DESBOROUGH COLLEGE DESBOROUGH COLLEGE
Dear Parents/Guardian I do not know where this term has gone. It does not seem so very long ago that we were returning to school from the summer break, and now, as I write this we are only one week from breaking up for the Christmas holidays.
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: •
Message from the Principal
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Sixth Form Art Trip to London & Art Club
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Fourteen weeks have passed since the new academic year began in September and it is quite astonishing to think back on the developments that have taken place during that time. For the record, I have listed some of them:-
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Science Club, UCAS, Fund Raising & Christmas Celebration
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ExtraCurricular Activities:
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Rugby
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Basketball
A new Behaviour for Learning Policy has been implemented and is having a very positive impact. A recent visitor to the school, Dave Rogerson, who is a very experienced and highly sought after School Improvement Advisor and who works as a Consultant in many schools across the country visited Desborough on Monday 10 December and was “extremely impressed” with the behaviour around school. A new Year 7 Base has been established to ensure a smooth transition between the primary and secondary phases. A survey of parents (available on my blog) indicates that it is hugely popular with the Year 7 boys and their parents. Interest from parents of Year 6 boys has been very high and initial discussions with RBWM suggest significant increases in parents making Desborough College their first choice of school for September 2013. In October we became an Academy, Desborough College, sponsored by The Education Fellowship. Strong links have been established with Radley College and a number of exciting activities have taken place since September including the following:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Residential visits by Desborough Sixth Formers Sixth Form attendance at Conference Days Weekly rugby coaching Regular meetings between Curriculum Leaders from both schools Plans for joint creative writing workshops are in place Staff from Radley are meeting some Year 11 Desborough boys Year 13 Theatre Studies students attended a performance of Rawhide
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We introduced six weekly data collections which we use to track the progress that boys are making in every subject, and report to parents. This allows us to identify any boys who are not achieving their potential and intervene to make certain that they do.
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New, robust systems for lesson observations and learning walks are in place. Improvements in the systems used to check attendance have resulted in significant improvements in attendance figures which are now above national average. A review of the curriculum has taken place and improvements will be made from September 2013 to the variety of courses offered at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 so that every boy follows a personalised curriculum pathway that gives access to Desborough College’s Sixth Form.
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Sixth Form Art Trip & Art Club Year 12 and 13 Art and Photography students took part in a school trip to London on the 10 December 2012. Please see below report from Tim Greengrass in Year 12:From Paddington we took the Circle Line and walked to the Victoria & Albert Museum. Whilst on the train most of the photography students took photographs of surrounding scenery including buildings, abandoned trains and construction sites
After looking around the galleries we headed over to the Millenium Bridge which was a great experience for the photography students because of the excellent design and angles of the bridge and the great view over the river with the London skyline. Later, we went over the bridge to the South Bank and to a skate park which hosted a Christmas market. The skate park was useful to the photography students as their chosen photo theme was urban life. After this the exhausted group headed back to Paddington and from there back to Maidenhead. Tim Greengrass Year 12
Once we arrived at the museum we split up into separate groups where we were assigned to make notes about artists who inspire our ideas. We took photographs of some artwork and architecture in and around the museum. The photography students were expected to make a 'journey' project by taking lots of interesting photographs. The Art students were asked to make sketches of images they liked or were inspired by in the galleries. Then after meeting at the big glass sculpture in the main entrance hall of the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Art Department have started to run an “Artist of the Month” competition for Years 7 and 8 which started in November. This months winner’s were Amir Khan Year 8, Charlie Coe Year 7 and Kai Furnell-Brennan Year 8. Amir Khan Year 8
Charlie Coe Year 7
Kai Furnell-Brennan Year 8
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Science Club, UCAS, Fund-Raising & Christmas Celebration The Science Club meets weekly and is organised by Miss Gower and Ms Dharurkar. During the term the boys have made discoveries about a wide range of topics from Rockets to Bugs. Last week they learned about hibernation and got to see a live Pipistrelle Bat and this week they were dropping eggs out of windows to test their parachute and packaging designs!
Forty UCAS Applications have been submitted to date, even though the deadline isn’t until mid January and many of our Year 13 students have already received five offers from Universities. Both boys and staff have worked tremendously hard to meet internal deadlines and there have been some outstanding Personal Statements.
Fund Raising - Congratulations to Matthew Mault who took the initiative and organised a Sixth Form Christmas Jumper Day, raising £120 for Save The Children. There were some “shockers” on display.
The terms ends next week with a look at Winter Solstice and understanding why we experience the longest night.
Pictures show some of the students making and testing their egg protection and parachutes. The winners were Adam and Theo in Year 7th the longest time airborne at 5.44 seconds and egg unbroken!
The Christmas celebration takes place on 18 December at 7.00 pm at the local Methodist Church, King Street, Maidenhead. Boys from Desborough will be showcasing their musical and acting talents with a drama performance, “Mr Wilson Finds Christmas”, solo items, carols, woodwind trio and a jazz band. The choir will also be performing. Mince pies and refreshments will be provided by the Friends of Desborough. You are most welcome to attend. In the New Year Year 9 will be supporting the Send My Friend To School Campaign , a campaign to get young people around the world into education, giving them the same opportunities to education that we have.
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Extra-Curricular Activities: Rugby There have been a number of sporting successes recently: The Under 12A Rugby Team won their group in the group stages of the rugby county cup competition on 22 November 2012 beating Charters A, Reading Bluecoat C, Maiden Erleigh B and drawing with LVS before being knocked out in the quarter finals to the eventual winners.
being run by the Schools Sports Partnership Community dance teacher. Boys will be performing at a dance festival held at the Magnet Leisure Centre in February. In the New Year, Year 9 boys will be involved in the “Send My Friend to School Campaign: a very worthwhile campaign which aim to promote education for young people around the world.
The first XV Rugby Team beat Borlase 17-7 and Furze Platt 30-0 in recent competitive fixtures. The U12 football team beat Dedworth 2-1. This month has seen the launch of two new extra-curricular activities: The Year 10 Boxing Club and the Year 7 Street Dancing Club which is
Basketball: Primary School Basketball Championships Funded by Sport England and a legacy to the Olympics, the competition is one of a series of events arranged by the Warriors Youth Programme and part of Desborough College’s on-going commitment to the local community. In the weeks leading up to the competition, a professional basketball coach has been running sessions in primary schools all across Maidenhead. A basketball academy has also been established. Six teams competed in the competition from Ellington, St Luke’s, Holy Trinity and Larchfield. The Desborough College Warriors Youth Programme 2012 Championship was won by Ellington School.
Having hosted this completion, worked with over 12 primary schools, run a 3x3 tournament in the summer and much more, Desborough College and the Warriors Youth Programme have now 1,0000 or more adults and juniors playing basketball—the start of a real legacy. Anybody who wishes to participate in basketball is welcome to the Basketball Academy at Desborough College running from 1.00 to 3.00 pm on Saturdays. For further information, please contact Mark Budge at markbudge@desboroughcollege.net.
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On behalf of the staff, Governors and sponsors of Desborough College, I would like to thank you for your support throughout 2012 and wish you a peaceful Christmas and happy 2013.
Desborough College Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 2QB Tel: 01628 634505 Fax: 01628 639263 E-Mail: info@desborough-college.net