Gryphon School Newsletter

15893 - Newsletter_13778 Gryphon - Newsletter 13/03/2013 16:13 Page 1

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News 2

Trips 5

Sixth Form 7

Gryphon Spring 2013

Photograph courtesy of the Western Gazette

Our talented Year 8 The Gryphon School gets Rights Respecting Accreditation UNICEF assessors have just visited the School to assess us as a Rights Respecting School.

They have given us their Level 1 Award. The assessors were delighted with our work in this area and The Gryphon School is now accredited as a Rights Respecting School. We have exceeded their expectations in informing the whole school about the UNCRC (United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child) and the school having a Rights Respecting ethos.

Naomi Dolbear and Tegan Evans

A group of Year 8 students performed this term in front of over a hundred of their family and friends and a panel of judges. The Year 8 Has Got Talent competition took place in the Quarr Hall where the atmosphere was jovial and supportive tinged with a sense of excitement.

There were 16 acts displaying a wide variety of talents, from comedy to musical interludes, dancing and singing. The evening was compered

by Maddie Webster-Harris, Caroline Hawkins and Charlie Rohde who were all naturals at introducing the acts. All the acts were impressive and entertaining and hugely appreciated by the audience. The judges had a challenging time deciding on the final winners who were: Lydia Robinson,

Maisie Bakewell, Naomi Dolbear and Tegan Evans with their acoustic rendition of ‘Hey Ho’ by The Lumineers.

Highly commended acts were Aneeta Saji with traditional Indian dancing and Laura May Miller and Thea Burden for their cover of ‘Someone Like You’

by Adele.

The audience also selected their favourite act of the evening, using text voting. Over 200 texts were sent, and

Bethany Brown and Athena Edwards came out on top with their beautiful acapella delivery of ‘Next To You’.

Maths teacher, Sheree Cuff, who organised the event, said ‘It was a great chance to celebrate all the forms of talent within the Year Group.’ Many thanks to everyone who took part and who helped, the evening was a resounding success!

Pamela Peacocke – Head of Year 8

Gryphon Students share honours with Tom Daley!

Imagine the surprise of The Gryphon School students who took part in a languages competition this term when they found one of their fellow competitors was the diver, and Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley. They were at the Routes into Languages speaking competition in Barnstaple. That made the non-native key stage five category particularly exciting as Year 12 student, Jake Perrett, was competing directly with Tom. Both spoke beautifully in Spanish, and Tom Daley eventually took gold with Jake taking silver. Tom gave an excellent presentation on his dream of winning gold at Rio in 2016 and was an inspiration to our students, all of whom spoke with real self-confidence and fluency in their chosen language and were a credit to the School.

Special congratulations go to Luca Melville in Year 8 who won the near-native key stage 3 category, also speaking in Spanish, and to Michael Jones, Year 8, who was runner-up in his group.

Clare Brignall – Head of MFL

Student joins National Youth Choir of Great Britain One of our Year 7 students has gained a place in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Emma Reynolds, who is 12, has won a much prized place in the Junior Girls’ Choir. Emma auditioned in Bristol last term and will now attend two residential training courses in Reading and Oxford and perform at The Royal Albert Hall after Easter.

Jilly Hillier of Unicef said ‘ It was particularly noticeable that the school has a strong inclusive ethos and places a high value on both academic achievement and students’ overall wellbeing.

Students’ behaviour is exemplary and a culture of respect clearly underpins relationships between members of the school community. The Gryphon School’s rights respecting journey is building on and enhancing this ethos.’

During the assessment they observed an assembly led by our chaplain, took part in a learning walk with the students, saw our many displays and observed 2 lessons. They were happy that staff demonstrated a good understanding of the Convention and gave examples of how they were making links to rights in their teaching and that the students understood the importance of rights and respect at The Gryphon and in the wider world.

We are delighted that The Gryphon School has received this important recognition and now hope to go further on our journey as a Rights Respecting School with RRS ambassadors going to other schools helping more and more people to understand and support the UNCRC. If any parents/carers would like to be a part of this journey please contact shelley.coombs@gryphon.dorset. sch.uk Shelley Coombs Rights Respecting Schools Co-ordinator

Last year, while Emma was still at Trent Primary School, she sang for Her Majesty the Queen at the Diamond Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving in St Paul’s Cathedral. Emma auditioned for this too and was one of only 40 children from all over the country chosen to perform at the Service. Emma, who will be singing with the second sopranos, says she is really looking forward to singing with the National Youth Choir.

She will be singing specially commissioned works and will be given individual training as well as group training sessions. Emma is a very modest student but one who is passionate about her music. She joined The Gryphon Whole School Choir when she came to the School in September and has already demonstrated her ability, commitment and enthusiasm for singing and music performance. We are looking forward to supporting her exciting involvement in the National Choir.

Non Davies – AST Music

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news

Students raise money for local hospice

One student took to a tractor to get to school for an exam!

The Gryphon School Library introduces innovative new system The Gryphon School has made its Library Catalogue available on an app.

It means that students can access ebooks and websites, as well as books, from their mobile devices. The library system has just been upgraded and now students and staff can download the app for their tablets and phones so they can access the Library Catalogue. They can look at the books they have on loan as well as searching for other available books and can link into websites to help their research. This is part of the School’s drive to make the most of all available new technology.

Julie Hoskins, LRC Manager at The Gryphon School, who introduced the system, says “With more and

more students using mobile devices it is important that the LRC uses this to our advantage and we are all very excited to be one of the first schools in the area to upgrade.”

