themselves with the School Rules in the

planner. Also, whilst the uniform is not changing at all,

when buying skirts etc., it would be worthwhile

checking that they are going to remain an appropriate

length for the whole year. Don’t forget any hair dyes

applied over the summer must be gone by the start of

term so that the only hair colours we should see are

ones that occur naturally.

The full SIP will be available on the school website once

it has been finally ratified by the Governors at the end

of this term.

By Mr Allsop

Interdum Synthesis

The first breath,

The death-defying breath;

One was natural,

the other just fate.

One created his life,

the other shaped it.

A feather among bricks.

The Ugly Duckling.

The Michael Collins:

an all-round outcast

changing gloves for a pen,

bodies for paper; leaving his family.

19 is the number.

They just didn’t understand.

What he was;

how he thought;

how he lived.

Anonymous.

He knew what was wrong.

He knew what was right.

One thing was his thought:

one thing reality.

Boxing was his protein;

business was his suit.

Interdum synthesis!

Interdum synthesis!

Pugnare!

Pugnare!

Pugnare!

Year 7 Poetry

Year 7 students were set the task of creating a

poem about what it means to be someone

aged 12. The theme Alex and Chris chose was

making your own choices, not living up to the

expectations of others. In their poem they

depict a pacifist born into a family of boxers,

who has a constant struggle not to fight,

despite his family’s expectations….

By Chris Murray-Auckland (7E) and

Alexander Mason-Watson (7E)

6

Moving Forward

It is almost time to say goodbye to the school year of 2015/2016 and we're all ready to turn to the next

page! Year 6s are waiting to become the new Year 7s and the current Year 7s have adjusted to life at

secondary school and Year 8 is just around the corner! The Year 11 and 13 classes have finished their

exams and are awaiting the results to decide what the next step will be. Everyone is moving on!

Sarah Johns (11C) shared some of her best memories with me from her years at QEHS.

'I remember back in Year 8 when we all went on the ski trip to Bormio. I think the laughs we all

shared there will stay with me for the rest of my life. One piece of advice I'd give to the new

Year 7s is don't stress too much about the small stuff like missing a homework because it won't

matter as much in the long run if it isn't a consistent mistake! Enjoy the time you have at school

because there are some really incredible times to be had. Some of the travel opportunities QEHS

gave me were incredible and that was one of the best things about being at this school. Me and

my friends loved hanging round at lunchtimes on the field and in the canteen courtyard and

House fundraisers for the different charities were always really fun to get involved with. I think it

taught me some serious teamwork skills! I think QEHS taught me to respect authority over the

years as well, when I was in Year 7 I was really cheeky! I'll never forget my time at Queenies,

now I'm moving on to John Leggott College.... I think I might even miss it!’

It isn't just students either who are moving forward, Mr White (English teacher) is about to embark on an

amazing opportunity to teach in the Falkland islands after 10 years here at QEHS and he'll be missed! Mr

White was also able to speak to me, talking of his time at our school.

'Teaching at QEHS has given me some wonderful memories to take with me, such as my trip

to the battle fields in France with a class. It was a life changing experience and it was great to

see the kids really connect with the history surrounding the first world war and from an

English perspective, to connect with the poetry related to it. I absolutely loved that. Working

here also allowed me to teach A Level and I appreciated having that intellectual challenge

because some of the students I was able to teach were really switched on. They challenged

some of my ideas and interpretations of literature and this makes for a more rewarding job

because personally, I don't like teaching being a one way street. After being here for 10 years I

will take away experiences and memories I will cherish for the rest of my life partly down to

the wonderful staff and largely because of the kids I've been able to teach, some of whom have

been amazing characters. I hope to stay in touch with Mrs Jones because me and my wife get

on with her really well and if I can squash it in with the two weeks free holiday the Falklands

government give me next year, it would be nice to see her again. The one piece of advice I'd

give to the new Year 7s is don't worry too much about what other people think and just do

the best that you can do; don't let the higher targets of this school dominate your life and

enjoy your childhood while you've got it. So work hard but don't make it all work and no play!'

What ever step you are about to take next I wish you the best of luck and have a wonderful summer!

By Arwen Williams (7E)

How 30 seconds can help the PTA.

Are you one of the many parents who would you like to support the PTA but don’t

have any spare time?

Simply click on the link below and register with Easyfundraising.org.uk - it only takes

a few seconds and after that money is donated to QEHS PTA every time you shop at

hundreds of online stores.

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/queenelizabethshighschoolgainsborough/?

t=PTA-UK-li&u=24ITWH.

You may think you don’t buy enough online to make it worthwhile – but just think

about the Library Garden, which has largely been funded by money raised by the

PTA. This just goes to show that “Every Little Helps”!

By Mrs Stevenson

7 By Mr D Priest

Rocket Science at QEHS

The Gardening Club at QEHS is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Campaign

for School Gardening, and through this association, we learnt of an exciting project entitled “Rocket Science”.

This project is based around the mission of Tim Peake the first British ESA astronaut, and is an experiment to try and help establish the effects of microgravity on seeds that have been in

space and then returned to earth. This information will be vital in the realisation of the projected manned space flight to Mars, scheduled to happen within the next twenty years.

On the 2nd September 2015, two kilograms of rocket seeds (Eruca sativa) travelled from

Baikonur- Kazakhstan on the Soyuz 44S rocket, to the International Space Station (ISS). The seeds were then stored in microgravity by Tim Peake, before being returned safely to earth

on the 2nd March 2016 on board a Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft. This spacecraft returned Astronaut Scott Kelly along with Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov. Kelly &

Kornienko were both returning to Earth after spending a full year in space. A key component of the year in space mission is to help determine the possible effects to humans, of a prolonged return journey to Mars.

