Winter Edition 2012

...Team GB on hand to Handout Top Sports Awards...

...Geography Department Awarded Top Mark... Primary Liaison get their teeth in to English, Art& Food Technology... and much, much more

This Summer we achieved the best results in the school’s history at GCSE, with 79% of pupils gaining 5A*-C and 62% achieving 5A*-C with English and Maths. This is 10% better than our previous highest achievement and 21% better than 2011. Clearly the Governors were delighted that the commitment and hard work of all staff, pupils and parents was rewarded with this success. There has been a fundamental shift over the last 5 years in standards of academic performance and this is down to the climate for learning and the caring ethos promoted within the school. We also benefit from your support as parents as you engage and work with the school in everything we do.

Notable successes were as below:

R. Arden A. Corcoran T. Davies J. Hamilton M. King D Whittaker O. Fisher A. Grix S. Jones L. Senior A. Teder L Hancock O. Bloodworth E. Strefford-Johnson We wish them and all the class of 2012 the very best in their future careers.

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I am writing this section immediately after the Presentation Evening. It was once again a very enjoyable occasion in which the class of 2012 received their prizes and certificates from the Mayor of Wigan, councillor Myra Whiteside. As a year group they produced the school’s best ever GCSE peformance and the biggest improvement in results in the Borough. We wish them all the best for the future and the task now is to ensure subsequent years maintain the standard or improve on it.

As a result of reporting demands and Government requirements we are adapting the successful target setting system that we introduced a few years ago to focus on progression and levels of progress. We are also basing our achiever and reward system on pupils’ attitude to their learning which we feel will be much better and fairer to all. This rating will be called the ATL score and will be shown on performance overviews and reports as green, amber or red. We used it for the first time on Review Day so you will have seen it in operation. Your views on this would be appreciated as always.

Can I thank you for support with the uniform, which is still looking very good. The new tie has been a success and you have backed us to the hilt on this. We are now presenting the right image in the community which complements the high expectations in the classroom.

In September a number of new staff joined us, Mr Goddard, as Assistant Head with responsibility for data and assessment, will manage the curriculum; Miss Murphy as Head of MFL and Mrs Winnard as Head of Maths; Miss Bradshaw joined the Science department. They have all made an excellent start and hopefully will make a big contribution over the coming years.

Rehearsals for the school production of ‘Footloose’ is in full swing at the moment and will be performed in the week commencing 3rd December. We very much hope this will follow in the footsteps of the very successful ‘We Will Rock You’ last year. Tickets will be on sale from Monday 19th November.

TheHEAD’S CommentsDear Parents

...Have a peacefulChristmas & New Year.

GCSEResults2012

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Sports AwardsStudents at a Golborne high school were inspired by visit from a leading track and field star. Team GB middle-distance athlete Jenny Meadows visited Golborne High School to help celebrate the school’s athletic achievements and participation at the pupils’ annual sports day presentations.Jenny, from Abram, presented pupils with certificates and trophies in recognition of their sporting abilities and in representing the school at a higher level in sporting events.

She also spoke to students about the dedication and commitment required to reach the very top of a chosen profession. Jenny told pupils: “Sport is character building, it helps define who you are and gives you skills for every aspect of life. It’s nice to see Golborne’s young people achieving so highly.”

Peter Allsop Lower School Athletics Trophy Winner

Issy McMillan Wigan & Leigh Year 7 School Girls Triathlon GOLD medalist Wigan & Leigh District Athletics DOUBLE GOLD medalist For the Year 7 Girls Tripple Jump and the 4x100m Relay

Bernard Holt Award for Rugby League

Tyler Gore For his outstanding and inspirational performances throught last season. He was dominant and strong in defence and devastating in attack. Produced a Man of the Match performance in a cup quarter final with a suspected arm injury, even scoring a try.

Outstanding Achievement Award in Physical Education

Ella Keane One of the schools most consistent and dedicated sporting performers. She is a vital member of all the Upper School Sport Teams. Never misses any training sessions and gives 100% in every aspect of her performance

Lewis Dean Award for Outstanding Contribution in Physical Education

Ian WiddowsWhen writing out any team sheet whether it is Football, Basketball or Badminton this individual is one of the first names on the sheet. If there is a Sport Team in school then this person has played on it. Mr. Reliable.

