DESBOROUGH COLLEGE
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
YEAR 13 DRAMA VISIT & BEST COMEDY AWARD
GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP
GERMAN EXCHANGE
PHYSICS IN ACTION
WORLD BOOK DAY
NUMERACY WEEK
SCIENCE WEEK
BATTLEFIELD
March 2016 Dear Parents/Carers Although relatively short, this term has been very busy with lots of things going on, some of which you can read about in this newsletter. There has been much to enjoy and for me one of the highlights was the annual Old Maidonians’ Dinner held at the golf club opposite school and attended by almost 100 ex-Desborough pupils and teachers. Colin Cutler, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday but would probably give me a 10 metre start and still beat me in a 100 metres race, organised the event with the help of Grahame Fisher the society's treasure. This was the fourth time that I have attended the dinner and on this occasion was privileged to be seated at the same table as Lord Hayward, The Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Councillor Eileen Quick and her husband, Mike Willoughby, Desborough's archivist, and Colin Edwards.
TOUR
OLD MAIDONIANS DINNER
BIOLOGY GENE TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP
DESFEST
YEAR 7 HOCKEY
TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT NEWS
ART & PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT NEWS
SAILING
SUC-
CESS
A PARENT’S VIEW OF DESBOROUGH
LEGACY GARDEN
LRC NEWS
SKI TRIP TO AUSTRIA
SUMMER SCHOOL 2016
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
For me, it's a rather humbling experience to follow in the footsteps of previous headmasters who include amongst their ranks graduates of Peterhouse, St Catharines and New College, men who commanded gun-boats, won the Distinguished Service Cross, sang at the Royal Albert Hall and won a Silver Wolf Award; men who became Magistrates, Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, were published authors and founded the Aero Club and the Europe Club; had played cricket for the MCC or carried out important research into the development of Radar. I never forget how privileged I am to be Desborough College’s 14th head teacher. Our school has a wonderful history and I am determined to play a part in ensuring that its future is every bit as successful. If you are an ex-pupil of Desborough and want to make contact with The Old Maidonians please email me and I will forward your name to Colin Cutler who will be delighted to hear from you. You will be aware by now of the surge in our popularity over recent years and this was reflected in the large increase of boys wanting to come here in September, 2016. This would not have happened without the hard work of my staff, teaching and non-teaching, and the support of my governors who give me encouragement, advice and support, and I want to take this opportunity to thank them all. Next term sees the beginning of the examinations season so I will take this opportunity to wish the boys Good Luck. Passing examinations requires a lot of hard work so please give them your full support throughout what is likely to be one of the most stressful periods in their lives to date. Have a lovely break!
Stratford-Upon-Avon Visit for Year 13 Drama Students
On Thursday 25 February, the Year 13 Drama group trekked up to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see the RSC’s latest production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Mrs Holyoake-Lloyd and Mrs Kirkpatrick in tow. This hilarious interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic comedy engrossed and amused our talented sixth form thespians, who agreed that the travelling and the late arrival home were all worth the effort! This production is unusual in the sense that it interweaves professional actors with amateurs as it tours around the country, which is an interesting concept for any aspiring artists. After extensive feasting at McDonalds and admiring of the picturesque riverside location, the students settled to a really enjoyable evening of entertainment. The performance was creative and magical throughout with fluent choreography and surreal lighting effects. The comic interpretation of Bottom was particularly amusing and much hilarity was had by all. The 1950’s style costumes were interesting, as was the multi-purpose, no expense spared set design. The Year 13 students are now fully set up for the completion of their Unit 4c examination where they need to compare a contemporary Shakespeare production with the original performance conditions and context. As always, behaviour on the trip was exemplary – well done Year 13 and good luck with your exam preparation! Mrs K Turner Curriculum Leader for Drama
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YEAR 13 PERFORMERS WIN
BEST COMEDY AWARD
Norden Farm Centre for the Arts recently hosted a week-long festival of one-act plays from local youth and adult groups, with comments each evening from professional adjudicator Jennifer Scott Reid. There were 17 performances in total, with Desborough’s contribution presented as Saturday evening’s finale. The whole experience gave our Year 13 students a taste of all the elements of professional theatre: behind the scenes etiquette, use of their own dressing room and green room, use of professional lighting and sound equipment, strict allocation of time for the technical rehearsal and preparation of set, all encouraging an efficient and professional work ethic. Enduring many late night rehearsals with Mrs Holyoake-Lloyd, the performers rekindled their hilarious performance of Jon Godber’s ‘Bouncers’ from their AS performance examination in May 2015. As a reward for their dedication and hard work, the students were awarded The John Rigg Trophy for Best Comedy. A big thank you must go to Mrs Holyoake-Lloyd for organising the entry into this prestigious competition and to all the students for their hard work, creativity and humour. The play points fun at the immorality of urban nightlife surrounding the Mr Cinder’s nightclub, but also presents more serious messages about morality. The four performers amused and engaged the audience through the use of comic exaggerated style, but also provoked a deeper level of thought through their moments of social commentary. The actors’ crisp, high energy and well-timed choreography was hilarious as they multi-rolled, alternating between the alpha-male Bouncers, the hedonistic Lads and the promiscuous Girls, presenting moral anarchy at every turn. The adjudicator commented positively on the total commitment of the performers, the engagement with the audience, the sophisticated sense of comic timing, the energy, precision and creative choreography. In fact, Ms Scott Reid could hardly find fault with the show! A massive well done to Tom Downey, Dan Henshaw, Sam Hoxley, Joe Moore and Tom Judd (the group’s talented technician and stage hand). The students received their award from the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Cllr Eileen Quick, with polite modesty and were outstanding ambassadors for Desborough College and the Performing Arts. The impressive glass trophy (which we had to prise away from the boys before they filled it with champagne or beer!) will be displayed in the college for one year. Finally, a big thank you to Aine Kelleher for helping to construct the set and to James Ayres-Turner for transporting it to and from the theatre.
