Attleborough Academy Times Summer 2019

Attleborough Academy Times www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

Summer 2019

Year 13 Leavers’ Day - Page 36

Year 12 Playhouse Performance - Page 34

Pledge Week 2019 - Page 7

Year 11 Prom - Page 20 working with

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Academy Times Summer 2019 Principal’s Foreword “it takes a whole village to educate a child” and so thanks to you all, you have been a vital part in our partnership and a major part of the growth and development of our wonderful leavers.

Staff who leave us this year are Miss Ahern (Cover Supervisor), Mr Davies (assistant principal and History), Mr Roydon (Site), Miss Norton (PE), Mr Reavey (Technology), Mr Snell (Science),

Welcome to the last edition of the Academy Times for this academic year. As we approach the end of another year, it is time, again, to reflect on our many successes achieved since last September.

We thank them all for all their work and appreciate their inputs to the Academy. All staff leaving have been a valued member of our community and we wish them all every future success but one in particular stands out for his length of service.

Thank you to those of you who supported our Year 11 Prom in June. As in every year, many of the Attleborough community joined us in welcoming our Year 11 students on their ‘Promenade’ arrival to the front doors of the Academy. Our teaching staff and proud parents welcomed all the attendees as they stepped out of an amazing variety of vehicles and onto the red carpet.

We give particular thanks to Mr Simon Davies who has given a staggering thirty-two years of service to the school starting at Attleborough High School in January 1987. Not only has Simon been an exemplary History Teacher, but he has also served on the Senior Leadership Team as the Assistant Principal for Student Support for many years. I cannot begin to estimate the amount of students that have received outstanding pastoral support and guidance from Simon and the team that he has built up and led across the many years. Many of you who are now parents were indeed taught, guided and inspired by Simon and will have fond memories of him. On behalf of the Governors, the staff and the students, we wish him every happiness in his retirement which is richly deserved. Expect to see him zooming around the country lanes on his bicycle in the very near future !

You will know that when considering to send your child to the Academy, I always tell parents and carers that

The Academy ‘Master Plan’, which will develop the size and the facilities of our site in response to the growth

Every academic year culminates for our Year 11 and Year 13 students in their ‘Prom’ and ‘Formal’ respectively. Both events are always a very proud moment for those of us who have shared their educational journey with them as we reflect on how successful we have been as a community in partnership with parents and carers to have nurtured and developed such admirable, proud, caring and responsible students.

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of housing in the town, continues to gather pace. Upon our return to the Academy in September, we are planning to decant from the various old mobiles and Art/Drama studios at the front of the site to make way for our new frontage building which will eventually accommodate new Art, Drama and Student Support facilities as well as a new Reception area. You can see the planned image of this building currently on our website. This new build has been long in the design and planning and so it will be gratifying to finally see the plans come to fruition. Barring any unexpected delays, we hope to relocate to the new building midway through the new academic year.

We look forward to welcoming our new staff and students after the Summer holidays, within which we will learn of our GCSE and A Level results for this academic year. I wish all of our Year 11 and Year 13 students every success in their results, I truly hope you get the results you wish for and truly deserve. Thank you to all our staff for their dedication, their commitment and for their continued focus on improving the opportunities and outcomes for all of our students.

Thank you to all of our students for their commitment to their studies and for their generally excellent behaviour. This year has seen even less disruptions to lessons and attendance has shown even further improvement overall. Lastly thank you to all our Parents and Carers for your unwavering support, without which we could not achieve all the success that we do.

Best wishes to all for a happy and relaxing Summer break.

Mr McShane Principal

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Sporting Round Up Rounders

Girls Cricket

All year groups have been competing in the rounders’ leagues this year and although we have been heavily hampered by poor weather, meaning quite a few fixures have not been played, the Year 9 Rounders team are undefeated. They have won 3 games and drawn 2, which means our fingers are crossed to see if they progress through to the next round. Good luck girls.

With our great links with Old Buckenham Cricket Club we have again been able to secure some free coaching from the club. We have used these hours this year to help the U13 and U15 girls cricket teams prepare for their soft ball cricket tournaments. Both training afternoons were excellent and we would like to thank Old Buckenham and especially Chris Dalton for giving up his time to help us.

The U13s enjoyed a fantastic day at Redmayne Playing Field at the soft ball tournament, winning two games. Sadly they didn’t progress any further in the tournament, while unfortunately the U15 day was cancelled due to poor weather.

Athletics Earlier this term we took a full Athletics team to Wayland for our partnership Athletics event.

All students performed well and were superbly behaved. 17 of our students progressed to the UEA Norfolk Schools Partnership Games at which students won 5 medals: • Lucas Fulcher 3rd in 200m • Alfie Williams 2nd in 100m • Ruben Gomes 2nd in Shot Put • Ben GuNn 1st in Discus • Abel Cowen 1st in Discus Well done to everyone who has represented the school in athletics – all is looking good for a fun filled sports day. www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

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Training Teachers In March Attleborough Academy welcomed 48 trainee teachers from the Norfolk Teacher Training College for two conferences, both led by Assistant Principal, Mr Barns.

The morning was entitled “Inspirational Feedback” and focused on a variety of ways in which teachers can help their students improve and progress by helping them to understand what they did well and what they could do to do better.

This included sections on marking books and oral feedback.The afternoon focused on “Inspirational Data” and discussed how tracking systems and targets could be used in schools, again, with a focus on supporting the progress of students.

It was good to see so many teachers of the future engaged in learning best practice; we look forward to watching their careers progress.

Digging up the Cheese In the summer of 2012, a group of Year 7 students were studying the Great Fire of London in History with Mr Davies.

They decided to re-enact Samuel Pepys burying his parmesan cheese to protect it from the flames, as well as some red wine. The students buried a parmesan cheese along with some Ribena. Into the time capsule they also put their hopes and wishes for the future. They then drew treasure maps to help locate the cheese. They agreed to do this in the last week of Year 13.

Seven years on, in May 2019, there were still 12 students from the original class who met up to dig up the cheese.

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They used their treasure maps. However, despite their best efforts, they were unable to find it. Their own maps were not accurate enough to recover it.

Nevertheless, they were all rewarded with a new piece of cheese. Mr Davies said, “the inaccuracy of their maps proves that none of them will have a future career as a pirate”.

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Tear of The Heart Music Concert On Wednesday the 20th March, Heidi Lodge presented Attleborough’s talented music students in the production: ‘Tear Of The Heart’.

The hour and forty-five-minutelong concert was captivating, from the set and acts to the wide range of music. It was magical.

The set included a broken heart suspended from two strings at the back of the stage which correlated perfectly with the name of the production. It was evident that the set was clearly thought out and then executed. There was also a clear sense of variety and individuality in every act. Acts ranging from young academy students, all the way to year thirteen sixth formers.

To see students embody such bravery and courage to portray their unique performances was an honour to watch. Whilst watching Esther Collier and Terri Vessey perform their set, myself and the entirety of the audience were in awe of their effortless talents. Both performers went

above any expectations, showing their diverse talents: as well as singing Esther also played the guitar beautifully, as did Terri when playing the piano. What was most astonishing was that a year thirteen was the creator of this production.

clear that she held a lot of pride and passion for something she had put so much time and effort into. The extravagant applause for Heidi ended the evening perfectly.

Everyone involved should be proud.

When Heidi took to the stage at the end of the production, it was

Student Success Year 7 Amos Coates plays for the Norfolk Cricket Board at under-12 level and has been asked to take part in a cricket tournament at Framlingham College, Suffolk.

Year 7 and Year 9 Millie and Benjamin Gunn have been taking part in kuk sool won, a Korean martial art, for the past 7 years. Later this year, Millie (Year 9) and Benjamin (Year 7) will receive

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their black belts at a European tournament, demonstration and promotion ceremony to be held in Liverpool.

Well done to all the students for their successes and for showing great commitment to and endeavour in their chosen sports.

Year 10 Tom Harris is enjoying great success within Motocross, currently running third in the MX National Championships. As a result of this he has been interviewed for and featured in the local media.

