Aan times summer 2018

Attleborough Academy Times Summer 2018

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Page 4 Year 7 Actively Learning in the Fresh Air

Page 13 Careers Events

Year 11 Prom - Page 16

Year 13 Student Leavers’ Day - Page 26 working with

Academy Times Summer 2018 Principal’s Foreword

Sporting Round-Up AAN Sporting Success!

The Academy staff share that justifiable sense of pride on this evening which always reminds me of the privilege of working in this community.

Equally, the same sentiments occur with the Year 13 Formal which is always a sad evening in a sense for staff because we know we are saying farewell after having worked with these students, many of them for seven years. Similarly though, we always reflect on our success in being a part of the development of such fine young adults.

As we move towards the end of another Summer Term and the end of the academic year, I am struck by how fast things seem to move. In both of my speeches on the Leavers’ Days for our Year 13 and Year 11 students, I reflected on the fact that it does not seem very long ago that these students were sat wide-eyed in the same main hall on their first day at ‘big school’ with their oversized blazers looking anxious but excited to embark on their new educational journey with us. These fine young people, all dressed up in their fancy dress as is traditional on Leavers’ Day, are such a credit to us all; the Academy, parents and carers, the Governors and the whole community, that we are reassured that we do something right here. Whilst achieving results in order to move to the next stage in their journey is wholly important, we do pride ourselves on working together with parents and carers to educate our students to become good people.

Guiding our young to develop into good humans is surely the true meaning of education.

Once again, we have been able to share with the community the success at our Year 11 Prom. It is always a very proud moment to welcome the students in their finery as they step out of the multitude of impressive vehicles with their very proud families looking on.

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The end of the Summer Term always brings with it a period of reflection as I put together and present the end of year highlights video presentation which will also be available on the Academy website soon. It never ceases to amaze me of the quantity and variety of activities that we offer our students here. Of course, none of these wonderful opportunities would be available if it were not for the commitment, imagination and dedication of our wonderful staff. Indeed, when you look through this magazine and consider that every trip and activity requires an enormous amount of paperwork and arrangement to ensure that it is risk assessed, safeguarded, financially provided and operationally efficient, I am sure you gain a sense of the collective commitment required. I would therefore like to thank the staff again for their dedication to our students.

It is also worth reflecting that in this results focussed world, we still believe in the need for a wider and wholesome education for our students.

So, as I close my message to you all, I would like to thank all of our students for their commitment to their studies and to the Academy community as a whole. Thank you also to our parents and carers for the continuous support.

We should again feel proud of what we have achieved as a community during the past academic year and look forward with confidence to even further success.

Best wishes to you all for a happy and relaxing summer break.

Mr McShane Principal

This year the AAN netball teams have gone from strength to strength with the Year 9 girls going through to the final of their South Norfolk A League. Sadly, the girls had a narrow loss to Wymondham High.

Year 7 Girls League - Winners!

Football

Year 7 football success this year includes: league winners; South Norfolk five-a-side football winners; and on 16th May they played in the County Cup Final at the FDC in Norwich.

Year 10 Football team were league winners, and made it to the sixth round of the National Cup. We have had plenty of scouting interest from professional teams, so good luck to everyone who is being watched!

Year 8 Football team finished 3rd in their league and were South Norfolk five-a-side winners.

Year 9 Football team finished 2nd in the league and came second in the South Norfolk five-a-side.

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Year 7 Actively Learning in the Fresh Air

Year 7 Football Success

This term, class 7B3 have had a wonderful opportunity for active learning by spending time in the wonderful Attleborough Academy garden.

Congratulations to the Year 7 boys football team who have won the County Cup Final! Played against Aylsham High School at the Football Development Centre in Bowthorpe, AAN won 3-2, with Harvey Hunter named man of the match. Read on, for Mr Davies’ match report:

Their teacher, Head of Science, Mr Brahams, is utilising the pond and garden space as an outdoor classroom for the students to get up close and personal with nature and learn about the environment.

Students were shown different plants and vegetables, the numerous newts and wildlife in the pond and they enthusiastically helped clear the pond and dig the raised beds ready for planting – they look forward to the next stage and watching the evolution of the nature they have helped to preserve and to monitor the life cycle of the new growth.

“Due to both teams having a blue football kit, a coin was tossed which resulted in AAN having to wear their away kit of black and luminous green. The match kicked off and Aylsham went straight into attack with ‘Boro keeper Harvey Hunter making a couple of decent saves and Aylsham missing a glorious chance. At the other end, Theo Thompson missed a good chance, before Aylsham resumed the attack. Then, AAN midfield general Harry Sparrow played a long ball behind the defence. The 6-foot defender got tangled up on the ball, leaving Abel Cowan free on goal and he slotted past the keeper: Aylsham 0 – 1 Attleborough.

Mr Brahams commented: “This is a wonderful learning experience for our students: to be able to see where our food comes from and experience the

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wildlife and nature of Attleborough around the pond and garden.

All of the students did an amazing job and developed their team working skills. These opportunities for outside learning in the Summer term foster experiences that students can use to contextualise science in the real world. We are really very lucky to have this resource here at AAN.”

Five minutes later, another long ball from Sparrow and the defence was outpaced by Theo Thompson, who dinked the ball over the keeper - a goal copied by Antoine Griezmann for Atletico Madrid in the Europa League Final, just 2 hours later! Half time: Aylsham 0 – 2 Attleborough.

Another long ball from Sparrow put Thompson free and he made it 3-0, a little against the run of play. With 10 minutes to go, Aylsham’s right winger sent a dangerous cross across the box which was turned in by the otherwise excellent Seth King for an unfortunate own goal: Aylsham 1 – 3 Attleborough. Then, with 5 minutes to go, Aylsham scored again to set up a storming finish: Aylsham 2 – 3 Attleborough.