During early April we received two packets of Rockets seeds from the RHS, one red and one

blue, which were both to contain 100 seeds. One of the packets would contain seeds that had been stored on the ISS, with the other containing standard stock. We wouldn’t know which

of the packets contained the space seeds, until the experiment had finished and all the results had been gathered in. This of course didn’t stop the group speculating, and as the blue packet

contained exactly one hundred seeds the general feeling was that these would be the special items. The start of the experiment was scheduled nationwide for Wednesday 20th April, and

so the race was on to prepare the equipment required and to find a suitable area for the seeds to be grown. Thanks to Miss Howe from the Science Department the mini greenhouse built into the side of Room 8 was made available, so we were all set for the experiment to

start.

During lunchtime on the 20th the experiment group assembled in Room 9 to sow the seeds carefully into specially labelled and numbered trays, four trays for the red and four for the

blue. Each tray contains 25 individual seed cells, identified by labels made by the group from recycled milk cartons.

The students were excellent in the precise sowing of the tiny seeds, and in quick time we had the trays in place and watered to commence the project right on time.

The “Rocket Scientists” were given a briefing on how the experiment was to be conducted, and then split into two teams to look after the various watering and recording duties. A log

book was produced, to assist with the seven major points of the experiment. As you would expect from our students, they went about their duties in a diligent and careful manner,

always informing Miss Howe of the visit to the room before starting work. At no point over the time of the experiment were the plants left short of water, with the trays being rotated to

prevent the seedlings growing in the wrong direction.

The experiment lasted for exactly 35 days, with specific measurements and calculations taking place on day numbers 1, 10,17,21,28 & 35. During the experiment, our students noticed several interesting facts, such as only 1 of the 8 trays having a 100% germination success rate,

with all the seedlings in this one tray also surviving the length of the experiment. All the required experiment data has now been entered onto the RHS Microsite, and we await the

nationwide results to see what patterns may emerge.

Tim Peake safely returned to Earth on Saturday the 23 June 2016. On Tim’s return, it was announced that the seeds that have travelled to the International Space Centre were in the

BLUE packet.

The Rocket Scientists are:

7B— Jack Aisthorpe and Anouk Christie 9B— Andrew Beevers, Elliot Newton and Ryan Aisthorpe

By Mr D Priest

8

The Pastoral System at QEHS

After a busy year I thought it sensible to remind you all of our personnel and what routes you

can take when you have a concern about your child. The first port of call should be the form

tutor whom you can contact via the planner or by email or the phone. The sorts of issues

here would be perhaps concerns over frequency of homework, uniform queries, relationships

and issues around school that do not relate to safeguarding concerns. Our heads of house will

pick up any serious issues such as bullying, poor behaviour or safeguarding concerns.

Heads of House

Austen Mrs Baldwin staffjlb@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Brunel Miss Walsh staffejw@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Churchill Mrs Haldenby staffrlh@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Darwin Mrs Holland staffjlh@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Elgar Mr Johnson stafftj@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Scott Mr Betts staffmsb@qehs.lincs.sch.uk

Heads of House work alongside each other ensuring the smooth running of the school. They

will keep me informed of any current issues they are dealing with or perhaps escalate

concerns to the Safeguarding Team or to me separately as Deputy Headteacher. Heads of

House will also liaise with our school counsellor, SENCO, Disadvantaged Pupil Co-ordinator,

Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator and Child Protection Officer on your behalf.

Example:

Your child is being bullied and you are now aware and want the school to act. You may judge

the level of bullying as serious and would therefore contact the relevant Head of House. You

may however feel that this is more of a falling out or a relationship issue and contact the form

tutor for advice in the first instance. If the situation was judged as very serious the Head of

House would raise it with myself and we would work together to put in measures of support

for the victim and issue appropriate and proportionate sanctions to any perpetrators. There

would be follow up work days, weeks and months down the line to ensure that there were no

repetitions of any bullying to the victim.

I hope you find this article useful and feel confident contacting the school to resolve any issues

around you child’s wellbeing and education.

By Mr Allan

Congratulations to ….

… Eva Tremelling (9C). Eva

achieved a Highly Commended

in recent Street Dance and Free

Style exams.

Well Done!

Well done to ….. Dasiy Muir (11S) who took

Grade 4 Jazz Piano (in the middle

of her GCSEs!) and passed with

Merit.

Congratulations!

9

Lost Property

All lost property will be on display in the

Lower School Hall on Thursday 21 July (last

day of term) for students to re-acquaint

themselves with their belongings. All

uncollected items will remain on display for

the first two weeks of the school holidays.

Should any parents/carers wish to come and

have a look for their child's belongings, please

call in to reception on arrival at the school.

After this period any items that have not been

collected will be disposed of.

School Office—Summer Break

We would like to advise parents/carers that the

school office will not be manned during the

summer break except on

A Level Results Day (Thursday 18 August)

and

GCSE Results Day (Thursday 25 August)

Fund-Raising

As part of our continuing programme to improve

the school buildings we are focusing on the

condition of our toilets.

I am sure you will agree that some of them

require a lick of paint at the very least.

Sadly some of the toilets have been mistreated in

the past and with this in mind we want our

students to take some ownership of the condition

of the facilities.

The most effective way of doing this is to involve

the students in raising funds to complete this

modernisation. I will be tasking the Student

Council to come up with fund raising ideas and Mr

Allsop has agreed to match the amount raised by

the students.