Mrs Turner—Curriculum Leader for Drama
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Drama Photos
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Geography Field Trip to Norfolk On Monday the 29 of February the eighteen poor souls who study AS Geography embarked on a fieldtrip that was to stretch them to their limit. The destination North Norfolk, the weather atrocious, the workload gruelling. This trip was to be the making of them. Many students arrived on the coach under the illusion they were going on a seaside holiday. They were not, and so it proved. By the end of the week, after 9pm finishes every night and a constant battle with the elements they renamed the trip ‘labour camp’. That said there were plenty of highlights. On the first full day the pupils experienced the full force of coastal fieldwork as they battled against torrential rain and a near constant Arctic wind. Nevertheless, showing a resilience that marks all true geographers they resolutely and diligently worked through it. Up and down five beaches they scurried collecting all kinds of exciting data; measuring pebbles, throwing apples in the sea, counting waves and of course, measuring the size and slope of the beach. Who knew Geography could be this fun? Following days brought further joy as the students investigated the town of Cromer. The students enjoyed visiting the ‘pier of the year 2015’ and gorging themselves on fish and chips and sweets until their hearts content. Nonetheless they all left with the impression that Cromer had seen better days and needed rebranding. A feeling reinforced by the complete absence of people under 50 in the town. Other trip highlights included visiting a rare wetland ecosystem, trudging through marshes and better still asking members of the public questionnaires! The trip was capped off by a visit to the thriving city of Norwich. The students all rated Norwich highly and capitalised on a short window for some retail therapy, thus ending the trip on a high. Most importantly though, the students were extremely well equipped by the trip for their summer exams. It might have been tough, but they enjoyed it and it was worth it.
Mr Collins—Head of Geography and Economics
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German Exchange - The Return Leg Es war fabelhaft……to see our German exchanges once again. Our week was filled with fun and whizzed by. We immediately took up where we left off and planned lots of activities together between the groups for the evenings and weekends – this was combined with the programme already in place for our partners which was a London trip Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then two full school days on Tuesday and Thursday shadowing us and participating in our lessons together. It was a brilliant week, we found out shared passions such as football and Reading, losing to Crystal Palace, brought a tear to Jo and his partner Lasse’s eyes when they went to the match together. Elliot treated Niklas to blue raspberry liquorice which Niklas said he loved at Hardy’s sweet shop in Windsor. Samis’ partner Niklas found out that he loves a full English breakfast and Jake’s partner Luca enjoyed scones with jam and cream with Jake’s Nan! The final party was hosted at Newlands and was an energetic evening full of dancing and stories, the conga even appearing at one point! The Exchange was over and there were tearful goodbyes at the airport. But we are told faithfully by Ms Gerber that the letters for the Exchange 2016 will be on their way out to the year 10 and 11 of 2016 very soon! Bis nächstes Mal! Sami Boulos and Jake Milston—Year 10
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Physics in Action On March 11, I was very glad to be able to take our Year 12 Physics classes to a day of lectures at the IoE in London, called 'Physics in Action'. We had a range of talks, some about the kind of Physics the students have already seen in Year 12, some about brand new applications of some fairly simple ideas to new medical situations, and some time for revision tips. Clearly the best talk was from Professor Clare Ewell, who works in Medical Physics at UCL. Her group was asked to develop a way to monitor brain activity and development in very young, or even very premature babies. She has since developed a non-invasive use of laser light which allows doctors to monitor brain activity in real time, even on pre-term babies. The same technology has since been used to track brain development in children, with a particular emphasis on early diagnosis of problems due to malnutrition (a system now being used around the world) and to spot signs of Autism months or years before it can currently be noticed. It was one of the best talks I have ever seen, and a genuine privilege for our students to hear it. While some of the other talks were less useful - our group was way ahead of the speaker attempting to give revision tips - our group all said the day was well worth it, as was the brief tour round the weird and wonderful Wellcome collection on the way back to the station. We should also thank Peter Norris, the Physics technician, for giving his time to come along with the group. Mr Hill—Head of Physics
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World Book Day The 3 March saw our annual celebration of World Book Day where we all dress up as literary characters to celebrate our love of literature and fiction. Assemblies were held during the week and Kritpac Dzimba, Aden Choudary, Max Baker, Elkan Dillon, Charles Aldridge, delighted us by reading extracts from their favourite books. Thank you all for your support as we raised £151 on the day which will be spent on new purchases for the library. Mr Frazer delighted us with his “Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum” outfit which he has kindly donated to the library to raffle to raise more funds. Tickets will be on sale after Easter for 50p a ticket to win the outfit.