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Year 9 Leadership Day

On Friday 10th May, Year 9 took part in a Leadership Day. It is a day to identify students that might become a prefect by giving them certain tasks that push them to show attributes like leadership, teamwork, confidence and initiative, which will contribute to being a good prefect.

The teachers gave the students tasks throughout the morning to show organisation skills and to build confidence and teamwork. Students were put into groups and given tasks including standing in order of height or shoe size from smallest to largest and Chinese whispers, which was fun but also helped highlight their planning and controlling characteristics. There were also role plays, with some chosen Year 7s acting out certain scenarios that prefects might have to deal with, and students showing what they would have done if it were really happening.

These really put them on the spot, making them feel like they were prefects and testing their initiative.

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In the afternoon, students were split into two groups per house - Kett, Boudicca, Nelson and Cavell. In these teams they were given the task of creating a small assembly/ presentation about the person their house was named after. This helped broaden their knowledge of who, what and why their house is called what it is and also challenged them to work in a team, being organised and creative. They were given an hour to put the presentation together which really pushed them to all work thoroughly and together as a team.

They then had to perform their presentation in front of the rest of Year 9. This helped with confidence and also meant they could support their fellow peers.

Altogether it was a good and fun experience and helped to pick out prefects.

Susannah Collier Year 9

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PLEDGE Week 2019 Pledge Week encompassed a diverse range of exciting educational activities. Ms Jones who planned and co-ordinated Pledge Week this year passed on her thanks to all the staff and commented on their tremendous hard work and how they had really gone the extra mile to ensure it was a highly successful week for all the students.

Be Creative - Heroes

Performing Arts: Aladdin The Performing Arts activity for Pledge week was based on the theme of Aladdin. We decided to go for an experimental, experiential approach without the pressure of creating a final performance to enable the 47 students to learn more about different styles of Drama and to enjoy learning new skills without the pressure to achieve ‘perfection’.

We had a sub theme of ‘three wishes’ and our singer-songwriters came up with an incredibly catchy song ‘If I had three wishes’. This was so successful, Ms Jones thought it was like a Eurovision entry and someone else said it should be on Spotify!

The students all engaged in a workshop from The Stanislavski Experience and learned how to beam invisible rays to each other and really focus on the art of communicating.

In contrast to this, Miss Ahern ran a physical theatre style workshop which helped to bring the story of Aladdin to magical, mysterious life!

Our feature trip was a coach ride to see Aladdin in the Prince Edward theatre in London’s West End - this was a mind blowing extravaganza of glitter, magic and dazzle! Mr Barns is an unlikely expert on the production and had given us a very informative

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talk about it before, so we were all looking for certain special effects like the ‘toaster’ that popped people on to the stage - none of us could work out how the magic carpet flew though - perhaps it actually was magic?!

On the last day we pulled together a performance entitled ‘Our Wish for the World’. This piece of performance poetry was very moving and expressed the voices of the group.

We performed this to a large number of students who were all deeply impressed - some of them had not realised before that theatre has the capacity to communicate emotions to an audience so powerfully.

During PLEDGE week we ran a project called Be Creative – Heroes, which gave students the opportunity to create their own children’s book or graphic novel on the theme of heroes. We began the week by talking about what a hero is and were inspired by looking at examples of children’s books and graphic novels we have in the library.

Students then thought about their characters, setting, plot and style before embarking on their finished pieces.

The project included a trip to the University of East Anglia’s Festival of Literature for Young People for a day entitled ‘Write On.’ This gave students the opportunity to discover the secrets to making creative writing fun and successful, through listening to three young adult authors (Piers Torday, Emma Carroll and SF Said) give talks and by taking part in workshops.

It was a hard week, full of laughter and, as always, it was a real joy to see our students pulling together, trying new things and building new skills and friendships!

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PLEDGE Week try various dance styles to get ready for Friday’s performance. It’s not only her ideas, but ours too! Cat is pushing us to our limits to try and get the best out of us – however, we are all very determined to do well!

Alternative Performers 1 During PLEDGE week, a select group of students took part in the Attleborough alternative performance workshops. On Monday we had a day’s circus skills workshop with James from Circus Sensible and for the rest of the week dance lessons with professional choreographer, East Anglia Dance Award Winner and Legacy boys dance troupe founder, Cat Chapman. The aim of these workshops is to perform a flash mob dance routine.

James taught us a wide range of basic circus skills. Some examples are: balancing a feather on different parts of our body, juggling with ball and silks, a variety of plate spinning skills, walking on a low tight rope, cycling on a tricycle with no handle, walking on

plastic and (rather high) metal stilts, attempting the unicycle, trying tricks using the Diablo and Poi and also jumping using an adult pogo stick.

We really enjoyed this experience!

We were able to learn new skills and improve on old ones. We liked that there were a variety of things we could try that we haven’t used before.

‘My highlight of the circus workshop was being able to try the tightrope and biking with a friend on the tricycle.’

Alicia ‘My highlight of the circus workshop was being able to try a different variety of skills that are impressive to an audience and look harder than they are.’ Bethany

This week students at AAN have been on pledge week, 33 students (including me) decided to participate in the Alternative Performance Experience.

We have been participating in many different experiences such as dance and circus skills.

On Day 1 students got to experience a life of a circus performer with James from Circus Sensible. We have learnt many skills: some easy, some hard, some safe and some more dangerous;

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We then completed a team building task where we had to get to the other side of the sports hall by either going under, over or around each other. The task was fun but challenging because we had to think of creative ideas on how we could move our whole team to the other side of the hall without basic movement.

After only 4 hours tuition we have various skills in the routine, for example a cannon our own small group performance and different levels of movement. Fingers crossed for performance day!

By Bethany McGee and Alicia Billington

Now Cat is really encouraging us to

if they wanted to, students could try some stilts that are used by professionals or have a go at the tight rope!

Alternative Performers 2

The warm-ups were tricky but fun.

For example, we had to run around the sports hall while stopping and completing a circuit skill, e.g. sit-ups.

The rest of the week is all street dance based and days two and three consisted of dance with professional dancer Cat Chapman. On Day 1, the students endured a very, very hard warm up: they had to run around the Sports Hall only stopping to do various circuit skills (sit ups) and then the creative part – developing the choreography for the dance. There will be some big group dances and some smaller group dances. The week is about learning new skills and team building and so far, this has been fun.

Cat has helped us do this by getting dancers to get from one side to the other using dance moves to go under, over and through each other. Although this was hard, students were very

persistent and had achieved what seemed impossible.

As well as this, Cat has helped us incorporate our own moves into the dance, as well as teaching us to ‘BE BRAVE!’ and reassuring us that practice is key, and it takes time. After Day 3, students were really flourishing and showing great confidence and style. Remember, many of us have never had dance lessons before.

Hopefully the students will perform their dance(s) on Friday and will be proud of the progress they have made.

In conclusion, all the students had lots of fun and will continue to for the rest of the week. They have learnt many valuable skills and tricks and will have many happy and precious memories.

By Megan Medley

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PLEDGE Week

Auschwitz Survivor On Monday afternoon we heard from Harry whose experience of the Holocaust was shocking and made us grateful for what we have now in our lives. Harry was a young boy when war broke out and his parents chose to send him and his sister to England as Jews were being very badly treated in Austria where the Nazis had taken over.

A few weeks later they got the Kindertransport to England where they were looked after by a British family. At the age of 12 he was taken away from his country, culture, language and family, he found the whole experience confusing and feared the unknown. He would really try to learn English by listening to what came out of people’s mouths and find any familiar words to learn. Later in the war his Mum and Dad were both killed by the Nazis and Harry and his sister got separated because one family could only take one of them.

This makes the audience feel sympathetic thinking about how they may have been affected by this terrible situation.

Opinions from class mates: • Emotional and educational, made me see a new perspective of the war • I learnt so much about the Holocaust and what it was like for everyone • Educational, I liked it because it taught me a lot • It was nice to see through a witness’s eyes • It was good to learn about his experiences when he was our age • It was special as it showed WW2 from a personal perspective • Harry was very motivating • It was good to see it through his point of view • It was interesting to listen to Harry’s story • Made me sick to listen to what civilians had to go through.