We will start with the toilets in middle school as

they get a lot of use by our students and they are

also used by parents during evening events and

11+ days and so on.

We hope to increase capacity and improve the

quality of our toilet provision so if anybody has

some interesting ideas to raise funds I would like

to hear from you.

By Mr Allan

A NEW CAREER AWAITS

Teacher training at QEHS

Queen Elizabeth’s High School continues to be a centre of excellence for Teacher Training, offering a high level of

expertise and support. A recent Quality Assurance review by Sheffield Hallam University rated QEHS as a “Lead

School”, which is the highest designation possible. This year we have worked with Sheffield Hallam University,

Bishop Grosseteste University and the Lincolnshire Teaching Schools Alliance, and we continue to operate both

Schools Direct and Core placements with these providers. Next year we are looking forward to another increase

in student teacher numbers, with our involvement with our University providers continuing to grow.

At the end of the current academic year the school can celebrate the success of its six trainees who have just

completed their training with us. All passed with excellent grades, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the

English, Drama, Maths, Music, Science and Spanish departments. The school wishes all the trainees the very best of

luck for their future career and hopes that as usual many stay in contact. We are fortunate, however, to be able

to continue to support our Spanish trainee in her new role as NQT from next September.

After the success of the first meeting held last January, QEHS is due to host another Teacher Information Evening

on Wednesday 19 October for prospective trainee teachers. If you are interested in taking up teaching as a

career, you are welcome to come and join us at this event where you will be able to get further information and

ask any questions you may have.

If you can’t wait till then, and would like information on training with us here at QEHS, please don’t hesitate to get

in contact with the school. We look forward to helping you take those first steps on the path to a new career.

By Mr Harrison, ITT Co-ordinator

10

QEHS Trip to Tanzania

Summer 2017

We are hugely excited to report that 30 students from Years 11, 12 and 13 will be taking part in an

expedition to Tanzania next summer. The students have signed up to take part in an expedition that is run

via an organisation called Camps International. The students will live in camps in Tanzania and will take part

in a number of development projects in a variety of local communities. These projects are full time projects

for Camps International and we are therefore sure that the students are contributing to a project that will

be followed all the way through to fruition. The projects range from building classrooms and creating

latrines and showers to working with local students helping to teach English and maths. The students will

also have the opportunity to work with a wildlife conservation project before taking part in a safari

themselves. The last phase of the expedition is rather ominously termed the ’adventure phase’ and will

involve a 5-day trek to the summit of Mount Meru….which overlooks Kilimanjaro.

The students have been set the task of raising their own expedition costs and have been given plenty of

advice on how to do this. Car boot sales, auctions, sponsored events, concerts and various activities

involving baths and baked beans are already in the pipeline……so if you are asked for a contribution then

we’d be grateful if you would give generously!

By Mr Kingdom

Keep up to date with what’s happening at QEHS

follow us on Twitter @QueenElizHigh

11

Year 12 Students Visit Oxford

For most of us, including Mr Dawson, it was the first time we had visited the city of Oxford. Fifteen

Year 12 students along with Mrs Carney and Mr Dawson set off on a chilly morning at 6am with only a

slight idea as to what to expect once we arrived.

Upon arrival we were greeted warmly and shown part of the city which gave us a great idea as to how

integrated the University of Oxford actually is with the rest community with colleges surrounding the

city centre and the many shops, restaurants and other entertainment that go with it. It was clear that

students were not just a member of the University but also a crucial part to Oxford as a whole.

We began our day in Lincoln College, where we were able to have an extensive tour by an ex-student

of QEHS, Tom Carney, which meant we gained an incredible insight into what it was like to live, work

and socialise within a collegiate University system. We were given the opportunity to see everything

from the stunning library to the accommodation and bar area. In addition to the tour we were also

given a talk about what life as a student at Oxford would be like which included the way in which

students are taught and which societies are on offer. This was followed by a question and answer

session with Tom and 2 other current Oxford students which allowed us to gain a first-hand

understanding of Lincoln College and Oxford.

We continued our visit by heading over to Magdalen College, which is one of the larger colleges,

where we met by another ex QEHS student, Sam Sherburn. Lunch was the served in Magdalen’s

impressive dining hall before we preceded to have a tour which was led by Sam. This meant that we

were able to contrast the 2 different colleges and see the differences between a large and small

college. Once again we were able to access the whole college, including the brand new library.

Following this, other Magdalen students met us and we were able to ask any questions we had about

the college or any questions that had remained unanswered about the University- although there were

very few.

In reflection, I think I can speak for us all in saying that we had an excellent visit to Oxford University

and gained a great amount of knowledge that we would be unable to gain from a website or

prospectus and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in giving us the opportunity to have

such an incredible trip.

By Tom Brogden 12A

12

¡Lo pasé bomba en Barcelona!

¡Hola! Wednesday 25th May, the Spanish department took a trip to Barcelona. 37 excited students,

headed to Heathrow. Our destination: Tossa del Mar, Spain. We enjoyed a smooth flight and

arrived at our hotel later that evening.

Thursday: Waking early, we had breakfast and hopped on the

coach to Girona, a characteristic, cultural Spanish town, and

walked around the castle, enjoying the views over Girona and

the mountains. We climbed some steps to find ourselves high

above the town, a great picnic spot to eat the hotel packed

lunches! Figueres: We enjoyed a guided tour around the Dalí

museum, the air conditioning offering a break from the 26° heat

outside. Then, we returned to the hotel to enjoy a Flamenco

lesson; expecting it to be embarrassing, it turned out to be

extremely good fun!