Students from The Gryphon School have raised £771 for St Margaret’s Hospice. The money was raised during a non-uniform day.

The charity was proposed to the School Council as a recipient by Year 10 student, Dillon Shirley, whose uncle, Jamie Shirley, received care there. The cheque was presented to Sue Medlicott from St Margaret’s

by Dillon. Year 10 held a special Assembly at the School where Dillon showed a very moving tribute film he had created about his uncle who died last year. Mrs Medlicott, who had met Dillon’s uncle, said he was obviously a much admired man, before talking to the students about the work of the hospice.

STUDENTS GET TO SCHOOL AGAINST THE ODDS The School was closed to the majority of students one day this term because of the snow. However it was open for those taking A level and GCSE exams that day as there were arrangements in place for the exams to go ahead with sufficient local staff available to invigilate. Students were told not to come to school if it was unsafe or impractical and that the exams could be retaken in the summer but almost all of them managed to get to the site.

Most walked (one all the way from Bradford

Abbas) and one even took to a tractor. The decision to close the School is never taken lightly but a very high proportion of our students and staff use bus transport or the local road system and many travel considerable distances on routes severely affected by snow.

Our snow policy can be viewed at www.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk

Sue Medlicott receiving a cheque from Dillon Shirley and some of his fellow Year 10 students.

The School is also using QR codes throughout the LRC to direct students to e-books and websites about books and authors. If these prove successful other departments are expected to use them around the school.

New Classrooms

Mrs Hoskins says “I am confident by introducing this important new technology we will improve the access students have to wider resources. It is great to be among those leading the way with alternative ideas for learning.’

The Gryphon School 20th Anniversary

Another triumph for the PTA Quiz Night This year’s Annual PTA Quiz Night was once again a huge success with well over a hundred people forming 15 teams to battle for the trophy. The winning team, for the fourth year running, was the ‘Quizologists’, whose impressive range of knowledge is proving hard to beat. Congratulations to them and many thanks to the PTA members who worked so hard to make it such a great evening.

It is always an entertaining and fun event, so book early next year to avoid disappointment.

The Gryphon School celebrated its 20th Anniversary in style at the end of last term. There was a dinner-dance in the Quarr Hall where teachers, governors, former pupils and parents gathered to celebrate the launch of the school in 1992. The Conference Centre was beautifully decorated with helium balloons and photographs of the building of the school, and of teachers and pupils from twenty years ago. Guests enjoyed Japanese sushi with their champagne, before being shown to their business themed tables for a delicious dinner cooked by Helen Furness and her team. After dinner, tables were pushed back to make way for dancing. Live music was supplied by a former Gryphon School teacher, Pete Griffiths, whose band played right through to the end of the party – a fantastic evening.

Following the success of the 10th Anniversary Ball, held to raise money for the specialist business status sought by the School, it was decided to have a local business theme for the twenty-year celebration. The School is grateful to all local businesses who donated tombola prizes, enabling us to raise £1000 for Julia’s House. A further £1,500 was made during the evening and this money goes to PTA funds and will be spent on selected school causes.

This event was organised by The Gryphon School PTA. We aim to provide a communication link between school and

parents and carers.Rebecca We hostAnderson-Deas a number of – social events over the The school year, including Gryphon School PTA the annual quiz.

We are always looking for new members, so if you are interested in joining the PTA details can be found at: www.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk/pta or you can email: office@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk with your contact details.

Rebecca Anderson-Deas The Gryphon School PTA

The Gryphon School has been given the go ahead to build two new classrooms and install a much needed new lift. The School is at capacity and as a thriving, successful school we need to create additional classroom space. Planning permission has now been granted by West Dorset District Council and the School has applied to the DfE for a grant to pay for the new extension. We hope to get funding in the near future. Steve Hiller, Headteacher, has welcomed the Council’s decision and says the new classrooms will help us continue to provide an outstanding education to our students.

The extra lift will make it much easier for disabled students as at the moment there is only one lift at the other end of the school. We are confident the extension will not impinge on the surrounding environment and will blend in with the existing building.

Prayers of hope During the last two weeks of the autumn term pupils in Years 7 and 8 were invited to write a ‘prayer of hope’ for Christmas. These prayers, written on stars, festooned the Christmas tree in the conference centre reception. Altogether 242 heartfelt and poignant prayers were written and decorated during tutor times and the end result was both powerful and beautiful.

Diane Tregale - Chaplain

Are you having a Spring clear out? If you have any large pieces of fabric you no longer need, could you please donate them to the Textiles Department! Thank You. 2

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Two Awards for Gryphon Team Nearly 90 Gryphon School students went to Southampton this term to take part in Rock Challenge UK. It’s a series of performing arts events and thousands of young people take part every year. This is the first time The Gryphon School has participated.

Chess Challenge Pupils swapped their exercise books for chess boards in an inter-school chess tournament this term. Thirty students from our nine feeder Primary schools took part in the day long competition, playing six matches each. It was a very competitive day with some exciting and hard-fought matches taking place. The individual competition was won by Luke R from Milborne Port Primary School, with Aaron N from Thornford Church Primary taking the silver medal, closely followed by Jack F from All Saints Primary School in Bishops Caundle. The team competition was very closely contested, however, Thornford Church Primary School triumphed, and walked away with the team trophy. A big thank you goes out to the six members of the Gryphon School Chess club who helped ensure the smooth running of a fantastic day!

