AGS Life Newsletter Spring 2018

Allerton Grange Life Issue 8

Spring 2018

Rewarding our students - a message from the Head Our Policy for Positive Discipline places great emphasis on rewards. We reward and recognise students who do the right thing and consistently meet our expectations in terms of behaviour, effort and learning habits. Students are rewarded by: • Stamps in their planners • Achievement certificates awarded at reward assemblies.

• Hot Chocolate Friday winners.

• Postcards home.

• Positive comments posted on he School Gateway app.

• Positive phone calls home.

• Already this year: • A third of students have achieved at least a Gold certificate for being awarded over 1000 stamps. (At least 50 stamps every week) • 97% of students have achieved at least a Bronze certificate for being awarded at least 500 stamps.

• 8 students have been awarded the highest certificate of Diamond for achieving at least 2000 stamps since September (which is at least 100 stamps per week).

Keep doing your best and achieving rewards and let’s see if we can get every students to at least Gold by the end of the year.

Organised, confident and enthusiastic...

Over 200 students have earned themselves the prestigious status of Lead Learner after the first full term of this academic year. To qualify as a Lead Learner students must have no more than 10 behaviour points, all As and Bs for attitude to learning, and at least 95% attendance.

By achieving these criteria, these students have proven themselves to be well organised, confident and enthusiastic learners who lead by example and encourage others to challenge themselves. They are doing everything they need to do to succeed now and in the future. To recognise this, many of our rewards are reserved for Lead Learners.

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Taqwa wins ‘prestigious’ scholarship A brand new scholarship programme has given a prestigious award to Taqwa Elforjani, a Year 11 student at Allerton Grange.

The STEM Skills Fund (SSF) is a registered charity that aims to increase the number of girls who continue to study maths and physics beyond GCSE. Nationally, girls are very under-represented in these areas at A Level; even girls who achieve top grades in physics and maths are 15% less likely to study maths and 20% less likely to study physics than boys.

Taqwa is on track to achieve a grade 7 in maths and a grade 8 in physics at GCSE this summer; she was delighted to be selected for the very first SSF scholarship programme specifically aimed at girls and intends to study maths at A Level. The Maths and Physics Girls’ Scholarship means that Taqwa receives a bursary of £30 each week during term time to support her study for the next academic year.

Taqwa, who is interested in a career in medicine, said: “I didn’t even know there were scholarships for A Level students, so I was really surprised when I heard. Mrs Turner-Lindley applied for me; it’s good to know that my teachers are looking out for me and want me to do well. It makes me happy to think that I might inspire other girls to follow maths and engineering routes. If I can do it, anyone else can too.”

Mike Roper, Headteacher of Allerton Grange, said: “We are extremely proud of Taqwa for being selected for this award and we look forward to seeing her achievements at GCSE and A Level. It is important that all of our students have the opportunities to succeed; this new scholarship is a superb pathway to encourage girls into STEM subjects, where they have previously been under-represented.”

‘It’s a Numbers Game’ for Key Stage 3 students

On January 18, the RAF/BAE Stem Roadshow landed at Allerton Grange. Returning for the second year in a row, the show aims to inspire young people in the areas of science, technology and mathematics, with a view to create the next generation of engineers.

Over 500 Year 7 and 8 students were shown how maths plays a crucial role in the design of ships, planes and other technologies, through a series of interactive and imaginative displays.

The undoubted star of the show was MIA the robot, who has 7 internal computers, dancing to Michael Jackson and solving tricky equations.

Students also saw a Paramotor in action and were astounded at the part mathematics plays in simple card tricks.

Classical Civilisation Launch

Allerton Grange School is proud to introduce Classical Civilisation for GCSE and A level students. Believed to be the only state funded school in Leeds to offer Classics, as it’s more commonly known, it aims to open up new opportunities for students who have a passion for history.

Classics, often taught in private schools in the UK, is the study of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. It covers the literature, history, philosophy and visual arts of Greece and Rome, giving insight into their social, cultural and political values, as well as their beliefs.

Back in October, a school in Sheffield hit the headlines after resorting to crowdfunding to prevent Classics being cut from the curriculum. The idea behind the social media campaign was to ensure that the teaching of these subjects does not become “the preserve of the private sector”.