Friday: jam-packed, oozing with Spanish culture. That’s right, we

headed to Barcelona. First, a cable car ride over the city: a great

opportunity to take some pics and enjoy the views. Later, Parc Guell, a Gaudi inspired green area

where we enjoyed fabulous weather and architecture. Then to Camp Nou stadium, something the

boys (and Mr Fortis) were extremely excited for. A fantastic place to take photos, I found myself in

awe its size and history. Later, we went to the Sagrada Familia, a monumental, intricately designed

ancient cathedral that is not yet fully built. Not just architecture, but a piece of art from Gaudi

himself. We admired the pillars shaped like a canopy of trees and the beautiful stained glass

windows giving the place colour and light; a perfect end to the day.

Saturday: we headed to Salou to PortAventura Theme Park. It was great! The thrill of the

rollercoasters, the log flume soaking us in water, how could this day get any better? Well, the end

of the day approached, and we spotted a mirror maze and thought it would be fun. We watched a

group of small children enter and get through in less than 5 minutes. 25 minutes later, stuck in the

dark, claustrophobic mirror maze, late to meet our group leader, Miss Hackett, walking into our

reflections, I could have cried! We eventually made it out, returning through the entrance and ran

back to the meeting point, 15 minutes late. Out of breath, we reached Miss Hackett who luckily

found our escapade hilarious!

Sunday: bowling and a walk around town before setting off for Barcelona Airport. We boarded the

plane, saying our farewells to the country we’d grown to love. Two air stewards greeted us in

Spanish, reminding us of the great time we’d had. We took off and were on our way back to

familiar territory. A steward offered me a drink. This was my moment, my last chance to practise

Spanish; I asked for a glass of water in perfect Spanish (if I do say so myself!). The man looked

confused, and replied “I don’t speak Spanish; this is British Airways not Iberia.” My face turned red

and I felt so stupid as my friend India and Miss Clark burst into laughter!

I would like to thank all the staff that made this trip so much fun, ¡Lo pasé bomba!

By Evie Coggon (10S)

13

On 17 June QEHS had an excursion to the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC in Birmingham. Not only was this

trip a great day out and enjoyed by all but it was also a relevant and educational experience for both the staff and

the pupils.

As soon as we entered the exhibition hall we were awash with a vast variety different ideas and cultures. Not only

were there plenty of food and drinks on offer but there was also some inspiring and innovative ideas on making

cooking and baking fun and hassle free. As the pupils were browsing the stalls and soaking up the atmosphere

many stalls holders would try and sell their goods and in the process giving away many samples and freebies to

everyone. Some stalls had live demonstrations on how to use their product and some would be calling out to

advertise their wares but no matter what they were doing they were friendly and made the experience even more

enjoyable.

At 12:00pm the QEHS students had the chance to experience Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood live in the Super

Theatre. Everyone watched in awe as Mary and Paul worked their magic on stage. Mary made for the audience

“Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Lemon Sauce” and Paul made “No-knead Bread” both of which could be found in

the Showguide and Recipe Collection that was given upon arrival. The atmosphere in the Super Theatre was

electric when Mary and Paul first entered the stage but before hand to get people in a good mood some prizes

were given away to the best dancers in the audience. Unfortunately no-one from QEHS got a prize but everyone

was dancing their hearts out, even the teachers, and lifted the spirits immensely.

After the show, some stalls were starting to wind down and so even more samples were being given out. At one

stall there was a guest appearance from British Olympic Gymnast Louis Smith and many pupils, mostly the girls,

came back to the bus raving about photos they had with him. The atmosphere in the bus on the way back was

great. Everyone was raving about what they had done, seen and experienced and there wasn’t a sad face on the

coach.

The Good Food Show is a wonderful experience for anyone and you’re never too old. The experience comes

highly recommended by everyone who has been on the trip in previous years so if your son or daughter brings a

letter home asking to go then it would be a fun and worthwhile trip for them to go on!

By Grace Tooke (10D)

Misterton Students

Consulted on the

Misterton Development Plan

Students from Misterton received a visit from a planning officer from Bassetlaw

District Council and the clerk of Misterton parish Council on Tuesday 28 June; the

visitors wanted to hear the students’ views on the Misterton Neighbourhood

Development Plan. The students were asked to mark on a map the areas of

Misterton that they liked and the areas that they felt needed improvement. They

were then asked for ideas as to how Misterton could be improved in terms of

housing, businesses and leisure and recreation. The students had plenty of ideas to

share with the planning officer and were delighted to be given the opportunity to

engage with such an important process.

By Mr Kingdom

14

Another year…another list of thanks and goodbyes….

Where does the time go? Here we are again identifying members of staff who will be leaving the QEHS family at the

end of this year (or who have already left as you read this Newsletter).

At the end of Term 1 Harriet Harvey, Senior Science Technician, left us for personal reasons. We were delighted to

hear that she had recently discovered that she was expecting her second child.

Towards the end of Term 3 we said goodbye to Mr Bauckham, who had been covering Mrs Crick’s maternity leave in

Technology. Thank you to Mr Bauckham for taking care of Mrs Crick’s classes so well during her absence.

Mrs Bennett, Head of Brunel, relocated during the Easter break and we wish her every success in her new home and

school.

Many parents will, during their time with QEHS, have communicated with Mrs Salmon in the main school office. Mrs

Salmon has been responsible for 11+ and Admissions since 2011. We said goodbye to her during the May half-term

and we all wish her a very happy retirement. She was followed on 8 June by Mrs Stephens who also worked in the main

office. We wish her luck in her new career.