On Tuesday we went to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, entered a room to put our bags in, then we went to a classroom where we were given phones and lanyards. Next, we visited a room where we made documentaries of the most interesting planes and other significant war objects. We really enjoyed the experience of the recreated scenes of the war which included: a bomb site, an ambulance scene, a battle, army trucks, homes and examples of injuries. It made a real impact on us because it made us feel like we were there, and it looked realistic. The impact that the museum had on us was that it made us feel paranoid as well as grateful for the lives and homes we have now.

We also got the opportunity to go onto Concorde which is the fastest passenger plane to date. It was a perfect replica to the real thing inside as all the buttons and computers were still all there. After that we had some time to look around the museum and have some free time. There was two groups one group with Mrs Whitlam which was a group of 14 and the other group of 13 with Mr Bastick.

Other people’s perspectives of the war were: • Emotional, moving and scary • Sad and emotional • It made me think how bad the war was • It was so realistic it made me feel like I was there • I felt as if I was there living in the war time • Made me realize how much the war affected people.

In the morning, we had a Holocaust workshop where we had to answer questions. These questions included who was involved with the Holocaust, what countries where involved with the Holocaust and what was it like for civilians in that time. This experience gave us different views on the Holocaust and what it was like to be a Jew. We learnt about rationing and how life changed in the war, such as bananas and oranges not being sold in the UK because we couldn’t get them shipped here.

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PLEDGE Week

The True Cost of Fashion In the 21st century the fashion habit has risen, and this has been contributed to because there are programmes like Keeping up with the Kardashians and reality TV. Shows like Love Island which sell fashion as a by-product are eye catching and a temptation for everyone. This is made worse by the people looking perfect on these programmes - being good looking and so then selling the image and lifestyle to young people who are interested in fashion and designers.

Online companies like Asos, Boohoo and Pretty Little Things target young audiences and companies like Top Shop have new ranges of clothes weekly enticing people to buy.

Unfortunately, this hunger for fashion will have a massive impact on future generations. Fashion is now the second biggest world polluter after the oil industries. Stacey Dooley, in her documentary ‘Fashion’s Dirty Little Secrets’, reported on the Aral Sea (an area half the size of England) already drying up due to the growing of cotton and the amount of water needed. Did you know that between 10,000 to 22,000 litres could be used in producing a pair of jeans and a shirt made from cotton? Also, factories in Indonesia pump chemicals and poisons like arsenic, mercury and lead into rivers as a by-product of producing and dying fashion. And this is made and produced by companies who sell us cheap fashion – recently there has been a £1.00 bikini and

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a £4.00 body con dress – yes, ridiculously cheap for the consumer, but what is the true cost to the earth?

In addition, we discovered that fashion companies are also not recycling clothes all the time, many clothes that are returned online end up in landfill, just creating more of a problem for the environment.

During Pledge week we have explored this true cost of fashion and been upcycling old clothes by cutting up old items, restyling, patching, putting on accessories and creating tie dye t shirts – on sustainable cotton t shirts, as well as swapping clothes and researching how we can make fashion more sustainable in future.

To make sure we have minimum impact on the environment we have discovered that we could all do the following things to make fashion more sustainable: • Wear an item of clothing a minimum of 30 times before passing them down- this could cut down the fashion emissions by 44 percent.

• Get to know your clothing - for example, what it’s made from cheap cotton and synthetics come with huge environmental footprints.

• Cotton uses a lot of water so use sustainable and organic cotton.

• Wash your clothes less often- the average laundry cycle releases hundreds and thousands of plastic fragments in the waterways. Washing fleeces are proven to release the most amount of plastic.

• Use rental services or hand down old clothes- use Depop/Thrifted to sell your old clothes and give your clothes away to friends or younger siblings.

• Delete fashion apps from your phone so you’re not tempted to buy lots of clothes.

• Check what manufacturers do with returned items.

• Research if workers work in healthy conditions and receive a good wage from the fashion company.

By Maddie Pereira Year 9

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PLEDGE Week Robots Programmers and Product Designers combined in a spectacular team to design their own robots!

Students started the week learning the basics of electronics, then designed their own robots.

Designers in the group then manufactured their design, while programmers programmed their robots to complete a series of challenges. The week ended with a bang with a “Robot Wars” inspired challenge. Students involved demonstrated fantastic team working and problem solving skills.

Comic Strip Our five-day Comic Strip activity held over Pledge week this year was a resounding success. Approximately 20 students from year seven to nine, of varying artistic ability, participated – so we had a “full house” of maximum participation. The most outstanding award was given to Rita Aleeva as she demonstrated a high standard of artistic skill and originality. In joint second, Luke Price and Polina Smolova, each received an award for a high level of consistent application throughout the week.

The main theme was Marvel and DC comic art, however we also looked at graphic novels (such as The Hobbit) as well as basic cartoons used to convey a simple message. A collection of antique Marvel or DC comics (some over 50 years old and first editions) were distributed to students and they were astonished to learn that some of the more famous comic characters such as Aquaman, Captain America and Captain Marvel were created so long ago and how these have been used in the making of the popular Marvel or DC blockbuster movies.

Comic art appreciation was the order of the day. Students were shown how to develop a sketch into a comic character. We also looked at layout, background, use of colour, storyline and the basic foundational principles of comic design.

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The highlight of the activity was the two-day workshop run by Norfolk’s famous artist, Mik Richardson. Mr Richardson taught the students various techniques to include stencilling and air brushing. His enthusiasm was infectious and over the next two days there was a hive of activity as students buzzed with creativity. Students learnt how to design and develop their comicthemed logos and air brushed these onto plain white T-shirts. We are very grateful to Mr. Richardson for coming to our school and sharing his skills with all those involved. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the delight on the student’s faces as they thoroughly enjoyed creating their T-shirt designs. In particular, students appreciated being taught how to air brush and enjoyed the high level of fine art produced as a result.

The week ended with students focused on creating their individual comic strip designs. Rita Aleeva produced an exceptional piece (pictured). Thank you to Miss Linnitt and Miss Ahern for their involvement in helping students develop their projects throughout the week.

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PLEDGE Week Gardening and Amphitheatre The BZ team used up a lot of energy during PLEDGE week. Over the week we managed to walk over 35km around local footpath trails in Thompson and Old Buckenham and at the Royal Norfolk Show.

We created new wildflower gardens around the Science labs to promote the abundance of pollinating insects, especially bees, in the local area. This required huge amounts of turf rolling and digging. There was some gardening done in the academy vegetable patches and the inside of “the little house� was redecorated to look brighter and more cheerful. The biggest accomplishment of the week was the creation of a new amphitheatre seating area and stage for the Drama studio to use. The new teaching zone includes a gravel stage, a turf seating bank and a wildflower moat.

All created for free thanks to donations from local companies and hard graft from the students and staff.

Citizenship This year the Citizenship Pledge team explored cultural diversity at home and in London.

During the week they made T-shirts and sunglasses to show how important expression is through fashion and colour and wore them to London for a tour of Street Art in the East End. The group attended Paintball as well as playing a school version of Crystal Maze games to enhance their team building skills.

At the end a calming reflection and meditation session helped the group look back on their week in a grateful and appreciative manner.

The week was enjoyed by all and ended with a shockingly awful rendition of Oasis during Karaoke.

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PLEDGE Week Extreme Sport PE Activities PE pledge week has seen 28 students taking on outdoor activities and activities not available at school.

We would like to say a massive thank you to Eaton Vale and Boardin Skool for keeping us busy on the first three days of the week. Our students have enjoyed raft building, canoeing, kayaking, bush craft, orienteering and team building. Boardin Skool provided us with a great day stand up paddle boarding‌.highly recommended as a summer activity.

Finally we have enjoyed a trip to Gravity, bouncing away the morning, and on Friday we are looking forward to a day white water rafting down the Olymipc run at Lee Valley.