The new course will be offered to Allerton Grange students from September 2018, and has been the result of months of hard work by Miss Williams, Teacher of History, who successfully lobbied senior leaders to introduce the course. After forging links with local universities, sourcing external funding to cover costs, and putting forward a convincing business case, the school is pleased to launch this new curriculum offer, which is in line with its vision of aspirational targets for our students.

Miss Williams, who has a degree in Classical Studies, has already set up an enrichment group, helping to engage and inspire students who show a keen interest in history. She said: “It’s rarely heard of for students who attend state funded education to study classics. When it comes to future opportunities, such as university and employment, having a GCSE or A Level in classics really does impress.”

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Boosting reading success Allerton Grange has run a very successful Boosting Reading @ Secondary programme, by pairing Sixth Form students with younger students. A group of Year 7s attended special reading sessions in the library, three times a week, where the trained Sixth Form reading mentors were on hand to support and encourage them.

The programme, which runs for ten weeks, has been shown to boost students’ confidence and enhance decoding skills in reading. In order to become a reading mentor, the Year 12 and 13 students received a full day of training. They have even taken their skills out to local primary schools; Kiera and Amanveer returned to their old primary school, Talbot, whilst George and Raeesah have run sessions at Moor Allerton Hall.

Mr Jude Rivers, Deputy Headteacher at Talbot Primary School, said; “This is one of our favourite joint projects with Allerton Grange; our students get so much out of it. Their reading skills have improved rapidly and their confidence has come on leaps and bounds because of the one to one setting.”

One of the many positive aspects of Allerton Grange’s reading programme has been that our younger students have benefited from the interaction with the older students. In addition, the sixth formers have been able to give something back to the community, whilst building up skills to enhance their CVs and applications for further education.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Twelve students, in Year 7 and 8, have earned themselves the title of Millionaire Readers. This means that since the start of September they have read over a million words each. Not stopping there, some of the students enjoy reading so much that they have read 2 million words. After each book read, the students can do a quiz which will then calculate the number of words read.

This week, as part of their reward, the students met up with Mr Norrington for a hot chocolate in the Cyber Cafe and a chat about their love of books.

Little Bookshop hosts AGS Book Fair On Tuesday 27 February the library hosted a book fair run by ‘The Little Book shop’, our local book shop in Chapel Allerton.

Students were able to browse all the latest books and were given expert advice from the book shop staff. They were also able to use their World Book Day tokens and could choose from a range of £2.50 World Book Day books.

Lou Fenton, one of the proprietors, and Lucy Taylor, literacy consultant at the shop, both said, “We have really enjoyed meeting the students and talking to them about the type of books they like to read. Dystopian adventure stories seemed very popular.”

Many thanks to Mrs Sutton, Learning Resources and Literacy Coordinator, for organising the event, and to Lou and Lucy from The Little Bookshop.

English Department show character English Teachers dress up for World Book Day Not to be put off by the snow, the English department celebrated World Book Day 2018 on Monday 5 March, when school reopened. Some of the staff dressed up and chose to impersonate characters from well- known children’s books, such as Alice in Wonderland and James and the Giant peach, whilst others chose important roles from books that the students study as part of the curriculum, including Holes and Macbeth.

As you can see from the photograph, everyone put a lot of effort into their costumes to mark the occasion. Not only is it a bit of fun, but the event is sure to inspire our students to become more interested in reading and literature.

Back row L-R: Ms Harrison – Kate Barlow from Holes by Louis Sachar, Ms Pitts – Titania from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Ms Fox – Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare’s Macbeth Ms Camidge – Kamikaze pilot’s wife from The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve

Ms Neal – Curly’s wife from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Mrs Napier – Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations

Ms Carter – Bob Cratchet from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Front row L-R: Ms Shaw – Stanley Yelnats from Holes by Louis Sachar, Mr Jones – The peach from Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach

Mrs Postlethwaite – Alice from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Mrs Sutton – Gangster Granny from the book of the same name by David Walliams

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Talented pianists earn Pianoman training opportunity On Monday 29 January, Allerton Grange was lucky enough to host internationally renowned concert pianist, Richard Meyrick, who delivered his inspiring piano masterclass to selected musical students.

Students were asked to bring along a piece of classical music that they had already practiced to a high standard, or a piece they would like to learn. Richard then worked with each individual, who then performed in front of the group, to pinpoint areas that would sharpen their skills and techniques.