Leah Frost – Chess Club

Over 5 years ago the School Council developed our anti-bullying campaign ‘I Am Me’ which reminds us all to celebrate each other’s individuality; recognising our gifts and talents and what makes us unique. ‘I Am Me’ posters are all around the school and are a key part of our Rights Respecting Schools work. It is important that we recognise that we all have a right to be ourselves and alongside that right is the responsibility to respect each other's differences. Our logo (designed by ex-student Luka Babiy) is a clever reminder of all the characteristics that make us who we are.

Nicki Edwards – Deputy Head

Don’t delay GO CASHLESS NOW Our Cashless Catering (CC) system is successfully proving beyond any doubt that paying by thumb is the easiest and quickest method for our students to pass the tills at very busy break and lunchtimes. CC really is a better and more secure method of payment with the benefits of students not needing to carry cash and the ability for parents to pay dinner money online by card and track exactly what their children are eating.

With more and more students enrolling it is clear that CC is very definitely the preferred method of paying for school meals so ‘don’t delay and enrol today’.

Students who wish to ‘go cashless’ should collect an application form from café@gryphon`.

Gordon Smith - Bursar

The Gryphon performers joined those from other schools and colleges in the region for a day of rehearsals and fun before performing to a sell-out audience in the evening.

Rock Challenge UK Holocaust survivor talks to Year 9 Students from Year 9 were privileged to hear the first-hand account of a Holocaust survivor this term. Harry Bibring gave his testimony to the whole year group as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust. Mr Bibring, who is 88, and originally from Austria, came to England with his sister on the Kindertransport and still lives here. The students heard Mr Bibring’s memories of the Second World War including the deportation of his mother to a death camp in Poland.

His moving testimony was followed by a question and answer session which enabled the students to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth. The visit is part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Outreach Programme.

Steve Hillier, Headteacher, said ‘Our Year 9 students have benefited from visits organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust for several years and it was a privilege for us to welcome Mr Bibring to our school. His testimony is a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced. We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Harry’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.’

Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added: ‘The Holocaust Educational Trust educates and engages students from across the UK, from all communities, about the Holocaust and there can be no better way than through the first-hand testimony of a survivor. Harry’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing his testimony, students have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead.’

Anna-Louise Griffiths – 2nd in RE

The School won an award for student leadership which went to the five choreographers, Lucy Bennett, Nina Trist, Chloe Burton, Georgie O’Neil and Megan O’Neil. The second award was for Best Soundtrack.

The Gryphon School’s entry was a dance drama about the Belle Epoque era and involved weeks of planning and rehearsal.

Their performance was judged by a panel of specialists from the performing arts industry who were particularly impressed by the end scene which they said ‘really contrasted with the beginning and was incredibly powerful’.

I am incredibly proud of everyone involved for all their hard work. It was an amazing day and everybody, performers and production crew, was outstanding.

Jessica Brooks – Head of Drama

First Anniversary for ArtsLink at The Gryphon

Some of our students who took part in the Giant Junk sculpture workshop with Helen Allcock, Sherborne ArtsLink Community Artist.

A project at The Gryphon School offering Saturday morning art and design workshops for young people has reached its first anniversary. The School hosts free Saturday morning clubs as part of Sherborne ArtsLink’s TakepArt project. The anniversary was marked with a ‘Design with Colour’ workshop for 6 – 8 year olds, and a ‘Giant Junk Sculpture’ workshop for 11 -13 year olds. Lizzie Kingsbury of The Gryphon School, who helped set up the sessions with ArtsLink, said ‘We are delighted to be working with ArtsLink providing these community art opportunities. It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the young people and to see their creativity come to life’. Jennie Loader, TakepArt community arts co-ordinator, said ‘Our partnership with The Gryphon School is a great example of how groups working together can enhance lives and benefit the people within the local community’. For further information about courses please contact lizzie.kingsbury@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk

25%For Discount parents of The four Year 9 students who ran, as part of a Geography project, a staff coffee morning one break this term to raise awareness of the benefits of buying fair trade products .

Gryphon School Students Tel: 01935 814011 3

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music BAROQUE CHAMBER ENSEMBLE: Congratulations to Holly Parish, Lucy Rash, Lauren Dickinson and Anna Bolhuis – members of the Baroque Chamber Ensemble who performed in the Semi-finals of this year’s Pro Corda National Chamber Music Competition early in March. This is an extremely high profile event, and to be one of the very few State Schools to successfully reach the semi-finals is a huge achievement; we are very proud of them all. Huge thanks must go to Maggie Nightingale for all of her enthusiasm, time and superb chamber music training.

Year 12 Geography residential to the Dorset and Hampshire coasts When we met in the car park, we were immediately identified as geographers.

The huge red-and-white poles had a lot to do with it! Not to mention the other equipment, most of which looked like a pretty good weapon if you needed it and all of which had to be loaded into the minibus.

Our first day centred on Barton-onSea, where landslides have left houses teetering on the cliff. Ignoring the slightly odd glances we got from locals, we studied the erosion defences and why they weren’t working and ate our lunch on one of the defences: a section of rock armour that was only a little bit freezing.

GUILDHALL SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DRAMA STUDENTS VISIT THE GRYPHON We are extremely grateful to the brass students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London who visited the School this term, playing some very entertaining pieces at the Year 9 Assembly and running an extremely useful and enjoyable Brass Workshop with Gryphon brass students. The Guildhall students were a real inspiration to all of our students, and we are most grateful to Paul Cosh of the Sherborne Town Band for bringing them once again and to Mr Steve Fox for helping set up the visit.

YOUTH MAKES MUSIC CONCERT: Students of the Junior Brass, Senior Brass and Recorder Ensembles represented the School at this year’s Sherborne Rotary Club’s Youth Makes Music Concert. This is an annual concert in aid of various local charities with students performing from all of the local schools. Gryphon students once again represented both the School and Music Department admirably - thanks to all of the students involved and to the numerous parents who turned out to support them.

Val Mizen - Head of Music

Carol Service Our annual Carol Service is one of the most special events in our school year. The spectacular Sherborne Abbey provides an amazing physical and spiritual backdrop to our service which, by tradition, starts in darkness and is gradually illuminated, first by candles, before the glory of the building is fully illuminated. This year over 130 students took part in the service. The Abbey was packed with students and staff, past and present, with their families who all enjoyed the music and readings. The collection raised just under £900 for Crisis at Christmas, a national charity which provides support to the homeless.

For many people this Carol Service forms a strong foundation for the Christmas celebrations. Our 2013 service is already in the school calendar for Monday 16 December. We hope that you will put it in your diary too!

Our second day at Boscombe covered the ‘rebranding’ course. After a ‘Full English’, we explored the seafront, and surrounding residential areas to take photos of how the area had changed.

This would enable us to assess the success of the rebrand.

Farm Diversification The Toy Barn at Black Marsh Farm near Sherborne hosted Year 12 Geography students on their field trips to explore farm diversification projects. Peter Hunt welcomed the students and gave them an introductory tour of his dairy farm, enabling students to gain an understanding of the demands of a modern farm business. The tour continued to The Toy Barn, where these 16 year olds were able to experience first hand the wide range of products on sale for gardens and outdoor fun. The students had prepared some excellent questions beforehand so that they were able to explain how the farm had been rebranded and then evaluate the success of the rebrand. Extensive fieldwork is an integral part of ‘A’ level Geography.

On the final day, we headed to Studland to do a sand dune profile.

Although measuring hills, counting plants and picking up handfuls of mud, might not sound like everyone’s idea of fun, believe me when I say we enjoyed ourselves.

Next we headed to Lulworth, the classic Purbeck Beds, crumpled rock and beautiful cove. And fish and chips! For people who like human geography, this day was great, with questionnaires for the public and evaluating the area’s strengths and weaknesses.

Although we were a bit chilly and ‘absolutely shattered’ (as Vicky would say), we’d all had a good time.

Jake Perrett - Year 12

Both the Geography Department and our students are grateful to Peter and his wife, Amanda, for the opportunity of these visits. www.toybarn.co.uk Shelley Coombs Head of Geography

Nicki Edwards – Deputy Head

Maths Students Excel

Dorset Music Service presents

Sherborne Samba

Thursdays

SHERBORNE ABBEY PRIMARY SCHOOL

4.00-4.45pm Open to children of all ages from all schools www.dorsetmusicservice.org.uk

170 students from Years 9, 10 and 11 took part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge in February.

Between them they achieved 55 certificates; 38 bronze, 12 silver and 5 gold. Holly Ward, Year 11, and Sophia Rogerson, Year 10, shared the accolade of obtaining 'Best in School', with Craig Barfoot and Thomas Swann also gaining Gold certificates. Special congratulations must go to Matthew Suri in Year 9 for achieving a Gold certificate, and qualifying for the European Kangaroo. This competition is by invitation only and is taken by the best mathematicians in over 40 countries worldwide.

Leah Frost – Maths

www.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk 4

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trips A Gryphon School student has just been on a National Skiing Camp in Switzerland. Sophia Rogerson, who is in Year 10, was one of only 25 students who do not live in Switzerland to be given the opportunity. The week long ski-camp was established for Swiss Nationals 72 years ago and takes 600 students from Switzerland and 25 from abroad every year. Sophia was able to apply because she has dual nationality as her mother is Swiss. Sophia had never been skiing before but says she was lucky to be accepted and had a wonderful time.

Here is her report of the week...

Little Gryphons were entranced this term by a visit from the police. Community Police Officer, Jon Radford and his colleague, Tessa Chappell, let the children try on their hats and explore the police car. They were even able to operate the lights and siren and, for them a highlight, talk on the police radio.

The visit was in support of the work Little Gryphons does with the children and’ Super Hero play’ which reinforces a positive image of how our super heroes are here to help us.

The children were able to explore the role of the police and their police vehicle. They learnt about how the police can rescue dogs from hot cars and work with the RSPCA to help animals who may be hurt or trapped. They also learnt that if the children need help the police will help them and look after them. The children thoroughly enjoyed the visit as this selection of some of their comments shows: ‘I wish I had one of these cars at home for Mummy and Daddy’ , ‘The handcuffs stop baddies’, ‘I liked the sirens best’ and ‘The policeman had a smasher to smash windows’.

Sally-Ann Prout Lead Nursery Nurse, Butterflies

Apprentice of the Year Award

Standing on the station platform with my aunt, I was apprehensive. I didn’t know where to change trains, who I could sit with, or what was waiting for me at the other end of my journey. Luckily, there were hundreds of other kids in the same position; all of us strangers, all of us nervous. This meant there was a great atmosphere throughout the camp; everyone was making an effort to get to know each other and help each other out, and I was surprised by how easily we made such good friends within such a short space of time. It was my first time

skiing, so I was worried; especially of the lessons being in German! Fortunately, my teacher spoke English, and so ensured I knew what was happening. Inevitably, I fell over many times- I was teased for going ‘off piste’ on my first day when I slipped down the side of a mountain- but was left unharmed (apart from a few bruises). For me, the best moment of the trip was the camp’s traditional Fackelabfahrt- literally ‘torch descent’-on the last day, in which all six hundred participants ski, or snowboard, down the mountain, carrying flaming torches. It was

Sophia Rogerson – Year 10

History Trip to Berlin This year’s Berlin trip saw The Gryphon School upgraded, at the last minute, to a four star hotel. It was the Park Inn at Alexanderplatz in the heart of East Berlin, a hotel built by the former Communist government of East Germany for its international visitors. Refurbished since reunification, the hotel has excellent facilities and the food was tremendous. Students could not believe their eyes when they were confronted with a buffet that included a wide choice of main meals, over twenty cheeses and too many desserts to eat in one go. The hotel was built in typical communist-style architecture with over 37 floors, which made the view from your room window enough to induce vertigo. The purpose of the trip was to experience the culture and history of Germany first hand and Berlin is an ideal city to meet this objective. The trip included visits to the Stasi prison at Hohenschonhausen, the nuclear bunker at The Story of Berlin Museum and the house at Potsdam where Churchill and Attlee met Stalin and Truman in 1945 to sort out the peace arrangements for Germany after the Second World War. One of the highlights of the tour was the visit to Sachsenhausen concentration camp at Oranienburg to the north of Berlin. Our students were shown the remaining barracks where prisoners were held by the Nazis and worked to death. A prison cell block also survives where some of the Nazis most famous victims were held: Stalin’s son, Pastor Niemoller and members of the RAF. It was a sobering experience culminating in a visit to Station Z where a gas chamber was used to kill prisoners at the end of the Second World War. We were taken to the spot where, in 1943, 10,000 Russian prisoners of war were shot. The spot is marked by huge photos taken of the prisoners before they were killed; photos which, ironically, were used at the time as propaganda to show how well the Nazis looked after their prisoners. Their cremated remains still lie on the ground around the site.

Little Gryphons are celebrating with a member of staff who has been given an Apprentice of the Year Award by Yeovil College. Lottie Laver, who is 17 and joined Little Gryphons in April last year, was given the award for Immediate Apprenticeship in Childcare. She joined Little Gryphons as an apprentice straight from school.

Sally Barrett, Manager of Little Gryphons, said ‘It's fantastic that Lottie has been recognised for her excellent work practices and for the academic knowledge that go hand in hand preparing practitioners for the world of Early Years. The nursery is extremely proud of ensuring that our 'home grown' apprentices receive the best work environment possible which creates an excellent foundation for the apprentices and for the children, staff and visitors.’

absolutely terrifying, and so exhilaratingalthough my main focus was not to fall over! In the evening there was a carbheavy meal (often with typically Swiss foods that can’t be found in England), followed by sports, games and activities, so we were never bored. All in all, it was a great experience, and an educational one, improving my skiing, my German, and my knowledge of my heritage. I made great friends, and can safely say it is a week I will never forget.

It was, therefore, rather light relief to find ourselves caught up in the excitement of the Berlin film festival during one of our evening visits. George Clooney was in town and the prospect of meeting a famous film star was too much to miss, so our students lined up next to the red carpet to await the arrival of the stars. Lots of famous people did appear waving their Golden Bear awards from the festival but unfortunately none of them was recognizable to us. It did not stop our students screaming and applauding several unidentifiable German celebrities who seemed very pleased with the attention they were receiving, even posing for photos with us.

The success of the visit was due largely to the help provided by Mrs Vicary, Miss Durant, Mr Wake and Mr Healey but especially to the co-operation of the students. Their interest and enthusiasm helped make the trip so enjoyable.

Steve Phillips – Head of History

SCOUTING JAMBOREE DOWN UNDER

Hello, Hello, Hello

Rare Opportunity

Will Pullen, who’s in Year 9, has just been to Australia to attend a Scouting Jamboree. There were 11,000 scouts there and Will was one of only 23 scouts representing the UK. Here is his account: Being given the opportunity to visit Australia with an organisation such as The Scouts was amazing; going to Australia is one thing, but when you are one of only 23 representing the UK in an event as large as the Australian Jamboree, it adds to the whole experience! I was asked if I’d be interested by my leader, Geoff, to whom I’m very grateful, and I immediately accepted as did two fellow scouts, Korban and Jordan. My group is 2nd Templecombe and there were five of us going – the fifth being Maria, another leader. Templecombe Scout Group is twinned with groups in Canada, New Zealand, and 1st Engadine Scout Group of Sydney, Australia, who were our very hospitable hosts during the stay. We travelled 17 hours by bus to Mayborough, Queensland, which – after 27 of hours of travelling from the UK and only half a day to recover – was difficult! The gruelling journey was definitely worth it though, as the next 3 weeks proved to be fantastic. Despite the 40 degree plus heat, activities such as climbing and abseiling, snorkelling and an extremely muddy obstacle course made the days a blur of fun. Many friendships were forged, and I have learnt a huge amount not just about scouting, but also how to understand Australians! It was a wonderful experience and I have brought back many great memories and skills that will serve me well for life. As this Jamboree only happens once every three years, I am hoping to return to the next one in Sydney, 2016, as an Explorer. Until then, I will keep in contact with all those I made friends with, and I will hope to teach other members of 2nd Templecombe all that I have learnt on my ventures!

Will Pullen – Year 9 5

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Photograph courtesy of Charles Whitton, charleswhittonphotography.com

news National Portrait Gallery and Hayward Gallery Visits

Gryphon Student becomes deputy MYP Natasha Glendening, who is in Year 12, has become one of 2013’s Deputy Members of the Youth Parliament. Natasha, who received 3,284 votes, has been involved in the Youth Parliament for the past two years as a Member and a Deputy Member. Students at the School turned out in force early in February to vote in the elections. In all more than fourteen thousand young people from schools across Dorset voted.

Last year Natasha, who is 16, took part in national and regional sitting of the UK Youth Parliament and sat on the Dorset Youth Council. She says she is really looking forward to continuing working for young people and to finishing the projects she has started. Natasha says among the things the 3 new MYPs and 3 Deputies will be campaigning for is destressing exams by providing support to young people suffering due to stress, getting young people involved in local decision making and increasing awareness and acceptance of LGBT young people.

50 KS4 Art students went to London last term and experienced a wide range of intriguing artworks at these major galleries. First stop was the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize Exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery with some thought provoking photographic imagery on display. After a short coach ride to the Southbank’s Hayward Gallery, the students found themselves immersed in an incredibly diverse range of interactive contemporary artworks from China, which certainly challenged the senses! A genuinely unique experience and judging by the students feedback, truly memorable.

10K runners have their day

Mike Fenton-Wilkinson Head of Art, Design & Technology

Red Berry Recruitment Helen Lacey from Red Berry Recruitment spoke to Year 12 business students this term, about how businesses go about recruiting. The talk she delivered was interactive and engaging and informed the students’ Unit 2 coursework which requires them to pretend to recruit for a business of their choice. Many thanks to Helen for giving up her time and inspiring them!

Kelly Hodges – Business and Enterprise

So, back to the start of the race; some of us were more apprehensive than others, wanting simply to get around the course rather than setting a record, but we were all feeling positive. As we started there was a fantastic sense of camaraderie both within our group, with no one being left behind, and between us and the other runners who were very impressed with our self-designed t-shirts and that we were raising money for charity.

CAREERS CAFÉ

Bryan Wong, Year 13, led The Gryphon School team from the start, completing the 10km in an amazing 42mins 55secs, 7th fastest in his age category, followed by Chris Wright (50mins 7secs ) and Mr Lee Moore (52mins 11secs). Everyone completed the race, with the last of us coming in at just under 1 hour and 20mins; not bad for lazy people even if we do say so ourselves!

Translating Skills Congratulations to Hebe Neate-Clegg, Year 13, who has had a special recognition for the quality of her translation in the European Union translation competition. There is only one winner per country, and this is the next best thing. It is credit, not only to Hebe’s French, but also to her English, as that is half of the skill of translation.

Clare Brignall Head of MFL

The third ‘Careers Café’ in our successful series of events involved a visit from Barry Coupe of Barry Coupe Architects. Barry, who is an architect of national repute, led an interactive and highly entertaining session to a mixed group of Sixth Form and Year 11 students. The students heard first-hand about the varied role of an architect and about allied occupations such as quantity surveyor and architectural technologist.

Some students came away further inspired to undertake the seven year training

programme necessary to become a fully qualified architect and others will use the information and knowledge gained to aid their future career planning.

Further Careers Cafés in the pipeline include talks by a veterinary surgeon, a photographer and a journalist so watch this space.

Richard Jones – Careers Advice and Guidance Manager

www.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk 6

On very cold, crisp Sunday morning in midDecember, 17 Sixth formers and 4 members of staff lined up nervously on a quiet road in Christchurch; this was the culmination of 12 weeks of training – was it about to pay off? Back in September I asked for a small group of volunteers who liked cake and were a bit lazy to join my enrichment group. Our aim was simple; to train for and complete the Christchurch 10km Christmas pudding run. The prize? A Christmas pud and sense of satisfaction.

After weeks of training in pouring rain, freezing cold, wind and the odd bit of sun, the students decided that the prize was not enough; we wanted to use this experience and challenge to raise money for charity as well.

We returned to Sherborne tired but with a great sense of achievement; we got fit, trained hard, completed the race and raised over £600 between us for three charities; Help for Heroes, Macmillan Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK – in all a very successful and memorable Autumn Term.

Phillipa Huggins – Head of Year 12, Deputy Head of Sixth Form

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100% EPQ Success...

Nineteen Year 13 students submitted their Extended Project Qualification in November 2012. Following external moderating, the students achieved a 100% pass rate at A*-A (A* at 63%!). These students are to be commended for their hard work and dedication.

The EPQ requires students to undertake independent research into an area that interests them, they then have to produce either a 5000 word essay on their research, or produce an artefact and a 1000 word report. In effect the EQP can be a mini dissertation akin to university level research The School is now looking forward to a strong set of results from those students entering in May 2013.

Chris Smith – EPQ Co-ordinator

sixth form Granville Trip In February six Year 12 students went to Granville in France, with the Douzelage, an organisation which promotes friendship between the European member towns.

Luckily for us, Sherborne is the UK’s representative – so we were lucky enough to have the chance to go!

After waking us up ridiculously early, Kevin Waterfall (the organiser, on the left in the photo) braved the cold drive down to Portsmouth docks – and when we say cold, we mean COLD! The crossing to Caen was mercifully smooth, and we arrived there at about 3pm. The next bit was Kevin’s fatal mistake – asking Jake and Dan to navigate. Still, we only went round the same roundabout three times…

Among our very busy four days there, we visited Mont St Michel on a beautiful sunny day (yes, sunny days do exist in France!), visited Granville centre for some shopping and, on the way home, saw the beaches where soldiers landed in the Second World War. The object of the trip was to take part in the local carnival; and what a carnival it

Visit to London law firm Early in March three students from The Gryphon, Shannon Gilchrist and Jake Woolner and I, travelled in conjunction with the Sherborne Girls School to Linklaters in London- an international law firm.

Throughout the evening, we were engaged in discussions with various professionals including a criminal barrister, consultant, solicitor, visiting professor and a QC. Afterwards there was an evening meal and a Q&A session. Altogether it was a very informative and eye opening insight to the legal profession. Well worth the long journey!

Ian Dawes – Year 12

UCAS: We processed just over 170 university applications this year, approximately 40 of these being post-results applications from students who left us last summer and are currently on a gap year. Whilst a few of our students wait for their final choices to get back to them, many are deliberating over firm and insurance choices. Many students have received offers from prestigious Russell Group universities as well as Oxbridge.

Applications: As ever we have been delighted to receive well over 300 applications to Year 12 for September and we are currently in the process of interviewing students for A level and BTEC courses.

Our congratulations to Emma Pengelly and Marcus John in Year 13 and Dan Peace and Gemma Penny in Year 12 who were the Jan/Feb winners of Student of the Month.

Jane Tutton Director of Sixth Form

was! It lasts five days, with children’s processions, street performers and, of course, the floats themselves. These monoliths take up to nine months to build and attract 120,000 visitors. It was truly awe-inspiring. Except, of course, for the steady rain, with which the words ‘les

Anglais’ were frequently associated.

Wonder why…?

We had an amazing time, and would like to say a huge ‘MERCI!’ to everyone else who made this trip possible.

Jake Perrett – Year 12

Amnesty Report

Senior Maths Challenge

Working towards human rights internationally the Gryphon Amnesty Club, which supports Amnesty International, meets weekly with a 13 strong group of Sixth Formers. This small group has achieved big things. ‘We have raised £75 in our cake sales and have written and sent Christmas cards to worthy recipients in locations as distant in geography and culture as Shaya county prison, China, and labour camps across Russia ’ says chairwoman Natasha Glendening. The group, in response to the horrific attack on Pakistani female rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai, has provided multiple messages of support and continues to track her progress through national and Amnesty International bulletins. The future is also looking bright for the club as, for the first time in the club’s history, members from the group are being sent to National Amnesty AGM at Warwick University where they will be listening to speakers from influential human rights groups worldwide. Information about the club can be viewed on our numerous and ever changing information boards, but also through assemblies to Year 10, 11 and Sixth Form which are likely to take place during the Easter term.

70 students from Years 12 and 13 took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in November. Between them they achieved 45 certificates; 25 bronze, 16 silver and 4 gold; our best ever results! James Gard, Year 12, obtained the 'Best in School' certificate.

Special congratulations go to Tom Anderson-Deas, Year 13, Richard Jenkins, Year 13, and James Gard who all qualified for the Senior Kangaroo. This competition is by invitation only and is taken by the best mathematicians in over 40 countries worldwide.

Leah Frost - Maths

Matthew Akerman Gryphon Amnesty Club

Museum exhibition Jess Pring, Elizabeth Gallimore, Jade Batstone and Emma Douch from year 12 are in the process of creating an exhibition for the Sherborne Museum. It is based around two residents of Dorset from the 16th Century: Sir John Horsey and his family who were wealthy landowners with properties including Clifton Maybank House, and Sir Thomas Wyatt who was a celebrated poet at the time and introduced the sonnet to England. The exhibition will be open to visitors during the Easter holidays.

DIANA AWARD FOR SIXTH FORMER A student has been honoured with a prestigious Diana Award. Heather Yeadon, who is in Year 13, received the award for being a Diana Champion Volunteer. The Diana Award is a national award that celebrates the best in young people and recognises those who act as a force for good for their schools, families and communities. It was established in 1999 as a lasting legacy to Diana, Princess of Wales’ belief that young people have the power to change the world.

There is a very rigorous selection process that ensures the awards go to inspirational young people. Heather was nominated by the School for her work as a mentor for younger students and her volunteering at a wide range of children’s groups including Brownies, the Youth Centre in Sherborne and the Sunday School at St Paul’s in the town.

Heather also helped organise The Gryphon School Sixth Form trip to Rwanda with the Dorset based charity Msaada. Since returning Heather has worked tirelessly as a Msaada ambassador raising awareness of the work the charity does helping rebuild the lives of the people of Rwanda following the1994 genocide.

Heather Yeadon in Rwanda with Ferdinand, who lost most of his family during the genocide

om

Jane Tutton, our Director of Sixth Form, said ‘We are extremely proud of Heather. The Diana Award will encourage her to continue her work and will inspire others to volunteer in the School and community. Heather hopes to study Creative Expressive Therapies at the University of Derby next year. The course teaches using Art as a therapeutic technique with patients, something for which Heather’s skills are perfect.’ Heather says she is delighted to receive the award, ‘I am honoured and excited to have been given this recognition for work which is a privilege to do.’ This is the second time a Gryphon School student has received a Diana Award. In 2009, Luka Babiy, who was 18 at the time, was honoured for her work for the School community.

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sport PE Report It has been a terrifically busy term in PE where A and B teams across Years 7-13 have participated in Football, Rugby, Netball, Basketball and Cross Country fixtures with some fantastic results. We also ran a primary school cross country event. In addition to this, in Year 10 PE lessons, students have been taking part in a Sports Leadership Unit where they have been working with Bishops Caundle Primary School pupils developing their basic physical skills.

Five girls from Years 9-11 attended the Dorset Leadership Academy. Each of the girls had a different role, from Event Organiser to Photographer, as well as being part of the Dance Crew. This has set them up to be part of the Dorset Winter School Games, a sports event for all primary and secondary school winners of the winter competitions across the whole of Dorset. The girls who attended the event were Kelly Coombes and Lisa Blatchford (Event Organisers), Alina Hibbert (Photography and Media) and Bethan Williams and Charlotte Harding (Dance Crew).

Olympic Legacy Following the huge success of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Sherborne Rotary Clubs have set up an Annual Sports Bursary Scheme to help the top sports performers in the school achieve their dreams of competing at the highest standards.

With the wealth of sporting talent at The Gryphon it proved immensely difficult to whittle down the 16 original applications. With international performers in Tug ‘O’ War to Sprint Kayaking it was clear that this was going to have great personal benefit to those who applied. During the final interview stage of the scheme it was amazing to see how our young students were able to deliver such professional presentations and answer questions with confidence. One of the panel commented ‘We were blown away by the articulate nature of each candidate and they should be commended on the way they prepared and conducted themselves in the interviews.’ Ultimately one girl and one boy were chosen to receive the financial award, which this year went to Rebecca Bowles (Pentathlon) and Ross MacFarlane (Sailing). Both of these pupils have already performed at a very high standard in their respective sports and will benefit hugely from the money they receive. It is envisaged that this scheme will happen every year and I am confident that pupils at The Gryphon School will take full advantage of such a fantastic opportunity.

Alan Cummings - Joint Head of PE and Sport

Cross Country

Other exciting news is that the Year 11 Netball Team are fundraising for netball dresses by running a Netball Match versus the Staff at the end of the term. Please come and support! We are also really looking forward to all Netball Teams in Years 7-11 reaching the finals of the Yeovil and District Leagues, a Trip to see Plymouth Raiders Basketball Team and the ski trip to Italy which will all take place soon.

Rachael Troughton Joint Head of PE and Sport

OUTSTANDING SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

Pupils from Years 7-11 competed in the Dorset Schools Cross Country competition early this term. The course, at Bryanston School near Blandford, was challenging, not helped by the wet weather we had in the run up to the competition. All the pupils ran well and achieved great scores. Special mention goes to Michael Biss who came 13th out of 150 runners and Natasha Jones who was 14th out of 140 runners.

Basketball A Year 9 student has been selected to play basketball for South West England. Bradley Parks was chosen to join the South West of England Basketball Performance Centre’s full squad. In March he will travel to Prague with the squad to a training camp and to represent the area in European tournaments.

Gymnastics

Girls’ Football Festival:

Alice Derrick, who is in Year 11, is in the finals of a national gymnastics competition.

Alice came first in the Grade 1 Women’s Tumbling at the South West Tumbling Preliminary Rounds in Taunton. She is now going to the National Finals. Her trio also came 3rd. Well done to Alice and we wish her good luck in the National Finals.

Brad’s basketball career took off following a trial last summer. He was selected to play with the under 14’s Taunton Tigers (County) Development Squad. He then joined the Under 16’s team and now plays National League Basketball in the South West Conference, two years above his age group.

Bradley, who hopes to travel to other parts of Europe with the squad in the summer says he is really looking forward to seeing how far he can take his basketball career. Brad is following in his brother Matt’s footsteps. Matt, who is in Year 11, also plays top level basketball. He plays for the Taunton Tigers and has already been offered a place to study further at two elite basketball colleges.

Sister Karate Act!

Netball Trip 2013 48 keen netballers were taken this term to watch Team Bath Super League team play their first game of the season against Celtic Dragons. It was great for the girls to see a host of international players in action from both England and Wales playing in a very competitive game.

Team Bath was the eventual winner 57-50. It was a great trip and the girls came away ready and raring to play their netball league games.

The PE department ran a Girls’ Football Festival this term in conjunction with the Dorset FA and Sherborne Town Football Club. They want to expand current provision for girls’ football in the area. Girls in each Year Group developed their skills and game play with two female coaches from Bournemouth University. As a result of this session, those who are interested in improving their football skills are now attending a Futsal club (a weekly skills club) with local FA coach Leon Jennings. The club is on Thursdays after school. If any more girls are interested please see us in the PE office.

The Gryphon School, Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ School and Sixth Form – T: 01935 813122 • F: 01935 816992 • E: office@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk Conference Centre – T: 01935 810103 • F: 01935 816992 • E: conference@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk

Holly Ward, Year 11, and Sophie Ward, Year 9, have been practising the martial art of Karate since they were 7 and 6 respectively and are hoping to take their Black Belts this year. They have now been selected for the WKU National Squad and are participating in National Karate competitions all around the country. They train in Yeovil and also attend training sessions in Bristol and London.

Holly has so far achieved 5 Gold, 7 Silver and 11 Bronze medals at National competitions and Sophie has achieved 13 Gold, 9 Silver and 14 Bronze medals at National competitions. They are both now training for the National Higashi Competition in London this month and the English National Championships in Sheffield in April. We wish them success in these events. A pair to keep an eye out for in the future!

Nursery – T: 01935 810112 • F: 01935 816992 • E: nursery@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk

The Gryphon School is a company limited by guarantee • Registered in England with Company Number 08130468

Gold Medals in Shooting Courteney Sanson, who is in Year 11 has won three gold medals in shooting. Since September Courteney has made rapid progress in her light weight sporting rifle shooting. The event involves shooting at a rotating target at 25 metres and a precision target at 50 metres. Her scores for the combined event resulted in a first place for Courteney and her first two gold medals in these events. Courteney also shot well in the air section.

She entered the Somerset small bore rifle association event and gained the most improved rifle score in Somerset and a first place gold medal in her division.

Editor: Liz Oatts Designed and Printed by Shelleys 01935 815364