Spring Newsletter March 2021

SPRING 2021 CHERWELL SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page

Welcome to our Spring newsletter. The period since Christmas has been another remarkable one in the life of the school. So much has changed since January and I am continually reminded of this quotation attributed to Lenin “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”

It has been great to have our students back. We did want to use this newsletter to showcase so many of the remarkable things they have been doing. Our young people have returned to school after such a long period studying remotely with their typical good humour and zest . We do not underestimate however, just how hard this has been for them. We are thinking deeply about what we can do to support them. We appreciate how tough this has also been for parents and carers. Our School Counsellor, Matt Barnard tackles this issue with his usual insight on pages 4 and 5.

I am very proud of the way that we have been able to get the school functioning again so quickly. The challenge of mass testing was embraced by our whole school community. You can read the story on pages 10 to 15. We are not aware of anything achieved on a similar scale so quickly anywhere in the country. When we shared the plan there were a few raised eyebrows but the team just got on with it, As the proverb goes “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it” We will move into the Summer terms with our usual hope and optimism.

We are confident that so many aspects of school will increasingly run “as normal” especially our extracurricular programme which we know the students value so much. I am delighted to report that the school has been awarded with a grant of nearly half a million pounds from the Football Association to create a new 3G football pitch on our North Site school field. (more on this to come next term). With planning permission now granted we are working towards a grand opening at the start of the new school year in September. One thing that the past year has taught me is the importance of community. This is something that we want to continue to build on. We are revisiting our master planning documents from 2014 and will be looking to share some ideas for consultation during the Summer. We see the 3G pitch as the first piece in the jigsaw as we now look to ambitiously re-shape both our sites over the coming years. We will be looking for your input in this and of course, the views of our students will be paramount in any redevelopment. Whatever we do has to stay true to our school values and be inclusive and sustainable. It will of course be about opening up opportunities of all types for our students and for the community we serve. As Tim Cook said “The sidelines are not where you want to live your life. The world needs you in the arena”. You will appreciate the challenge of redevelopment in a period where school funding is likely to remain under pressure. The role of the Friends of Cherwell will become even more important. Their own newsletter is included here and please do support their campaign if you can.

Inside this issue:Welcome Page:Page 2 & 3 Don’t Forget The Parents By School Counsellor:Page 4 & 5 Friends of Cherwell:Page 6 & 7 Oxford Teacher Training, SCITT:Page 8 & 9 Running COVID Testing Clinic part 1:Page 10 & 11 Running COVID Testing Clinic part 2:Page 12 to 15 Lockdown Cooking, Food Technology:Page 16 & 17 Cherwell Journal:18 to 25 Beyond Cherwell:Page 26 - 35 Safety Internet Day February 9 2021:Page 36 & 37 MFL News:Page 38 Maths News:Page 39 Science Enrichment:Page 40 & 41 Geography New Performing Arts & Other News:Page 42 & 43 Keystage 3 News & Student lockdown learning experience reports:Page 44 & 45 Year 10, 11, 12 & 13 Year News:Page 46 & 47 PE News:Page 48 to 50

Continued…/

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SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

On pages 6 and 7 you can read about the role the school plays in developing new teachers. It is something we do have a rich history in. We were delighted that in February we were designated as a new Teaching School Hub. We are the only one of these in Oxfordshire and one of only 87 in the whole country to achieve the award. The hub will open doors to a whole range of professional development for teachers that will in turn make the experience of young people in our school and across the county even better I will write more about the hub in future newsletters.

I took the liberty of looking back to how I started my piece at this time last year.

“At the time of writing our skeleton site team are going around all of our Science labs on the hunt for protective equipment especially safety goggles. We have had a number of requests both local and national for these items. Later on today the first collection will happen. I will sanitise my hands, put the bag on the door-step, wave to our NHS colleague (who is also an ex-student and current parent) while retaining a safe distance and say goodbye to resources which only two weeks ago were still being used by your children as part of their lessons in school” April 2020 At the time of writing this year (Friday afternoon - 26th March) I am able to look out of my office window to see some of our eldest local residents coming back into school to receive their second vaccination from Dr John Monarch and his team. The significance of where we have come from is not lost on me. It has been a remarkable year and our thoughts remain with everyone who has suffered during the pandemic. We are determined to continue to do everything that we can do to help our students, families and community recover and move forward. Nothing can be more important than that.

Chris Price Headteacher March 2021

The magnolia tree outside the North Site gym looking beautiful in the early morning Spring sunshine Photography by Sherry knight

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Don’t forget the parents….

By Matt Barnard, School Counsellor During the school closure, I had the privilege of being able to speak to many people about their experiences of parenting during lockdown. Listening to their stories, I often left Zoom calls thinking - ‘if only there was a way for all the parents to be able to speak with one another’. It seemed that so many were grappling with similar difficulties - a lack of motivation in their children, home-schooling, sleep, balancing responsibilities, managing the use of gaming and encouraging daily exercise.

ic, relentless uncertainty, juggling work and caring commitments.

It’s important that adults put their own mental health life jacket on before they can help put their child’s jacket on. A bit of a cliché I know, but I want to bring attention to the idea that we need to take care of our own mental health as much as adolescent mental health. Otherwise parents are at risk of experiencing a kind of ‘parental burnout’. This is characterised by a feeling of ineffectiveness and being physically and mentally overMany parents and caregivers often feel that they whelmed by the role of parenting. Not to mention should have it all figured out, and put pressure on the feelings of guilt, isolation and shame because themselves to give off an air of positivity and it’s perceived that you have to be all sorted as a keep feelings of negativity deeply buried. You parent. It’s why I wanted the parents I was talking may have heard in the media that there has been with, to somehow find each other and learn that an increase in adolescent mental health difficul- ‘good enough’ (Winnicott, 1960) parenting is all ties during the pandemic, such as, more young you need and is probably far better than trying to people experiencing tics, OCD, eating disorders, be the unattainable ‘perfect parent’. I could see anxiety and depression. NHS Digital research that they were doing the very best that they could found that 54% of young people with an existing in extraordinary circumstances. mental health disorder were made worse by the lockdown (Vizard et al., 2020). Although this is It feels like now is the time to begin to reflect on concerning, we are neglecting the impact of the what has happened over the last twelve months. pandemic on parental and caregivers' mental We’ve all experienced, and to some extent conhealth. The mental health of all members of a tinue to experience, a mass trauma, that is the family are inextricably linked. pandemic. My own feelings came into sharp awareness, on returning to my car at the Kassam Thankfully a vast majority of young people, now Stadium, having been fortunate enough to have that schools have reopened, will begin to feel my first dose of the vaccine. I breathed a huge happier and more motivated. I think we can all sigh of relief as I sat there, wondering why I was recognise, more than ever, the importance of the feeling so tearful. For the first time, I realised that school in providing a secure base (Bowlby, I had been holding my breath since the first 1988). The predictability, reassurance and the school closure in March 2020. I felt that I needed promotion of positive attachments within the to put my anxieties to one side, focus on the benschool helps to build trust, reduce anxiety and efits of working from home and follow the rules in enhance capacity for finding satisfaction in edu- order to stay safe. If I didn’t, I feared that I might cation and in friendships. I suspect it provides a become overwhelmed by the enormity of the situsecure base for parents too. ation, and I knew I needed to remain available to the young people who were dependent on the The pandemic seems to have placed a magnify- counselling sessions. I suspect that there are ing glass on the difficulties of ordinary adolescent many parents and caregivers out there that have development that was being regulated by attend- similar experiences to tell. ing school, socialising and extra-curricular activities. That’s not to say that a majority of families Continued…./ were not providing this essential environment, but rather that they have been placed under an enormous strain due to anxieties around the pandem-

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Ordinarily, I am a brick wall of non-self disclosure as a counsellor. However, during remote sessions, I did answer some questions from young people about how I was experiencing the lockdown and tried to respond honestly, whilst not disclosing too much and not being too shallow in my descriptions either. If you can, take some time to reflect on what you have experienced. Grieve for those you have lost and the aspects of your life that you have missed. Only then can you be available to help the young people in your life to do the same.

You might not be able to get them to talk about how they are feeling, but if you can model for them the importance of tolerating difficult feelings through expressing themselves openly and promote the relief that is experienced in talking through problems. The Black-American writer and activist, James Baldwin put it well when he said - ‘Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.’ (Baldwin, 1961).