Following the session in school, Richard has invited two particularly enthusiastic students, who stood out, down to London for an additional free one-hour lesson with him at Blunther Piano Centre, on Baker Street. Caitlan Chambers and Lily Baxter, both Year 11 students, have graciously accepted the all-expenses paid offer and look forward to honing their skills even further.

King No-one lead composition workshops

Emerging UK band, King No-One, came in to deliver a composition workshop to students studying music in Years 9, 10 and 11.

The band consists of lead singer, pianist and guitarist Zach; pianist, vocalist and guitarist Joe; and James on the drums and vocals. The band spoke about their career so far, selling out venues, their band as a movement and discussed how they go about writing their songs. They performed ‘Two Islands’ and their new hit ‘Toxic Love’.

Our students had prepared musical ideas before the workshop and the band worked with the students’ composition during the session.

Comments from our students – ‘Interesting to see the composition process and their work ethic. It motivated students to work on song writing’.

‘Cool that they played my guitar!’

‘Interesting to hear where they compose and how they feel about it.’

‘It was cool to hear their new song on the day it was released’.

From primary to key stage 4 - Students excel on successive nights of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’, which resulted in an excellent performance featuring soloists. The concert’s penultimate act, Ellie Albright gave one of her best performances, which resulted in every audience member being mesmerised. Following this, we ended with Rock music by Jess, Finn, Krishan, Oliver and Sam. All students excelled in all performances and they were a joy to watch and listen to.

The day after, music students from Years 9, 10 and 11 performed pieces they have been working on for a long time. All performances were recorded and performed well.

Well done to all students who took part and music ambassadors/ tech team who helped out on the evening and concert preparation. Thank-you for your reliability and hard work.

On Thursday 15th March the Music Showcase featured some of Allerton Grange’s finest talent. We heard various solo artists, duets and groups perform some wonderful music. Pitch Perfect, Senior and Junior Concert Band, Rock Band and Samba Band showcased all their hard work over the past term. Around 30 students including music ambassadors and students from Gledhow, Moor Allerton Hall and Talbot then took to the stage to start the second half of the concert. Our music ambassadors have worked hard after school to get together a performance Allerton Grange Life

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LCM professionals talk about getting a career in music On Monday 8 January, two lecturers from Leeds College of Music (LCM) attended school to speak to Year 9 and 10 students about career pathways in the music industry, transferable skills that will benefit other career paths, and skills needed to be a successful musician or music producer.

Mike Casey is a professional guitarist who tours theatres in the UK, Europe and Africa. He is also an accomplished music lecturer at LCM, where he teaches jazz, improvisation, music harmony and performance.

Marlon Hodelin is a professional music producer and drummer. Marlon has drummed for Snoop Dogg and other professional musicians. When he is not performing he is in the studio producing music and also lecturing at LCM. Students participated in a question and answer session, which was finished off by Mike laying down a bass groove and Marlon giving us a hip hop beat, while Kiyoshi Carr, a Year 10 student, rapped freestyle on the mic!

Young students go to Prom A group of Year 7 and 8 students joined the City of Leeds Youth Music’s Prom at Leeds Town Hall earlier this week. They were treated to a wonderfully diverse concert from a range of different youth orchestras in the city. Music performed included Mozart’s 40th symphony and the themes from Star Wars and E.T. Special mentions must go to current student, Alice Foggin, and former student, Claudia Lewis, who performed admirably on stage with the Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows.

It was a highly enjoyable afternoon for everyone involved. Many thanks to Mrs Casey for organising the trip.

Best ever results at UK Maths Challenge

The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust run an annual Maths Challenge for schools in the UK. Allerton Grange was in the regional finals again, competing strongly against other schools in the local area.

Kidiest Hodgson and James Howling in Year 8 and Joseph Greer and Tasneem Elforjani in Year 9 represented the school magnificently. They finished in an impressive fourth place out of 26 schools, our best ever position achieved in this competition, and demonstrated excellent team work and mathematical skills.

Mr Sumroy, Key Stage 3 Leader for Maths, said: “The four students were an absolute credit to the school and represented us very well. I am immensely proud of them for achieving such a fantastic result.”

Hovingham’s young roboteers - ‘a pure pleasure to teach’ Our resident robotics expert, Richard Tiffin, usually teaches sixth formers, so having a class of primary students presented a new challenge. Hovingham’s young roboteers, however, were ‘a delight to teach’.