In the remaining time, Aylsham battered the goal with ‘Boro visibly tiring. A shot from distance dipped over Hunter in the AAN goal but, amazingly, the keeper twisted back and tipped the shot over the bar, leaving the crowd gasping, the Aylsham players holding their heads in their hands, and spectators claiming it was a save worthy of a professional keeper. Still Aylsham kept coming, and another shot was brilliantly turned around the post by the wonderful Hunter.

AAN held them off and the final whistle went: Aylsham 2 – 3 Attleborough.

Another County Cup victory for Manager of the Season Mr. Stott, in his first Year 7 Cup win since 2012.

Attleborough Academy: County Champions!”

In the second half Aylsham came storming out of the traps and laid siege to AAN’s goal, but Archie Eastoll stood strong at centre half.

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Year 8 Maths Challenge

Student Achievements Lydia’s Boxing Success “My journey all started when Attleborough Boxing Club was asking for volunteers. At this point my brother, Lewis Nagle, was already competing in boxing, so me and my Mum decided to go down and help on the desk. Week after week the coaches and boxers seemed to become more like family, and after bugging and bugging me they finally got me to do the ladies fitness session, which then led to me joining in with the main boxing sessions. After sparring with Wendy, one of the female coaches, I got hooked – this is what started my boxing career.

On Friday 15th June, Mr Needs took four students to the UEA for the prestigious annual Year 8 Maths Challenge.

The competition involved thirty schools from Norfolk.

The four students involved were Benjamin Pitt, Amelia Howe-Li-Rocchi, Miffy Grant and Scott Suggitt.

During the first session AAN were involved in a round robin with 2 other schools answering difficult questions about estimating lengths and angles of quadrilaterals. AAN did really well and scored top points.

In the second session, they were put up against 2 different schools and were challenged on their algebra skills. Once more AAN performed well, but would it be enough to get in the grand final? All 30 schools went back to the lecture hall to find out who was in the final. AAN had made it in to the top 3 and were in the final against Wymondham High and CNS. Now the pressure was on! The top 3 schools went to the front whilst the remaining schools watched on. The final was made up of 3 rounds consisting of some very difficult maths problem solving questions. After the first round AAN were top with 13 points while the other 2 schools were on 9 points. AAN were getting very excited and nervous at the same time. The second round consisted of answering individual questions on dividing and multiplying very large numbers. After round 2 we had lost our advantage and we were now sitting joint 1st with Wymondham High on 16 points, with CNS in 2nd with 14 points.

puzzle and solving a maths puzzle. It was clear that all 3 schools were struggling with the final round. 15 minutes later, time was up and the scores were in. AAN just missed out and they managed an amazing 3rd place with 18 points, with CNS 2nd on 19 points and Wymondham High coming from last to first on 20 points. I was extremely proud of our students who performed fantastically well on the day. In the afternoon, we had a tour of the UEA to inspire our students and give them an insight as to what life is like at University.

Benjamin, Amelia, Miffy and Scott: well done on a fab day out, you were awesome!

This was the puzzle they were given in round 3 of the final.

Can you solve it?

weight being great, I had a few snacks and drinks to keep going.

After months and months of hard training and 2 bouts which I had won, I was ready. There was no more time left: my fitness levels were as high as they could be and I had the skills I needed to go and win the National Cadet Championships.

Weeks had passed when I got an email from England inviting me to an Open Talent Day to get assessed to see if I was at the standard and had the potential to box for England. It turns out I did and I’m now training with the England Coaches and Boxers.”

Travelling down was a trek, with little food and drink due to trying to stay on weight - getting to the hotel felt like heaven. The next day was the semi-finals and my nerves were kicking in as I weighed in at 50.3. Luckily, this worked in my favour with a third round stoppage.

However, this was only day one - I was only half way there. With my

Lydia Nagle

The next day I had the final. I felt tired and sore and weighed in at 49.8. This being my last weigh in, I couldn’t get enough food in me.

My name was called to the ring; the building felt like it was closing in on me. I got in and I was zoned, all I could hear and see was me, my opponent and Jon. With 3 hard, long rounds I managed to do it - I won! Emotions kicked in and I was so overwhelmed.

Many congratulations to Lydia on her boxing success. Here she is receiving her Principal’s Commendation.

Year 8 Boys Dance Two talented Year 8 dancers are celebrating success with their dance company.

Owen Stewart and Max Whear belong to Legacy Dance Company UK, an all-male dance company for 10-21 year olds based in Norwich but with participants from all over East Anglia.

The group took part in the Can You Dance? – East of England regional convention in April, coming second place in their first year of entering. As a result, they will be heading to Liverpool in September for the national event. The boys have shown great dedication and commitment to their dancing and have had the opportunity to perform at places such as the Imperial War Museum, Duxford and Theatre Royal in Norwich.

Everything was to play for going into the third and final round - who was going to take the crown for 2018? The third round consisted of completing a very tricky Pentomino 06

Three months down the road, Attleborough Boxing Club’s main coach, Jon Dennis, saw my potential and said I was ready for my first skills bout with Channel Kendall who had recently switched clubs and was now competing for Attleborough. After this, I had 3 more skills bouts while Jon decided that I was ready and had the skills to compete in the National Cadet Championships. Although buzzed and excited about it, this was a big jump within 7 months; but I believed Jon knew that what he was doing was right.

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Year 9 Leadership Day

Write Across It – Year 9s go to UEA

On the 2nd of May, the whole of Year 9 came off timetable for Leadership Day. This is a day designed to develop and encourage leadership qualities in the students and contributes to them being able to take the step up from the main school to Year 10 prefects. The day was led by Mr Davies and the students were treated to a fascinating talk by Adam Williams, a former AAN student who went on to represent Great Britain at canoeing. There were team building games, roleplay scenarios, and each team made presentations to the rest of the year group. Students participated with enthusiasm and a successful day was had by all.