Anne Waltho Award for Outstanding Achievement in School Sport

Beth FarmerFor her exceptional sporting performances for school and for her house, for her dedication and participation in extra curriculum, being a sports Leader and aiding in the coaching and development of younger pupils.

AssemblySPORT AWARD Winners

Jenny Meadows with Head Teacher Mr Lythgoe and Head boy Jamie Heaton and Head Girl Jessica Singleton.

From left to right: Beth Farmer, Ella Keane, Tyler Gore, Ian Widdows & Issy McMillan

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The Secondary Geography Quality Mark Award

The Geography department at Golborne High School was recently awarded the Secondary Geography Quality Mark (SGQM] by The Geographical Association, an International organisation which celebrates Geography and Geographers around the world. This is particularly pleasing as this is the second time the Geography department have achieved this award.The SGQM award process is undoubtedly encouraging and supporting schools to reflect on their work and strive for the highest quality in their teaching. It requires the staff to work hard on developing the teaching and learning of the subject and then to complete an application with a supporting portfolio of evidence. Mr Stephen Daley, a member of the department, spent many hours putting together the application, and he deserves much of the credit for the success the department has had.As an award winner, the department had to undergo a rigorous moderation process, and the team of assessors were hugely impressed by the manner in which the staff and pupils are embracing

Year 9 Pupils Megan Hughes, Steven Leigh, Amie Shannon, Anthony Roe with their Teacher Mr Daley and the Award.Geography. The SGQM reflects the national standard for the teaching of quality geography. It aims to promote effective subject leadership and management so helping subject leaders raise the standards of geography in their schools. Mrs Bird, the Curriculum Leader, is now working with colleagues in other schools to help them develop the Geography experience in their schools and hopefully spread the word-not just about teaching and learning but also about the love of the subject. There have now been 200 SGQM awards allocated across the country; an indication of how prestigious the award is and also how successful the Geography department at Golborne High is.

PRESS RELEASE

In recognition of excellence in teaching & learning in geography

On Tuesday 17th October, Year 10 & Year 11 students participated in mock interviews. The interview process was used to prepare pupils for their imminent careers. Students were given the opportunity to select an area of work they were interested in and were interviewed accordingly. This allowed an insight into what their chosen careers involved.

Ian Guest and Joanne Hughes from the Careers Service, Jan Lythgoe, Kristen Beniston from Sellafield Ltd, Rachel Tooley from Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust and Dave Hornby from the Nat West Bank gave up their valuable time to give the pupils a glimpse into the world of work. Each pupil was allotted a time and interviews were conducted from 3.30pm to 7pm. Employers were impressed by pupils’ professionalism, appearance and overall enthusiasm giving many positive comments. We would like to thank all employers and Wigan Careers Service who helped make the evening enjoyable and worthwhile.

Students Shine in

Mock Interviewsfor Year 10 & 11

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On 26/10/12 Golborne High School held a fundraising Day in aid of the local charity called Love Leah. The charity was set up in August of this year to raise money in memory of Leah Davies, an ex pupil who tragically died in a motorbike accident in August of this year. The charity supports the Walton Neuro Unit and is aiming to raise enough funds to support the construction of a new building which will enable more people with specific injuries to be treated in this life saving unit. Golborne High School pupils, staff and parents once again showed their outstanding generosity and embarked upon a fundraising campaign which involved cake sales, sponsored silences, selling wrist bands and a wide range of imaginative events. On the actual fundraising day all pupils came to school in their own clothes and engaged in House charity events. Fonteyn embarked upon an ambitious project of creating a music video. This involved pupils acting, singing and dancing much to the delight of Miss Danning. The video will go on sale to raise funds for the Love Leah charity. Lennon House braved the cold and walked around school as part of a sponsored walk. Mrs Gash led the House in what proved to be a healthy and fun event. Picasso embarked upon a sponsored quiz which even Miss Hickey found difficult! Shakepeare House took part in a Tower Ball competition which Mr. Daley led from the front. Finally Westwood House designed giant body paintings which involved all pupils drawing around each other to create a huge painting. Mr. Falconer was thrilled by the creative talents of his House. The whole day was a huge success and resulted in an astounding £1681 being raised for the Love Leah charity. Once again Golborne High School showed what a caring and supportive community we are.