In Mr Tiffin’s words; “The first thing that became obvious was the enthusiasm. It must be said that there are few people around that don’t like Lego or robots, so robots made from Lego is bound to pique peoples interest. However, to watch students run from a computer to program their robots to the test area to run the program was unexpected and brought a grin to my face. Teaching children with this level of enthusiasm is pure pleasure.”

The speed at which the pupils learned their new skills was extraordinary. I had planned a sequence of lessons in the belief that they wold be sufficient for three weeks. Not a chance. After the first lesson I was planning more learning opportunities for the following lesson, as the enthusiastic children had nearly finished the exercises I had set. “

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‘Key techniques’ for Drama Students On Wednesday 21 February selected Drama students from Years 7 to 11 were involved in a workshop with Dave Cartwright, a Leeds based actor, director and theatre maker.

Each workshop was specially tailored to each year group, focusing on key dramatic techniques and acting skills. Dave has worked with students at Allerton Grange before and is brilliant at inspiring young theatre makers. He engages them in storytelling, character work and fun ways into devising.

More extended performance projects are in the pipeline for the future, which will see Dave return to Allerton Grange for further opportunities to collaborate.

Blood Brothers ‘surpasses expectations’

Drama has always been a real strength at Allerton Grange; students of all ages are given opportunities to showcase their talents.

What fewer people realise is that students also co-direct some of our wonderful productions.

Ana Costa, Year 12, was in the student director’s seat for our recent production of ‘Blood Brothers’, and despite unexpectedly heavy snow derailing rehearsals in the days before the performance, it was a massive success.

Ana said: “The actors surpassed my expectations for the play and performed extremely well, making sure that the audience were engaged and laughed at the humour. Although there were lots of nerves because it was some students’ first performance, that didn’t show once they were on the stage.

“The show was great and everyone loved it. I enjoyed working with this cast and hope they continue on following their dreams and hopefully pursuing drama in the future.”

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Community spirit

In the run up to Christmas, our students were involved in a number of fundraising events. The festive period is, traditionally, a special time to focus on looking after one another. Our students embodied the ‘spirit of Christmas’ by giving back to the local community.

Sixth Form students were inspired to run a food donations drive after a thoughtprovoking talk in November, from a volunteer from Leeds North and Leeds West Foodbanks.

Our Concert Band performed a compilation of festive tunes at Sainsburys, Moor Allerton, helping to entertain Christmas shoppers. In addition, they ran a cake auction and refreshments stand at the World of Music show. Over £200 was raised towards an upcoming musical trip to Belgium, in July.

Our Student Council ran a Christmas Gift Box Appeal; items for homeless people were collected, to help keep them warm, fed, and entertained. Each form group filled and decorated a large box and wrote a message to the recipient, which was then passed on through St George’s Crypt. The initiative really made our students think about what others might be going through and what we can do, as individuals, to help those less fortunate. Well done to 10AG7 who won the competition for the Best Decorated Box. Students raising money for their expedition to Tanzania in August, with Camps International, delivered a number of events to help fund the equipment and vaccinations they will need. Firstly, a staff Christmas ‘bake-off’ proved fruitful. This was followed by hosting a very popular refreshments stand at the Winter Show. In addition, a luxury hamper, kindly donated by Waitrose in Meanwood, was raffled off. Furthermore, students designed and printed their very own Christmas cards to sell and ran a bag packing event at Sainsbury’s, Moor Allerton. Finally, they organised a Christmas jumper day for the whole school on the last Friday before the holiday. Well done to all the team who managed to raise a whopping £2,700!

Thank you to everyone for your support and contributions.

Hair today, gone tomorrow Constance Clarke, Year 7 student, has selflessly had her long locks cut off to donate to charity. Constance has given her hair to the Little Princess Trust who make real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair through cancer treatment, or because of other illnesses. She has already exceeding her fundraising target of £150, well done from everyone at Allerton Grange!

If you would like to donate, please visit https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/constance-clarke

Exemplary Students

Fifteen students were invited to a special meeting with the Headteacher, Mr Roper, in recognition of their achievements.