The PE department would like to say a massive thank you to all the students who accompanied us on this week. You have all been amazing and we hope that you have enjoyed the week as much as us.

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Careers Days

In March, the Year 9s and 10s were involved in careers days at the Norfolk Showground and at the Academy.

Stalls were set in place in the sports hall, where local businesses and organisations showed the students different opportunities.

At the Norfolk Skills & Careers Festival, students from across Norfolk came to look at opportunities and ideas on what jobs they would like to do when they leave school.

Most of the students had no idea what they wanted to do; therefore, by going to this event, it helped them to see a bigger picture of what they can choose to do.

As a Year 9 taking part, I found an interest in taking A Levels once leaving Year 11 and, by being able to talk to Sixth Formers, I was able to get all the information I needed.

There were many stalls where students with all different skills and interests could see different types of jobs they might be interested in. At the stalls, students were given the chance to ask as many questions as they liked to gain a better understanding of what was required. The students were told about apprenticeships and what courses they would need to take.

As a student of Attleborough Academy, I found a lot of interesting career ideas that I would not have thought of previously before going to this event.

Then, a week later, all Year 9s and 10s were taken off timetable so that everybody had the opportunity to experience attending a careers fair.

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Visitors also gave presentations on different career paths and what routes to take when deciding what to do. A speaker from the NHS explained that he wanted to become a journalist and found that the NHS was able to provide this opportunity and so he now writes articles for them. Although journalism and the NHS are two completely different areas, he was able to link his interest into something he never thought about looking in to. This showed the students that even though they may not know what they want to do at the moment, they may stumble across something that catches their eye and find their path in something they never saw themselves doing.

Alexandra Buchan Year 9

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We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the companies and FE/HE institutions that gave up their time to attend the Attleborough Academy Careers Fair:

• Access Creative College: Previously known as Access to Music, offering courses in Games, Media, Music and Events www.accesscreative.ac.uk/ locations/norwich-college

Organisations

• City College Norwich: Post-16 options available are an academic route with A Levels, industry-focused vocational courses or starting a career with an apprenticeship www.ccn.ac.uk

• Aviva • Big C • Center Parcs • East Anglian Ambulance Trust • icanbea (a careers website for young people in Norfolk & Suffolk) • M&A Partners • NCFC Community Sports Foundation • New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership • NHS • St Edmunds Care Home Further/Higher Education and Training Providers • AAN Sixth Form: We offer a wide range of A Level and BTEC courses at Attleborough Academy. In addition to these, we also offer bespoke individual student pathways: our Aspiration Academies programme and the A2A. Both of these programmes include learning opportunities linked to business and local industry. www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk/ prospectus/sixth-form-prospectus www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

• Nova Training: Delivering apprenticeships and study programmes in a range of vocational areas. www.novatraining.co.uk • Norfolk Teacher Training Centre (NTTC): Primary and secondary teacher training programmes leading to Qualified Teacher Status. www. norfolkttc.org.uk

• Develop: A specialist IT and Creative Media centre. www.developebp.co.uk/ locations/norwich/

• University of Suffolk: One of the newest UK universities providing a range of degree courses. www.uos.ac.uk

• Easton & Otley College: Providing a range of courses at different levels in primarily landbased subjects, as well as sport, public services and construction. www.eastonotley.ac.uk

• University Technical College Norfolk (UTCN): For students aged 14-18 with an interest in engineering, science, technology, maths or computing. www.utcn.org.uk

• International Aviation Academy: Full-time aviation engineering training is available for students from age 16 with courses being offered through City College Norwich. www.aviationskillspartnership.com/ ionalaviationacademynorwich • Norvic Training: A first aid and clinical training company. www.norvictraining.co.uk

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An extremely successful year with the English Speaking Union’s ‘Spoken Shakespeare Competition’

The Spoken Shakespeare Competition is a national competition run and organised by the ESU. Entry is open to all students in Years 7, 8 and 9. Students not only have to memorise a speech from Shakespeare which lasts up to 3 minutes, but before they even begin to perform they are expected to (without the aid of notes/ iPad etc) explain to judges and the audience why they chose a particular piece and the emotions they hope to convey.

A very tall order.

AAN were newbies to the competition in 2018 to 2019, with all six entrants making it through to the Regional Final and two students, Chiana Woodrow and Ruby Smallwood being awarded a Highly Commended. We all felt we could go one better this year and … we did!

Here is our story…

Throughout the Autumn Term participants came to EN4 to work on their speeches and practise memorising them. Thomas Housego and Chloe Petty (Year 7s), Holly Mortimer (Year 8) and Chiana Woodrow, Maggie Carter, Ellie Hurlimann and Emilia Mulligan (Year 9s) all showed great dedication in attending these sessions, which was twice weekly in the Spring Term.

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The in-house school competition took place on 25th February and our external judge Mrs Laura Tomkins* was extremely impressed with all the performances. Her advice to all candidates was to over-exaggerate all feelings and vocal expressions and each student appreciated her more specific feedback. However, she could only award 4 students places in the Regional Final and these went to Maggie Carter, Ellie Hurlimann, Emilia Mulligan and Holly Mortimer, the runner-up and first reserve was Chiana Woodrow. Even more strenuous practising began.

The regional finals took place at the Royal Hospital School in Ipswich on 3rd April. A very nervous group of students travelled by car to the event, all wondering if they would freeze during their speeches, but of course showing the true resilience of AAN pupils no-one did. The students (including Chiana Woodrow, as a student from another school had dropped out) competed against 12 other competitors and performed with grace, clarity and more impressively, were the only students not to read their introduction speeches from paper or an iPad: They were all the better for this, making a real connection with the audience and judges.

All the AAN students performed solo speeches rather than the other option of duologues (two parts), which itself indicates bravery and determination.

However, there could only be two finalists for the National Finals, and the emotional clarity and pace of Emilia Mulligan’s Helena, bewildered by the apparent betrayal of her childhood friend, from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was rightfully awarded a place in this Final.

As well as being immensely proud of themselves, all were extremely pleased for Emilia. Holly Mortimer (performing a speech by Romeo, angry and frustrated by the seeming futility of his love and marriage to Juliet, in ‘Romeo and Juliet’) just lost out on a place in the Final, but was awarded the Regional Runner Up, again her performance had dramatic depth and created a palpable increase in the audience’s tension.

Time seemed to fly by and then the day of the final, held at the ESU’s headquarters in Mayfair, London arrived. Very sadly, Ms Taylor and a small group of students couldn’t travel to London to experience the workshops with professional actors, watch students from around the UK perform and most importantly cheer Emilia on. However, Emilia, having been accompanied by her parents, gave a truly notable and impressive performance, the ESU Twitter site said she displayed ‘real emotion’.

There was disappointment for AAN in that Emilia was not awarded a winner, but we are all extremely proud of her and very pleased to hear that she ‘would do it all over again’.

So, the challenge for 2019-2020 is can we achieve even more next year?

I am very pleased to announce the search for Year 7 to Year 9 students to take part in this very prestigious competition has now begun. So please get in touch with me as soon as possible to take part. *Interesting fact, Mrs Tomkins was once a pupil at AAN and had her English lessons in EN4, recalling her old seating place with great fondness!

Ms Taylor

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February School Finalists

April at the Royal Hospital School Ipswich

Front: Chloe Petty, Mrs Tomkins, Thomas Housego Back: Holly Mortimer, Maggie Carter, Emilia Mulligan, Chiana Woodrow and Ellie Hurlimann.

Regional Finalists: Holly Mortimer, Emilia Mulligan, Mr Matthew Christmas, the ESU’s Spoken Shakespeare Organiser, Chiana Woodrow, Maggie Carter and Ellie Hurlimann.

Royal Hospital School Ipswich

Royal Hospital School Ipswich

Regional Finalists: Ellie Hurlimann, Maggie Carter, Chiana Woodrow, Ms Taylor, Emilia Mulligan and Holly Mortimer.

AAN’s National Finalist Emilia Mulligan and Regional Runner-Up, Holly Mortimer.