What if … you could see into the future? What if … you had superhuman powers? What if … you were of a different gender? What if? This question was at the heart of celebrated novelist Raffaella Barker’s greeting to the twelve Year 9 AAN students who attended the UEA’s Write Across It Creative Writing Workshop on the 6th of June.

Year 10 ‘Step Up Day’ On an overcast day on the green, green fields of the academy a select group of Year 10 students prepared themselves for the challenge that had been set, are you fit enough to wear the purple tie?!

This is the academy’s day to choose its senior prefects. The four house leaders along with form tutors composed an invite-only list of Year 10s who have shown the potential to be the best of the best. The day started with some outdoor team building exercises run by students and staff from City College Norwich’s

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outdoor education course, based at Eaton Vale Outdoor Education Centre.

Students were put through their paces

by Mr Adam Williams and his team, with some excellent leadership skills being demonstrated by the students.

The second part of the selection day was led by Mr Davies who gave a very informative and inspiring presentation on leadership. Students had a series of tasks to complete that included giving a one-minute speech in front of their house and house leader! Well done to everyone who managed to show the courage needed to step up and publicly speak to a group of their

peers, a daunting task for most adults!

Step up day really does demonstrate what a fantastic group of students we have here at Attleborough Academy and I am always proud to be a part of it! Well done to everyone who earned their senior prefect tie and good luck going forward into Year 11!

Mr Stott

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Barker, a professor in UEA’s Creative Writing Department, delivered an introductory lecture in which she spoke about how writing represented an opportunity for any individual to transcend their realities and tell stories as creatively as they liked. She related some of her own experiences in the process of producing fiction, having written her first novel, Come and Tell Me Some Lies, at the age of just twenty-five.

Write Across It was an eye-opener for students, and an interesting introduction to university campus life. After being addressed by Barker in a large lecture hall, our students went on to the real business of the day: a series of writing activities in a workshop setting led by final-year Creative Writing students Grace and Laurel.

characters in pairs”, said Maddison Hall. Charlie Scoulding enjoyed the challenge of “different topics and writing in scenarios that were limited, like the twenty-word time traveller narrative we did”. Imogen Fitt “felt nervous at first, but once my writing began to flow, I really felt I could write on any topic”.

Grace and Laurel took the group through ‘constrained writing’ exercises such as haiku, futuristic narrative openings, twenty-word stories, creating character and pass-the-story. The students revelled in the opportunity to work in a workshop style – engaging collaboratively and responding critically to each other’s writing. “It was great to be able to bounce ideas off each other and to create

Each student returned from the event with a complimentary copy of Come and Tell Me Some Lies and a fresh focus on the joy of writing, ready to put new skills into practice in the classroom and at home. They are now ready for the next step: submission of a short story on the topic of ‘Future Me’ into a competition for Write Across It attendees. Watch this space!

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Caythorpe Revision & Activity Weekend

On Friday 23 March, 45 students and 7 members of staff headed to Caythorpe Court in the Lincolnshire Wolds for a revision and activity weekend.

The PGL site is located within 65 acres of grounds surrounding a huge mansion house and offers a wide range of activities for students to participate in. This is the third year we have taken a group of Year 11s to Caythorpe and it is now a regular feature on the AAN Calendar. Teachers have found that intensive revision study of the core subjects (English, Maths and Science), combined with physical activities means that students come away with a range of skills for approaching revision – resilience, determination and focus, but also team building skills and learning to support one another in stressful situations - all skills they will need leading up to the GCSE exam series.

This time students excelled themselves in aeroball, archery, survival and trapeze during the morning, studied for 3 hours on each core subject in the afternoon and then in the evening took part in competitions including ambush and passport (this seemed to involve running around in the dark and just having great fun chasing one another, but all good exercise!).

Food is never an issue at Caythorpe, no sooner have you had breakfast than it appears to be lunchtime and before you know it it’s time for tea. So it was with some surprise that teachers found that students had ordered a takeout pizza at 10pm on the Saturday night – clearly all that exercise had taken its toll!

Another trip is planned for next year, please contact Miss Battell for further details.

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Careers Events Careers Fair On Wednesday 21st March we welcomed 25 businesses, colleges and training providers to our annual Careers Fair.

All students in Years 9 & 10 had the opportunity to meet and talk to people representing sectors ranging from medicine, optometry and veterinary care to construction and demolition, and from charity and social care through to accountancy and the law. Many of the visiting companies brought interactive elements that the students really enjoyed, such as a digger, a mannequin that could be dressed, mini-robots, and a dog!

In addition to the main careers fair, which took place in the sports hall, we also had a series of 30-minute workshops on offer in the main school, which gave greater insights into potential learning and career options. Within these workshops, students were introduced to the variety of courses on offer at Easton & Otley College, what the ‘hot’ jobs of the future might be, as well as how to get into the law profession from Spire Solicitors. They also found out from the John Innes Centre about the important role of entomology (the study of insects) to us all, before being challenged to think of all the roles in the music industry that help support a musician such as Ed Sheeran, an alumnus of what is now Access Creative College.

Careers & Skills Festival On Wednesday 7th March, the Academy took part in the second annual Norfolk Skills and Careers Festival, based at the Norfolk Showground.

Forty students from Year 9 were able to visit the event and get hands on experience with employers, educators and training providers from across Norfolk and the rest of the UK. Most of the stands were highly interactive with students being able to try on a full firefighter’s suit, climb inside an Army transporter and learn basic first aid as a few examples. Students met with a range of companies and organisations to learn more about the career routes available to them in the future and the education paths needed to follow these career routes. Students thoroughly enjoyed the event and the Academy is sure to return next year.

As well as bags full of freebies, students also left the fair with lots of ideas about potential future routes into further education and employment. Our thanks go to all the organisations for attending and making it such a successful event.

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Year 10 Drama Department Performance at Norwich Playhouse Theatre

Year 11 Leavers’ Day

Wednesday 20th June was Leavers’ Day for the Year 11s.