Another member of staff who left during the May half-term is Miss Wade, teacher of Law. Miss Wade had been

covering Miss Smith’s maternity cover; however we are now delighted to say that Miss Wade will return to QEHS as a

teacher of Law from September 2016.

As always, May half-term is the point of the year where we lose our Foreign Language Assistants. This year we said

goodbye, with very heavy hearts, to Sabrina (German), Laura (Spanish) and Anaïs (French). We wish these delightful

young ladies every success in their future careers and hope they will keep in touch.

Two members of staff, who have been on temporary contracts this year and who will leave us at the end of this term,

are Mrs Zwozdiak-Evans (Science) and Miss Smith (Languages). I know you will all join us in thanking them for their

dedication to our students during their time with us.

We are very sorry to say goodbye Mr Johnson (Physics), Miss Smith (Law) and Mr White (English) this year. Mr

Johnson will be moving to the far-east for an exciting new phase in his career. Miss Smith will be moving to a new

educational establishment closer to home. Mr White is moving to a teaching post in the Falkland Islands – a

considerable change in lifestyle! We wish them all a very exciting future.

Finally we say our goodbyes, and heartfelt thanks, to three teachers who will be retiring at the end of this year; Mrs

Pearson (Languages), Mrs Evans (ICT) and Mrs Childs (Maths/Sixth Form). They have all worked tirelessly for the

school and involved themselves in many trips and extra-curricular events which have benefitted out students in so many

ways.

Changes during the year:

In February 2016 we recruited two new part-time Science Technicians. Mrs Roberts had previously worked for us as a

Midday Supervisory Assistant and Mrs Whitley had covered a maternity leave in the department the previous year. In

March 2016 we welcomed two new Midday Supervisors to the team; Mrs Iusan and Mrs Hill.

Miss Radcliffe joined us at QEHS on 16 March. Her role in school is Admissions Officer and she officially took over her

post at the start of Term 6, following the retirement of Mrs Salmon. We are confident that Miss Radcliffe will continue

the high standard of work in this area and are already enjoying the experience of working with her. She was joined in

the office by Miss Clark in early June who kindly offered to support the school administration team for Term 6. We are

pleased that Miss Clark will now remain in that post for the next academic year.

Miss Walsh (Head of Art) has taken over the role of Head of Brunel since the start of Term 6. We wish her every

success and know that Brunel will make her feel welcome.

Mrs Lawrence (Head of Music) will take over the responsibility of Head of Arts (Faculty) and Miss Turnbull (Head of

German) will be Head of Languages. Mrs Hudson will take over responsibility for Law; a role she has been doing during

Miss Smith’s recent maternity leave. All of these appointments will be effective from 1st September 2016. We look

forward to working with them in their new posts.

Mrs Heathershaw (girls’ PE) is currently on maternity leave, following the birth of her son, and will be covered by Miss

Scott and Miss Clarvis. Mrs Wooldridge (Science) is also on maternity leave and her baby boy arrived in June. We wish

them both an enjoyable break with their new babies.

We are very pleased to confirm that Mr Burgin (Technology), Miss Garrod (Art) and Miss Snow (Business Studies) will

be staying with us at QEHS on permanent contracts from 1 September. Also, from the same date, Mrs Wislocka-

Antkowiak will leave her post as part-time Cover Supervisor and take on a full-time post as Teacher of Maths.

Congratulations and good luck!

Thank you to all staff, past and present, for making QEHS such an outstanding school.

15

…and from 1st September 2016 welcome aboard to:

Miss A Hall Teacher of Chemistry

Mr S Hilton Teacher of Computing

Dr D Carvalho Teacher of Physics

Miss E Clark Teacher of Spanish

Ms C Deighton Teacher of English

Ms P Worrell Teacher of Chemistry (maternity cover) – former student at QEHS

Mrs H Watson Cover Supervisor (full-time)

Miss B Robinson Cover Supervisor (part-time)

Year 7 take part in the Big First

Aid Lesson Live 2016

On Friday 17 June at 2pm, our Year 7 students took part in The

Big First Aid Lesson, a session on First Aid streamed live by St

John’s ambulance direct into classrooms across the country. The

live stream was hosted by Dr Ranj, the co-creator and presenter

of the hugely popular CBeebies’ show, Get Well Soon.

This is the second year we have run the event at school and our

students seem to really enjoy learning these important life skills.

Each year, there is a different focus and this year’s lesson looked

at topics including choking, seizures and insect bites. Students

watched live demos, listened to real life stories and took part in a

quiz about what they had learned during the live stream.

Afterwards, students were taught how to put someone into the

recovery position and how to give CPR.

At QEHS, we really value the importance of learning life-long skills

such as First Aid. All students are taught First Aid skills during

PSHE lessons and a large number of our sixth form pupils have

achieved First Aid qualifications and teach our younger pupils

about CPR and the recovery position.

St John’s Ambulance reported that only a minority of

schoolchildren would know what to do if one of their classmates

or a member of their family was injured. In fact, across the

country, nearly 60% of children have no first aid training

whatsoever.*

Special thanks goes out to staff who supported the sessions and in

particular to Ms Frecknell and Mr Williamson, our brilliant in-

house First Aiders, who helped to teach pupils the recovery

position and CPR.

Hopefully, our students will not have the need to use the skills

they have just learnt, but should a situation present itself, they will

have the knowledge to make a difference.

*Census stats February 2014

By Mrs Williamson

16

Lincolnshire Education Awards

Monday 4 July 2016

One of the nicest things we get to do in education is celebrate the

successes of our school community. On Monday 4th July were we able to

do just that at the third annual Lincolnshire Education awards. The event

recognises all that is amazing about education in Lincolnshire. This year

they received an overwhelming number of nominations and we were

delighted that Cheree Carson (10D) [‘achieving through adversity’

category] and Jayne Cook (Teaching Assistant of the year) made the finals

shortlist. The evening began with a drinks reception and meal followed by

an opening speech by Councillor Patricia Bradwell who commented that

“the awards were a fitting way to recognise and reward the excellence of

our young people in the county”. There was definitely tension in the air as

each of the categories were announced and presented and we were

delighted when Cheree achieved a ‘highly commended award’ in her

category and Jayne Cook received a runners up certificate. It was a

fantastic evening - well done to all.

By Mrs Muir

PTA AGM

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2016

in the School Library

6.30pm for 7pm start

EVERYBODY WELCOME

We’re always pleased to see new

faces

Drinks and nibbles provided.

Come along and support your

PTA!

17

TDI Challenge shines a light on the next generation of UK

engineering talent

This year’s TDI Challenge final took place on Wednesday 6 July at Yamazaki Mazak’s European Headquarters

in Worcester. The competition was open to all Design and Technology (D&T) students from across the UK.

From these entries a shortlist of twelve finalists were chosen by the MTA’s Learning and Development

Committee to attend the final judging day and award ceremony in Worcester.

The judging was split into two age groups; 14-16 years old and 17-19 years old, with one winner and two

runners-up chosen from each group. The finalists impressed the judges with the high calibre of design projects

and the engineering talent on show.

Second place in the 14-16 category went to Lucy Thornton from Queen Elizabeth’s High School,

Gainsborough, with her Giraffe push along rocker and third place was awarded to Cameron Hubbard from

Attleborough Academy Norfolk, with his V8 inline four engine BBQ.

The twelve finalists were praised by Alan Pickering, Chair of the MTA’s Learning and Development Committee

and Managing Director of Unison Ltd, who said; "the students and their projects were tremendous, a real

credit to their schools and parents. I am sure they will all have a bright future!”.

A few fords from Lucy …..

GCSE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL COMPETITION FINALIST

For my RM GCSE I made a wooden giraffe toy that was selected for the TDI challenge final in Worcester.

My giraffe pushes along, rocks and includes a variety of learning games. At the TDI final there were many

amazing products including a helicopter training device and a wheel that can drive in every direction. The

day included a tour of Yamazaki Mazak which was very interesting and showed me a new angle of

engineering. I had to give a presentation of my giraffe to the judges who questioned me on many topics

from health and safety to the reasons for my choice of material. I was later interviewed by a reporter

which was a completely new experience which was quite scary! I came second in the competition and won

an Amazon Fire. It was an amazing experience and gave me many valuable skills for the future.

Lucy Thornton 11C

18

Site Security

You may have noticed, if you have been into school in the last couple of weeks, the changes to the site

security that have been implemented. After feedback given by Ofsted following our recent inspection,

senior managers and governors were keen to upgrade site security to maximise pupil safety. The

following measures have been implemented:

A number of external doors have been fitted with door access controls.

Some of the hedging at the front of school has been upgraded with mesh fence.

The vehicle barrier, which was broken, has been replaced with gates.

In addition, we have also improved pedestrian access onto the school site via a footpath alongside the

main drive and across the front of school to reception, where ramped access will be created during the

summer break.

By Mr Williamson

Lincolnshire Show

On Wednesday 22 June, the students who have chosen a technology for GCSE had the opportunity to

spend the day at the Lincolnshire show, in which we experienced a number of different activities and

stalls. There were a variety of food and retail stalls as well as many agricultural events. There were many

hands on activities which you could do including inflatable obstacle courses, but we chose to experience

rock-climbing, which was both fun and exhilarating. However, our favourite activity was the circus tent.

This was where we could try things like uni- cycling and tight rope walking as well as stilt walking too. We

also saw a variety of shows in the main arena. These included dog shows, motor bike performances and

horse jumping. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed the day as we got to see and do many things that we

wouldn’t have done if we hadn’t been to the show.

By Miss Spencer

19

Sheffield Hallam University Canape Competition

On Wednesday 18 May, Evie and I

met Mrs Jones at Sheffield Hallam

University at 10am to practice our

canapés ready for the actual event on

Friday 10 June. We were joined by

another girl from Trinity Academy. I

made mozzarella and sun-dried

tomato fill pastry cups and miniature

fish and chips, and Evie made curried

chicken, Yorkshire doughnuts and

herby mini scone pizzas.

On the practice session, we made 5 of

each canapés which enabled the judges

to taste them and give us critiques for

the true event. On the Friday

afternoon, Mrs Jones, Miss Spencer,

Evie and I travelled to Sheffield in the

afternoon and started preparing our

canapés at around 4pm, saw the

venue, then finished cooking and

transferred them into thermal boxes.

We assembled and plated up the

canapés at the Old Post Office and

served them around the Design

Exhibition. We were awarded a

persona l i sed apron , She f f ie ld

cookbook and a certificate. The

experience of cooking in an industrial

kitchen was amazing and one that I

may not experience again!

By Jess Gibbard

From Beckingham to Paris!!

The choir have been out and about again representing the school in the Queen’s birthday celebrations.

We braved the rain to sing at the Beckingham Gala to an enthusiastic crowd. This gave the choir a real

taste of things to come as they prepare to travel to Disney Land Paris next week. The choir are really

looking forward to entertaining the audience at the Cinemagique stage, not forgetting the day in the park

and the amazing fireworks. Further details to follow, look out for the pictures next academic year!!