All our competitors in this year’s competition

AAN’s Regional Finalists (with gifts from Ms Taylor)

Front: Chloe Petty, Thomas Housego and Chiana Woodrow

Ellie Hurlimann, Maggie Carter, Holly Mortimer, Emilia Mulligan and Chiana Woodrow.

Back: Ellie Hurlimann, Maggie Carter, Holly Hunter and Email Mulligan.

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Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training

At Attleborough Academy Norfolk we actively promote ZERO tolerance of any type of bullying.

To further push and promote this message we have recruited students from AAN to represent the Academy as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. This involved going on an all day trip to Thetford on the 21st May to be trained up!

The students involved were: • Amelia Howe-Li-Rocchi • Coral Clarke • Maddie Pereira • Percy Overton • Kira Greer • Megan Mortimer • Aimee Mathison What is an Anti-Bullying Ambassador training day?

An ‘Anti Bullying Ambassador training day’ is an event held at a school or venue where up to 150 students from one area will come together to be trained as AntiBullying Ambassadors. Students will network with other passionate young people, exchange ideas and share good practice.

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Attending a training day will help kick start or develop your schools AntiBullying work and allow students to creatively explore and understand the topic of bullying.

What is included with the training?

Each student will receive a training booklet, a guide to take home to their parent/guardians, branded pen and pencil, Anti-Bullying Ambassador badge, notepad, wristband and a certificate for attending the day.

What will students learn?

Students will leave the day feeling inspired and full of fantastic ideas!

The event will cover: •U nderstanding the issue of bullying; facts, the definition and the effects of bullying •P ractical ideas, top tips and explore scenarios on bullying in groups •B asic training looking at the skills needed to support others and stay safe •O nline safety and approaches students and staff can take to staying safe online and educating their peers

• A networking session with students from other schools to share ideas • Video examples of schools we currently work with • Action planning – helping students to think of a plan to take back to school and set targets and aims for their Anti-Bullying work • Plus lots more including fun games…!

An account of the day by Amelia Howe-Li-Rocchi, Year 9: We arrived at Thetford Academy around 9.30am and were escorted to the gym which was packed full of students from many different Norfolk schools, there for one cause: antibullying. The event started with one of the adult ambassadors asking us questions, getting to know us: cats or dogs, English or maths, fly or be invisible? But he then asked how many of us have been bullied in our lives. Shockingly half of the room stood up having been bullied in their life. It’s our aim to change that. The anti-bullying ambassadors are there to make those numbers drop like flies. No one should have to face the trauma that is being bullied.

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There were talks about different kinds of bullying, how to identify it and what to do about it. We were grouped up and given a scenario in which someone was being bullied and as a team with all different schools, we had to figure out what to do and what to say.

We watched a short film about a young adult, Tom, and his struggles with bullying in his life. It was extremely moving, especially to those who have been through that and really helped those who haven’t empathise with those who have.

So what can we do to help?

Two videos were played which showed many different schools across Britain and Ireland with the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and what they have done to help raise awareness, give students a voice, and empower students and their qualities. There were colour runs, empowering the LGBTQ community; lunchtime chats, where those who feel lonely can talk to new people and the ambassadors about who they are and what they are feeling; there were balloon releases, all with messages and a phone number saying if you get this please contact us from where you are with messages of support, this helped people feel more positive about who they are, knowing that they are loved. But there were smaller ideas too like notice boards displaying who the ambassadors are in the school and what they can do to help; there was an email set up so students can contact the ambassadors; and there were diversity posters, really showing to the school that we are all a team no matter your race, gender, sexuality, appearance. www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

We have plans set in place for the anti-bullying future in our school, beginning with an assembly, raising awareness of who we are and what we are here to do.

Giving students insight on what bullying is, how you can see it, why you should report it and not be a bystander, why you shouldn’t bully, and how we as one AAN team can help put bullying to an end. Bullying is traumatic and scarring; with so much in the news about mental health especially in today’s youth, the anti-bullying ambassadors are there to change that, they are there as an ear to listen, a hand to help, and a voice for those who cannot be heard. We may only be young but we are going to help change lives and we are going to help the Diana Award on their mission to put an end to bullying.

We are very pleased and proud to be qualified ~ anti-bullying ambassadors at AAN. 19

Caythorpe Year 11 Revision Weekend

Another successful trip with fabulous students who worked hard and had fun, good weather and too much food!

We set off on time from AAN, with the coach full of song, arriving in time for tea; the first of many meals that PGL provide. It is a staff in joke now – we eat enough to last well into the following week and we don’t seem to be able to forego any food on offer!

The students enjoyed a first evening with a game of ambush with our PGL team member, Sasha. This involves teams running around in the dark, trying to capture the opposing side.

Saturday and Sunday began with Mr Martin and Mrs Whittaker waking us all at 7.30 (very civilized) with breakfast at 8.30.

Revision began in earnest by 9.30 with rotations of 3 groups working on their English, maths and science.

The students were focussed and enthusiastic and wondered how the time went so quickly. In no time at all we were queuing for lunch.

Saturday’s activities were trapeze and archery. The staff were amazed that all students attempted the trapeze with almost all managing to jump from the top to grab the bar. Even those who didn’t jump went beyond their comfort zone, climbing to the top of the pole and even getting on to it, before swinging off, their ropes being supported by the waiting students below.

Some shinned up the pole in no time whereas some needed lots of encouragement to overcome their anxiety.

The photos of their faces are testament to the effort they went to in order to overcome their fears.

Archery was more sedate but enjoyed by all with a little competition with games such as ‘knife, fork, spoon.’

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This is where you have to shoot certain parts of the target and if you miss, you lose a piece of cutlery at lunch. Some students were clearly a very accurate shot.

On Saturday evening, while the students played a Countries of the World game, again, running around in the dark, the staff had the opportunity to go on the high wires. This is a Go Ape style course on a very high wooden structure. We felt very intrepid, moving around the obstacles on a rope, in the dark. And with Ms Phoenix not feeling her best.

Sunday’s activities for the students were high ropes and survivor.

High ropes course was a favourite, especially as all the students could be involved at once. Their monkey like antics on the obstacles put the staffs’ efforts the night before to shame as they scooted round the course with no fear!

Survivor was not such a high point.

We have taken part in this for the last few visits but it has lost some of its charm. No proper dens were made and the fire making and whittling wasn’t very exciting. We will give this a miss next year.

Soon after tea we were on the coach again, heading for home. All students safely delivered at around 8.30 on Sunday evening. They all did Attleborough Academy proud, having fun and getting involved with everything including being very enthusiastic about revision. I’m sure they will have good memories of one of their last trips with our school. They supported one another brilliantly and were a pleasure to take away.

I would like to thank Ms Phoenix, Mrs Whittaker, Mr Martin and Mr Seymour for making our fourth year at Caythorpe a super, memorable trip. The inimitable Mr Martin used his technical skills with Bluetooth to connect to another Y11 group’s speaker so that instead of playing their music, Barbie Girl blasted out. They couldn’t work out what had happened!!

Next year we should also see the return of Mr Brahams and Ms Parks on Caythorpe 2020!! www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

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Year 11 Prom

The Year 11 students’ arrival at their Prom is always an outstanding spectacle, and this year was no exception.

An enormous crowd of well wishers made up of proud families, friends and members of the local community, come to see the spectacular arrivals to this event to celebrate the students’ end of Year 11. Mr Simon Davies compered the event - with support from Mr Barns on the identification of vehicles - announcing the arrivals, their names, and transport type, to the great delight of the audience. All the Academy teaching staff were there to support this wonderful send off for the students they have been teaching over the last five years, and to ensure they had a night to remember for the rest of their lives.

The staff and students at Attleborough Academy excelled themselves again this year in the preparation and delivery of an incredible evening. The event was a wonderful team effort: planned and organised by Miss Parks, Inclusion Centre Manager, with design and set up support from Mrs Cushing, Head of Lower School, and Art Technician Ms Linnit, admin support from our office staff Ms Cooper, Mrs Bisley and Mrs Briggs, food provided by our catering staff, and technical support from Garry Baisden, Infrastructure Engineer and his team.

Students were treated to a wonderful, and entirely memorable evening of beautiful frocks, wonderful food and dancing into the night. All the students dressed up in their finest attire and looked fantastic as they alighted onto the red carpet amidst flashing cameras and cheers.

This year’s theme was Venice Carnival and the transformation through mask displays, balloons and decoration of the interior of the academy building in golds and white, to meet this theme was incredible; the glittering light

Students arrived in a variety of smart and exclusive vehicles, from classic cars, sports cars, Rolls Royces, Aston Martins and Jaguars, through to one female student arriving helmeted on the back of a stunning motorbike, whilst another male student was pushed in by his sister inside a wheelbarrow!

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adorned hall with beautifully dressed tables and specially made cloth chair covers, all provided by Ms Parks and Mrs Cushing, and set up by a team of staff in the 24 hours previously.

Wonderful tasty and exotic Italian themed food was provided by the school catering staff from Edwards and Blake and the Mocktail Bar where colourful non-alcoholic fruity and fizzy drinks were served with style by Mr Martin and Mr Frost.

Mrs McConnell provided the official photography for the evening, with two Sixth Formers and A Level photography students– Alicia and Queenie – taking the formal individual and group posed photos in a lit backdrop area set up especially for the occasion. There was also a fun photo booth where students could adorn different headwear and costume to take entertaining shots with their friends and teachers.

The students all had a wonderful time enjoying the food and drink and dancing the night away at the disco, run by Head of House Mr Justin Needs, who organised dance competitions and awarded different dance categories.

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Year 11 Prom Later in the evening, prom awards were announced by Mr Davies with Mrs Cushing, with trophies for different categories voted by the students and staff who were present during the evening.

Year 11 Prom Award Winners 2019 Prom King

Ben Hilden

Prom Queen

Charlie Mills

Likely To Make A Million

Dan Bint

Funniest Person

Josh Reed

Cutest Couple

Blod Grant and Tom Woods

Biggest Agony Aunt/Uncle

Tilly Warren Peters

Biggest Transformation

Leah Robinson

Best Dressed (Male)

Ryan Monk

Best Dressed (Female)

Jasmine Yaxley

Best Arrival

Josh Himpson

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Year 12 Musicians perform at Attleborough Care Homes

Over the last year Attleborough Academy Sixth Form has built fantastic links with St Edmund’s Care Home, which has been of great benefit to both parties.

Through our Year 12 Volunteering Programme as well as a group of our students visiting each week to socialise with the elderly residents of the home, the students have also had the opportunity to engage in a range of training, related to working in the health sector, provided for them through the NHS care home.

We are always looking for further ways that we can help to enrich the experiences for these members of our community, and in the Spring we arranged that some students would share their talents and put their musical skills to good use by providing entertainment. Two of our Year 12s - Madison and Hassan - spent an afternoon playing guitar and singing for the residents at St Edmund’s.

The students prepared a selection of songs that they felt the residents would be familiar with and performed to a large group in the recreation room at the care home. Great fun was had by all as many of the audience joined in the singing and, when Jen Pochin, St Edmund’s manager joined us, she brought some residents to their feet to dance to the well-known tunes. The afternoon was a great success and there are plans afoot for the two musicians to return. Other musicians and singers will also be brought over from the academy in the future – there is even a rumour of a staff choir performance!

In June, the two students again gave up their lunch hour to visit Fairlands House Care Home, accompanied by Mrs McConnell and Mr Nevard, to perform another set of music 30

to the residents there. This came out of an invitation after the home’s activities manager had contacted the Academy to ask if we had any students who would be willing to provide some musical entertainment for the residents.

The two students sang and played a wide range of songs, and again, their performance was greatly appreciated.

Mrs McConnell commented: “It is wonderful to witness these students use their talents in a way that brings happiness to other members of the community.

Opportunities for different generations to interact is of great benefit; educationally it develops our students as they learn to view the world from different perspectives. We hope this new relationship with this home can be extended further and that they will join us as one of the establishments involved in our Sixth Form volunteering programme for the next academic year.” www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

Comic Relief Fundraising A fantastic ÂŁ545 was raised this year by AAN students for Comic Relief.

The Sixth Form Presidential Team led the fundraising with a delicious bake sale. The students sold a variety of biscuits and cakes baked on the Academy premises, that sold out quickly in the lunchtime sale. All students and staff got involved with enthusiasm as they donned an item of red clothing and donated to the excellent cause.

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A2A Course Leavers’ Assembly

The students on this Year’s A2A One Year Sixth Form course attended a special assembly to mark their achievements and to celebrate their successful completion of the year.

During the assembly anecdotes and successes about the students’ time at the Academy were shared.

Students enjoyed reminiscing and seeing a photographic record of their journey. Members of the Sixth Form staff spoke about the students; their tutor this year, Mrs Stowell, gave a moving speech about the qualities they had shown over the year, and they were each awarded certificates to mark their achievement.

included a diverse and exciting range of local organisations – from Attleborough Library, through to charity shops, care homes and dog grooming parlours and we are exceedingly grateful for the time commitment and support given to our students by these workplaces.

From September 2019 the A2A programme is being developed to incorporate two full days of work experience during each Academy week, to even further enrich the students’ experience.

The A2A course provides a bridge between completing KS4 study and moving onto the next stage, to A Level/ BTEC study at Attleborough Sixth Form, or take up an apprenticeship or to begin full time work. This one year course, introduced as an additional option for Sixth Form study at Attleborough Academy, was introduced in 2016 by Assistant Principal Mrs McConnell. It has been designed to provide a wide range of additional opportunities aimed at broadening experience, knowledge and qualifications in order to extend the future options for these students.

In each of the three years this course has been running, some students have joined us immediately after completing Year 11 with us, whilst some joined our academy from other schools. Part of the course is a full day a week at a local workplace learning skills and gathering experience which will be invaluable to their future life. This year, as in each of the two preceding years, the workplaces where this was carried out

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Visiting Speakers

One of the aims for the Sixth Form is to produce well-rounded individuals, who have a love of learning and a desire to find a firm footing in society.

With this in mind, each year, a variety of engaging speakers are invited in to present to our students.

The hope being that the engaging and motivating talks will promote not only possible career paths, but the opportunities available to give something back to those less fortunate than themselves.

In October, we welcomed Kieren Miles, a Norwich-based entrepreneur, who enriched our students with tales of his many achievements, all by the age of 26. His message left the students deep in thought – that success requires hard work and dedication, and that there will be failures and mistakes along the way!

Also in October, we were fortunate to be visited by Paul Martin from NHS Careers. His detailed and informative presentation left the students in no doubt that there was a career in the NHS for them if they chose that path.

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The students were astounded by the great number of opportunities that the modern-day NHS offers, not simply just becoming a doctor or a nurse.

This term, the students were visited by Ron Marsh from the town’s Athletics Club to explain the opportunities available for them to become involved in their athletics training, and Debs Carter from The Lighthouse Charity came in to explain the role of their project ‘Ignite’ in supporting young people out and about in Attleborough.

Dr Rosemary Norton also presented to the students. She is a Lecturer in Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia and is keen to work on outreach programmes with local

schools and colleges. Her dynamic style engaged the students, involving them in group discussion and role play. She not only outlined the roles of Pharmacists and Pharmacologists but introduced the students to the importance of this line of work and how their lives have been affected in one way or another by this area of science.

In addition, our Year 12 and 13 students have been visited by local health charities, keen to impart knowledge to young people on how to look after themselves and to stay safe, both physically and emotionally.

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Year 12 Perform at Norwich Playhouse

Our Year 12 Drama students had the wonderful opportunity of performing on a professional stage, at The Norwich Playhouse, where they wowed the audience with their devised theatre piece about the plight of refugees.

The AAN Drama students gave incredibly moving and highly engaging performances to the Norwich Playhouse audience, many of whom spoke afterwards about how they had really communicated the complexities of the refugee situation and highlighted some of the prejudices arising out of ignorance of the realities of the refugees’ plight.

This performance provided a fantastic rehearsal for the final assessed examination performance which took place a few weeks later to an invited audience in Attleborough Academy’s Drama Studio.

This devised piece of work is a central part of the A Level programme of study. In the first terms of the course, the students worked hard under the tuition of Ms Jones, and Mrs McConnell, to explore techniques from Drama technicians Stanislavski and Frantic Assembly. They then chose to focus their research and theatre performance on a crucial and pertinent social issue: the current world refugee crises. During the course of this research they gained a great understanding of the terrible issues that were pulling apart families and causing fatalities as people fled from unbearable conditions created by wars and persecution.

Their research was further inspired by their visit to the incredible performance of ‘The Jungle’ the previous Summer. After the performance they had been struck by how people undergoing this desperate situation, rather than being merely numbers reported in news reports, became to them real people just like themselves, who, prior to the devastation that hit their

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country, had previously shared similar lifestyles, and had comparable aims and interests. The students then built on this understanding to devise ways to communicate these ideas to an audience. Alongside running a series of assemblies for Attleborough students, the Year 12 Drama group effectively built on the ideas and skills they had learnt studying Stanislavski and Frantic Assembly to bring a variety of theatre techniques into their creations.

Ms Sian Jones, Drama Subject Lead and Head of House commented: “The students have created an effective piece of theatre that has brought the issues home to the audience in a moving and multiperspective way. It was brilliant to see the influences of the practitioners they had explored and the live theatre they had experienced. It is a fantastic experience for them to perform at a professional venue and this performance to a large and unfamiliar audience will really enhance their performance skills.�

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Letter from Queen and Year 12 Volunteering Programme

The Year 12 Volunteering programme, launched in September 2019, has been a great success and has seen the Academy Sixth Form increase the valuable links with organisations in the local community.

This initiative was planned and implemented by Assistant Principal Mrs McConnell with Mrs Carter, Ignite project worker from The Lighthouse Charity in Attleborough.

The aim of the programme is to further educate our young people on being part of a society, rather than just an isolated individual and to show them the importance of ‘giving back’ to the community of people that make up our wider world. The scheme has benefitted from wonderful support from Mrs Pochin from St Edmund’s Care Home, along with many other

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people and organisations, including Mr Nevard, the Academy Sixth Form Learning Mentor, Mrs Dale and her team at The Pavillion Nursery, the staff of the Junior school and Academy teaching staff.

The staff of St Edmund’s have been particularly pleased with the link created through the volunteering: “The students have been amazing in their willingness to achieve bridging the gap between generations and spreading joy, love, respect between the two.

They have shown maturities above their years in their willingness to participate, learn, listen to our residents…The students have brought much joy and laughter into our home which has improved our residents’ wellbeing. It has been an honour and pleasure to be able to be involved in such an amazing

link within the community. In March we were delighted to receive a letter from the Queen’s Lady in Waiting where it was commented that : “Her majesty was pleased… and interested to learn about the invaluable contribution which the students at your local school make to the residents of your Care Home, by bridging the gap between generations, bringing fun and laughter while at the same time displaying mutual respect.”

The volunteering project was introduced in September by a series of workshops and presentations where students were shown the different external opportunities available to them, which included visiting St Edmund’s Care Home to socialise and support the elderly, to working at The Lighthouse Charity teaching computer skills,

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to supporting at The Pavillion Nursery with the youngest members of our local community.

Within the Academy the students had the chance to support within the subjects that they had chosen for A Level study, sharing their skills in much younger classes.

This has the added benefit of them honing their own skills in that subject as they shared their knowledge with others.

Other opportunities included volunteering in the library reading projects, work with groups in Citizenship and teams in PE, and to be involved in the gardening club.

Across this year the Year 12 students have carried out their volunteering with enthusiasm and great care. Many admit to surprise at how much they have gained from being able to give to others, and in their interactions with people and age groups that they have very little opportunity to do with in their day to day life.

The organisations have welcomed the students and provided them with additional opportunities that weren’t foreseen in the original planning and reflect the effort and support that these organisations have offered the project. At St Edmund’s Care Home the students have also been provided with a range of Health Care related training and workshops: from Dementia Care training through to a three hour CPR training programme in June, that also included Year 12 students who volunteer somewhere other than St Edmund’s.

We hope for this project to continue to go from strength to strength. Planning is well underway for extending the project next year. If you are involved in a local charity or caring organisation that would benefit from our students volunteering one hour a week with you, then please email: cmcconnell@aan.norfolk.sch.uk

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Year 13 Leavers’ Day

Year 13 students marked the years they have spent at the Academy at their May Leavers’ Day. The students donned a colourful range of costumes and ensured it was a day they would remember for the rest of their lives.

The fancy dress the students wore ranged from the characters from Scooby Doo, complete with colourful handmade painted van by Design Technology student Chloe, through to a male cheerleading team. Although Year 13s will attend their lessons at the academy up until they sit their final exams in each subject, this occasion marked the official end of their time spent at Attleborough Academy. After a morning of lessons, the Sixth Formers attended a celebration assembly led by Head of Sixth Form Mr Andy Cole, with Mr Nevard and all the Sixth Form team. During this time the students enjoyed sharing a selection of memories and humorous events that had occurred in their lives at the academy.

Mr Cole related anecdotes about individuals and groups of students and showed photos and videos from across their years at the Academy, which for many of the students began at age 11 when they joined the academy in Year 7. The presentation of photos and anecdotes highlighted how the students had developed over the years during their education at the Academy into today’s young adults with a great future ahead. In the afternoon, the students enjoyed a barbeque, seeking shelter from the grey skies of May under the gazebos kindly provided by the Collier family. Other students braved the cold to take part in a rounders game. Staff from throughout the academy joined the students to say their goodbyes and they were met with appreciation for the support they have given these young adults as they moved through their education. The Year 13s enjoyed grouping for photos with the friends and teachers that have been such an important part of their lives at Attleborough Academy.

Head of Sixth Form, Mr Andy Cole commented: “This group of students have approached their studies in a 38

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truly commendable way over the course of the last two years. They have faced numerous challenges, but have done so with incredible grit and determination to succeed.”

Attleborough Academy’s Assistant Principal Mrs McConnell commented: “We are very proud of this group of young people; the Year 13 group have been a pleasure to have in our Sixth Form.

All the Sixth Form students, led by the Presidential Team, have been excellent role models for the rest of the academy. We have witnessed them really develop in their studies under the expert guidance of our staff and we wish them all the very best in the next stage of their lives. We know they are now well equipped to continue their journey into further education and the world of work.”

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Sixth Form IAG Week For our IAG (Information Advice and Guidance) Sixth Form Week, our Year 12 students embarked on a series of trips and workshops, organised by Head of Sixth Mr Andy Cole, and Learning Mentor, Mr David Nevard, all focussed on preparing them effectively for the future.

Accompanied by the Sixth Form team of staff, the students visited Universities, the House of Commons, and Museums and establishments in London and Norwich to further their experience about the opportunities available to them and to learn about law and government. The educational workshops held both externally and within the Academy were all centred around developing their skills and knowledge to prepare them for their next steps after leaving Sixth Form.

Monday: London Metropolitan University

Tuesday: Westminster

57 Year 12 students embarked early on a trip to London to learn more about University life. London Met is in the heart of North London and in the shadow of the Emirates stadium, home to the famous Arsenal FC.

On the second day of IAG Week, Year 12s headed for London again. The destination was the Houses of Parliament.

We were given a comprehensive tour led by friendly guides. London Met has a very diverse student profile, one third are from overseas the others tend to be Londoners who commute. The outreach officer put on a personal statement workshop which the students found very valuable. As Year 12 Queenie stated: “this has given me an idea of what I should include in my own personal statement, in order to show off my character to the university”. She continued: “I think being able to go to the Metropolitan University in London has allowed me to experience life in a big city, as well as the idea of being in a city university in comparison to a campus university.”