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World Book Day Continued ….. Also, as part of the World Book Day celebrations and with collaboration from RBWM we were delighted to host the author Morris Gleitzman. He has written a number of books but is best known for his series of books about two children in Poland during World War Two. Despite having been unwell he explained how he had become a writer and the importance of letting the characters come alive in your head before writing them on paper. He talked about his book Loyal Creatures which he was asked to write originally as a play to tell the story of the Australian horses that went to Egypt and Palestine as part of World War One. His friend Michael Morpurgo asked him to write the script to compliment the National Theatre’s production of War Horse. Thousands of horses were taken overseas to war. They did not return. Ms Hutchison said: “Morris Gleitzman was excellent and the boys responded with a whole host of thoughtful questions, impressing the author and the visitors from the RBWM, who all commented on their outstanding behaviour and enthusiasm. I know Morris Gleitzman's 'Once' series are becoming a firm favourite in the LRC.”
A Hallissey School Librarian @DesboroughLRC
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Numeracy Week with the Business Department It was only a matter of time before Numeracy Week reached the Business Studies Department, with our Year 11 students benefiting from a talk from Andrew Parker, a Business Development Manager at CISCO (the global leader in networking), on the topic of mathematics in business and beyond. This talk gave the boys lots to consider, reaffirming the importance of numeracy across all subjects, and indeed industries. Richard managed to touch upon many of the financial topics that our boys have learnt about in class, including cash-flow forecasting, profit and loss as well as product life-cycles and trade barriers. Richard also brought some props to his talk, including a billion dollars (albeit a billion Zimbabwean dollars) to help explain the concept of hype-inflation. Thanks must go to Mrs Morgan for including us in her Numeracy Week line-up, and to Richard for taking the time out of his busy day. Mr D Clawson Curriculum Leader for Business Studies
Here you can see Rayyan and Victory taking the opportunity to get up close and
personal
with a billion dollars.
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Numeracy Week—14 to 18 March Over the last couple of years, 14 March has been adopted as the International Pi day. This has now resulted in a lot of mathematical educational activities taking place in the middle of March. This year, Desborough College joined in with the whole week centred on Numeracy. The objective of this initiative was two fold. Firstly, pupils need to become more aware of the place that numeracy occupies in other subjects – the value of statistical analysis to guide choices or support arguments; the use of percentages across all subjects; the importance of understanding proportions in art, but also science or food tech (mixing quantities), the application of algebra in sciences (use of formula), etc. Secondly, mathematics sometimes comes across as a repetitive subject that you either “get or don’t get”, so this week was also to demonstrate that this was a very inaccurate perception. This second goal was addressed by inviting external speakers to share their experience with most year groups or deliver hands-on workshops. Pupils had the opportunity to work as teams, communicate, and very importantly develop their ability to persevere. The list of events that took place includes: Monday: The Magic of Maths: a mixture of magic and maths show delivered to Year 7, Year 8 and 9, and some primary schools in the afternoon; Tuesday: During registration, final year PhD student Lisa Adjei (University of Surrey – Department of Physiology) addressed Year 9, 10 and 11 in assembly about maths skills. As her opening statement was: “Did you know that there is dating age equation? For males, this is half your age add 7”. The hall went silent and one could observe the typical eye movement of pupils engaged in mental maths. Our guest speaker then continued by sharing everyday usage of mathematics – from the real cost of high interest loans (how many times will you repay what you borrowed?) to the (mis-)use of statistics (we all remember the news headline comparing the risk of eating bacon and smoking). Following this very interesting and engaging talk, Year 9 took part in a maths competition in the morning and Year 10 in the afternoon. Did the pupils enjoy such an activity? Let’s say that enthusiastic year 9 pupils asked their maths teacher in form if they could look at one of the puzzles from the competition again before suggesting a challenge with Year 10 at a similar event. They will have to wait until the summer term though. Wednesday: Mr Richard Parker, Business Development & Finance Partner at Cisco Capital visited a year 11 Business class to explain how maths is pivotal to making decisions in industry. The topics he included ranged from interest rates and loans (%), fluctuation caused by currencies to strategic thinking, building an argument following the rigorous thinking that mathematical proof requires. Thursday: Cambridge’s NRICH Millennium Roadshow established camp in the hall for the day, with Year 7 classes taking turn to discover the enjoyment of mathematical thinking through logical games. Everyone remained focused while having a lot of fun, working in pairs, making decisions on their choice of activities and most importantly, solving problems while working independently. In addition to these unusual activities set up by the maths team, many other subjects joined in. For example, English completed statistical analysis of texts, to see how to quantify the quality of writing, Languages (including English) included a focus on civilisation and culture by reading texts about important mathematicians, art challenged pupils to reproduce colours by the percentage of colour content. Overall, pupils and teachers alike enjoyed this unusual week
Mrs Morgan—Maths Teacher
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Numeracy Week Continued …... Quotes from Students:“I enjoyed Magic in Maths, especially the riddles that make you think more. The magic square was amazing!” “The NRICH Roadshow was great. I liked the Tower of Hanoi because I like puzzles and it included a lot of thinking. It was challenging!” “I enjoyed, in French, that we learnt the numbers by doing operations. We hadn’t done that yet and it was fun.” “I enjoyed most the Maths Magic assembly, because it made me see maths differently.” “I enjoyed the English lessons for maths this week because we wrote a poem but the first line had 1 word, the second line had 2 words, the third line had 3 words, and so on.” ——————————————“This week at Desborough, we have been celebrating Maths and Science Week. A visitor from Cambridge University came to talk to us about ‘NRICH’, a site that has a lot of fun maths games and activities to do with maths. The skills she wanted us to improve on were communication (we were in pairs) and perseverance (we had difficult tasks that took lots of time). She came with a lot of interactive games like a bunch of tetris blocks that could be put together to form a cube and random shapes that could fit together to form a square. There was a particularly difficult and interesting activity that involved teacups and saucers; what you had to do was place the teacups so that none of the same teacups were on the same row or column. There was also a harder challenge for it to do the same with the saucers as well as the cups. There were a lot more, but that was the best and hardest puzzle by far as only one group of year 7 managed to solve it! Overall, I think everyone had a very fun time as well as learning some useful skills in maths.” Nathaniel Harlow and Jack Wong—Year 7
Numeracy week was also an opportunity to revisit an essential skill developed in primary school, but that cost precious minutes and marks at GCSE: 100 timetable questions in 10 minutes (x1 to x12 - plenty of time!). Last results are still being entered, but our current winner is in Year 8: he completed the 100 questions in… 1 min 20 seconds! Yes, you have read this correctly! Very impressive indeed.