Year 10 had a wonderful opportunity when they performed sections of Blood Brothers alongside students from Dereham Northgate Academy at the Norwich Playhouse.

Their performances were faultless. The audience were rendered speechless by Ayanda Mabuto’s haunting singing, even without a microphone her voice filled the whole auditorium and added a real atmosphere to the performance. Imogen Snowling’s solo of Tell Me It’s Not True at the end of the evening was also extremely moving and together with some amazing acting performances, left the audience talking about the brilliance of Attleborough Academy students. These performances are a part of the Stage Lit scheme which looks at how drama can be used to boost engagement and understanding of English texts.

Our Head of English, Mrs Phoenix, was passionate in her appreciation of just how much this opportunity helps with English exams. She told the audience that “our drama students are leading the way in their English lessons and 14

have a depth of understanding of these texts that can only be gained through actually performing them.” Ms Jones and Mrs Dalgleish were delighted with all the performers.

Ms Jones said: “a few months ago I never imagined that some of our students would find the confidence to stand up there and perform on a professional stage. Tonight is a real celebration of their skills and, more importantly the dedication, hard work and resilience that went into the performance period. I could not be prouder of them for their performances and their wonderful behaviour!”

Amy Good and Joseph Rosales stood up and gave a speech about how much their involvement in the Stage Lit performances in 2016 and 2017 have helped them as they approach their English exam. They spoke with such passion and commitment that some people in the audience thought a teacher had written their speeches! In fact, every word was their own, confirming the opinion that AAN students are in fact EXCEPTIONAL!

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The celebrations began at break time due to an early morning exam.

Students donned fancy dress for the occasion and came to the Academy in a wide range of weird and wonderful costumes. They had a Leavers’ Assembly, led by Mr Davies, where they saw many photographs of themselves, most of which were donated by friends and family. They also saw photographs of themselves when they entered the Academy in Year 7 - how they have changed! They did the annual parade across the field at lunchtime, followed by a barbeque hosted by Mrs Flaherty, Mrs James and Mr Reavey.

Gold book winners were rewarded with a free Prom ticket; they were Mia Kruger, Kayleigh Williment and Charlie Underwood. The fancy dress winners were Ellie Ginns, who came as a Jack-In-The-Box, and Ed Rowling who came in a self-made car - both also won Prom tickets.

It was a fabulous day, a fitting way to celebrate the effort, hard work and achievements of the Class of 2018.

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Year 11 Prom

Attleborough Academy Year 11 Prom 2018 was an incredible occasion, with students and staff excelling themselves this year in the preparation and delivery of this wonderful evening.

Once students had made their way up the red carpet, they were met by the sight of a totally transformed interior: a glittering light-adorned hall with beautifully dressed tables, elegant centre pieces and customised cloth chair covers; thrilling projections of celebrity events; a fun photo booth to dress up and capture memories with friends; ‘Academy Stars’ themed food with elegant miniatures of well-known American favourites, provided by school catering staff Edwards and Blake; as well as a colourful and vibrant Mocktail Bar where non-alcoholic fruity and fizzy drinks were served with pizzazz by Mr Middlebrook and Mr Baisden.

Organisation of the event was led by Miss Parks, Inclusion Centre Manager and Mrs Cushing, Head of Lower School, with support from Garry Baisden, Infrastructure Engineer, and Stefan Middlebrook. This year’s theme focused on ‘Academy Stars’. This glamorous celebration was attended by staff and a large proportion of the local community who came to welcome the arrival of students to the event. Prom is held to mark the completion of the students’ exams and the end of their five years at the Academy. Our students were treated to an entirely memorable evening of beautiful frocks, a transformed elegant hall, delicious food and disco. All the students dressed up in their finest attire and looked fantastic as they alighted onto the specially laid ‘film star’ red carpet amidst flashing cameras and applause.

Principal Mr McShane gave a welcoming address to the students. They had a wonderful time enjoying the food and drink, dancing the night away to music and posing for pictures both in the photo booth as well as under a studiolit professional photographic set up, outside the main hall.

The Attleborough Academy Year 11 students’ arrival at their Prom is always a superb sight - and this year was no exception. The enormous crowd of well-wishers was made up of proud families, friends and members of the local community, many of whom had also dressed in support of the occasion with sequins and glitter evident in the throng.

These onlookers joined in the excitement and celebrations, watching the spectacular student arrivals.

All the teaching staff at the academy were there to support this wonderful send off for the students that they have been teaching over the last five years. Students arrived in a variety of stunning original vehicles including Rolls Royces, Vintage Minis, an Aston Martin, tractors, a fire engine, camper vans, a Tele Porter, motor cycles, and even a large cruiser boat!

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Over the course of the evening, everyone voted for their choice of winner for the different student awards. Once these were all collated and counted, these prizes were presented by Mr McShane, with trophies for the different categories voted by the students and staff.

Prom King

Harry Weaver

Prom Queen

Chloe Mathison

Likely to be an Entrepreneur Harry Canham Funniest Person

Ed Rowling

Cutest Couple

Hayden Reeve and Ellie Sanger

Biggest Transformation (Male)

Ryan Hall

Biggest Transformation (Female)

Chloe Warmer

Best Dressed (Male)

Jude Barrett

Best Dressed (Female)

Renjita Joseph

Best Arrival

Joint winners: Jack Stammers Driving a Tractor Ed Rowling Tele Handler Nick and Alex Good on a boat

Our thanks go to everyone who helped to make this such a wonderful evening. Overall this was a perfect way to celebrate the end of the year for the Class of 2018!

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Sport Relief

Geography Round-Up A-Level Geography Residential Fieldtrip In April, the Year 12 geographers made the pilgrimage to Malham Tarn to complete fieldwork for their A Level course.

On the way up to the Field Study Centre, we stopped for a look around Brimham Rocks; much to our delight we were able to scramble around the misshapen stacks of rocks with the sun shining down on us.