Students earn achievement points, in line with the school’s Policy for Positive Discipline, as a reward for good behaviour, following school rules and going above and beyond expectations. These points are added up by form tutors each week, and a running total is kept as the academic year progresses. Students can earn the title of Exemplary Students by earning enough achievement points to put them in the highest and second highest points brackets for their year group, ranging from Bronze up to Diamond.

The students who attended the reward meeting are in the top three of the highest achievement points bracket for their year group – and it’s not even the end of the year yet!

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AGS Students chosen to conduct special DNA experiments

As part of their A-level Biology work, students are expected to carry out a number of experiments including in chromatography and electrophoresis.

Electrophoresis is the process by which DNA fragments are separated according to size, under the influence of an electrical current. Although in wide use in universities, it has previously not been possible to carry out this experiment in school but it is regularly used in exam questions.

On Tuesday 6th March, as part of the University of Leeds “Festival of Science”, Allerton Grange students were fortunate enough to be selected for a roadshow about “How we use DNA?” and were able to experience gel electrophoresis first-hand.

The process involved students taking small, accurate, volumes of the specimen DNA and introducing them into separate wells in the agar gel blocks. They did this using a Gilson pipette (another first for them) and could easily convert the small volumes (microliters) into more recognisable units (millilitres). Once they had completed loading their gels into the electrophoresis tank, they were able to explain how the charge on the DNA molecules would interact with the electrical current to induce movement. The neon/fluorescent dyes that had been added to the DNA samples enable the students to easily identify the different genes and their meaning for the patients.

Having this hands-on experience of quite a complex and difficult procedure will prove to be invaluable to our students and we are hopeful that there will be another electrophoresis question in the upcoming exams.

Year 13 Geographers enjoy field trip to Liverpool Following the half term break, Year 13 students participated in this year’s residential field visit to Liverpool. This four-day visit allowed students to undertake two pieces of field research (one human and one physical). The physical study was based around the Sefton coastline, more specifically the sand dunes at Ainsdale, whilst the human study focused on urban regeneration within Liverpool city centre.

The first afternoon provided an opportunity for the group to explore the culture of the city visiting Albert Dock, Museum of Liverpool, Matthew Street and the famous Cavern Club, along with the new Liverpool One development. This gave some context as to how the city has changed over time, and also helped the students to orientate themselves in their new surroundings for the forthcoming human study.

We travelled by train to Ainsdale. The weather conditions were favourable; blue skies and sunshine, even if the wind was a little cold! Once research locations were established. Each group set about completing a transect across the complete dune system.

This included taking distance and height measurements, along with soil and vegetation data, to name a few. The students worked extremely well, despite the slightly cold and windy conditions in exposed areas; the dunes provided more shelter as they progressed inland.

Wednesday morning’s research location was the Liverpool One shopping and leisure complex where, again, students split into groups.

Research methods included questionnaires, pedestrian counts and environmental quality surveys. Students conducted research at various locations within the city centre in order to assess the impact of urban regeneration.

The final day in Liverpool allowed for some further research to be conducted into the history and development of the city, with a visit to the Liverpool World Museum. Finally, before the journey back to Leeds, there was just enough time for the group to take a trip to the top of St John’s Beacon. It’s the tallest landmark in Liverpool city centre, allowing a 360 degree bird’s eye view of the city and was an ideal vantage point to take aerial photographs of some of the research locations from the previous day.

Overall, the field visit was a great success, not only providing students with the necessary research for their written assessments, but also allowing them to apply geographical skills, developed in the classroom, out in the field.

Sixth form historians are looking forward...

As part of Allerton Grange sixth form, we work regularly with local universities to give our students some experience of university life and study. On Tuesday 13 March, our Year 12 historians visited the University of Leeds to discover what studying history in higher education would be like.

The day combined learning about history with learning about university. The interactive history taster sessions were highly enjoyable, with our students looking at a range of historical topics as diverse as the Norman Conquest, American Race Relations and the British Empire.

We also had the chance to find out about the admissions process to get into university and the opportunities that students have, as well as the careers that a degree in history could lead to. After a campus tour of the university, our students had plenty to talk about.

Thank you to the University of Leeds for such an interesting day.

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Constellations Exhibition at The Tate

This term, on a very cold and snowy January day, the art department braved the Pennines to take a group of sixth form students to The Tate Liverpool and give them the opportunity to see the fantastic Constellations exhibition.

Everyone was excited to enter the gallery perhaps, in part, due to the freezing icy winds blowing across the harbour. However, not before Mrs Crampton insisted on stopping for a few group photos, despite the watering eyes and numb toes.

Each exhibit was selected by the curators, who were asked to pick their favourite piece from the Tate collection. This led to an eclectic but very exciting exhibition; links were then created between the artists’ works, drawing upon similar themes and approaches.

Students were able to see a remarkably diverse collection of art, which included work by artists such as Picasso, Braque, Mondrian and Lichtenstein. Though we are all able to access their work through the internet, there is no substitute for seeing pieces first-hand and closely examining the way in which paint has been applied to the surface of the canvas, or how the textures from fabric, glass or clay add another element to sculptures and pottery.

Students studying photography were also able to see works by artists Cindy Sherman and Gillian Wearing, whom they had studied within their coursework; it felt a bit like meeting your favourite celebrity in the flesh.

All students have been asked to pick their favourite art work and write about their choice. Mrs Maurice and Mrs Crampton are eagerly waiting to see which pieces are chosen and how students develop their own ideas as they reflect upon what they saw in the gallery.

Enterprising market visit for creative craft students

Year 12 students, studying Creative Crafts, recently undertook a research expedition to Leeds Kirkgate Market to look at artisan crafts and stallholders. The visit forms the basis of a component of their coursework, which is all about starting a new enterprise in today’s market.

The group had a particular interest in artisan food products; they identified three different food enterprises and looked at the range of products that were on sale. The students were encouraged to ask the stallholders questions, such as ‘What makes them successful?’, ‘What risks have they taken over time?’ and ‘How did they develop their product range to appeal to a wider target market?’

Sixth-formers prepare for work with help of DWP community A group of Sixth Form students took part in mock interviews, organised by Progress and Welfare Coach, Ms Niles, and Careers Adviser, Mrs McDermott, through an initiative run by Leeds Job Centre.

Although the students were all very apprehensive in the run up to the event, they all showed courage by taking part. Some attended their interview in smart business-dress and brought along a copy of their CV to refer to.

Following the success of last year’s interviews, these staff members arranged for volunteers from the Department of Work and Pensions’ ‘Community 10,000 Volunteer Project’ to take part. Three volunteers kindly came into school to conduct the interviews with over 40 students.

The students enjoyed the experience and came out of their interviews smiling when it was all over. They were given scores and feedback on their technique, helping them to prepare for their futures and the many more interviews ahead. Be it applying for a course or looking for a job, the students who took part gained valuable experience and a boost to their confidence.

The experience was designed to be as real as possible; students were given official interview invitations and were asked to dress smartly and prepare for the questions that could be asked. Janet Clarke, from Leeds Job Centre, and Mrs McDermott began the morning by briefing the students, giving them some insight into the process as well as offering some tips on how to impress.

Ms Niles said, “I was really proud of how the students conducted themselves and we got some great feedback from the interviewers.”

Ofsted Parent Survey - AGS is way ahead!

On average, only 2.9% of parents of other schools nationally take part in the survey, compared to 57% of Allerton Grange parents. **Figures based on 993 responses, up until 23 March 2018.

1. My child is happy at this school - 94% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (89% nationally) 2. My child feels safe at this school - 95% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (91% nationally) 3. My child makes good progress at this school - 93% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (85% nationally) 4. My child is well looked after at this school - 93% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (88% nationally) 5. My child is taught well at this school - 94% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (84% nationally) 6. My child receives appropriate homework for their age - 87% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (81% nationally) 7. This school makes sure its pupils are well behaved - 88% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (81% nationally) 8. This school deals effectively with bullying - 75% Agreed or Strongly Agreed, plus 14% said they didn’t know (66% nationally) 9. This school is well led and managed - 89% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (81% nationally) 10. This school responds well to any concerns I raise - 84% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (77% nationally) 11. I receive valuable information from the school about my child’s progress - 91% Agreed or Strongly Agreed (83% nationally) 12. Would you recommend this school to another parent? - 91% said ‘Yes’ (85% nationally) Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. We value your role in helping to continue our rapid progress.

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Students scoop Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Awards

Nine students in Year 10 have collected their certificates and badges after successfully completing the Bronze Level Duke of Edinburgh Award.

The students, now in Year 10, used their spare time last year to work towards the three areas required, which include Physical, Volunteering and Skills. They had to commit themselves to at least 1 hour a week for 3 months, with one area of their choice lasting an additional 3 months.

Some students worked in St Gemma’s Hospice charity shop to earn their Volunteering element, whilst others supported after school clubs like Junior Drama or the EAL Group.

For the Physical element, students took up a sport, like climbing or rugby, with a number joining local rugby teams such as Roundhegians and Moortown Rugby Club.

In order to complete the award, the students took part in a two-day, 1 night, expedition. They stayed away from home and used their orienteering skills to navigate a walk in the dales.

Well done to Rhys A, Ieuan A, Sam A-S, Jasmine C, Ella C, Oliver E, Lucas K, Tom P and Ellen W. Many of these students are now working towards the Silver award, which they hope to complete by the end of Year 10.

Luke Ambler tells boys “#itsokaytotalk”

On Friday 23 February, ex-professional rugby league player Luke Ambler visited Allerton Grange School to talk to boys about mental health.

After dealing with his brother-in-law’s death from suicide in April 2016, Luke decided to quit rugby and helped set up Andy’s Man Club, which raises awareness of mental health issues amongst boys and young men.

During the presentation, Luke shared his own struggles with mental health. Starting in his teens with the separation of his parents, his symptoms have reappeared at various points in his life through the set-backs and challenges he has faced.

Luke spoke openly and honestly about his experiences, which saw him go from an overweight teenager from Halifax, who comfort ate as a result of bullying at school, to a super-fit international rugby player, to then going downhill after leaving Leeds Rhinos. Our students really engaged with his fast-paced and down to earth delivery, which was interspersed with humour whilst still conveying the seriousness that is mental ill-health.

Luke was animated as he portrayed a scenario we all can relate to – suddenly realising on your way to work or school that you can’t remember locking the door at home. He described an all-too-familiar feeling; building it up, hour after hour, creating a mental image of strangers emptying the house of all your worldly possessions, only to find that when you get back, you had, in fact, locked the door in the first place. The point he so wonderfully made was that how we think can manifest itself from the way in which we think, and our emotions are linked to this.

The key is not to worry about something that is out of your control.

The #itsokaytotalk campaign on social media was one of the biggest ever recorded, with some well-known celebrities getting involved by tweeting their own selfie using the hashtag. The organisation’s aim is to reduce the stigma surrounding men being able to discuss their feelings.

The students left the session with some key points: Adam - “You don’t know what people are going through, so be careful about what you say to them.”

Charlie - “You can’t change the past, but if you get the now right, the future will take

care of itself.”

Sebastian – “Don’t say ‘Why me?’ Focus on the things you can control.”

Teddy – “It was brave of him to talk about his friend dying. It’s okay to talk about emotions.”

Anon – “I liked the saying about radiators and drains. The right friends, radiators, can be a positive influence. The wrong friends are drains and aren’t worth hanging around with.”

Health Support Officer, Emma Johnson, who arranged the visit said, “It’s been a fantastic opportunity for our male students to hear first-hand the impact that not talking about mental health can have on individuals and their families. We want all our students to know about the support systems we have in place in school and to practice good habits, like talking to friends or a trusted adult, about their feelings. Challenging the stigma around male mental health now will help them in future years to come.”

Students endorse Internet Safety Campaign PCSO Louise Poole attended school before the half-term break to deliver a session to students as part of Internet Safety Week. This year’s campaign is all about ‘create, connect and sharing respect’, which was the focus of discussion during the workshop. The students taking part looked at what this campaign means to them, and how they can ensure they remain safe online whilst promoting tips to others. The students who took part all joined the pledge, endorsing the aims of the campaign, on Safer Internet Day 2018.

Allerton Grange Life

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Luciano is Leeds Young Sportsman of the Year The evening of 14 March is one that Allerton Grange Year 11 student, Luciano Zanuni, is unlikely to forget. He was named as Young Sportsman of the Year in the prestigious Leeds Sports Awards.

This achievement follows Luciano’s remarkable success in Treviso, Italy, in September 2017, where he won gold in the World Shotokan Karate championships in his age category. More recently, he was awarded the silver medal in the ESKA championships in Portugal.

About becoming the Leeds Young Sportsperson of the Year, Luciano said: “It was surreal, especially being interviewed backstage. I feel very proud of myself, but this is all down to my family, who have supported my achievements all the way. Without them, I couldn’t have got this far.”

Key Stage 3 ‘keep-it-moving’ for Sports Relief

In mid-March, all of our Year 7, 8 and 9 students took part in a fun run to raise money for Sports Relief.

Due to the poor weather the fun run was brought inside and changed to a form relay challenge to try and collectively cover the longest distance. Competition was high between the form groups and there was a real battle to succeed.

It has been a brilliant week in PE with lots of competition and enjoyment whilst raising money for a worthy cause. The winning form and total raised will be announced in due course.

It’s ‘CSI Wigton’ at Allerton Grange

Allerton Grange School recently hosted the second group of young students from Wigton Moor Primary School, who are taking part in the Crime Scene Investigation Club. Each club runs for five sessions and the aim is to use their science skills to eliminate a suspect each week and find who killed Mr Mean.

Each week the students had the opportunity try a different type of forensic analysis. Firstly, they had fun discovering that pens can be made up of a rainbow of colours, using chromatography. Next, students got to role-play being a police officer by taking fingerprints; covering the finger ends in ink and rolling them firmly onto paper. They also used carbon powder to lift their own prints; some had more success than others, and occasionally went home looking like an extra in Mary Poppins. In addition, the analysts-in-training have examined different white powders by heating them and mixing them with acids and other substances. They then measured blood splatter from different heights before identifying footprints from casts. In the final session they discovered the long-awaited truth and revealed who killed Mr Mean.

The groups have discussed how forensics work in real life and can be used to solve crimes.

Overall students have had great fun trying to work out whodunit, learning lots of skills along the way.

Yorkshire RU debut for Ewan

Allerton Grange Year 11 student, Ewan Cameron, made his debut appearance for Yorkshire RFU U16s earlier this term. Ewan joined the team, made up of the best of the best rugby players from across the county, from the bench in a match against Durham.

Although Yorkshire sadly lost on the day, 22:18, there is a bright future for Ewan who will be representing Yorkshire at upcoming fixtures. A rugby tournament has been scheduled for March, and a tour in April will take the team to Wales.

Well done and good luck to Ewan from everyone at Allerton Grange.

Allerton Grange Life

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Allerton Grange Life

Sixth Form Taster Day

Year 11 students have attended mini ‘taster’ lessons, as part of a new initiative aimed at encouraging more students to join Allerton Grange Sixth Form.

Students’ normal lessons were collapsed on the morning of Monday 5 February, and they were given new timetables to attend A level sessions, or the equivalent BTEC or Cambridge Technical qualifications. These lessons were delivered by specialist subject teachers. The sessions lasted 30 minutes each and included activities and topics taught in Year 12, providing an insight into the courses in which students have expressed an interest.

Some students were also given the opportunity to attend a talk from Leeds City College and Progressions UK, arranged by Mrs McDermott, Careers Coordinator, or take part in a training session with Farsley Celtic Football Academy.

Initial feedback from students has been positive and suggestions on how to improve the event for next year’s prospective sixth form students are already being considered.

Of the taster day, Mr Roper said, “We are really pleased to be showcasing our successful sixth form. We’ve had a particular focus this year to work with our Year 11s and, going forward, year groups below this, to make sure our students know the many benefits they will experience by joining Allerton Grange Sixth Form.”

Thanks are extended to the Sixth Form team, Ms Braim, Ms Fisher, Ms Niles and Mrs Broadbent, for organising the event, and to the staff involved in delivering sessions.

If you would like to apply to the sixth form, this can done via UCAS progress at www.ucas.com/progress, where information about all of the courses on offer are available.

You can also find an application form on our website,which can be downloaded and either returned by post to the school or emailed to the sixth form administrator: 6thform@allertongrange.com The processing of new applications received over the summer holidays will begin on the first day of the new academic year.

An overview of the entry requirements for each coursecan also be found on our website: http://allertongrange.com/sixth-formpage/

@Allerton_Grange

Allerton Grange School Talbot Avenue Moortown Leeds LS17 6SF

Phone:0113 393 0304 E-mail:agadmin@allertongrange.com Allerton Grange Life

Allerton Grange School Wishing all our students and staff a happy and safe Easter Holiday.

School reopens on Monday 16 April.

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