Would you like to have some fun at home? Try the Cookie Jar strategy game at home, or on the move. You will find instructions at nrich.maths.org/2656/ index
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Numeracy Week Photos
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Science Week—14 to 18 March Science week took place at the same time as numeracy week this year and as a result there were an awful lot of events going on! The Science Department organised challenges for the KS3 boys. Year 8 were asked to build a catapult in teams of 6, something they found quite tricky! However, 6 groups did manage to make one that worked. For year 7 we asked them to build the tallest tower they could with 100g of spaghetti and a handful of marshmallows. The boys used their understanding of forces to find the shapes best able to hold their own weight. A lot of triangles were used, and the winning team reached a staggering height of 81cm! Alongside this we had Simon Spiro, a vet and molecular biologist at the Pirbright Institute, who came to give a talk to both year groups and demonstrated how to extract DNA from strawberries using washing up liquid and alcohol. Science Club members then proceeded to try it out the next day and managed to extract the genetic information from strawberries and kiwis. Jose Brito in Year 7 is pictured with his result. Miss Moore—Science Teacher
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Battlefield Tour 2016 It was an early start for 40 pupils as we set off on a trip to Belgium and France. Accompanied by Mrs Murphy, Mr Bromley, Mrs White and Mr Jones, we travelled by coach and arrived in France mid-morning and made our first visit of the day: the death cells of Poperinge. The walls of these cells are covered with carvings by soldiers who had spent their last nights in the cells and were awaiting death by firing squad the following morning. After this sombre visit we went onto Talbot House or Toc-H as the British soldiers nicknamed it. Toc-H was an everyman’s club where soldiers spent their free time in Belgium. Later we visited Hill 62, a British World War I trench site. Here we spent time wading through the trenches and tunnels filled with mud and then visited the museum packed with memorabilia from the war. We then checked into our accommodation, found out who we were sharing rooms with and had our first meal in Belgium. During the second day of the trip we visited cemeteries, museums and memorials. The Thiepval Memorial, dedicated to 72,195 British and South African soldiers who were lost or killed in the Somme was very impressive. We made sure to visit Delville Wood for our South African contingent too. At Vimy Ridge we were given a tour of the underground tunnels which was very interesting as it showed us the tunnel relay system which was used to fight against the German army as well as taking wounded soldiers and equipment to and from the front line. After a quick dinner back at our accommodation we attended an emotional Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. During the ceremony three students, Zander Dumas, Alex Wallis-Banbury and Nick Rowe laid a wreath on behalf of Desborough College in recognition of the pupils who gave their lives during the war. We then returned to the hotel to hold a birthday celebration for one of the Year 9 students. On our third and final day we visited Tyne Cot where 11,000 soldiers are buried, 8000 of them unknown, and then Langemarck German Cemetery which is dedicated to the German soldiers that died and contrasted starkly with the commonwealth sites we had visited. We also visited the Passendaele Memorial Museum and dugouts t and experienced a glimpse of what life would be like as a soldier in the First World War. Then we took part in an art workshop. Everyone made their own clay soldier, which will be linked to a casualty who died in Belgium during the First World War and be placed in an art installation in 2018. We then had time to explore Leper and visited the local chocolate shops. Zander Dumas, Takashi Fujimoto, Austin Heath and Raza Rashid – Year 10
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Battlefield Tour Photos
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Old Maidonians’ Association Annual Reunion Dinner Class of 2010:James McGill Joe Heaton Michael Liberty Ed Challis Myles Faulkner Henry King
Shane McKenna—Head Boy Raj Mahil—Head Girl
On the 18 March, the Old Maidonians’ met for their annual dinner at Maidenhead Golf Club. The Old Maids comprise of ex-pupils of Desborough College and all former pupils are eligible to join. The history of Desborough as a school is long and illustrious, and Colin Cutler, the current President of the Association was even a pupil at the school in 1936! After a superb dinner, Colin Cutler and the Mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead spoke, as well as Mr Frazer . Reference was made in Mr Frazer’s speech to the book written by a former teacher at the school, Dai Evans, entitled “100 Not Out” and he called upon Mr Evans to bring the history of the school up to the present day. For many of the former pupils and teachers, it was an opportunity to share stories and reminisce on their time at Desborough and this is clearly an annual occasion that everyone looks forward to. It was great to see a contingent from the Class of 2010, some of whom I had the pleasure to teach! Mrs Eaves—Senior Assistant Principal 17