The second day saw the students measuring the size of glacial drumlins in the morning and exploring water infiltration rates and carbon stores in local ecosystems in the afternoon.

Not even the miserable rain could dampen these students’ spirits and they got stuck into the tasks with huge enthusiasm. On the third day, students went out into the local town of Settle to collect data on settlement characteristics and what the living experience of the place was like.

Thankfully, the kinder hot weather on this day allowed us to have a tasty

The Sixth Form Presidential Team have led a range of different charity and fundraising campaigns during the 2017-18 academic year. In March 2018, they helped to raise money for Sport Relief, the biennial charity event from Comic Relief.

Year 13 Lead President Keziah, alongside Esther and Kate in Year 12, baked a range of cakes and cookies with the help of Mrs Flaherty. They were then sold on Friday 23 March for a small donation price.

GCSE Geography Coastal Fieldtrip

The ‘Sport Relief trolley’ was stationed in the hall at break and lunchtime, and was wheeled around staff offices and through the Sixth Form study rooms in the Forster Study Centre during the day, until all of the tasty treats had been purchased.

One of the wonderful things about studying geography is that you get to take trips to the seaside and for the Year 11s this year it meant a visit to Cromer.

Donation buckets were also taken around the school for students and staff to donate what they could, with Sport Relief stickers and balloons handed out along the way and overall, a fantastic £175 was raised.

The groups worked well in teams and at the end of the day there was a chance to get a portion of chips to treat themselves!

Alas, this was not for a sunbathing session (the good old British weather saw the end of that idea!) but rather an opportunity for them to collect data for their geography fieldwork.

Students measured the beach profile, sediment and wave characteristics.

Nationwide, the 2018 Sport Relief appeal raised over £38 million and the money will be used to tackle critical issues affecting people across the UK and the world through more than 2,000 projects.

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ice cream from the popular “Ye Olde Naked Man” cafe. In the evening, once all the hard statistics had been calculated, a game of pool and walks around the estate to look at the stunning scenery were well deserved.

The trip finished with the traditional walk down to Malham Cove and across the limestone pavement where parts of Harry Potter were filmed.

As always, all the students were excellent and worked brilliantly as a team!

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Year 13 Student Leavers’ Day

Our Year 13 students made sure it was a day to remember when they said goodbye to Attleborough Academy on their last official day of secondary education.

The Year 13s will continue to attend lessons at the academy up until they sit their final exam in each subject.

However, for all of these students this was the official end of up to seven years of their young lives spent at Attleborough Academy and therefore it was a day full of emotion: nostalgia, sadness, excitement and much laughter.

amusing incidents from their years of life spent here.

Mr Nevard had created a video for them, which contained recordings of an array of messages of support and advice from all their teachers. Students then gathered for group photographs, before spending time with their form tutors where they wrote ‘thank you’ messages for individual staff and signed the book of Sixth Form Memories. To complete this day of celebrations the students then relocated outside, (thank you to parent Mr Collier who provided us with the use of weather protection marquees!) to play rounders, and enjoy a delicious barbeque, cooked by Mr Cole and Psychology teacher Mr Hendy.

All of the Year 13s made a considerable effort for their last day and entertained their teachers and colleagues with the wonderful array of imaginative and colourful costumes they adorned for the occasion: from ‘Peaky Blinders’ characters, to ‘Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men’, through ‘Game of Thrones’ characters, World Leaders and ‘Mario Brothers’, the students created a fantastic spectacle in their array of characters.

During the course of this final afternoon other staff joined in the celebrations, conversations and goodbyes, and students were able to group together to create keepsake memories of the day, having photos taken with the friends and teachers that have been such a large part of their lives at Attleborough Academy.

Year 13 went through a range of emotions over the course of the day. As leaver Harry remarked: “It has been a bitter sweet day. It was a mixture of happiness about new beginnings but also sadness at leaving friends, teachers, and the past behind.” Lilah agreed: “It is sad to realise we won’t see each other every day. It is going to be a new normal.” Because, as Emily said: “School is all I have known for the last fourteen years of my life and it is going to be a huge change looking to the future.”

Assistant Principal, Director of Sixth, Mrs Carmina McConnell commented: “It is always sad for us to say goodbye to the Year 13 students. This is a wonderful group of students and we are all so proud to see how they have grown and developed over the years into young adults.

We wish them all the best for the future, knowing we have prepared them well to make the most of the opportunities ahead.”

To begin the celebrations, the Sixth Formers first attended an assembly led by Head of Sixth Form, Mr Andy Cole. At this assembly, attended by the team of Sixth Form staff, the students enjoyed a presentation, illustrated by poignant and entertaining photos from their time at the Academy, as well as being able to relive

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Mr Cole commented: “The weather held for us to say goodbye to this fantastic group of students”

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Dogs at Work at AAN

Blood Brothers Theatre Trip On Thursday 3rd May, 63 Drama and English students went to see the multi-award-winning musical ‘Blood Brothers’ at The Regent Theatre in Ipswich. The show is currently on a UK tour celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Lyn Paul (the original Mrs Johnstone from the 1997 cast reprised her role and did a magnificent job once again.)

The students had a wonderful time watching this iconic piece of British theatre written by playwright Willy Russell and it was wonderful to see them so engrossed in the performance from start to finish. One minute we were all in fits of laughter and then the next we were jumping out of our seats at the gunshots. Many students and teachers couldn’t hold back the tears in the final scenes as Mrs Johnstone sang the haunting ‘Tell Me it’s Not True’ with such raw emotion.

Speaking to students on the coach journey back to school, many commented on how they felt seeing the show will help them with both their English and Drama studies, as Blood Brothers is a set text for both subjects at GCSE. One student said ‘seeing Blood Brothers brought the story to life, I could understand the characters.’ Another said ‘Blood Brothers is more than just words on a page now.’