Students Shine in

for Year 10 & 11

Charity Marathon Golborne’s

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On Friday 30th March 2012, the FOCUS Centre held a Cake Sale and a Raffle to raise money for Wigan & Leigh Hospice. It was a huge success we raised £102.50. 1st Prize was a large Celebration Egg which was won by a Year 10 student. 2nd Prize was a Thornton’s Continental Dark Chocolates this was won by a Year 7 student. Well done to both of them.During the Easter break we had an addition to FOCUS, we now have our own ‘tropical fish tank’ which was kindly donated from Miss Houlston (Science teacher). The students really enjoy them and there are lots of help to feed them. We have not had many offers to clean them out yet, but there’s always hope someone will do this for us!In FOCUS Mrs Griffiths & Mrs Buckley work with individuals as well as small groups supporting the students who have been selected to receive some intervention from us.Within our groups the students get to make things, after they have been on display they are allowed to take them home. One group had a picture of a butterfly made from mosaic foam and then they got some coloured card and made a frame for their Butterfly. Another group have made their own dream catchers. These will go on display in FOCUS until we break up for the summer. This group also had the chance to create their own designs onto biscuits using tubes of different coloured icing, they got the chance to eat these and they even did one for their favourite teacher! These they all enjoyed and next time they have asked if they could

decorate fairy cakes, so I will have to make sure we have enough for the students to take home for their families. That’s if they don’t get eaten beforehand!On display we have a circle showing ‘Hands of Friendship’. Students who come into FOCUS either to work or visit were asked if they would like to take part and decorate a hand. We then put them up as a display on the wall around the room as you can see from the pictures.Students who come into FOCUS are offered support in different ways either by working with them as an individual or by working with a group. On Friday 1st June we held our own “Street Party” at Lunch time in FOCUS. Because we couldn’t invite everybody we put the students name in a box and drew out for those who could attend. This way we were fair to all students who come and work in FOCUS. As you can see from the photos the students had a brilliant time.Hope you have enjoyed reading about the things that we do in FOCUS. Unfortunately this letter should have been in the Summer Vision On but somehow it didn’t go to print. With this being the Winter addition we have now met all our Year 7’s and have started our intervention with some of them.On the 5th October we held a cake sale in aid of “Love Leah” appeal, raising £54.36 which will be added to the other monies collected in school.

On the 7th December we will hold another Christmas Market where our students will be able to buy their Christmas presents for their friends and families, all at reasonable prices.Some of the gifts we have on sale have been made in FOCUS by the pupils in their groups.The students had a fabulous time last year getting involved in making crafts to sell, and this year they are all getting in the Christmas spirit helping one another to make some lovely gifts to sell as well as Christmas cards.If you remember reading last year’s Vision On when FOCUS had their 1st Christmas market we had two special visitors. First was Maxine from Wigan & Leigh Hospice who came to open our market; Maxine will again open this year’s Christmas Market. The second was Father Christmas; hopefully he will give us a visit again. I’ll let you into a little secret we will have to look for a replacement as Father Christmas won’t be available for 2013.The Christmas Market is in aid of Wigan & Leigh Hospice.

Let’s hope it is as successful as last year’s. Look forward to seeing you on Friday 7th December at Lunchtime in FOCUS Mrs Griffiths & Mrs Buckley

FOCUS

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Season 7 of the Golborne Champions League was the most dramatic to date. It had shock defeats, late goal winners and final day tension in both the Championship and the Premier League.