Sixth Form Biology Gene Technology Workshop —18 March We were very pleased to welcome back Dr Safina Khan from Royal Holloway University, who ran a Workshop on DNA technology. The day started with a lecture explaining the background to genetic engineering in plants. This was followed by a practical activity where students were first briefed on the process of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (known as PCR for short!) and then set up plant DNA samples using micropipettes so that they could be loaded into a thermal cycler (PCR) machine. An hour later, the machine had enabled millions of copies of DNA to be made. Students then took these samples and carefully loaded them onto a gel for electrophoresis to take place. This separated the DNA fragments allowing for observation under a special lightbox where the DNA fragments glow and can be analysed. Both Year 13 A Level Biology and BTEC Applied Science groups took part in the experience and the students really enjoyed the sessions which will help them with their forthcoming exams and asssignments. Mr Brockett—Curriculum Leader for Biology
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Desfest 2016 On Friday 18 March the Music BTEC 6th form pupils arranged, organised and performed in a large scale event called Desfest. It was part of their coursework unit to prepare for a live music concert, but not only did the boys do an amazing job in planning the concert but also their great performances. There was approximately 110 people watching and enjoying the night, from Year 9 to Year 13 students. Local schools came to see the performers ranging from Altwood, Newlands and Cox Green schools. Host Wayne Dixon, did an amazing job to get the crowd excited and he even treated them to a rap performance of his own! The 4 bands were Connor Lee and the 6th, Frazer Marchant North, The Vibe and Uninfluenced. Connor Lee opened the show with his soulful country blues style vocal and guitar playing, leading a set of about 40 minutes of material that consisted of his own compositions and a mix of reggae and soul, as well as a tribute to David Bowie. He really showed how versatile a performer he is and his vocals were amazing. He had help from backing singers Roma and Michelle too. Frazer followed with his set of funk jazz pieces on saxophone, he entertained everyone with some blues classics, he played really well and the crowd especially liked his version of uptown funk! Ezekial and Thulani’s 40 minute set of rap hip hop and grime followed, where Thulani entertained the crowd with his rapping and keyboard skills and Ezekial’s solid drumming helped provide a groove and vibe that created a massive buzz in the room. The boys had help from other pupils, including ex pupil Andy Barr on keys. The final band were Uninfluenced- Sam and Conor, they both played really well a range of rock and metal tunes, some of their own too. Tom and Richard played well with the band too. The whole evening was a big success and was enjoyed by all visitors, staff and Desborough pupils. We managed to raise £240 for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Ms Fitzgerald’s charity of choice, an impressive amount. I am very proud of the pupils who took part and want to say a big well done for the whole event. I look forward to the next one! Miss Smith-Phelps—Curriculum Leader for Music
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Year 7 Hockey The Year 7 Hockey team have made huge strides over the past few weeks and this has culminated in them making the regional competition which will take place on Tuesday 22 March at Reigate Grammar School. This will see the boys test themselves against the best schools in the south of the country. The boys got to this stage via the Berkshire County Cup where they overcame the best schools in Berkshire to triumph in a tournament which was full of independent schools, a huge achievement in itself. The following boys represented the school in the Berkshire County Cup: Charles Mulford, Finn Bainbridge, Zak Kayani, Josh Hills, Vinnie Moore, Tyler Leonard, Charles Rycroft, Jonathan Brew, Lewis Nash, Leo Wilkinson, Josh Crook, Owen Herne-Smith, Connor Mc Govern, Ben Hone, Ishaan Joshi and Haris Nijjer. Good luck to the boys selected to represent Desborough College at the regional competition. Mr Brar – PE Teacher
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Technology Department News Years 7, 8 and 9 We have begun designing and making our toy aeroplanes this term with Year 7 which has been really great fun so far! Year 8’s are designing clocks out of pine wood and some have started manufacturing already! Watch this space. Our Key Stage 3 classes have also been working on designs for the quiet area in the playground. They are hoping to have their design chosen to be developed in the school over the summer Key Stage 4 and GCSE GCSE Product Design and Resistant Materials students have been flat out working on their coursework pieces. Many of them looked at storage solutions, furniture, lamp and clock design. The classes have been working on these pieces in lessons, after school and on Saturday workshops to complete them in time for their deadlines. We have been really happy with the outcomes of this work seeing some great designs come to life. Some of the products are shown below. We will be hosting an exhibition of the work in June so look out for your invitation to see these wonderful pieces of work
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Technology News Continued ... Key Stage 5 Product Design Year 12 and 13 Product Design students have also been very busy with their final pieces. They are almost complete and have designed and manufactured tables, chairs, desks and benches. There are a few pictures below and more will be displayed in the June exhibition! Many of our students are applying to university and looking into design in College which is really exciting to see.
To keep up to date with what is going on in Design Technology follow us on Twitter! @DesboroughDT
Miss Kelleher—Curriculum Leader for Technology
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A short, but hectic term for the Art & Photography Department where students have been getting to grips with the Exam titles “Past, Present and/or Future” and “Truth, Fantasy & Fiction”. Yr13 (images below) have been impressing our Twitter followers with their high quality observational drawing and painting skills. Jack Tedham (Yr13) has chosen to focus on mechanical objects and tonal pencil drawing. Robert Ash (Yr13) started his studies on the conflict between Science and Religion through architecture. Finally, Joe Pilcher (Yr13) is developing portraiture work inspired by contemporary artist Louie Jover and his emotive portraits of women. Yr10 students deserve a special mention for their continued perseverance learning new and difficult techniques through their natural form project. Keep going!
Jack Tedham (Yr13)
Robert Ash (Yr13)
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Joe Pilcher (Yr13)
Vansh Singhal Yr8
Josh Hills Yr7 This term Years 7,8,9 focused upon refining their final outcomes from their introductory project. Year 7 demonstrated precise observation of a cactus pot, as in this example by Josh Hills. Year 8 have finished their module linking Art with Science with these bright oil pastel cell-inspired studies based on the artists Karen Kamenetszky. In a highly competitive homework, the department was also impressed by the creative and inventive responses to the “Cell Model Challenge” – we even had tasty cakes!
Nathan Jefferys Yr8
Yr8 Cell Models
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Finally, a special mention to two Year r13 Photographers who have grown in maturity with their techniques, interpretations and presentation of their work. Sam Cox is exploring the topic “Truth, Fantasy, Fiction� through his investigations of mysterious woodlands and lighting effects. Here, the subtle use of smoke and torch light show technical maturity and sensitivity to composition. Peter Pretty has made significant progress this term, producing a strong coursework module focusing on abstract investigations of the natural landscape. His work shows a mature, graphical quality that would not look out of place on a record cover! His most recent investigations focus on distortion and reflections, as shown in these early tests using glass, mirrors ink. Looking forward to seeing more high quality work after Easter!
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Sailing Success for Desborough Student Congratulations to Leo Wilkinson in Year 7 for his success with sailing. Recently, Leo recently took part in a national sailing event, which was the first event since September, which was held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (the Olympic sailing venue). This is the first national event which Leo has taken part in on the sea and the conditions were very challenging and extremely cold. Leo has spent many hours training, including being away on training camps most weekends throughout the winter, and club racing when he has been at home. Leo won the trophy for 3rd male in the Topper 4.2 fleet and prize for 4th overall, despite a death role in the 4th race.
Well done Leo!
Parent View of Desborough College “My lad arrived at Desborough this year with more than a little trepidation. His 11+ hadn’t quite gone the way we’d hoped and the surefire second choice where a majority of his friends were heading wasn’t nearly as surefire as we’d thought! We’d both heard a rousing, even compelling speech from the Head about Desborough’s ‘new direction,’ but he would say that wouldn’t he? Six months down the track and I have no idea what either of us were worried about, he’s quite simply as happy as Larry! Our son is part of a close-knit huddle of friends who already seem as though they’ve known each other for ever. He’s part of a football and hockey squad having the season of their lives, he’s found a librarian who’s convinced him that reading is very worthwhile and English, Art & Geography teacher who have fuelled a hitherto hidden love of the arts (where once maths and science reigned supreme). There is so much more I can say but I’ll conclude by adding that Desborough is quite possibly the best decision we didn’t make – so don’t be swayed by idle chat or old history – go and have a look for yourselves! Ian Hills—Member of the Academy Advisory Board
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Opening of Desborough’s Legacy Garden The Desborough Legacy are proud to announce the opening of "The Legacy Garden". The Grand Opening took place on Saturday 20 February and we had the pleasure of Colin Cuttler (President, Old Maids Association) and Deibo Bowry (member of the AAB) officially opening it in time for the start of the school term. The garden now has two table tennis tables, table football and one pool table. The garden also accommodates a large seating area for the students as well as providing an area for board games. The Desborough Legacy would like to say a huge thank you to the following sponsors, without them this dream would not have been possible:The Spoore Merry Rixman Foundation Gibbs and Dandy Cavendish Building Services Ltd SC Plumbing
K&G Gibbards Construction Ltd Thames Valley Landscapes George Lines BG Electrical Ltd
Thank you also to Alison Hallissey, the School Librarian who has a Diploma in garden design for giving up her free time in drawing the plans and assisting with the design of the Legacy Garden. Mr Ayres-Turner—Site Manager
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LRC News: Year 9 Teenage Writing Trip The LRC and English Department took some Year 9s who enjoy writing to an annual teenage writing conference at Leighton Park School. We were treated to an array of talks and question and answer sessions with some young adult authors. There were also writing workshops in the afternoon. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the day. Tanya Landman’s (last year’s winner of the Carnegie Children’s Book Award) workshop had everybody working hard as she guided us through creating a murder mystery story. I think we were all surprised how the techniques she suggested allowed the imagination in our heads to pour so easily onto paper. It left us with many ideas to use back at school.
“It was a great experience for all that attended whether you plan to do writing in future or not. We met different authors (Tanya Landman, Julian Sedgwick and a few more). As well as this we took part in different workshops: the one I went to was a murder mystery workshop by Tanya Landman where we learnt how to plan the perfect murder. In the breaks we were allowed to visit the conference bookshop and buy books and possibly get them signed. Overall it was a great trip and I would definitely recommend it for next year.” By Tom Hodgson—Year 9
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Year 9 Teenage Writing Trip Continued ... “On Monday 7 March, a few Year 9’s attended a writing conference at Leighton Park School, Reading. We listened to talks from authors Tanya Landman, Julian Sedgewick, Holly McNish and “Gillian Cross. They talked about what inspired them to write and specifically what they wrote about. We then got spilt up into groups where we had a creative writing workshop. My workshop was held by Neill Cameron who talked about the enjoyment of drawing comics and what makes then so thrilling to read. We had to choose two random things that don’t really go together and start drawing them. E.g. A Cowboy and a Penguin! We also had the opportunity to buy books at the bookshop. I enjoyed it because it helps me a lot with my creative writing.” By Sameer Latif “On Monday 7 March a few of us went to Leighton Park, a school in Reading, to attend a writing conference, where some authors came to talk about their books and how they wrote them. The authors there were: Tanya Landman, Julian Sedgwick , Holly McNish a performance poet and Gillian Cross. After they spoke to us about their new books and told us how they were inspired to write, we split up into groups and did separate workshops with them. I was with Gillian Cross. In that workshop we learnt how to develop a character and a story using the character. After the workshop was over we went back to the main hall to hear some extracts from stories other children had written for a competition on dangerous books and we listened to some poetry from Holly McNish. After that it was the end of the day. I enjoyed the day as it taught me different things about writing fiction stories. It also helped me as experienced writers were giving us tips about how to improve our writing.” By Raja Khan
Young Person’s Funding Scheme Simon Freak in Year 10 and the LRC applied to the Young Person’s Funding Scheme to run our own Young Adult Writing Convention but unfortunately, despite receiving 22% of the vote we came second and missed out. Many thanks to all of you who voted and asked friends and family too. However, as we really believe in running this project we are bidding for funding from the Borough’s new School Participatory Budget Scheme that supports individual projects within schools. If we are shortlisted then we will be asking for your support again to vote for us. A Hallissey School Librarian @DesboroughLRC
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LRC News: Chess Tournament 2016
Tom Hodgson in Year 9 has done a fabulous job helping to run the chess tournament this year, setting up the competition, advertising and refereeing. Here are his thoughts: “This year’s chess tournament didn’t go quite to plan with some dropouts and jump-ins but we made it to the end and after weeks of matches we finally have our winner: Maxim Wenninger from Year 8. He managed to beat Mr Nicholas and our runner up Tobias Bark (year 10). In the match against Mr Frazer, Maxim won within half an hour and was awarded his certificate, trophy and prize money of just over £20.” Thank you to all the participants and if you would like to join in next January make sure you sign up. In the meantime chess is available to play along with Scrabble in the LRC all year round. A Hallissey School Librarian @DesboroughLRC
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Ski Trip to Austria 49 Desborough College boys will be jetting off to Austria, well not quite, 21 hours on a coach to Austria for the Ski trip over the Easter break! And in preparation, the boys who have never skied have had the opportunity to try their hand on the slopes at “The Snow Centre” in Hemel Hempstead. Run over six different visits the boys have learnt the basic skills to give them a head start for the real deal, or at least attempted to! For some, it’s been like a duck taking to water, for others, more like Bambi on ice! Either way, it’s been the perfect opportunity to get a feel of what’s to come, interact with boys from different year groups and really get excited for what’s going to be, a fantastic trip! I’m already looking forward to reporting back in the next newsletter! Mr Hall—Raising Achievement Leader
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Transform Summer School for 2016 The 2016-17 intakes are invited to attend the Transform Summer School at Desborough College during the last week of the summer holidays. Designed to aid the transition from primary to secondary education, Transform Summer School really does what it says on the tin, and transforms young people into secondary school students before they embark on a new chapter in their lives as part of the Desborough College community. Designed and delivered with our school ethos in mind, “Enjoy, Compete, Achieve,” the programme builds confidence, reduces anxieties and eliminates those “first day nerves” so the boys arrive and hit the ground running from day one. As expected, the programme is proving very popular and in the space of one week, over 50% of the available places have been secured! So if you’re reading this, and you have a son that has made a great choice in choosing Desborough College, then make sure you secure his place on this year’s summer school ASAP! Mr A Hall—Raising Achievement Leader
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Information for Parents DESBOROUGH COLLEGE TRAVEL PLAN As our school continues to grow due to its increased popularity, we are very conscious of the need to identify measures to reduce the weight of traffic outside the school (on Shoppenhangers Road) and on our premises. The security and safety of our pupils is of the utmost importance to us, and we also want to make it easier and safer for them to walk and cycle to and from school. In the coming weeks we will be conducting surveys among our student body, as well as parents and staff at the school, in order to come up with a Travel Plan that will achieve these goals. Mrs Eaves—Senior Assistant Principal
Homework Club All students are welcome to attend Homework Club which takes place Monday-Friday from 3.15 until 5.00 pm in Room B10. Maths Sixth Form Tutors attend the session every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Examination Season 2016 Please note the official examination season commences on 3 May to 28 June 2016.