By Mr Corner

20

New Experiences for the Students who have been a

“Credit to themselves and the School!”

Fifty Year 12 students and all of Year 10 have now completed their week experiencing the

“World of Work” and what experiences they have had. From Forestry work to Veterinary

practices and Primary schools to engineering and design, the students have worked as employees

and learnt a whole range of new skills and developed existing ones. They have travelled to

placements in London, Bristol, Derby and Immingham as well as more local ones in

Gainsborough, Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Doncaster. Even the students who did not get the

placement they really wanted, have “given it their best shot”.

They have come back into school “buzzing” with the exciting activities they have carried out and

the possibilities the future holds. Below are a few of the comments from employers which have

been received by the staff doing their assessments of the work placements.

“She has thrived in this environment and made a positive contribution to our company”

“She has been an excellent ambassador for your school” and “a pleasure to have”

“His work ethic and approach have been outstanding”

“He has been professional and polite throughout- an outstanding representative of QEHS”

Not forgetting the students whose feedback has included comments such as:

“Brill”, “a really positive experience”, “have been offered work over the summer holidays”, really

pleased I chose this placement” and “it’s been amazing”.

Well done to all our work experience students. Once again you have been a credit to yourselves

and QEHS!

By Mrs Thorpe

21

The New National Curriculum

As parents will be aware, we have been teaching the new Key Stage 3 National Curriculum at QEHS since

September 2015. This is alongside the changes to GCSE and A level specifications which we are implementing in

line with exam board timetables.

The Government’s aim in bringing aim in introducing a new National Curriculum was to to slim down the content

of the curriculum in almost all subjects; the government says the new curriculum does not tell teachers "how to

teach", but concentrates on "the essential knowledge and skills every child should have" so that teachers "have the

freedom to shape the curriculum to their pupils' needs".

There have been changes to the content of all subjects in the national curriculum. A summary can be found on the

Department for Education website:

In maths, children are expected to learn more at an earlier age.

History takes a more chronological approach than under the old curriculum

In English, pupils learn more Shakespeare and there is more importance placed on spelling

The new computing curriculum requires pupils to learn how to write code

In science, there is a shift towards hard facts and "scientific knowledge".

Parents can find out more information on how the National Curriculum is taught and assessed at QEHS via the

school website. The ‘Parents’ drop down menu contains a section outlining the curriculum and also a section

outlining Assessment, Recording and Reporting, which includes a link to a timetable of common assessments for

every topic studied at Key Stage 3.

By Mr Kingdom

Y9 Girls’ Rotary ‘Youth Speaks’ Success

On Sunday 17th April, three Year 9 girls, Moore Whelpton, Faye Godley

and Eve Bailey competed in the Rotary ‘Youth Speaks’ competition in

Rutland.

The title of their debate ‘Turn off, switch off, sleep’ successfully reflected

their argument that young people (and old) can overuse technology with

a detrimental effect not only on learning, but our health and personal

relationships. The girls performed brilliantly with poise and

professionalism, but they were pipped at the post to a place in the

national final. Moore, Faye and Eve represented our school wonderfully

and we would like to congratulate them on getting to this stage in the

competition. Look out for them next year!

By Mrs Clarke

Citizen of the Year

Staff at school were delighted to hear that the achievements of one of our

Year 9 students has recently been recognised by Misterton Parish

Council. Max Horton (9S) has been awarded Citizen of the Year 2015 in

the under-18 category. Max has been regularly supporting youngsters

learning to swim at Misterton’s Minnows Swimming Club over the last 12

months and has also contributed to a variety of fund raising events in and

around the village, most notably for the Fire Station. He was described as

a fantastic role model to young people at the award ceremony and we are

all very proud of him; well done Max!!

By Mrs Cropper

22

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme continues to go from strength to strength at QEHS. DofE have recently

changed their entry requirements and students are now allowed to

start the DofE Bronze award in the academic year of their 14th

birthday. The aim of this change is to allow students in Year 9 to start

the award rather, than as has been the case, in Year 10.

As a result students from Years 9 and 10 are now signing up for the

award. The students will complete the three key sections of the award

over the summer holidays and into the autumn. Those who

successfully complete all three sections by the deadline of 4.00pm on

Monday 20 March 2017 will progress to the expedition phase of the

award. Those who don’t complete the sections of the award in time

will, of course, have the opportunity to complete the expedition phase

next year……..so long as they have completed their sections by then.

A full list of dates is below:

Details of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme are available on the DofE website http://www.dofe.org . Any

questions about DofE at QEHS should be directed to Mr Kingdom staffjmk@qehs.lincs.sch.uk .

By Mr Kingdom

Deadline Event Comment

Thu 9 Jun 16 Year 8 DofE Assembly QEHS DofE staff

Mon 13 Jun 16 Year 9 DofE Assembly QEHS DofE Staff

Mon 27 Jun 16

4.00pm

DofE Payment One, £50, to

have been made via

Parentmail

Parents who wish to pay by instalments or wishing to dis-

cuss options for subsidising the payment please contact the

school office. Please note, there is no limit to the number

of students who may register for the award.

Tue 28 Jun 16 DofE Logbooks to be ordered

for all participating students

Participating students to plan own volunteering/physical/

skills participation. DofE staff will be available for advice

and guidance on Fri lunchtimes in the 6th Form Lecture

Theatre

By Thu 21 Jul 16 Log books issued to students

Mon 20 Mar 17 4.00pm. Deadline for students to have

completed volunteering/

physical /skills section and to

have uploaded them to

eDofE.