Starting with the Premier League; going into the final day 5 teams could win the league title. Scott Sheppard’s 5th place Inter Ince side had to defeat Joe Redfords 2nd Place Platt Bridge Rovers team by 5 clear goals and hope other results went their way. They achieved this and were looking set to claim a dramatic league championship until a late goal from Sam Lowe’s Ashton Villa side snatched the league title away from Inter Ince. On the final day Borussia Bamfurlong were already relegated to the championship but Bayer Bryn joined them after a Jack Steele inspired rout for Abram Athletic gave them survival from the dreaded drop.

The Championship also had a dramatic final day with Josh Martins PSV Spring View only needing a single point from their clash with Nathen Cunliffe’s Atherton Albion, who with a win would have been crowned champion. The game was poised to be a thriller but other than a couple of chances for both sides fizzled out to a 0-0 draw giving the Championship title to PSV and leaving Atherton Albion in the Playyoffs, Which they won to secure promotion to the Premier League.

Golborne ChampionsLunchtime Football

League

Well done to everyone who took part. This has been the best attended GCL

and I can’t wait for it to return in February!!!

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Year 5 and 6 students from the local area are being given the opportunity to experience a secondary school curriculum at Golborne High as part of the schools liaison scheme. Mrs Hind worked with Gifted and Talented students who have already completed work on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Year 6 St Thomas pupils took a lesson in baking and produced some very appetising apple turnovers with Miss Collins in Food Technology and Pupils at Lowton Junior and infants worked hard to create rain sticks inspired by the Amazon rainforest with Miss Culshaw from the Art Department. The classes will continue throughout the year in Art, English, Languages, P.E. and Technology.

LiaisonPrimary

A few weeks ago in October, seven Westwood pupils, Alex Cathie, Lizzie Pilling, Lydia Doran, Lily Banks, Nathan Wooding, Jimmy Cathie and Tom Gwilliams, took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. It consisted of one practice expedition, two after school training sessions, one ‘day walk’ at Haigh Hall and then the assessment expedition. We had to learn basic first aid skills, map reading skills and cooking skills. The practice expedition took place in Parbold and the assessed expedition was held in Rivington. We roughly had to cover ten miles per day but unfortunately for us, Tom took charge of the map and got us lost resulting in a two hour detour. On the practice expedition we had a lack of food due to Jimmy spilling half of our pasta too. The mud conditions were extreme and we all had it up to our knees yet Jimmy and Nathan enjoyed this. We all still have to complete fifty two hours of work including volunteering, learning something new and developing a skill.

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On 16 November, a group of students from Golborne High School and Lowton J&I Primary School representing the Co-operative Trust visited Reddish Vale Technology College. Reddish Vale is a lead school in the North West which represents co-operative values. The students enjoyed the visit and spoke to the pupils from Reddish Vale. They learnt about what it means to be in a Cooperative and also about life in a different school. The school shared their ideas on good practice, for example, they have a farm where pupils study agriculture and animal science and crops are grown there which are donated to charities which assist homeless people in Manchester. The school has also set up a Coffee project with Ethiopia trading directly with them and cutting out the middle man which makes this better than free trade. Eggs from the school farm are sold at the school reception. The students felt that this was a really worthwhile visit and they are keen to set up projects with the Primary School and other members of the Trust in the future.

ReddishA visit to

In the October half term, Mr and Mrs Thorpe travelled to IES Arboleda in Lepe, Andalucia, Spain, to prepare for our school pupil exchange in October 2013 and May 2014. They worked alongside Spanish teachers and taught lessons about Halloween and Guy Fawkes night. IES Arboleda is situated near to Islantilla and Huelva and is an hour from Sevilla. It is a school which delivers Maths, History, Science and Technology through the English language as part of a regional bilingual project. Some fortunate pupils at Golborne High School now have penfriends in Spain.

We have participated in exchanges before with schools in Malaga and Barcelona over the past eight years but this will be the first one in Lepe. We intend to visit Sevilla, the Doñana National Park, Huelva and Faro in Portugal as part of a Comenius project entitled Sport and Health within Culture. Any pupil interested in staying with another Spanish pupil for 10 days in May 2014 or hosting a Spanish pupil in October 2013 please contact Mrs Thorpe.