Recommendations I would highly recommend the podcast, ‘Confessions of a Modern Parent’, where Nadia Sawalha and Mark Adderly grapple with all aspects of parenting. Also, the comedy duo Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe in ‘Lockdown Parenting Hell’ podcast, which is as entertaining as it is helpful. In season one, episode sixty-eight they interview Phillppa Perry whose book I have recommended to many parents - ‘The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read: (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)’. Perry is so incredibly skilled at linking our own experiences of being parented as a child and its impact on how parents parent. Also, I cannot recommend the services and website of the Anna Freud Centre enough. This particular page is helpful https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/risks-and-protective-factors/lifestyle-factors/coronavirussupporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health/ .

If you are needing more in person help then check out Family Lives - https://www.familylives.org.uk/ based in Oxford or consult the Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice - https://www.aft.org.uk/page/findatherapist .

References Baldwin, J. (1961). Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son. Dial Press.

Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. Basic Books.

Vizard, T., Sadler, K., Ford, T., Newlove-Delgado, T., McManus, S., Marcheselli, F., Davis, J., Williams, T., Leach, C., Mandalia, D. and Cartwright, C., 2020. Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2020. [ebook] Available at: <https://files.digital.nhs.uk/CB/C41981/ mhcyp_2020_rep.pdf> [Accessed 14 March 2021].

Winnicott, D.W. (1960). The Theory of the Parent-Infant Relationship. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 41:585-595

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Friends of Cherwell School What a year this has been. Talk about flexibility and responding to change! Parents, carers, staff, students, all have gone above and beyond in giving their time and commitment, from volunteering for the recent mass testing to zoning, distancing, remote learning and more. You are making a major impact, and it's great that people say they are 'happy to be asked'. The return to school has gone well thanks to the massive team effort, and hopefully the upcoming summer term will bring something closer to normal.

The Chromebook campaign has been a huge success and hundreds of extra machines are now out there. This technology has been vital for students to access lessons during lockdown, and now for homework. Teachers can also include in live lessons any students who may need to isolate.

No student should now be without access to a good laptop, and if they are please let the school know. Also if you have an older laptop you no longer need, we may be able to get it refurbished for someone else to use. Again just let the school know, or reply to this email.

Many thanks to Oxfordshire Community Foundation and the Doris Field Charitable Trust who gave us large grants to help, to the DfE for eventually sending some long-promised machines, and to Lucy Electric who generously donated 25 Chromebooks. The PTA's online yoga event at the end of January made a big impact too. If anyone would like to run another event, or suggest any other funds for grant applications, please do get in touch.

Work on the South Site Library has been going a little more slowly than first planned, because of the pandemic pressures. But the repainting is now finished and the new carpet will be fitted over the Easter break with new blinds and some new furniture to follow.

More good news is that a space has been identified to convert a couple of little-used rooms in the art block into a new North Site Library, together with a small sanctuary of calm for any student needing to take time out for a moment.

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The space on North Site is currently being used for overflow teaching capacity because of social distancing and zoning, but major conversion work will begin during the summer break. Hopefully the new library and sanctuary may be ready for the start of the school year in September.

We've also been continuing to fund new outdoor furniture and equipment. More is on order right now, so that students can take full advantage of the fresh air this summer.

HAPPY EASTER from the team at The Friends

Any donation is welcome and Gift Aid helps it grow. Please consider giving a regular amount as it quickly adds up. And do let us know if you can give your time to help The Friends support the school in any way.

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Oxfordshire Teacher Training School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) Patrick Garton SCITT Director, Teacher & Assistant Head at Cherwell School

For nearly a decade Cherwell has been the home for The Oxfordshire Teacher Training SCITT as well as being a 'National Teaching School'. The National Teaching School network comes to an end in August of this year and instead will be replaced by a group of Teaching School Hubs, and we are delighted that last month Cherwell was designated as one of just 87 Teaching School Hubs nationally. This is a really exciting new development for the school and the education system across Oxfordshire. The Teaching School Hubs have a number of key areas that they will focus on including Initial Teacher Training, support for Early Career Teachers and a new suite of national leadership qualifications for teachers and school leaders.

Patrick Garton

I have absolutely enjoyed my placement at The Cherwell School and I have felt extremely supported throughout my time here by all the staff! I have had the opportunity to not only teach Religious Studies (the subject I am training in) but also Social Wellbeing which has allowed me to be able to really support the students when it comes to keeping them healthy and safe. I have built up such a great rapport with my students and will be sad to leave them when the time comes. The RS/PSHCE faculty have been AMAZING!!! They have really guided me through this year and prepared me for the teacher I want to become. I am so thankful for all of their time and hard work they have put into helping me grow.

Leanne Winfield Associate Teacher RE with Social Science Cherwell School

Even though things are a little different this year, I have honestly loved every second of it. Remote learning was a challenge but I came out of it with a better understanding of how my pupils learn which I can transfer over into the classroom. It also helped me to brush up on my technology skills which was another positive!

Overall, I would like to say a massive thank you to every member of staff at Cherwell! You are all so dedicated and have made my first placement fantastic! I could not have asked for a better placement. I have learnt so much and I am taking away with me so many skills and ideas that I will utilise throughout the rest of my teaching career.

Leanne Winfield

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Claire Garton: English Teacher and Associate Teacher Mentor Cherwell School

At the start of online learning, we all felt like we were in our training year again, no matter how long we have been teaching for. It certainly gave me a timely reminder of what it is like for the Associate Teachers to be faced with a set of new skills to learn (rapidly!) and to feel out of your comfort zone. This has been hugely positive for the ATs to feel that we are all 'in the same boat.' However, they have also been able to observe and to practise many of the skills that we can take back into the classroom, for example clarity of instruction and planning for pace. Perhaps most importantly they have recognised the need to monitor and encourage student engagement, learning new and effective strategies that, once again, can be used in the classroom. From a class teacher's point of view, the ATs have been invaluable in their supportive role as a second pair of eyes to monitor the chat messages and to support students as they work. We can all look forward now to making the transition back to managing real faces and voices.

Anastasia Illman: Associate Teacher History Cherwell School I've had the privilege of being an Associate Teacher at The Cherwell School since September. This has been an incredible experience for me and I'm very grateful for the support I've received from everyone at the school. Cherwell has been such a welcoming and supportive community (even during the constraints of online learning) where I've been able to confidently learn from excellent teachers. This teaching training experience has been so rewarding throughout the challenges of developing as a teacher. I'd especially like to thank my mentor, Caroline Slater, the History Department and the leaders of the OTT SCITT programme who have all played a major role in my development as a teacher!

Anastasia Illman

Lucy Shelley Associate Teacher Maths Cherwell School

Lockdown has highlighted for me what an incredible community Cherwell is to be part of. Like all schools, Cherwell is having to cope with an unprecedented amount of change. Despite that, I have been so impressed with the creativity, flexibility, and resilience of the staff. Their determination to provide fantastic provision despite the incredibly challenging circumstances. Without a doubt, I have missed being in the classroom. However, it has been a privilege to learn alongside experienced teachers how to deliver effective online lessons. It has allowed me to focus on pedagogy and deepening my subject knowledge for teaching instead of behaviour management.

When I accepted my place with OTT last year, I did not foresee the uncertainty we would all face. This makes what the SCITT team has delivered even more exceptional. They work tirelessly to provide the very best teacher training. I have felt incredibly well supported throughout and I have been inspired by the example that each of them has set, grasping every opportunity to keep on learning so we can provide the best education for all of our students.

Lucy Shelley © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 9

RUNNING A COVID TESTING CLINIC - PART ONE Reported by Mrs L Dale, KS4 Administrator At the very start of Term 3 Cherwell took delivery of 1000 Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs) along with instructions and guidance about setting up a clinic in school to test the students and staff who were in school.

We are proud to report that our first clinic opened just 3 days later in one of the South Site gyms, and was managed by a mixture of support staff and Cherwell parents who had taken the online training. During the course of term the students and staff were tested regularly at these morning clinics.

Mrs Knight waiting to take her test

First day of our new Covid Testing Clinic

Mrs Ingham on the Registration Desk Page 10

Staff member taking their test

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Processing and Recording Results

Plastic screens and test tube holders made by our amazing ADTE technicians

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RUNNING COVID TESTING CLINIC(S) - PART TWO Reported by Mrs L Dale, KS4 Administrator

As we neared the end of Term 3 the ‘Dream Team’ of core staff in our morning clinic speculated on what would happen re: testing when all of the students returned to school. Would we have to test them all? If so, how on earth would we do this? It would be a mammoth operation and it seemed an impossible task.