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The Education Fellowship Competition
Following the launch of the Fellowship inter-academy competitions, The Education Fellowship have provided some information about a competition available and how to take part. We would encourage as many people as possible to take part and would ask you to look at the link below to our website for further information.
http://www.desborough.org.uk/Two-competitions-from-TEF
Please note the deadline for the Short Story Competition is:12 April 2016
Swimming at Newlands’ Girls School Over the Easter holidays Newlands have plans for swimming pool activities at their school. They also have children’s swimming lessons available on the weekend, and a few spaces on a Tuesday after school, lessons are for children over 4 years old. If you are interested, please contact Alan Price, School Pool Manager on 01628 502641 or by email at alanprice@newlandsgirls.co.uk
Parentview Gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think about Desborough It would be helpful if you could share your views of Desborough College with Ofsted. Please visit the website below even if you have done this previously.
http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/ 34
Vacancy
EXAM INVIGILATOR Required for May 2016 SCP 7 (£8.69 per hour) We are seeking to recruit members of our local community to join our examinations team as Exam Invigilators. External Invigilators are required to invigilate both internal and external exams throughout the academic year. Days and hours are variable and applicants will be required to work on an ad-hoc basis, dependent on the exam cycle. The successful applicant will need to be:
Available for part-time work during busy school examination periods Punctual and reliable Able to use common sense and initiative Able to adopt a firm but fair approach Have an eye for accuracy and attention to detail
To apply for this post applicants are invited to submit an Application Form to nicolahumphries@desborough-college.net. The Application Form and further information can be found on our website at www.desborough.org.uk under the Vacancies Section. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.
Closing Date: 15 April 2016
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Free £400 for Lunchtime Hot Meals If you are in receipt of state benefits or you work less than 16 hours per week with a family income below £16,190, your son may be entitled to free schools meals. This can provide you with more than £400 per child for free lunchtime meals in school. We believe that the FSM is a crucial entitlement to help ensure that all children, independent of their family income should be able to get a nutritious meal in the middle of the day. They also have important health and educational benefits for the children that receive them. All school providers are encouraged to introduce cashless systems so that children in receipt of FSM get this funding automatically. This was one of the reasons to improve our catering service. To complete an Application Form on-line press ctrl and click on the link below:-
https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/mwschools/ If you have any further questions, please contact the school on 01628 634505
Cashless Catering for Students Desborough has now introduced cashless catering for all our students and staff. Desborough College is working in partnership with Catering Academy to ensure a healthier delivery of food to all its students and staff. Our dining room is open from breakfast onwards and offers hot and cold drinks, snacks, and home cooked meals created by the chef on our site. Samples of the Catering Academy menus can be found on the school website. Once your child is registered for our cashless catering system just follow the instructions on our website for the sQuid online payment system, and your child will be able to buy food in our dining room without the worry of remembering to ensure they have cash with them. The cashless facility has allowed us to provide the students with a quicker service as no money and change is being handled. Please be aware that there is no cash facility at the tills.
http://www.desborough.org.uk/sQUID-Online-Payments
Next Principal’s Surgery Parents wishing to have a private conversation with me about any issues relating to school are invited to attend my Principal’s surgery. The next one will be held on 6 May 2016 from 8 am to 11 am. These sessions are 10 minute slots. If you wish to have a longer conversation then please book a separate appointment via Nicola Humphries on 01628 762521.
Desborough College Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 2QB Tel: 01628 634505 Fax: 01628 639263 E-Mail: info@desborough-college.net
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Desborough Legacy Dear Parent / Carer Desborough Legacy is a combination of teachers and parents who have come together to raise money to buy additional resources for all of our boys. All parents and staff at Desborough are automatic members. Our last event raised £1500 and we are in the process of planning further events for the current academic year, these will be publicised shortly. There are a number of ways that you can get involved:Join the Legacy – we meet once per half term for 1 hour – please contact us on the above email address for more information.Support Legacy events by manning a stall or attending the event – contact kathrynjames96@gmail.com to see how you can help. Make a donation to Desborough Legacy on the form below – all funds will go directly towards improving facilities and resources for the boys. This is an annual donation and we suggest £2 per month. We are a charity, so please tick Gift Aid if you are a UK tax payer as this will mean we can claim the tax back on the donation. We are currently fundraising to improve the outdoor areas and install some equipment so the boys have more lunchtime activities. As we raise funds from donations and events, we will publish what we do with those funds i.e. where your money is spent. We are asking all parents to complete the form below to either pledge your help, make a donation or both! DESBOROUGH LEGACY ANNUAL DONATION 2015 -2016 Please return this form to the school office for the attention of Kathryn James. STUDENT NAME:___________________________________FORM:_____________________ I would like to make a donation for the current academic year of £30.00 payable to Friends of Desborough School I would like to set up a standing order of £2 per month: HSBC 90559261 40-31-05 I am a UK tax payer and would like to make a Gift Aid declaration. I would like to join the Legacy team. I am able to help at events My contact number is ____________________Email address: ________________________
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