***

Parents and students must note that students will

only proceed to the expedition phase in 2017 if they

have met this deadline for uploading their

completed volunteering/physical/skills records to

eDofE.

***

Fri 24 Mar 17 Expedition training starts Expedition training to be held every Fri lunchtime in the 6th

Form Lecture Theatre

Mon 8 May 4.00pm DofE Payment 2, £40, to have

been made by Parentmail.

Parents wish to pay by instalments or wishing to discuss

options for subsidising the payment please contact the

school office. Please note, there is no limit to the number

of students who may register for the award.

Fri 12 – Sat 13 May 17 Practice expedition Clumber Park

Mon 17 – Tue 18 Jul 17 Assessed expedition Lincolnshire Wolds

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme at QEHS

23

Morning Assembly for Year Groups and LT Starting in the Next

Academic Year

Some schools take a vertical approach and have a house system to monitor student’s pastoral and curriculum needs

and some schools have a horizontal approach and use a year system. Unusually we have a successful vertical system

in key stages three/four and a successful horizontal system in the Sixth Form with the senior students leading on

house events and duties. But which is better?

After weighing up what is most effective for our students we thought that applying both systems in key stages three

and four would be the way forward. A member of LT will oversee one year group to look at year group issues such

as options, WEX, project work and exams in additions to tackling year group topics specific to a target age.

As a way of delivering this, each member of LT will see a year group once a week in morning assembly. This will

allow the year group to congregate regularly and also for LT members to talk to them about relevant issues in a

formal setting. We believe that having this additional layer of support will be an enhancement to the already

effective house system in key stages there and four.

The timetable for these assemblies is as follows:

Monday Year 7 MLM

Tuesday Year 8 ESW

Wednesday Year 9 PWR

Thursday Year 10 JMK

Friday Year 11 NMA

By Mr Allan

Year 9 Linguists Crack the Code!

QEHS team of six Year 9 students came runners up in the ‘Into the Arab World’ event hosted at RAF Waddington.

Tilly Bedford, Ryan Bostock, Freyja Butlin, Charlie Fisher, Owen Thomas and James

Smith took on a mission to learn Arabic, work out coded messages, research

weaponry, aircraft and religious customs in order to rescue an undercover agent in

Iraq. Our students did it so well that they came runners up; and they were the

youngest students there!

The day started with a talk by RAF linguists, who spoke to students about their

experiences of learning Arabic and their roles in the RAF. A taster lesson was then

given, in which everyone learnt some basic phrases to introduce themselves. Pupils

were also taught numbers 1 to 20 and the alphabet as well as colours.

Once they had a grasp of the basics, students were given the first codes to crack and a

mission report. An Ed Sheeran song was the key to a code that allowed students to

pin point locations on a map to work out where the undercover agent was being held.

Next step: break an even more complex code in Arabic script and find out about the

weaponry and aircraft the undercover agent had seen when he was captured. And

while you’re doing that, find out the best way to rescue the agent, the dangers that you may face on the way and

the religious festivals that may affect the mission. Oh yes, and don’t forget to plan the presentation about your

findings!

Throughout the day, there were also opportunities to learn about culture and customs in middle eastern countries,

try middle eastern foods, write names in Arabic script and find out about careers in the RAF.

As usual, our students did the school proud. They worked well as a team while under pressure and produced a

succinct presentation that they then delivered with confidence and conviction to the RAF linguists. They even

spoke Arabic to them! Despite being the youngest pupils there, they claimed the runners up prize!

So watch out MI6, QEHS students are coming! By Mrs Williamson

24

P A G E 2 4 V O L U M E 7 , I S S U E 6 KEY DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Term Dates

2016 - 2017

Term 1: Wed 31 August New Staff only (induction)

Thurs 1 September INSET Fri 2 September INSET

Mon 5 Sept Start of term for Yrs7 + 12#

Tues 6 Sept All students in school

Fri 21 Oct End of Term 1

Term 2: Tues 1 Nov Start of Term 2

Tues 20 Dec End of Term 2

Term 3: Tues 3 Jan INSET

Wed 4 Jan Start of Term 3

Fri 10 Feb End of Term 3

Term 4: Mon 20 Feb Start of Term 4

Fri 31 Mar End of Term 4

Term 5: Tues 18 April Start of Term 5

Fri 26 May End of Term 5

Term 6: Mon 5 June Start of Term 6

Wed 19 July End of school year

Thurs 21 July End of Academic Year

Thurs 18 August A Level results day

Thurs 25 August GCSE results day

Weds 31 August New Staff Induction Day

Thurs 1 September STAFF INSET

Fri 2 September STAFF INSET

Mon 5 September Yr 7 and 12 students only in school

Tues 6 September All students in school – TERM 1 starts

Tues 6 September Year 7, 9 and 12 student individual photos

Thurs 8 September Junior Presentation Evening : 19.00 for 19.30

Tues 20 September PTA AGM : 18.30

Mon 26 September Iceland Trip Parents’ evening : 17.30

Weds 28 September WW1 Battlefield Trip leaves

Fri 30 September PTA Quiz : 19.00

Sat 1 October WW1 Battlefield Trip returns

Weds 5 October Year 7 parents’ evening with tutors : 16.30 – 19.30

Mon 10 – Tues 11 October Y9 Bush Craft residential trip to Sherwood Pines

Weds 12 October Iceland trip leaves

Sun 16 October Iceland trip returns

Thurs 20 October House Drama : from 18.00

Fri 21 October END OF TERM 1

Tues 1 November TERM 2 starts for all