For students studying Drama, this was a brilliant opportunity to understand the context of the play and get a better understanding of the costume and design aspects. For some, this was their first ever trip to see a professional show and it did not disappoint; students were asking which plays are being booked for them in the future before we even left the theatre!

Music Concert Community Club of the Year 2013

Project of the Year 2013

OLD BUCKENHAM CRICKET CAMP

OLD BUCKENHAM CRICKET CAMP WEDNESDAY 25TH JULY & FRIDAY 27TH JULY 2018 This year our cricket camp will be held at the Hall, Old Buckenham, NR17 1PQ on Wednesday 25th and Friday 27th July from 10.00am to 3.00pm (Because of a county fixture on Thursday 26th there will be noTH cricket camp on that day) The cost will be £15 per child per day and the coaching will be suitable for young people aged 7-15 years with or without any TH previous cricket experience.

The coaching will be led by an ECB Level 3 coach and activities will include technical coaching and many cricket-related games and activities.

For further details please contact: This year our cricket camp will be held at the Hall, Chris Dalton: c.r.dalton@talk21.com or 07767362230 or Old Buckenham, 01953498694 NR17 1PQ on Wednesday 25th

WEDNESDAY 25 JULY & FRIDAY 27 JULY 2018

and Friday 27th July from 10.00am to 3.00pm (Because of a county fixture on Thursday 26th there will be no cricket camp on that day)

On Wednesday 18th April, AAN hosted a music concert in the main hall, organised by Sixth Form students as part of their coursework.

The cost will be £15 per child per day and the coaching will be suitable for young people aged 7-15 years with or without any previous cricket experience. The coaching will be led by an ECB Level 3 coach and activities will include technical coaching and many cricket-related gamesChris and activities.

Dalton

Around 30 performers from Years 8-12 took part in the event, performing a range of music in popular styles.

In planning the concert, the Sixth Form musicians took responsibility for key areas such as sound and health & safety - under the direction of music staff - as part of their Level 3 Rockschool Music Practitioner course.

For further details please contact: Chris Dalton: c.r.dalton@talk21.com or 07767362230 or 01953498694

The evening was a great success, and was enjoyed by a large audience of staff, students and parents.

Well done to all of the students involved.

Overton House, Harling Road, Great Hockham, Thetford.

IP24 1NT

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The 22nd of June may be “National Bring Your Dog to Work Day” but at Attleborough Academy Norfolk, every day is a dog at work day.

www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

Over the last eighteen months the Academy has had a few unusual enrolments in terms of students – Jessie, Kesha, Kiera, Rashi and Daisy are all dogs. They accompany their owners – Mr Seymour, Mrs Wright, Mrs Taylor, and Mrs Phoenix to school most mornings. But whilst here, they also have an important job to do. A variety of breeds - two Cockapoos, two Hungarian Vizslas and a miniature Schnauzer all get on well with each other but, more importantly, they enjoy being with the students and staff at the school.

Mrs Phoenix, Faculty Head for English, said that the school had been very supportive and enthusiastic about inviting dogs into school. She commented that recent research has shown that dogs in schools are great listeners, can teach us all how to be a little kinder to one another and can certainly ease stress! She said: “at the end of the school day having a dog curl up at your feet certainly makes marking books a lot more pleasant!” www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

The school have even supplied the dogs with purple bandanas displaying the school logo and embroidered with the dog’s names, after all they are part of the school team.

Students commented that “we love having Jessie in class with us, she is really calm and if you are having a bad day it makes you feel a bit better if she sits under your chair”. The dogs are not just there for the mental wellbeing of students however, as they also play a key role as ‘reading dogs’, where students who are less confident readers are able to read to the dog. Mrs Taylor commented: “Dogs are non-judgmental and are very good listeners. Reading to the dogs gives our students confidence and encourages them to read out loud – a key skill for developing fluency and understanding”.

take them onto the school field and this is treated as a reward. Caring for the dogs, ensuring they are fed, watered and that they are cleaned up after also encourages responsibility.

Student Support Manager, Ms Parks commented that she feels the dogs have had a “calming influence across the school”. AAN has always been a caring school but with the addition of all the dogs it has developed a real family atmosphere. A Year 11 commented that she would be sad to leave school as “Daisy has become our form dog, she belongs to all of us”.

So, it seems appropriate that dogs are even planning to attend the AAN Prom on Friday 22nd to say goodbye to our Year 11s! I wonder what they will be wearing ...?

Another benefit is that students are required to take the dogs for a walk at break and lunchtime, encouraging the physical aspect – certainly cockapoos Jessie and Daisy are full of life and are able to keep even the most energetic students on their toes.

There are always students eager to 31

Library Activities

SDA Commonwealth Flag raising

World Book Day Every year at AAN we celebrate World Book Day by having a whole week of book and reading-related activities.

Despite the snow disrupting our plans, many students still participated in the literacy assemblies and special library lessons.

During these sessions, classes took part in ‘book speed-dating’, where they were given a certain amount of time at each table to spend with a book and decide if it was one they wanted to read, needed more time with or was just not their type! At break and lunch times new books were on display for students to look at and borrow, and they were able to take part in the national World Book Day ‘Design a Book Token’ competition.

We then held a re-scheduled Inter-House Book Quiz as part of the Academy’s Olympiad programme. Each form group sent a representative to take part, where they worked as a team with other members of their House to answer a series of multiple-choice questions. In a closely-fought contest Kett emerged victorious.

WORLD BOOK DAY INTER-HOUSE BOOK QUIZ RESULTS: 1st: 2nd: 3rd: 4th:

KETT NELSON BOUDICCA CAVELL

WELL DONE TO EVERYBODY WHO TOOK PART!

CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals

Attleborough Academy was delighted to be involved in the town celebrations for Commonwealth Day. The Schools Council and Peer Mentors represented the Academy as Attleborough celebrated Commonwealth Day on the 12th March.