During the sessions students were given additional tips and good resources to take away culminating in a question and answer session. Attleborough student Ellie Ginns summed up the benefits of a city university as being in the centre of everything and having great access to the city. Students then had a chance to explore the Westfield shopping centre before returning home.

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The Palace of Westminster was an eye-opener – visually spectacular but also steeped in history. Our guide was entertaining and informative throughout and we came away with a richer understanding of our political heritage. From Westminster, we headed to Covent Garden for lunch and an opportunity to soak up the vibrant atmosphere of this touristy destination. Then we trudged across the streets of London to the British Museum and the Wellcome Collection. It seemed as if half the world was there. We quickly realised that to truly appreciate the full offering of these captivating museums one would need a lot more time than the forty or so minutes we had. After that, it was back to the coach and a return to Norfolk. We arrived in Attleborough at 8.30pm – a long day but what an experience!

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Wednesday and Thursday: In school IAG Workshops

Over Wednesday and Thursday our Year 12s were back at the Academy, with a series of workshops covering a wide range of futures information being presented by a combination of the Sixth Form Team and external speakers. Building on the experiences and information gained from the visits to UEA and London Metropolitan Universities, students were introduced to a range of approaches for considering their next steps.

Starting with Why? Often students are unsure of ‘What’ to do and can become stuck when confronted with so many options. Building on the work of Simon Sinek – a business and motivation expert – we discussed how to approach challenging decisions. How focusing on inner motivations and the reasons why we enjoy the things we enjoy, can make filtering so many options much easier and critically, result in better outcomes.

From Breckland Council’s education and development team, Carly Cooper presented a range of skills applicable to all routes, including interview and application skills. With a greater focus on apprenticeships (and building on her personal experience), students were introduced to higher and advanced level apprenticeships, and the ways of finding and applying for them.

Mr Cole and Mr Nevard’s sessions focused on the skills and the systems required for writing CV’s and personal statements, and then for finding degree courses and applying for University. The UCAS process can be a stressful one, but when students are proactive and motivated it becomes much more achievable. The workshops set them up to make the best use of their downtime over the summer to research and prepare their applications, but also to apply to and attend summer schools and open days.

Robyn Jansen Van Ryssen, Student Recruitment and Outreach Manager, UOS, engaged the students in a talk on the subject of student finance; an area of importance to all students regardless of whether they intend to go to university or not. It was made clear to the students that they should not allow the thought of a loan to put them off continuing into higher education. The figures quoted for paying back the loan surprised many, being less than that of their current mobile phone bill! The point was reiterated that managing large sums of money was a vital skill the students are never too young to learn.

Liz Ferguson, Outreach Officer, and Kosh, Student Ambassador, UEA, entertained the students with tales of university life. They paid particular attention to the emotion of moving away from home, the differences between sixth form and university life, and how to cope with such a big change, both physically and emotionally. The students were full of questions for our visitors, with one asking ‘Are the mattresses comfortable and do all rooms have Wifi?’ – He obviously has his priorities in order!

As a reward for all the student’s hard work during IAG week, the Head of Sixth Form, Mr Andy Cole, treated all Year 12 students to an afternoon BBQ, cooked lovingly by his own fair hands. All our thanks go to Mr Cole for organising such a wonderful afternoon.

On Thursday, our sixth form students were once again treated to engaging presentations delivered by representatives from the University of Suffolk (UOS) and the University of East Anglia (UEA).

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Sixth Form IAG Week Friday: Norwich Castle and NUA

Year 12 students had a fantastic educational experience at Norwich Castle on the Friday of IAG week when they engaged with a re-enactment of the 1913 trial of a famous Norfolk suffragette, Miriam Pratt. This early 20th century trial that created national controversy at the time, was held in the castle courtroom that has been the setting for centuries of trials, up until the mid 1980s, and still had the legal right to issue the death penalty here up until 1965.

The trial was created effectively by a cast of actors, who greatly engaged our student audience in debate about the key issues of equality, protest and punishment involved.

This was a highly effective way to practise their debating skills and to also bring to the fore the importance and relevance of social and historical context in analysing and evaluating behaviours: key skills required from many of the KS5 exam boards. Later in the day students took part in a range of castle tours and presentations, from object handling to learning about the history of exhibits. Year 12 Amy Good commented: “The courtroom drama was an incredibly immersive experience that whilst factual, was also very emotive. To hear the story of a suffragette trial was truly fascinating, and being able to associate the imagery with the actual artefacts seen in the prison tour was amazing.” Year 12 Alicia Rudeck Brunelli Mendes commented: “Taking part in the courtroom experience was very eye opening and allowed me to understand what women went through in order for us to be free today.”

Some students also then had the chance to travel to the Norwich University of the Arts to explore the courses on offer there. Alicia responded: “The afternoon visit to NUA definitely clarified what an art related course would offer me and expect from me as an undergraduate. The ‘Preparing your Portfolio’ talk was particularly helpful as it relates back to how we should present and prepare our work for a successful interview.”

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A huge thank you is due to the Sixth Team, and in particular Mr Nevard for leading on this very enjoyable learning experience.

Important Sixth Form Information After the July work experience placements, students will return to Sixth Form where they will be further supported in making progress on their research and application preparations. We encourage students to visit universities, apprenticeship providers, to attend summer schools, and to seek further work placements in order to help them refine and decide on their next steps. There are some key dates that lay ahead – particularly for students applying to university – and these are set out below: 10 October 2019: Internal deadline for Oxford / Cambridge / Medicine / Veterinary Science applicants to have submitted their application via UCAS. 15 October 2019: Final deadline for those students applying to Oxford / Cambridge / Medicine / Veterinary Science.

4 November 2019: (All other Universities and courses) All forms should be complete with the exception of those students still planning to attend late open days.

2 December 2019: All forms should have been submitted to allow references to be written prior to the deadline.

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UEA Sixth Form Conference

On Friday 21 June, Year 12 students attended a Sixth Form Conference hosted by the University of East Anglia.

This provided students with the opportunity to get a taste of subjects available at undergraduate level, while finding out about university life. The programme of taster events allowed students to choose from over 20 sessions which spanned the different Schools at UEA, and these included “From the suffragettes to #MeToo”, “The key to clinical decision making”, and “Bringing Shakespeare to Life”.

Year 12 also took up the opportunity to have a tour of the campus, exploring the range of facilities that are offered, while also talking with current students about their experience of studying and living at university. During part of the afternoon, our students attended an information fair which gave an insight into clubs and societies at the university, information on student finance and accommodation, and www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

information from the Norwich University of the Arts.

Emma Foster who attended the trip said, “thanks to the UEA Sixth Form Conference, my first campus experience was extremely welcoming due to the friendly atmosphere from the staff and students. As a subject I initially had been considering a degree in, the Philosophy session helped to introduce me to the aspects of an example day at university that I could be a part of. Furthermore, the Politics session opened up a whole new range of course options I probably would have never explored had I not have been a part of this exciting experience. On a similar line, I was very fortunate to have got the opportunity to go to the ‘Study abroad’ session, once again something that I would have been daunted by were it not for the incredibly informative talk that truly inspired me to place stepping out of my comfort zone as a high priority!

Overall, the Sixth Form Conference has resulted in me anticipating my next visit to the UEA with great

intrigue for the enticing array of incredible choices and new ideas available to me”.

Another student, Ellie Sanger, commented “during my day at the UEA Sixth Form Conference, I attended a Creative Writing session.

This hour was spent engraving the idea that anyone can call themselves a writer, despite not being published or having an audience. Being a writer is having parts or whole pieces of writing that are significant to yourself before they are to anybody else, it is about having pride in your work.

Pride is clearly embodied by the students at UEA and this was the most inspiring aspect of the day for me”.

As alumni of the University of East Anglia, Mr Nevard and Mr Cole who accompanied the trip, both enjoyed sharing their own memories of the university. Mr Nevard said, “this was a fantastic conference which has really helped our students to consider their next step, while also enriching their academic studies”.

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Sixth Form: Accepting Applications for September 2019 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

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