Fast forward to the Government announcement that students would return to school on 8th March and would be tested 3 times, and we then realised: 1) That we actually had the perfect model in our small clinic and just needed to upscale it make an additional 3 clinics over the two sites and 2) Dan Hares, our wonderful IT chappie, had worked out a way for us to scan and register hundreds of students at a time on the Test and Trace website (before this, we had to do it manually, one at a time).

Next, our wonderful Cherwell Community came into play as we asked for help and were over-whelmed by a flood of volunteers and helpers – parents, carers, support staff willing to juggle their school duties (teaching assistants, science technicians, ADTE technicians, office staff), exam invigilators, governors.

Our tireless premises team helped set up 3 extra clinics for us in time for 8th March. On that first Monday we tested over 1,900 students over 9 hours. Testing the students for their second and third tests took place over four separate days, with students coming out of their lessons for a maximum of 20 minutes, and by the end we had tested well over 5.5k tests in a week.

Statistics: Number of tests on students and staff in school during the 3rd lockdown = 1,287 Number of tests on students in school when they came back to school = 5,682 Total number of tests overall:

6,969

Vicky, Parent Volunteer: I loved it! My daughter is really proud of me volunteering to do this and calls me a ‘Professional Tester’!

Rhonda, Exam Invigilator: It went really smoothly, very well organised and the students were incredibly resilient.

Penny, PE Assistant: I’ve been doing the testing since Day 1 in January but never thought we would manage to test on this mass scale – but we have! An amazing effort by all and it shows the incredible generosity of the human race

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A new clinic was set up in the North Site hall

Miss Donson testing a student

Library Assistant Miss Moulis registering students and distributing home testing kits.

Jennifer, Lettings Manager When Sally first asked me back in January to organise the training and scheduling for parents who volunteered to assist our Covid testing, we had no idea how big of a job it would actually be! In the end, we recruited and trained more than 90 parents (and a few ex-Cherwell parents and pupils!) to help us deliver the lateral flow testing on site. These parents donated hours upon hours of their own time to assist us in our clinics, and we could not have done it without them. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this massive effort!

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Ms Young registers students, gives them their home testing kits, assisted by parent volunteer Ben .

Hannah, Parent Volunteer: I was hugely impressed by the school's mammoth efforts and can-do attitude towards it all, and I was more than happy to do my little bit to make it all happen.

Parent Hemara testing a student

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A new clinic was set up in the North Site Gym

Rose, Parent Volunteer: It's been a pleasure and heart warming experience to be able to help with the safety of The Cherwell School community…..

Thank you too for all the hard work you've done in ensuring our children's safety since the beginning of the pandemic.

Exam Invigilator Chris testing

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The South Site crew Exam Invigilator Janice processes the tests

Sarah, Parent Volunteer: I really enjoyed meeting so many Cherwell students on Monday at the testing. I hadn’t expected to leave at the end of the day feeling so happy with our school. My interaction with the students, while brief and focused, was a really positive experience – their engagement with the testing was really impressive, particularly those for whom it was clearly quite a daunting and anxietyinducing event. They took the testing really seriously, did their best to carry out the test rigorously, and at the same time I had lots of smiles, hellos and thank yous. It made me feel really proud that our family is part of such a great community and it was a great insight into how the school community works – with so much hard work from teaching and school staff going on in the background.

And a huge thank you to you and your amazing colleagues for all the organisation and support on the day – and for the Happy Cakes! It was great to be part of this.

The North Site Gym crew

A massive heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in this

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CHERWELL STUDENTS HAVE BEEN BUSY DURING LOCKDOWN 3 COOKING UP SOME DELICIOUS DISHES TO SHARE WITH THE FAMILY

By Ms Williams Food Technology Teacher

This delicious looking Banoffee Pie was made by Tiffany Tomlinson – I particularly like the chocolate decoration on the top of the pie. I’m sure it didn’t last long!

This cute cake was made by Mila Kremnitzer, I am particularly impressed with the marbling and the neat piping around the outside of the cake.

This delicious looking Salsa was made by Asher Horner – it shows great knife skills and I’m sure was delicious.

These delicious looking cakes were made by Sofia Edmondson.

Maddy Smith’s family were very lucky to have this made for them!

This lovely looking cake was made by Leena Fadlalla.

Hannah Watkinson had to quickly take the photo of her beetroot chocolate cake as it was disappearing fast!

I can see why!

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It’s lovely to see students trying their hand at pastry. These lovely jam tarts were made by Marnie Tramontana-Smith.

This scrummy looking cheese cake was made by Leonie Johnson.

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These beautifully decorated Lemon Bites were made by Sameen Ahmed.

Matthew Thornhill was the chef behind these delicious looking Carrot Cakes. I love the individual icing on the cakes – well done!

Aditya Zisserman’s. Well done Aditya.

Daisy Cliffe made a birthday cake - theme was Camping and she made a bonfire cake with marshmallows - well done!

James Kay chose to make a tray bake with his Carrot Cake recipe – I like the idea of being able to cut my own large slice!

The Blueberry muffins and the Calzone were both made by Carys Pooley.

This shows great talent in both sweet and savoury dishes – well done Carys.

Joss clearly enjoys cooking and her talent is going from strength to strength as a result of Joss's continual practice in the kitchen.

The Chinese banquet not only shows off Joss's knife skills but her ability to manage the time to produce these dishes all at the same time - this would have taken great consideration in the preparation of these dishes.

Sadly I didn't get to try the dishes but the proportions of all the ingredients all look well thought through and I would have expected a great balance of flavour. This standard of work would be considered a very high standard in the upper school but for a student in Year 8 it is exceptional! © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 17

Introducing….

The Cherwell Journal Read. Discuss. Write.

Illustrate. Share.

The Key Stage 3 Review (Years 7, 8 and 9): https://thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/ The Key Stage 4 Review (Years 10 and 11): https://thekeystage4review.wordpress.com/ The Sixth Form Review (Years 12 and 13): https://thesixthformreview.wordpress.com/

What is the Cherwell Journal?

The Cherwell Journal is a new digital and print journal where students go beyond the curriculum and write about topics that interest them - from niche interests to big social problems, historical records to future speculations, detailed reviews to summary overviews.

Why produce the Cherwell Journal?

We know that Cherwell students think creatively and purposefully about the world around them, far beyond what we teach in the classroom. The idea of the Cherwell Journal is to capture some of those thoughts: a space to think deeply, to read curiously and to share and celebrate ideas.

With remote learning and year group zones, it’s easy for us to feel a little more separate than we might like. The Cherwell Journal gives us a chance to connect remotely, across year groups, across subject areas and across the school community. Whether it’s collaborations in writing, illustrating or editing, we have already seen brilliant examples of students in different year groups working together to produce something stronger than the sum of its parts.

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Who has been involved in the Cherwell Journal?

The journal is open to all students in all year groups - everyone is welcome! We currently have a team of around 80 student researchers, writers and illustrators from Year 7 to Year 13. Over the past term, they have written 117 articles!

Year 7: 18 articles Year 8: 27 articles Year 9: 13 articles Year 10: 8 articles Year 11: 8 articles Year 12: 32 articles Year 13: 11 articles The Editorial Team:

Adiba, Alex, Amy, Ella, Eva, Freya, Linnea, Mae, Molly, Natalie, Noelle, Rayan and Roan The Journal has an editorial team of Year 11 and Year 12 students. The editors meet each week to plan ideas, create resources and discuss articles - mentoring students to help edit and improve articles before they are published.

This term, they have been busy: Mae designed and created the Cherwell Journal review websites; Noelle designed a logo, bookmarks and posters; Ella created a guided task; Linnea, Ella and Noelle launched a book and film of the month feature and discussion group; Freya and Molly have set up an Instagram account - and everyone has edited articles for the site.

We have also been lucky to have worked alongside mentors from our wider school community and the universities. Kamilah, Hermela and Emma in Year 12 all worked with Charlotte Simpson, a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Oncology Department, on a cancer research project.

Twenty of our science writers across each year group worked with Dr Manuel Spitschan, an experimental psychologist, on sleep and circadian rhythms (reading an advanced proof of a new comic strip and providing feedback through a focus group, as well as having a chance to ask questions about the science of sleep in small seminar groups). © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 19

Introducing….

The Cherwell Journal Read. Discuss. Write.

Illustrate. Share Competition Winners: To launch the Cherwell Journal, we ran two competitions:  Biography  Words, idioms and etymology The submissions were varied, thoughtful and brilliantly executed and Ms King, Ms Bristow, Mr Hopkins, Ms Kelbrick, Mr Madden, Ms Rapson and Ms Fowler were delighted to be able to award so many R4s!

Congratulations to the winners!

Biography: Years 7 and 8 winner: Hanaa-Sophiya Sabir: Martin Luther King Junior Runners up: Fia Alexander: Inspirational women: Kahlo, Merian and Franklin Hannah and Rebecca Watkinson: A Diary of Discovery Mohammad Almuqham: Thomas Edison: A Biography Years 9 and 10 winner: Sophie Dadson: Vera Rubin: An Inspiration Runners up: Kaya Malhi: Nina Gualinga: An Advocate For The Amazon Alexander Porfyrakis: Genghis Khan Years 11, 12 and 13 winner: Roan Thornton: Maurice Ravel: The Swiss Watchmaker of Music Runners up: Emily Meredith: Alice Carleton: A Biography Dahnish Ali: Imran Khan: From Sport To Social Struggle

Words, idioms and etymology: Years 7 and 8 winner: Thea Dent - Atkins: The Stories Of Words Years 9 and 10 winner: Sean Pope: The Multiple Meanings Of Mercury Years 11, 12 and 13 winner: Amy Oliver: How And Why Was Writing Developed?

Runners up: Iris Pittard: Suffragette: The History Behind The Word Alba Arevalo: Elementary: A Linguistic Mystery Edward Martin: Abracadabra: The Magic Of Words

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Article: Sean (Year 9) Illustration: Saleem (Year 10)

NEW: Easter Competition We are reopening the competition for a second round!

We invite you to enter a 300-800 word article on a word or person of your choice.

You can enter either or both categories. Students who entered the first round are very welcome to enter again with a new article.

The deadline for entries is Friday 30th April, 3pm.

For full details and a guided task, see your English Google Classroom (Years 7-11), the ‘Beyond Cherwell’ Google Classroom (Year 12) or contact Miss Richer.

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

What happens next term?

Following everyone’s superb efforts this term, the Cherwell Journal will continue all year round! We will upload articles on a rolling basis when we receive them. At the end of the academic year, we will print a selection of articles into an anthology book that will be published for students to keep and for the school library.

We need new submissions!

Do you have an idea, ‘big question’, topic or problem you want to research, share or think about more? Have you read, seen or listened to something you would like to review? Is there a social issue you see in the world around you that you want to understand more or you think more people should be talking about? Do you have a specialist interest you’d like to share?

Weiyen (Year 11)

Ella (Year 12)

Tudor (Year 7)

To keep up to date, follow online: Twitter: @CherwellEnrich Instagram: @thecherwelljournal How do we get involved?

If you have any thoughts, ideas or contributions, contact: Miss Richer: cricher@cherwellschool.org.

The Editorial Team (Year 11/12): cherwelljournal@gmail.com In search of inspiration? Join the ‘Cherwell Journal’ Google Classroom for ideas, guides and templates. Search using the class code: lia5zjk

Hannah and Rebecca (Y7/Y8); Rosh (Y8); Joss and Linnea (Y8/Y12); Eliza (Y9); Rayan (Y11) © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 21

The Cherwell Journal Editorial Team’s

Picks of the Term Read. Discuss. Write.

Illustrate. Share Noelle’s Pick: Article title: Vera Rubin: Influential, Inspirational, Incredible.

Written by Sophie Dadson (Year 9) Read the article: https:// thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/vera-rubin/ Noelle says: I picked this article because it captures beautifully the importance of perseverance, even when times are tough. Perseverance, resilience and determination flow through the article. I loved hearing how her discoveries have continued to shape science today! It is important to honour these inspirational women that have allowed us to redefine the perceptions of women and their capabilities. It simply is amazing. Hats off to Sophie!

“Vera persevered even when all the odds were against her. She is a true inspiration to pursue your dreams, no matter what.”

Article: Sophie (Year 9)

Mae’s Pick: Article title: Women in Film: Moving Towards An Equal Representation Author: Linnea Hopfenbeck (Year 12) Illustrator: Linnea Hopfenbeck (Year 12) Read the article: https:// thesixthformreview.wordpress.com/women-in-film/ Mae says: I loved this article because I thought it was informative, eye-opening and genuinely interesting! I came away from it feeling slightly shocked and with a completely new perspective about the film industry. I’ve always heard of ‘The Bechdel Test’ but never properly understood it and this article clearly explained it and completely transformed my view of popular and adored films. I also thought the illustration was really impressive and eye-catching!

Article and illustration: Linnea (Year 12)

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“For the representation of women to become normalised, their representation must show the depth and narrative diversity given to their male counterparts.”

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

Roan’s Pick: Article title: Frida Kahlo: A Life In Art Author: Fia Alexander (Year 8) Link to article: https:// thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/frida-kahlo/ Roan says: My reasons behind choosing this article are at once evident when the text meets your eyes. I am captivated by Fia’s narrative, which is so convincing, so succinct in its expression and yet so detailed in its covering of all relationships between the art and the artist. We are introduced to a Frida Kahlo behind the surface of our preconceived notions, often conjured up from how striking Kahlo’s canvases are, to a place of true intimacy. Fia presents us with the early tragedies of Kahlo’s life, the physical pains and emotional traumas that are perhaps what entices us so strongly to Kahlo’s work. I truly loved the perfectly placed and so masterfully integrated quotes from Kahlo herself; it is as though the artist had wanted us to understand and appreciate these elements of her work all along. The closing paragraph on the legacy of feminism is one of great relevance and offers up an original insight taken directly from Kahlo’s masterpieces of unabashed, uncensored and raw self portrait. This article takes us to a place dominated by those who dare to stay a little longer in the exhibition room, who seek all that the canvas will not simply grant you for bothering to make its acquaintance. A truly wonderful read.

Article: Fia (Year 8) “Frida Kahlo is still an inspiration: her message that fitting in and adjusting your image is one of the least important things in life. Our uniqueness is special and should be treasured.”

Freya’s Pick: Article: Gene Therapy and Future Hopes for HIV Treatment Author: Emma Stier (Year 12) Read the article: https://thesixthformreview.wordpress.com/ gene-therapy-hiv/

Article: Emma (Year 12)

Freya says: Having recently watched ‘It’s A Sin’, a series that highlights the spread of HIV in the 1980s, Emma’s article appealed to me. I picked this article because, whilst I was aware of the existence of treatments for HIV, I was previously unaware of the possibility of a cure. Within the article, I was particularly interested to learn of scientists' ability to extract CD4 cells from the body and remove the HIV content from them, thus creating immunity to the virus. This article is both informative and exciting in its exploration of the prospects of using gene therapy to cure HIV.

“To the 37.9 million people living with HIV – there is hope.”

Thomas (Y12); Rowan (Y11); Mohammad (Y7); Maddie (Y12); Camila (Y12) © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 23

The Cherwell Journal Editorial Team’s

Picks of the Term Read. Discuss. Write.

Illustrate. Share.

Ella’s Pick: Article title: The Picture of Dorian Gray: Morality, Art and Rebellion Author: Nathaniel Gothard (Year 9) Illustrator: Linnea Hopfenbeck (Year 12) Read the article: https:// thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/the-picture-of-doriangray-morality-art-and-rebellion/ Ella says: I decided on this article as my pick of the term, as Nathaniel has superbly explored the facets, nuances and subtleties that are interwoven throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray. He discusses the prevalent themes, characters and context which so often lay the foundation for a successful article. His writing is accompanied by Linnea’s marvellous illustration: a culmination of superciliousness, decadence, elegance and dominance. Moreover, Wilde’s purpose wonderfully glitters throughout Nathaniel’s writing just as themes of morality, art and rebellion glitter throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray. I certainly wish to reread it having found out more!

Article: Nathaniel (Year 9) Illustration: Linnea (Year 12)

“Wilde perhaps thought of himself as a cross between Lord Henry and Basil Hallward, with Hallward’s artistic sensibilities and Lord Henry’s sharp wit.”

Alex’s Pick: Article: ‘Classical Music: It Wasn’t Always This Way’ Author and illustrator: Roan Thornton (Year 12) Read the article: https:// thesixthformreview.wordpress.com/classical-music-adefence/ Alex says: I picked this article because I really enjoyed how it carefully built up - and then deconstructed - the myths and assumptions that have built up around Classical music in all its forms. It was very refreshing to hear about classical music, not from a stuffy or snobbish perspective, but with humour and genuine eagerness to spread its wonder. I most enjoyed the careful look through the history of how Classical Music was viewed, not just by the older or wealthy but also by the common people. The article was written with such great care and attention to what mattered most: music is personal and classical music can be fun.

Article and illustration: Roan (Year 12) Page 24

“In protest of the word ‘classical’ being used to distinguish this music from ‘pop’, I will now use quotation marks around it to demonstrate as much sarcasm as one can in writing.”

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Miss Richer’s Pick: Article title: Wolves: A Terrifying and Fascinating Tale Author: Leo Pugliese (Year 8) Illustrator: Poppy Stothard (Year 10) Read the article: https:// thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/wolves/ Miss Richer says: I picked this article because I loved the way it challenged my preconceptions about wolves and showed how they come more from fiction than reality.

I liked how it used wolves to introduce ideas about evolution, ecology and protection work. As an English teacher, I most enjoyed learning that the idiom ‘a lone wolf’ is a misnomer - it surprised me to find out wolves are actually team players! I loved Poppy’s illustration, too, and the way she so carefully matches her split image drawing design to Leo’s ideas about the difference between how we perceive wolves and how they actually behave: brilliant collaboration!

“What the wolf lacks in size, power and brute strength it makes up for in teamwork, collaboration and speed.”

Article: Leo (Year 8) Illustration: Poppy (Year 10)

Linnea’s Pick: Article: Marnie (Year 7)

Article title: ‘Mary Jackson: The Biography of An Engineer’ Author: Marnie Tramontana Smith (Year 7) Read the article: https://thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/ mary-jackson/ Linnea says: I had never heard of Mary Jackson and I was amazed to hear about her story. As the history books choose to ignore so many pioneers, this article was a great read to introduce me to her work. Her ability to overcome every obstacle put in her way is really inspiring and the work she did as NASA is incredible. Marnie’s writing was also superb, maintaining clarity and a sense of the author's voice throughout!

“Mary Jackson should inspire us all to think outside the box and never give up, no matter what.”

For more information on the Cherwell Journal project, to get involved or offer any support, contact Miss Richer (cricher@cherwellschool.org) or follow online (Twitter: @CherwellEnrich / Instagram: @thecherwelljournal)

Audey (Y7); Holly (Y10); Olive (Y7); Saskia and Iris (Y9); Ben (Y10) © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 25

Introducing….

Beyond Cherwell Opportunity. Responsibility.

Excellence Contact: Miss Richer (cricher@cherwellschool.org) Office: Sixth Form Centre, next to Ms Rapson and Mrs Fisher’s office.

Join: Google Classroom ‘hub’ (code: no3btll) Follow: @CherwellEnrich (Twitter)

The Sixth Form Review (Years 12 and 13): https://thesixthformreview.wordpress.com/ What is Beyond Cherwell?

The Beyond Cherwell programme and award is a new initiative for the sixth form, working with students from January in Year 12 to January in Year 13 as they begin to consider next steps beyond Cherwell. It is optional academic enrichment, designed to sit alongside our curriculum, tutorial work and careers guidance.

It involves:  Information, advice and guidance on next steps (university, apprenticeships, careers)  Cross-curricular enrichment ideas, guided tasks, challenges and competitions.  Mentoring, external speakers and small-group projects.  Support developing study skills and research skills.  Creation of a portfolio of evidence to enable competitive applications beyond school.  A certificated award to recognise their efforts and achievements.

Through Beyond Cherwell, students have access to: A Google Classroom Hub: Through this, students can access all information and updates, including guides, templates and resources (and their award points tracker).

Weekly Bulletin: There is a weekly bulletin with notices, upcoming events and features.

Weekly Challenge: There is an optional weekly challenge where students do some semi structured but independent (or group) thinking around a shared idea that goes across lots of different subject areas. Students are encouraged to listen to, watch or read one thing (links given), then pick a set of thinking points to consider. Students can spend as long or as little on it as they like and there is no set format. There is no deadline for these, so they can choose to 'store up' any themes they would like to consider if they don't have time in that given week.

Monday Seminars: The optional Monday seminars run every Monday during term time from 3.15pm-4.15pm. Some will involve small group work; some will be led by teachers; some will involve external speakers, mentors and researchers from a range of careers and fields.

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SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

Beyond Cherwell: In Numbers (Spring Term 2021) Students registered: 243 Most students at a Monday seminar: 91 Average students at a Monday seminar: 52 Alumni and parent supporters: 24 Visiting speakers: 16 Weekly challenges: 8 Events advertised in bulletin:  Work experience placements: 12  Careers talks: 8  University taster days, summer schools and HE fairs: 9  Lectures: 21  Competitions: 13 Cherwell Journal articles: 25 Number of R5s (Head Teacher Commendations): 3 Number of R4s (Head of Year Commendations): 39

Google Classroom: Beyond Cherwell hub Year 12 joining code: no3btll With January’s remote learning, the new Beyond Cherwell programme and award launched virtually.

Year 12 immediately rose to the challenge: 243 students registered for the programme and award and 101 students came to the after-school programme induction session.

Guides and Templates

Award Tracker © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 27

Introducing….

Beyond Cherwell Opportunity. Responsibility.

Excellence The Beyond Cherwell Weekly Bulletin Every Monday, all students in Year 12 receive a weekly bulletin, with updates, notices, opportunities (lectures, events, competitions) and a special feature (interviews with former students, employers and tips on study skills, positive wellbeing and approaching key moments in the year). Students can also pick up a printed copy from the notice board in the Sixth Form Centre.

Parents and carers can sign up to receive the weekly bulletin too through Classlist: Y12 Parent Support- Beyond Cherwell Programme.

Updates, notices, reminders and congratulations

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Recommended lectures and competitions

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

University tasters and work experience placements

Weekly feature: interview and tips

The Beyond Cherwell Weekly Challenge Every Monday, all students in Year 12 receive a weekly challenge: a chance to learn about, consider and discuss a shared theme from a general, personal or subject-specific perspective.

Next steps: suggestions for a short (or long!) activity using the theme and potential connected course or career ideas.

Suggested material: one thing to read, watch or listen to.

Thinking points: prompts to approach the theme in interdisciplinary ways. © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 29

Introducing….

Beyond Cherwell Opportunity. Responsibility.

Excellence Beyond Cherwell Weekly Challenges: Challenge 01: Thought of the Week “Kings would define their borders to directly state what was theirs and what they own. So why now when the power is meant to be in the hands of the people - do borders still cower over us and put limitations on us. As borders need a gateway and the question of who is allowed into the country arises and the person who decides this holds the power.”

- Charlotte G

Weekly Challenge 01: Borders

Challenge 02: Thought of the Week

Weekly Challenge 02: Space Junk

“A creative solution for space junk: A sacrificial spacecraft that is designed and programmed to magnetically attract the obsolete or non-working satellites and magnetic space junk.”

- Thomas D

Challenge 03: Thought of the Week “Even if a robot could identify love, how would it be able to express love? Humans each express things differently, based on past actions, experiences and expressions of those around them. Robots do not have that experience to draw on and do not have that way to think about formulating a way to express emotions. Can you give the robot meaning or just programme it to to do certain actions in response/on command?”

– Emily M

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Weekly Challenge 03: What Is Love?

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Beyond Cherwell Weekly Challenges: Spring Term 2021 Challenge 04: Thought of the Week “Although it may sound daunting to realise our experience and thoughts will forever be uniquely our own, it also branches out to a greater respect for someone else’s sentiments if we accept that we can never fully empathise, since we are recognising the complexity of their emotions.”

- Kara M “The consumer culture of the 21st century plays a significant role in our attitudes, to and search for, love. Society places men in the consumer role, leaving women as the consumed. What’s more, popular dating apps make it as easy as the swipe of a finger for us to like or discard those which we are offered to consume (just like Chaucer’s May in the ‘common market place’).”

- Camila P

Weekly Challenge 04: Empathy Challenge 05: Thought of the Week

Weekly Challenge 05: Books

““I see empathy as not only to understand what someone is going through, but to act upon that and actively help them. It would be considered strange if someone went out of their way to help a stranger whereas these acts of empathy really do need to be normalised. People are overly praised for their intellect, not their character, but I don’t think you are truly intellectual if you lack basic manners or compassion.”

- Aisha A

Challenge 06: Thought of the Week “I found the poem by Anisa Nandaula especially powerful. Like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk, she concludes that men need to realise that female inequality impacts negatively on them too.

In Spanish, we also talk about the emotional load that so many women have to carry, yet so many forget, and how things still need to change for women, so that they are able to achieve as much as their male counterparts.”

- Eva B

Weekly Challenge 06: International Women’s Day

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 31

Introducing….

Beyond Cherwell . Opportunity. Responsibility.

Excellence Beyond Cherwell Weekly Challenges: Spring Term 2021 Challenge 07: Thought of the Week

Weekly Challenge 07: Colour

“The colours of a country’s flag gives individuality and freedom: 195 countries all with unique colours (unless you are Chad and Romania, who share the same flag).

The colours reflect something about the country - vibrant colours of a country like Jamaica; basic colours and patterns of a historic culture; political symbolism of a country like the USA or the colonial influence in Australia’s flag. Colours on flags are useful forms of recognition and of identifying a country without sharing a language.”

- Thomas D

Challenge 08: Thought of the Week “Stress is a flutter of uncontrollable feelings and stirs. It sinks in deep during the light and haunts you at night. It speaks, and it talks, but there is not a figure in sight. It is a sign of impending doom and failure, and with it comes a great deal of uncertainty.

Stress knows more about me than I do about myself. It knows all my tricks and ticks. We dislike it. We curse it. We blame it. It brings feelings of despair and hurt. It makes us realise our mistakes and capabilities. But we fail to recognise its usefulness; It is a mirror of reflection. But ignorance is bliss.”

- Noelle J

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Weekly Challenge 08: Stress

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

The Beyond Cherwell Monday Seminars (3pm-4pm) Every Monday, Beyond Cherwell meets after school to hear from visiting speakers, discuss ideas in seminar groups, take part in team challenges and think creatively about new ideas and the world around us. Seminars are open to any student in Year 12. Students can either join in person in the Sixth Form Centre or remotely through Google Classroom.

This term, we have been delighted to welcome fifteen visiting speakers to the seminars to speak about their research, careers, study options and experiences beyond school.

Highlights have included:

Laura Cragg, Admissions and Recruitment, Manchester University: An introduction to university (student life, teaching and learning, accommodation, finance), making the most of virtual events and how to research your options (choosing a course, choosing a university).

Oxford’s Cortex Club and Clarendon Scholars: PhD ’lightning talks’: Nine young researchers working on PhDs (four years of intense research after undergraduate study) gave ‘lightning talks’ - a seven minute presentation on an aspect of their research and three minutes of questions. They spoke about their ‘origin stories’ (how they found themselves researching this area), the potential uses of their research in the future—and left us with some thought-provoking thinking points, ideas for further reading and more questions than answers!

The researchers will return later in the year to offer mentoring support for Year 12s to conduct their own mini-research projects, papers or activities over the summer break.

Dr Manuel Spitschan, Experimental Psychologist, University of Oxford: Dr Spitschan gave a lecture on colour, perception and the connections between the eye and the brain. With reflections on neuroscience, cognition, behavioural sciences and language, the talk offered something new for everyone—including some mind-boggling colour illusions!

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 33

Introducing….

Beyond Cherwell Opportunity. Responsibility.

Excellence Monday seminar highlights (continued): Dr Manuel Spitschan and Coline Weinzaepflen: Following Dr Spitschan’s talk on colour, ten students (who have contributed science articles to the Cherwell Journal’s sixth form review) were selected to participate in a focus group. The students received a preview copy of a comic strip designed to introduce readers to the science of sleep and circadian rhythms (designed by neuroscientist and illustrator, Coline).

They provided valuable feedback on the comic and had the unique opportunity for a 30 minute psychology seminar!

Professor Helen Christian, Biomedical Sciences, University of Oxford: Professor Christian gave a lecture on stress and hormones, explaining the science of stress, how it affects our bodies and how we can turn stress to something we can use to our advantage. After a wideranging lecture, Professor Christian took questions and began a stimulating discussion with real practical relevance to how we approach thinking about school to help us find the optimum zone of ‘stress’.

Philippa Fletcher, journalist and editor, Reuters News: Philippa met with the Cherwell Journal editorial team to talk about her experiences of journalism as a career, some of the challenges –and excitements—of being a journalist and to share advice on deciding stories, researching and editing for both wide and specialist audiences.

Alfie Eltis, student editor at Cambridge’s ‘Varsity’ newspaper: Alfie (former student, 20122019) also ‘zoomed in’ for an informal question and answer discussion over lunch, with thoughts on how to strike the balance of tone on student-led writing and how to create a narrative style without becoming polemical.

Dr Andrew Bell, Senior Tutor at University College, Oxford: Over 100 Year 12 students and parents joined us for a special talk and discussion introducing Oxford and Cambridge, with reflections on subject choices, making the most of Year 12, competitive applications and admissions. Dr Bell drew on his experience as Director of ‘Opportunity Oxford’ to share tips on how best to develop the skills for independent university-level study—and why this is so exciting!

Dr Alan Bloodworth, University of Warwick: Dr Bloodworth introduced ways to combine practical work in industry with academic study, with a focus on degree apprenticeships and why (and how) it is helpful to begin to think about ‘employability’.

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Mr Price’s Head Teacher Commendations (R5): Congratulations to….

Noelle Jaho Noelle designed a series of logos for the Beyond Cherwell programme and award. The overall logo shows the Cherwell swan taking flight—lifting off from school to the next steps beyond Cherwell—with the three stars corresponding to the three levels of the award. She also made modular logos, each superbly reflecting the ethos of the module: opportunity, responsibility and excellence. And if that wasn’t enough, Noelle has also produced bookmarks and posters for the Cherwell Journal!

Noelle’s Beyond Cherwell logos

Mae Cook Mae designed and created the Cherwell Journal websites for each key stage, turning the project from an amorphous idea into a physical reality. Mae invested hours of work with good will, openness to collaboration and enthusiasm—and her end result looks fantastic!

The Key Stage 3 Review (Years 7, 8 and 9): https://thekeystage3review.wordpress.com/ The Key Stage 4 Review (Years 10 and 11): https://thekeystage4review.wordpress.com/ The Sixth Form Review (Years 12 and 13): https://thesixthformreview.wordpress.com/

Mae’s website design

Ella Myers Ella designed and created a guided enrichment task for students across the school on ‘writing about art’. Ella wrote thinking points, suggestions for research, links to useful resources and an example article and illustration. Ella has also completed 67 activities as part of Beyond Cherwell—in addition to numerous contributions to the Cherwell Journal editorial team and working with other students to set up a new book and film club for Key Stage 3!

Final congratulations to everyone who has been involved in Beyond Cherwell so far —whether in one activity or in lots.

Ella’s ‘write on art’ task

If you haven’t yet joined, there’s still time! We look forward to seeing you for more next term!

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 35

SAFETY INTERNET DAY - 9 FEBRUARY

By Ms K Overbeck & Ms R Brown We celebrated Safer Internet Day! (9 February) a day celebrated across the globe in over 170 countries, with thousands of young people joining in across the UK. This year, we focussed on the information we can find online. It is incredible just how much information is out there online and how much we rely on it.

People also say that there are lots of things online that are unbelievable. ‘Unbelievable’ can be positive (amazing) but also negative (not to be trusted).

Research found that only 35% of 12-15 year olds in the UK think that social media provides trustworthy news all or most of the time. You have probably seen and heard people talking about fake news. This has led to some people thinking that the news we see online cannot be trusted.

BUT, the news that we get online is very important. Good quality news and information helps us to make informed decisions and educates us about the world we live in. Good quality news is out there, you just need to find it.

The key is working together. We are all affected by false information. Here are some posters that our students made with steps you can take and information about reliable information

By all of us playing our part, we can help to build an internet that we can trust Find sources you trust!

-

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Discuss Debate Challenge

By Maddy Smith, Year 7

By Lazar Besevic, Year 7

By Aditya Zisserman, Year 7

By Annie Carton, Year 7

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021© The Cherwell School, Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence

By Anneka Lloyd, Year 7

By Jem Leighton-Scholes Year 7

Safer Internet day.

● More secure internet and more police looking for hackers online. ● Less contact between people that are unknown. ● More people are aware of how to find hackers online (use of language, clickbait)

By Joel Siju , Year 7

By Ali Ait Tahar, Year 8

Where did the post come from?

Is the site trustworthy?

Do you know that the site is verified as safe?

Who posted it?

Does their name look trustworthy or fake?

Is the news post believable?

Ask friends if they believe it

By Jack Marshall, Year 8

By Bruno Kirby , Year 9

By Taeho Lee, Year 9

By Nikolina Ustipak , Year 9

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 37

MFL NEWS: Austrian Virtual Exchange By Mr Mehrabian Over 20 students from Year 9 into 13 took part in the Austrian virtual exchange which was for many a rewarding experience. Initially, students made contact with their Austrian counterparts and spent the first week getting to know their partners and completing some of the ice breaker activities created

by Franzi Hein, a university student who will become a teacher next year in Vienna.

Over the 8 week period, students not only had the chance to improve their spoken German but also gained an insight into the Austrian culture. One week focussed on the differences of Austrian German and Austrian dialects and comparing these with the Hochdeutsch (standard German) which is taught in schools in the UK. All students who took part and completed surveys were awarded a certificate in recognition of their hard work over the 8 week period. Now that we have established this contact with Franzi Hein, it is hoped that our sixth form students might be able to visit their partners next year.

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MATHS: Congratulations Year 13 on winning the National Maths Ritangle Competition.

Congratulations to Tatsuto Yamamoto, Malek Amerudin, Francesco Carraro, Devamitra Acharya, Kento Chung and Chris Bellew for winning the Ritangle 2020 Maths National competition, a remarkable feat. The

competition consisted of three stages with the first stage consisting of challenging problems slowly being released over the first two terms which lead up to the finale where schools across the country raced to use their answers to solve a bigger problem and progress to the next two stages. The final stage consisted of a optimisation problem that not even the competition organisers were confident they had solved. Out of all of the schools across the country, the Cherwell team submitted the best solution which led them to winning the competition. The organisers expressed how impressed they were with the working submitted and commented on how the team must consist of truly exceptional mathematicians. An enormous achievement which will soon be accompanied by the Ritangle Maths hamper prize and trophy.

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 39

SCIENCE ENRICHMENT

By Ms Ghaffar, Science Enrichment Co-ordinator

Although during the period of remote teaching over most of this term, there have been fewer opportunities for Science enrichment; we are pleased to highlight the following recent activities & successes.

Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize for 2020 In January, we were pleased to make our final submissions for this prize. Many thanks to our enthusiastic readers from Year 7: Tom Hollindale & Josh Malik (7CSS). Benji Brown & Sameer Appleby-Alis (7DN) and Tudor Harabor (7NS) – a well-deserved certificate is on its way to them! The wining book was Cats react to Science Facts by Izzi Howell, and was announced at an award ceremony which can be viewed here: Young People's Book Prize award ceremony | Royal Society. Look out for more details of over the next few month for how you can get involved in this next

Virtual DNA Workshop For Year 13s This year we were able to offer our Year 13 Biologists the ability to engage with our annual DNA workshops virtually. Delivered by Sarah Lloyd from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, A Question of Taste workshop is always a highlight for our students, giving them hands-on experience of cutting edge- techniques in DNA technology, and it was great to have the students still being able to participate in this remotely.

British Biology Olympiad – March 2021 Twelve Year 12 and four Year 13 A-level Biologists competed in this year’s British Biology Olympiad, which consisted of two 45-min online papers. We look forward to sharing their results soon!

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Senior Physics Challenge - March 2021

We were delighted to have eight of our students take part in the Physics AS/Year 12 challenge digitally on 5th March. Everyone received at least 12 marks from a very challenging set of questions, and two of them were placed in the top 15% out of the whole country with their gold awards – an impressive set of results!

Bronze

Gold

Elizabeth Milne Victor Coldea

Silver

Alexander Shamonin Ben Holmes

Linnea Hopfenbeck Joe Ponsford Jose Villarroel Emily McAndrew

Oxfordshire Young Scientists of the Year Congratulations to Freddie McNay (13KD) who we nominated as our Young Biologist of the Year for his dedication, enthusiasm and attainment in Biology – very well done Freddie!

From Ms Ghaffar, Science Enrichment Coordinator; follow us on twitter: Cherwell School Science © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 41

GEOGRAPHY NEWS: Cherwell hosts a Virtual Geographical Association Lecture with Danny Dorling! By Mr R Littlewood On Tuesday 2nd February 2021, Cherwell was due to host Professor Danny Dorling to give a lecture to the students and other members of the Oxford Geographical Association in the hall. It was to be the first time Cherwell had hosted one of these lectures in a good while, and an event to bring schools together from across the city. Alas the current situation prevented us from hosting in person, but instead we hosted the lecture on Zoom and Danny gave an insightful talk about his latest book ‘Finntopia’. There was a good turnout from a number of different schools across the city, and some searching questions were put to Danny after the lecture, some of which were from Cherwell students.

Our thanks go to all at the Oxford Geographical Association for making this possible and hosting regular lectures which students have found interesting and helpful for their A Level course. We look forward to hopefully hosting another one in person during the next academic year if the situation allows.

PERFORMING ARTS: Year 12

Drama A Level Students Meet Costumer Designer For The National Theatre

Year 12 Drama A Level Drama students were lucky enough to have a lesson given over to interviewing West End Costume Designer, Anna Josephs. Anna shared her designs and experience of working on shows like Twelfth Night at the National with Tamsin Greig and working alongside internationally renowned designer Soutra Gilmour. Anna has helped design and fit costumes for over 20 years for shows such as Dirty Dancing, Calendar Girls, Hairspray and Flashdance as well as working on tour with Justin Timberlake.

Thank you Anna for giving up your time and giving us all an amazing insight into working in the arts.

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Year 9 Film Club Thank you to all Year 9 students who have sent in their 1 minute, lock down, short films. These look fantastic.

There is still time to submit your film. The deadline for all entries is the last day of this term:

Wednesday 31st March Keep them coming in. Good Luck.

The Drama team

OTHER NEWS: SCITT AND OUDES -

Thank You to all our

By Mrs T Parish

It is wonderful to welcome all staff back to school but we’d like to give a special mention to all those associate teachers and interns working with us at present. Already during their training year they have all responded to the many challenges of online learning and a combination of remote in and in-school working, alongside their own learning; what a fantastic team! Huge thanks too, to all the mentors and staff who have been supporting them along the way. We are so looking forward to being able to inschool teach.

If you are interested in finding out more about training with us as a school, please have a look at https://oxfordshireteachertraining.co.uk/ We are hoping to be able to host school experience visits in the summer term. Please contact tparish@cherwellschool.org to register your interest.

CHERWELL’S VERY OWN CARETAKER WINS LOCAL COMPETITION...CONGRATULATIONS STEWART RICHARDSON Mr Richardson’s passion for chocolate lead him to enter a competition , ‘Choc It Out’ online with Co-op to create his own chocolate bar flavour.

His winning combination of crunchy apple and cinnamon flavour bagged him this hamper full of irresistible chocolate bars and he has been put forward as one of ten finalists in the country…..

Watch this space to see if Mr Richardson wins in the next round! © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 43

KEY STAGE 3 NEWS

By Ms King, Mr Hopkins & Ms Bristow

We are really proud of our Year 7, 8 and 9 students who worked so well from home during the Jan-March Lockdown – we want to thank them (and you, parents/carers!) for all their resilience and hard work. It's amazing to know that our students have been following their usual timetables and getting all their work done virtually. We all recognise that it’s been a tricky time for everyone and our Key Stage 3 students have been a real inspiration! There were more R3 rewards given by teachers than ever; so many students went above and beyond to complete brilliant work, to help others, and to work in difficult environments.

scheme that runs across the UK. There were some amazing people to write to who had lived very cool lives, and our students enjoyed writing to them and learning about them.

We also saw an outstanding contribution from KS3 (working both from home and in school) to the Cherwell Journal, which is a collection of non-fiction articles written by Cherwell students of all ages. There are some fascinating and expertly researched and written KS3 articles there, showing a real thirst for learning.

Do check out the Journal if you can – details of it are also in this newsletter.

During that time, students in school were also We also have some KS3 students who have working hard and adapted really well. They shared their experiences of learning during have even had time to write to local residents lockdown, please see page 33. of a care home with some beautiful cards that show words of encouragement, interest and some excellent questions (see pictures below).

This is part of the ‘Postcards of Kindness’

Year 7s with their postcards

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KS3 SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES DURING LOCKDOWN

What was it like in school during lockdown? By Heidi Thomas 7JTY

My time in the key worker group was so much better than I thought it would’ve been, before everything went back to normal. I would like to thank all the teachers and TA’s who helped me get through it all. They were, and still are, such a big help to this school. Thank you. During Lockdown, everything felt like school, but the one thing that felt a little bit different was the amount of people. I was used to having a lot of students around me and not on screens, so it took me a while to get used to how the things worked at that time. Learning was a lot harder on screens, since the teachers weren’t there to actually help you with the work, but we all pulled through it and they did their best. Break and lunch were the same, and we all had football matches, it was a lot of fun! I made tons of new friends, and being in school rather than home really helped me upgrade my learning, and having new friends around me to help made it so much better. At first, I didn't want to go into school, but soon it became the only place I wanted to be!

What was it like coming back to Cherwell after the school closure? - By Theo Carr 7RC

My experience coming back to school was very daunting but also very exciting. At first I thought school would not be great because it would be more restricted (with having to wear masks in lessons) but I have only realised how much better school is than I thought. In fact, I have actually started going to different classrooms for different lessons so there is more you can do now, which is great; I feel it is edging closer and closer to becoming back to normal. Alongside the fact that the school work is enjoyable, it is also amazing to be able to see all my friends again. During home-schooling it could get very lonely, almost as if your room wasn’t a room but a sort of jail where the only way to see others was over a screen, so getting back to school (even with butterflies flapping around your tummy) and having friends to comfort and support you face-to-face it’s such a nice thing to have. This is probably not a huge factor but if you cycle/walk to school it is a great chance to get some exercise. Also coming back to school will help more students catch up because in my case I found home-schooling to be harder, with more distractions and connection errors so I’ve found it is easier to get back on track with a normal calm routine. Overall my experience coming back to Cherwell has been really fun and calm as I hope it was the for others.

What was it like in school during lockdown?

Grace Devine 9JSN

My online learning experience in school during lockdown was good. I felt motivated from sharing this experience with other Year 9 students who were also in school. I have since become good friends with these students, which I am really happy about.

Since being back into school, I was a little apprehensive about school returning to normal and it took the first week for me to feel comfortable again. I am now happy to return to normal lessons, being in the class with the teacher and seeing my friends again.

My experience of online learning at school during lockdown - Corin 9KM

My experience of online learning at school was good because I didn't have my usual things at home to distract me from my learning. For example I was in a classroom with nine other students doing our work and with one teacher to help us if we needed it. We also had places to go and walk around to eat our snacks and lunch during our free time.

Since we came back into school I felt a bit overwhelmed and it took me a couple of days to get back into the normal routine. But now everything is sort of back to normal, I am now happy to be in the class with the teacher and to be with my friends again. © The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 45

YEAR 10 NEWS

By Ms Kelbrick & Mrs Knight

As we hit the one-year anniversary of school closing, we are back together, hopefully for good this time. Students have had to be flexible and open to new ways of learning, (as have teachers!) and the Year 10s have done brilliantly.

We are still working in our zones, wearing masks and working in well ventilated classrooms so things are not back to normal yet but students have come back focussed on learning and enjoying being with each other and that’s what we want.

In the last few months, students have been getting involved in writing for the ‘Cherwell Journal’ and taking advantage of our mobile library. We are starting to open up a wide variety of after school clubs and look forward to students dusting off their old skills or trying something new. Spring is here, the days are longer and we’re looking forward to a happy, summer term where our students finish Year 10 learning together.

YEAR 11 NEWS

By Mr Madden & Mrs Goble

This term has continued to have its challenges in terms of having to work throughout another National lockdown, however Year 11 have shown great resilience and commitment to their studies and have engaged really positively with their live lessons. Their PR grades continue to improve as we move towards the awarding of their final GCSE’s.

In addition, your child will have had their Sixth Form Support Meetings or outlined their post16 choices. Students have shown great maturity in relation to deciding their next career choices wherever that may take them. All of which have been complemented by individual meetings with Jason Davis our Careers Advisor.

It goes without saying that our main focus since returning to school has been preparing for Spring Assessments which will commence week beginning 22nd March and continue after the Easter break.

It is lovely to see all the students back in school full time having face-to-face lessons and catching up with their friends. After such a long period at home they have settled back into the school routine with ease and are working extremely hard.

We continue to be really impressed with the attitude of Year 11 and the successful young people they are becoming. We look forward to seeing them grow and progress further.

Well done Year 11!

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YEAR 12 NEWS

By Ms Rapson & Miss Fisher

We just wanted to say a huge thankyou to Year 12!

Not only have they coped with the trials of lockdown and online teaching commendably, we are absolutely delighted by how many of them are involved with the school and local community. Over 280 of them signed up for our ‘Beyond Cherwell’ scheme, and we regularly have 50+ attending the after school sessions on Monday. We have a small group of students who will do their D of E Gold expedition later this year, 8 who have gained awards in the Science Olympiad and several who carry out voluntary work at the JR. It really is a testament to such a fantastic year group that despite such adversity they are so determined to seek and take advantage of the opportunities available to them.

Well done Year 12; we’re really proud of you.

YEAR 13 NEWS

By Ms Fowler & Miss Howse

We want to say a massive well done and thank you to Year 13 for engaging so brilliantly with remote learning during the period of lockdown following the Christmas holidays. They adapted seamlessly to a new way of working, demonstrating commitment to their studies.

We have been delighted to welcome Year 13 back in to school and feedback from teachers has been overwhelmingly positive regarding engagement in lessons, completion of work and behaviour around the school site.

We appreciate this is a challenging time for students and continue to be impressed with the determination and resilience they have shown. Most recently, Year 13 have successfully completed their Spring Assessments and we are looking forward to working with them in Term 5 to support them through to the end of their A Level courses.

© The Cherwell School , Opportunity, Responsibility, Excellence SPRING NEWSLETTER 2021 Page 47

What a brilliant term back at Cherwell!

The mood, the happiness, the excitement have all been infectious. For us PE teachers, the moving away from a screen to being back out in the open spaces with our brilliant students has been particularly refreshing.

Thank you all for such overwhelming positive feedback about the remote PE lessons. We are so happy that they had such an impact. A huge thank you to Mrs Green and Miss Tiley for coordinating the department to create these and a massive thank you to the students for being so enthusiastic. We have shared these workouts with you all, please see the following pages for details on how to access.

Since returning, we have put a real emphasis on prioritising activity in lessons. Getting the students moving for long periods has never been more important and if this pandemic has taught our profession anything, it is to never overlook that simple point. To reaffirm this focus and priority moving forward we have begun a partnership with Oxford Brookes Centre for Movement.

They have researched and collected health and fitness measures across school-aged children for the past 6 years. These measures consist of cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, power and motor coordination skills. We will present this data to you in the upcoming term, but it will help shape the intent of our curriculum as we move forward.

We will be participating in a study also to help researchers at Oxford understand overweight/ obesity levels of students in the KS3 age range. More details from us to come, but if you are interested in the study please look at the study webpage for more information. https:// www.paediatrics.ox.ac.uk/research/oxsocrates Physical Education is the only point in a person’s life where there is guaranteed time dedicated to physical activity and we aim to ensure that Cherwell students maximise that time to have the most impact on their lives. Collaborating with the Doctors and movement specialists at Oxford Brookes can only help us do that and I am very excited about this. Furthermore, this collaboration will include opportunities for our students such as work experience, A-level and GCSE lessons on the university campus, lectures in sports science, careers talk and interview practices.

On the next page you will find timetables of the curriculum for PE in term 5, and the extracurricular timetable which is back! Thank you all for your continued support.

Mr Wallington Head of Faculty – Physical Education

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To access our brilliant remote PE lessons for your own use at home, please follow this link to the PE department website.

https://sites.google.com/view/cherwellpe/more/remote-pe-lessons

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Planning for next September. If you have an interest in coaching and sport or physical activity and want to be part of our extra-curricular programme as a volunteer then please get in touch with Mr Wallington for a discussion. bwallington@cherwellschool.org

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