This day is observed across Commonwealth countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe. Faith and civic gatherings, debates, school

As part of our weekly Book Club, we have been shadowing the annual CKG Medals, the oldest and most prestigious children’s book awards.

Students have been reading and looking at a range of fiction and illustrated books over the past few months, writing reviews about them, and awarding ratings which we’ve used to update our ‘reading barometer.’ This has given participants the opportunity to pick up a range of books which they might not ordinarily choose, thereby widening their reading horizons. It has also given them the opportunity to discuss and debate with their fellow students. We have our particular favourites, and now can’t wait to find out who the judges have chosen as their winners!

assemblies, flag raising ceremonies, street parties and fashion shows are just some of the events that took place to celebrate the vast diversity and strong unity aims of the Commonwealth.

On this day in London, Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, attended a multicultural, multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey with a mixture of testimonies, performances and readings from throughout the Commonwealth.

During the Attleborough ceremony held at Queen’s Square in the town centre, The Commonwealth Flag was raised and our students - along with student representatives from other local schools - witnessed the Mayor of Attleborough, Mr Jeremy Burton, read out a message of peace, unity and solidarity from the Commonwealth Secretary.

TITAN students successfully completed their Green Test Ben, Alyssa and Amy, our three Year 11 TITAN (Travel Independence Training Across the Nation) students, have successfully completed their Green Test.

By passing this final stage of the TITAN Schools offer, they were able to demonstrate their ability to travel by public transport independently. Our three students travelled to Norwich by themselves and made their way to Marble Hall where they were met by two TITAN examiners, who handed them their well-deserved trophies. A celebratory picnic lunch was enjoyed in the sunshine before heading back to Attleborough.

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www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

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Sixth Form Enrichment

Award Winning Poet Visits AAN

Throughout this academic year, our Sixth form students have been extremely fortunate to be visited by a variety of professionals, who have kindly given up their time to inspire the next generation.

Staff and students had the wonderful opportunity of meeting renowned poet, Esther Morgan, who visited to read from her latest published anthology in the library this week.

Peter Samain, a retired engineer, spoke of his own experiences both at school and in the workplace. He emphasised the point that life’s experiences do not ‘fall into your lap’, and that they have to be worked at. Peter also pointed out that worthwhile achievements take time.

Esther, who has won numerous awards - including the Bridport Poetry Prize, Aldeburgh Festival First Collection Prize, and has been a T. S. Eliot Prize nominee - explored with the audience the origin of the ideas for this anthology and the methods of her particular creative writing processes. Esther has previously published three critically acclaimed anthologies of poetry – ‘Beyond Calling Distance’, ‘Grace’ and ‘The Silence Living in Houses’ and is one of the recorded poets on the Poetry Archive recordings.

We also heard an informative presentation from Dr. Rosemary Norton, a lecturer in Pharmacology from the University of East Anglia. Whilst all of our students may not have an interest in following a career in science, the session was of value to all as Rosemary highlighted some key points for applying to university regardless of the subject. She took particular care to emphasise the need for a full and colourful personal statement or Curriculum Vitae.

Georgia Lancaster, a Year 13 student, found Rosemary’s talk of particular interest, as she will be going on to study Pharmacology at degree level.

John Burnside commented after Esther Morgan’s second anthology was published: “Esther Morgan’s first collection promised that there was a significant poetic talent in the making. The Silence Living in Houses makes good on that promise… This is poetry of the first order by a poet who really knows how to sing.” T. S. Eliot Prize judge Gillian Clarke commented on Grace, Esther’s third anthology: “We speak of “the poet’s voice”, a phrase which comes to mind when considering what’s special about Grace: the consistency and perfect pitch of the ‘voice’. Open any page, pick any poem, and the reader hears poetry that sings without use of a single poetic device of sound or form.”

The University of East Anglia have also been of assistance this year, sending representatives from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, to introduce our students to the world of health care professions. Historically, we have a number of students who pursue a career in either medicine or nursing, and the representatives opened our students’ eyes to the variety of other careers available within the NHS as well as in private practice. Martin Smith from the UEA School of Education also gave up his time to talk about preparing and applying for a teaching degree, and Jamie Gledhill from Norwich University of the Arts came to talk about creative courses in design, including computer games design.

After studying English at Newnham College, Cambridge, Esther worked as a volunteer at the Wordsworth Trust, which is where she started writing poetry. Being exposed to Wordsworth’s manuscripts Esther commented that: “I began to understand that writing is a process in which the initial inspiration is worked on and developed, that even a poet as great as Wordsworth didn’t always get it right first time.” Morgan gained an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia under the tutelage of Andrew Motion. After teaching at Edith Cowan

Alongside Jan Coates’ talk about the work of Attleborough firm Fireworks LTD, representatives from national construction firms have also inspired our students and opened their eyes to the range of opportunities available to them on completion of their Sixth Form study.

Presentations by high profile firms R G Carter and Morgan Sindall took place at the academy this year and both speakers highlighted the range of degree apprenticeships, where students are trained by the company and paid whilst completing their degree alongside working.

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www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

University in Perth, Australia, she returned to UEA to edit four volumes of the poetry anthology, Reactions.

Reading from her 2018 anthology ‘The Wound Register’ (published by Bloodaxe) to the Attleborough audience, Esther described how this work originated from the study of the Norfolk Regiment’s unique official register of casualties and sickness of over fifteen thousand soldiers of the First World War. Written during the conflict’s centenary, the poems in this, Esther Morgan’s fourth collection, looks to her own family history in the aftermath of her great-grandfather’s death at the Somme, acknowledging the emotional wounds, and the trauma that echoes through generations since that war. The anthology is in three sections, tracing the legacy of three generations and is addressed to three members of her family– her great-grandfather, her grandmother who suffered greatly at the loss of a father in combat, and, bringing the focus to the present, to her young daughter.