Lepevisit

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As part of a series of assemblies on racial and cultural awareness, we were privileged to have a visit from a Buddhist monk called Gen Pagpa from the Vajravarahi Centre in Preston. Pagpa explained how the decision to become a Buddhist monk was an easy one because he wanted to devote his life to Buddhism and the people around him, helping them through their problems. Pagpa, who has been a Buddhist Monk at the centre for a number of years, delivered the assemblies on Buddhist teachings and what this meant to him personally. He delivered meditation sessions which focussed on breathing techniques. All the pupils concentrated well and you could hear a pin drop in the assembly as everyone followed the instructions by Pagpa. He explained about his religion and how he lives his life and demonstrated meditation as a way of clearing and purifying the mind. As part of this he explained that sometimes craving wealth and belongings can make you unhappy rather than grateful. He left us with a lot to think about.

BuddhismAn insight into

The annual Careers Evening took place on Tuesday 23rd October. We had a full House with many providers presenting relevant information for Year 10 and 11 pupils and their parents. There was the opportunity to collect information about the colleges or providers, collect a prospectus, find out about open evenings, watch presentations and ask questions.There were separate presentations throughout the evening from Winstanley College, St John Rigby College, Warrington Collegiate and Wigan and Leigh College.There will be opportunities in school for pupils to have further talks from the local colleges and appointments with the careers service to help them with future decision making.

Careers’Evening

Year 10 & 11

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Our new school website is due to be launched this month and will have a fresh new look. The art work and design of the front page has been the hard work of Miss Dickinson and Mr Pennington. We have incorporated links for parents so that updated infor-mation can be communicated easily. There are tabs with current stories about the school, achievements and news and a welcome video from Mr Lythgoe – Headteacher.

Below are a few images of the new design.

School Website

New

HEALTHY EATINGHow the new canteen helps with healthy eating.The old canteen was plain, boring, colourless and wasn’t a very nice place to eat as there was mess everywhere, drinks spilt etc. However, the new canteen is a nice environment to eat food in. It has brightly coloured benches, vivid colours and more space on the benches to sit with your friends. The pictures on the walls make it look modern and classy. Pupils and teachers can now pay with an image of their fingerprint on a scanner, called biometrics, making the canteen look even more posh and much more efficient as pupils are not having to find the correct money to pay for things. The canteen was designed by the school council who wanted somewhere where the pupils could enjoy a civilised meal with friends.

The new layout is much more spacious and allows more people through in one go. You can choose a healthier meat-free option which will have less fat and salt. The school has also removed the slush machine as this was unhealthy. There are options of water and orange and apple juice which are better than fizzy drinks. Teachers and dinner ladies go round with bins to collect rubbish and there are racks to put trays on, so there are clean tables for the next people to eat on them. The school tries its very best to deliver as healthy as possible meals to people in the school.

The school also ran a competition during Tutor time to design a poster to remind students of the rules whilst using the new Canteen.Fonteyn 2 created the winning design and their posters can now be seen around the canteen.

By Mel Newcombe, Charlotte Rubotham & Abbey Houghton

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On Tuesday 18th September Year 7 set off with their Heads of House for a full day at the CHET Centre in Little Crosby. The day was run by the company called Future Life Skills. The purpose of the day was for the pupils to get to know each other, to get to know their Head of House, to develop team working skills and to enjoy a new experience where they could develop in confidence. The activities ranged from completing an obstacle course to having a go on a zip wire. The day was fun and enjoyable and even though there was a lot of tired pupils and staff, the day enabled everyone to get to know each other better.

‘The Golborne Gazette’ is a Newspaper designed to inform students and teachers at Golborne High School about news and events at school, the local community and worldwide. There are many dedicated people involved in the newspaper and it is all written and edited by students. The first copy will show the whole school just how much effort has been put in to it and if anyone has any ideas that they think will be a good addition to the newspaper then please feel free to put them forward.

The Press gang. Drew Barnes, Kyla Lowe, Rebecca Waterworth, Elinor Sale, Rachel Milne and Charlotte O’Brien.

Golborne Gazette

Year 7Bonding Day at the

in Little Crosby

CHETCentre

The