After the poetry reading this week, the enthralled audience of Attleborough Academy Year 12 and 13 English literature students, and Academy staff, also enjoyed the chance to question the poet: about her poetry; the writing experiences; her journey from working for the Wordsworth Trust, to being a University of East Anglia Masters English graduate - studying with former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion - to becoming a published poet. In the final

part of the poetry reading session, after Esther signed copies of the anthology, the Academy’s A Level literature students then were able to participate in a poetry analysis session with the poet – they were able to analyse two of Esther’s poems from earlier anthologies with the poet as a fantastic practise for the Unseen element of their A Level examination unit.

Assistant Principal, Carmina McConnell who organised the event commented: “It is always a pleasure to listen to a poet of Esther’s quality read their own work. It is fantastic for students to have this rare opportunity to analyse and discuss the poetry with the author themselves. Our superb English department - led by Ms Caroline Phoenix – always recognises the educational benefits of students having this type of direct contact with experts in the field and we are constantly looking for opportunities to provide this.”

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Sixth Form Visit to R G Carters New Site in Attleborough

Students were shown the workings of a 3D printer – something they were able to have hands on experience with later in the term with the addition of a 3D printer to the academy’s Design and Technology department. After being allocated the correct safety gear, all members of the group were then given a whirlwind tour around each area of the new site, and a presentation by the experts in each of these sections.

Assistant Principal Carmina McConnell commented: “The link we have established with R G Carter over the years has been invaluable; our students have greatly increased their understanding of the extensive range of employment possibilities available in the construction and civil engineering industry.”

We are always looking to extend the opportunities available to our Sixth Form students, to provide them with the knowledge and understanding of possible future employment, and to develop the skills needed to meet the needs of workplaces both locally and nationally.

In March 2018 our Sixth Formers were taken on a visit to the new R G Carter site in Attleborough. Students had the wonderful opportunity to extend their understanding of the workplace itself and the broad range of potential job roles available in the construction industry. Over the last two years the Sixth Form at the academy has benefitted greatly from the links built up with this company: their staff have run team building workshops and presented assemblies about apprenticeships and construction industry roles.

The Year 12 and Year 13 students, accompanied by Mr Jeffs, Mr Reavey, Miss Rourke, and Mrs McConnell were warmly welcomed by the R G Carter staff, who had prepared informative presentations and a tour to explore the different aspects of the design and build work carried out on this new site.

During the first presentation students were given an outline of all the ground preparation work that the Attleborough site focussed on. They were made aware also of the huge range of developments both locally and nationally that this company has been responsible for.

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www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

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Year 13 A Level Drama Students Perform in Professional Venue

Translations Theatre Trip

It is always difficult to get tickets for popular and highly commended theatre productions in London but Mrs McConnell seems to have a knack for getting them!

On Thursday 7th June, 6 Year 12 English literature students and their teachers headed off to London in the mini bus and made their way across London to the National Theatre to see the Brian Friel play, Translations.

The play is studied in Year 13 and was, fortuitously, being performed in the Olivier Theatre at the National.

Having finished at the theatre, we continued our trip with a sight-spotting walk along the South Bank, which included a quick visit to the Tate Modern, before finally squashing ourselves onto the Tube as we joined the rush hour commuters on their way to Stratford – certainly a culturally packed day!

Thank you Mrs McConnell for organising the trip, we hope you enjoy seeing the play yourself when you finally get to see it later in the year.

The play was written in 1980 and is a powerful account of the turbulent relationship between Ireland and England in the 19th Century. Friel once claimed that the play ‘was about language and only language’ and, whilst this is true in the sense that it is intensely political in its depiction of language as an instrument of colonisation and identity, it also shows a poignant romance between two characters who are not able to understand what they say but their love for one another is still deliciously funny and heartstoppingly beautiful.

It was extremely beneficial for students to see a complex play like this live in the theatre; it made it come alive for them. It enabled them to soak up the atmosphere and energy of the play but also get to understand the importance of set design and the symbolism that this holds. The stage at the Olivier seemed to capture the mythical tale itself, even including the ‘sweet smell’ of the vegetation of Ireland – all in all an extremely thought provoking play.

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The Year 13 drama students received a fantastic response from their audience when they performed excerpts from their final A Level scripted exam performance at the professional venue Norwich Playhouse.

This evening presentation offered a wonderful opportunity for students to have a ‘dry run’ of sections of their final exam prior to performing their piece before an examiner in May. Keziah, Maddie, Ella and Paige performed extracts from ‘Be My Baby’, set in the 1960s and involving unplanned pregnancies and the plight of females with this issue during this period of the twentieth century. The production entailed complex lighting and sound and the students were lucky that two of their peers, Carly and Jackson, were in full technical control in the lighting and sound box to ensure that the technical ran smoothly in their dramatic performance. Their performance was energetic and thought- provoking and they received rapturous applause from the audience. www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

One of the cast has since been stopped while in the city by a member of the public who recognised her from this performance and wanted to congratulate her on ‘a meaningful and wonderful play!’ high praise indeed! This experience was excellent preparation for the final exam performance, where both excerpts from this play, and the play ‘One’ by the remainder of the class – which, due to illness, did not take place at the Playhouse - were brilliantly presented by the Year 13 drama group.

Head of Drama Sian Jones commented: “It was so lovely to see our Year 13 drama students back on the professional stage and to witness how much they have gained in confidence since this time last year. It was also fabulous for Carly and Jackson to have the opportunity to operate the lighting system for the others and we are lucky that Norwich Playhouse provide this chance to perform here.”

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Sixth Form: Accepting Applications for September 2018 Achieve your aspirations with Attleborough Academy Sixth Form For further information, or to arrange a visit, contact Mr Andy Cole, Head of Sixth, on (01953) 452335 Apply through our website at www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

Attleborough Academy Norfolk 9 Norwich Road, Attleborough, Norfolk NR17 2AJ t: 01953 452335 f: 01953 456817 e: office@aan.norfolk.sch.uk www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk