BETTER Times Issue 8 - Spring 2021

BETTERTIMES Bohunt Education Trust Termly Events Review ISSUE 8 – SPRING 2021 – STUDENT VOICE-LED ISSUE!

STEYNING GRAMMAR SCHOOL JOINS BOHUNT EDUCATION TRUST On 1 December 2020, Steyning Grammar School (SGS) joined BET. The transfer followed an extensive review, consultation and legal process, which saw support from parents, students, staff, and the local community. BET has provided strong interim support to the School since the start of November.

SGS will retain its unique identity and is proud to preserve its faith ethos as a Church of England academy. The School will continue to be led by co-Headteachers Nat Nicol and Noel Kennedy, with support from interim Executive Headteacher Mark Marande – who is Principal at the Ofsted-rated Outstanding The Petersfield School (TPS) in Hampshire.

SGS will benefit from BET’s full support, including accessing its range of resources and expertise. Teachers and leaders at the School will have the opportunity to share best practice with others across the Trust, and students will also benefit from further enrichment and outdoor education opportunities. SGS’ Sixth Form will be relocated to a new site at The Towers and Year 7 & 8 students from Church Street will be moving to the Shooting Field site. Work continues in preparation for these moves, supported by BET. The facilities which will become available will enhance educational offerings for students.

There are no plans to change the length of the school day, the logo or the uniform, and BET will continue to work closely with the senior leadership team, the Steyning Grammar School Foundation (SGSF) and the governing board.

With the addition of SGS, BET now runs eight successful secondary schools: The Costello School in Basingstoke, Bohunt Horsham, Bohunt School and Sixth Form in Liphook, Priory School in Portsmouth, The Petersfield School, Steyning Grammar School, Bohunt School Wokingham and Bohunt School Worthing. BET also continues to provide school improvement support to City Academy Norwich.

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Co-Headteacher at Steyning Grammar School, Nat Nicol, said: “We are committed to ensuring that every one of our students at SGS has the opportunity to reach academic excellence, and to experience activities that will shape them as young people, setting them on their path to adulthood.

The educational philosophy championed by BET is completely aligned with SGS’, and we look forward to sharing resources, opportunities, and best practice expertise. By joining BET, SGS will provide an even greater range of first-class opportunities for our amazing students, while retaining the special identity and unique personality of our wonderful school.”

Trevor Cristin, Director of Education, Diocese of Chichester, said: “The Chichester Diocesan Board of Education is very happy to see the fruition of the work with our partners in this complex and ongoing process. I have every confidence that the future of Steyning Grammar School as part of Bohunt Education Trust is very bright.”

Paul Wagstaff, Director of Education and Skills at WSCC, said: “We have supported Steyning Grammar School through the process of converting to an academy within the Bohunt Education Trust, and are pleased to see this process complete today, following the installation of a transition interim Executive Board from the beginning of November to support the School’s move to BET.” Neil Strowger, Trust Leader, said: “We are delighted to be officially welcoming SGS to BET, after working closely with the School over the last few months. SGS is well established in the local community and we are pleased that this move has received such positive support. We look forward to continuing to work together as the school enters this new and exciting chapter as part of our trust.”

We hope you enjoy this issue of BETTER Times. Please note that all copy was produced ahead of the Government’s 4 January school closure announcement.

IN THIS ISSUE...

SGS JOINS BET | FIRST FOR FOOD FUNDRAISER | GROUNDBREAKING FOR BOHUNT HORSHAM

| BET LEADER PIECES | NEWS, VIEWS, CREATIVE WRITING AND TRIVIA FROM OUR AMAZING STUDENTS | SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS | BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW INTERVIEWS | AND MORE…

E D U C AT I O N T RU S T

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR The start of last term was very strange, with the COVID-19 pandemic dictating measures in schools such as physical distancing and class bubbles, etc. Vaccination has, of course, now begun, and we all hope that the entire population of the UK will have received their immunisations by next summer. Continued vigilance remains paramount, but I know that all staff and students will be careful – their lives, and the lives of those around them may depend on it! We all look forward to getting back to normality in due course.

Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to our staff. Many will not have had any holiday since Easter, yet their resilience is an example to all, and I know that this has not been achieved easily. Leaders across the Trust dedicated an enormous effort over the summer to ensuring our schools were reconfigured to facilitate safe teaching and learning, whilst all staff have adapted to new ways of learning where everyone is masked, keeping in bubbles, washing hands frequently, etc. Well done to all.

The pandemic has restricted severely the numbers of visitors to our school sites. Consequently, Virtual Open Nights were instituted, and have proved very popular with potential students and their parents. ‘Footfall’ (i.e., website visits) was possibly higher than for previous physical events!

With proper planning, we were also able to continue with Duke of Edinburgh and Bushcraft events, which our students continue to enjoy and from which they benefit enormously. Across the Trust it has been particularly pleasing to see how many students have taken incoming pupils under their wings, smoothing their way into their strange new environment of Big School.

I want to offer a warm welcome to the staff and students of Steyning Grammar School (SGS), which joined BET on 1 December 2020. This was the culmination of many months of

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intensive effort by the Trust Central Team, plus others from our existing schools, and involved not just SGS governors but trustees from the SGS Foundation (owners of the land upon which the School stands), the Diocese of Chichester (SGS is a Church of England school), West Sussex County Council, the Department of Education, and what seemed like a legion of lawyers. Neil Strowger deserves congratulation for his patience and persistence in steering this difficult project to conclusion.

SGS brings a new dimension to BET, as a well-established (since 1648!) state secondary school of ~2,200 pupils, with both a large sixth form of about 450 students and boarding provision for around 250 pupils. To assist in the smooth integration into BET, Mark Marande (Principal of TPS), as Interim Executive Head of SGS, will spend about 2 days/week at SGS until next summer. Mark, of course, is supported by his Leadership team, who continue with the smooth running of TPS. I am delighted with this new member of BET, which brings our pupil numbers to over 10,000, and is geographically close to our Worthing and Horsham schools. We look forward to learning from SGS and exchanging expertise to our mutual benefit.

Finally, I wish you a very Happy New Year, as we look forward to Better Times soon!

DR RAY MORTON

Chair of the Trust Board

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E D U C AT I O N T RU S T

MESSAGE FROM THE TRUST LEADER Welcome back - to a new calendar year, after a tumultuous nine months. I choose this word carefully, as I believe its etymology - from the Latin tumultuosus, meaning full of bustle or confusion, disorderly, turbulent - to perfectly encapsulate the most extraordinary year of our time.

2020 was full of the typical bustle of a hectic start to a new year albeit with the emerging, yet still distant, portent of COVID-19 in the East. We were busy with life rather than taking the auspices.

Bustle turned to confusion a few short months later with the advent of the first, of what would become three, lockdowns. At the time of writing, we are again caught in the throes of disorder and confusion as the government seeks to provide a road map to our safe return to classrooms.

Pandemic or not, BET remains an extraordinary place to work.

We have led in 2020 where government policy has followed.

We were pioneers in the provision of IT equipment and access to our most disadvantaged children. We have passed two site HSE inspections and welcomed two Ofsted visits. We have raised nearly £10,000 to feed the vulnerable in our communities.

We have produced research to inform national debate. We are actively campaigning for reform to assessment nationally as a founding member of the ‘Rethinking Assessment’ movement.

No matter the uncertainty and vicissitude 2021 will bring - aside death and taxes – we go forward with unshakeable confidence, faith in, and commitment to, the children and communities we serve.

I hope that you all have found peace and time together with your families and are slowly invigorating for what will again be a year like no other. Our work must and will go on; it is too important not to. It is certain that we will return to blended learning with attendance in school limited to the exam year groups of 11 and 13, together with key worker children and the vulnerable. We have adroitly managed the unique challenges of being at once in the classroom and online. I recognise that this ‘mixed economy’ is more demanding than being exclusively in the classroom or exclusively virtual.

Happy New Year!

If, like me, you did not have the prescience to invest heavily in Amazon shares at this point last year then you will shortly be joining me back in our schools and classrooms in the real and/or virtual world. I may not have commended investment in Amazon stock to you, but I do draw upon Bezos’ refrain (known to science teachers everywhere), “If you double the number of experiments you do each year, you’re going to double your inventiveness.”

Trust Leader of BET

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NEIL STROWGER

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FIRST FOR FOOD: BET’S ALL-TRUST FUNDRAISER FOR LOCAL FOOD BANKS RAISES NEARLY £10,000 DURING DECEMBER, BOHUNT EDUCATION TRUST’S (BET) FIRST TRUST-WIDE FUNDRAISING EVENT, FIRST FOR FOOD, RAISED £8,417 TO SUPPORT LOCAL FOOD BANKS NEAR EACH OF ITS FAMILY OF SCHOOLS.

BET’s ‘game-changing’ ethos, which is built on empowering its students to act for a better world, led to the Trust raising awareness of challenges such as food poverty - an issue which has become increasingly prevalent amongst families since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

All eight BET schools across the South of England, plus City Academy in Norwich – for which BET provides school improvement support - took part in sponsored non-uniform days, with some selling charity wrist bands.

Students, staff, families and the wider school communities donated generously, making BET’s first trust-wide fundraising a great success and helping to make a game-changing, positive difference to individuals and families most in need, across the immediate communities they support.

Many other local schools in BET’s communities joined the effort, including primary and secondary settings and the state

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and private sectors, demonstrating the power of the Trust’s local partnerships, and the fostering of community spirit during these testing times. The Trust also launched an online First for Food Go Fund Me page, which has so far raised over £1,450. All proceeds will be donated directly to The Trussell Trust, which will not only see more food banks across the country benefit but will also support longer-term work to alleviate the root causes of poverty in the UK. Neil Strowger, Trust Leader, said: “At BET, our game-changing ethos is built on empowering students to act for a better world.

We are extremely proud of the funds that have been raised for First for Food, which shows how a single act of coming together can make a huge difference to those who need it the most. We look forward to 2021, supporting our young people to engage further in social action and citizenship, and be the change they wish to see across their communities - and beyond.”

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GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY FOR BOHUNT HORSHAM A GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY WILL BE ORGANISED SHORTLY TO CELEBRATE AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE FOR THE NEW BOHUNT HORSHAM SCHOOL SITE.

additional outdoor space and accommodation on land adjacent to the current temporary accommodation. In negotiating the extension, the excellent quality of education currently offered

by Bohunt Horsham and the high standards of security and safeguarding provided will not be compromised.

Having been oversubscribed for places in September 2020, BET’s newest school, Bohunt Horsham is thriving.

The School provides exceptionally high-quality education to its students with an impressive breadth and depth of curriculum and is offering 240 co-educational year 7 places in September 2021, which may include students from outside Horsham as well as across the town.

Whilst there is a slight delay in delivery of the new school site due to COVID and conservation issues, these matters are now resolved, work onsite is now underway and it is expected that a move into a brand new, purpose-built school will happen in December 2021.

Georgette Ayling, Headteacher of Bohunt Horsham, said, “I am thrilled to be watching developments on our new site continue now at pace; the support of our fantastic school community during this uncertain time has been overwhelming.

Students have been immersed in our wide range of cultural, industry, arts, sporting and higher and further education since we opened our doors and I look forward to the coming year.”

For the autumn term of 2021, Bohunt Horsham has secured

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BET AND ARUNDEL CASTLE CRICKET FOUNDATION LAUNCH OUTDOOR RESEARCH PROGRAMME TO AID STUDENT SUCCESS A NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMME LAUNCHED BY THE ARUNDEL CASTLE CRICKET FOUNDATION (ACCF) AND BOHUNT EDUCATION TRUST (BET) AIMS TO INFORM HOW CRICKET AND THE OUTDOORS CAN SUPPORT STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH DISADVANTAGE, ANXIETY, ENGAGEMENT AND/OR BEHAVIOUR AT SECONDARY SCHOOL.

Funding for the project has kindly been provided by ACCF and by a grant from Ned’s Fund, which exists to support vocational activities for young people who find themselves, lacking purpose in life.

every child has an equal chance in school.

Whilst studies have suggested that sport and outdoor education such as bushcraft have benefits to young people, the ambitious programme will look in detail at the types of intervention that work best for different profiles of student. The programme aims to allow targeted interventions to be developed so that students have greater chance to thrive at secondary school and beyond.

Neil Strowger, Trust Leader at BET said: “Outdoor activities and education can be life-changing experiences for many children.

Some with very little confidence have gone on to be head boys and girls; others with little self-belief or who may have disengaged with school entirely have achieved excellent exam results and reached positive destinations.

The timing of this programme is of further relevance given the increased risk to young people’s mental health posed by COVID-19, emphasising the need for alternative, creative programmes such as this to support young people both during and post this challenging period.

It is hoped that in 2021, more than 230 students from the BET family of eight schools will be involved in a series of visits to ACCF’s incredible grounds, to take part in activities including: cricket coaching, bushcraft courses, health-based activities, and visits to Arundel Castle and its gardens.

The activities will allow students to develop skills in resilience and self-confidence, which school staff will translate back into the classroom. Evaluation of the results will be completed

by ImpactEd, a professional research organisation, so that all schools within and beyond BET can learn how best to ensure

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The new project will support BET’s ongoing work into the benefits of outdoor education and will ensure that curriculum policies are informed by the best possible research.

At BET, we welcome opportunities for collaboration and gamechanging research. This programme breaks new ground by informing and giving us the chance to ensure that connections between student profiles and different types of outdoor activity intervention can be properly considered.”

Tim Shutt, Director of the Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation said: “Our education-rich surrounds are ideally suited to providing life-changing learning experiences to young people who may be facing some form of disadvantage or simply struggling with school. The need for interventions such as this, as we sit within a global pandemic, is as great as it has ever been.

We are delighted to be forming this educational partnership with BET, whose ethos is very much aligned to ours. The Trust’s passion for transforming the lives of young people needing support is hugely inspiring.

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BETTER TIMES ARE COMING: EMMA WILLIAMS, BET SAFEGUARDING AND WELLBEING LEAD WE MAY ALL BE FACING THE SAME STORM, BUT WE ARE NOT ALL IN THE SAME BOAT. ACROSS OUR FLOTILLA OF STUDENTS, SOME MAY BE INSTAGRAMMING ON THE SUNDECK WHILST OTHERS BATTLE THE WAVES IN A DINGHY. Our students face inequalities: in their access to a bedroom, a space to work, internet access, a functioning laptop, peace, support, food…to name just a few. Disadvantage must consider social, as well as financial circumstances.

Many students have flourished in their time away from school. Indeed, some research suggests wellbeing for significant numbers of students improved through school closures. We must seek to understand this. For others students and teams - school is a haven: a place where the frequencies of life can tune into learning and tune out of the ‘other stuff’. For some of our children, 2020 was a grim year, evidenced through declines in mental health and wellbeing; increases in students claiming free school meals and in domestic violence.

To provide for our students, we must first care for ourselves, the approaches we take with our students extend to those with our colleagues. There have been countless examples of this during our experiences throughout COVID-19; from humour joining Zoom meetings to staff quizzes, from a simple, but oh so meaningful, “Hi, how are you?” to hot chocolate and donuts during CPD sessions.

Wellbeing does not require big gestures but is underpinned by relationships. Cherish the relationships you have in your teams, schools and across the BET family. The New Year brings so much opportunity and a newer normal is just on the horizon. Before we know it, the wind will be filling our sails

Despite this, our students have demonstrated resilience, adaptability, strength and compassion. Indeed, measure for measure, attendance figures for all groups of our students have held incredibly well, being above national averages across the board. Every day we greet students alight with a new understanding of the imperative of education, and the value teachers bring to their lives.

This has not happened in a vacuum, but has been nurtured through relentless guidance and care, and unconditional positive regard across teams in every school. We have done so much to support students to not only cope, but to flourish. Our gamechangers of the future are in your safe hands.

Harvard University’s The Human Flourishing Program has developed a measurement approach to human flourishing, based around five central domains: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. Each of these is nearly universally desired, and each constitutes an end in and of itself. Every day I reflect on how privileged we are to significantly influence, impact and guide our young people’s futures. I also reflect on how lucky our students are to have this team - persistent care; diligent care; patient care.

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“COW… ANOTHER COW.” “ACTUALLY, I THINK THAT WAS THE SAME ONE.”

BY PHIL AVERY, BET DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION • 0% of students who agreed with the following statement in a survey were in the bottom quartile with regards to progress: ‘As soon as I know I have a test I plan out regular sessions until the night before the test’ • Only 13% of students who discussed schoolwork with their parents/guardians three or more times each week were in the lowest quartile with regards to progress (this compares to 61% of students who didn’t discuss schoolwork with their parents/guardians each week).

The answers to these questions are relatively easy to find out. The second bullet could prompt me to text parents with questions to ask their children. The first bullet point might lead me to put together a programme for my students during reteach weeks: • Y7: All students complete a course exploring why, how and when to ‘revise’.

Which would you have more faith in?

• A: The weather forecast ten days out • B: Your prediction of the final grade of a Y11 or Y13 student in your own class If your answer to the above question was, ‘hmm, tricky, I think they are about the same’ then you would be right. (Separate) studies from 2019 showed that: • Ten-day weather forecasts were right about 50% of the time • Teachers’ A Level predictions were right about 45% of the time I’m not sure I like being only as good as a ten day out weather forecast. Maybe we at BET are better than the quoted study?

Sadly, no: a study in a BET school on their 2019 results showed teachers’ Y11 spring predictions were right only 37% of the time.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be too upset, as humans are far less reliable/ consistent than physics (the fine structure constant throughout the universe notwithstanding), the MET Office supercomputer completes 14 trillion calculations per second, which is probably more than SIMS and the study showed that teachers were within one grade 90% of the time. Also, the marking consistency of exams has been shown to go nearly as low as 50% (English Literature) and so the error might not be mine.

Could I do better though, by asking different questions? Quite possibly. Research suggests ‘leading indicators’ could clarify students’ chances of academic success:

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• Y8: Students are guided through a pre-planned revision process ahead of their BET assessments.

• Y9: Students are encouraged to repeat the process in school time, but more independently. Assessments show which students have cracked revision and which need more support.

• Y10: Students regularly check in with me regarding their revision. They can request or be referred for more direct help if needed.

• Y11: A repeat of Y10. I cut back on my ‘revision’ lessons and put more time into highly targeted interventions, subject clinics and, importantly, revamping the curriculum where the data shows I/we didn’t teach it very well.

The good news is, we’ve already started on this. Our BET research programme with ImpactEd has featured several ‘leading indicators’ that give us an insight into our students and their lives like never before. For example, across BET we know that: • Only one school in the Trust saw a significant increase in persistence during lockdown • 21% of our students don’t have good learning routines at home • 15% of our students don’t have a quiet place to study at home.

We also know how anxious they were feeling, whether they understood the online instructions, whether they exercised regularly, whether they were interested in the work, if they

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were finishing things and more. This data is available, by student, is going to be updated in November and can be correlated with our BET assessments to work out which interventions are needed for which students and how our teaching over time needs to adapt to encourage behaviours that will set our students up for successful, healthy lives (and good exam grades).

This approach to data has already made a difference: • The shown IT gap within BET meant that within days of lockdown starting we had implemented our own donation scheme that yielded £10,500 in donations and over 100 devices. This meant all our students had access to IT during lockdown. Our challenge now is to make sure that the device and the amount of access is as appropriate as it can be, hence Steyning Grammar School and The Petersfield School are launching 1-2-1 iPad schemes soon.

• Students at virtually every school in the Trust reported increasing wellbeing as lockdown went on. This mirrors the national picture. Unlike the national picture though, our Pupil Premium students in virtually every school also reported increasing wellbeing.

• We seek meaningful data that helps us change things for our students and possibly even wider: our Trust formed a significant part of the ImpactEd study on COVID, which was fed into high levels of the DfE and probably helped shape national policy; we are continuing to push for a broader approach to education that provides all with the opportunity for success through our involvement with Rethinking Assessment; and have research projects to do with the outdoors, technology, literacy and COVID running.

Furthermore, there is support available to anyone in the Trust who wants to run their own research programmes. What ideas do you have to stir up a storm in education?

Below is a superb piece of artwork by one of our students (Lily, Y10, TPS), who was responding to a challenge to express what lockdown meant to her creatively. The larger the head the more recent the thought. Her most recent thoughts seem to be of health, life and light. It would be wonderful if our questioning (of ourselves and our students) and what we are striving for (health and vitality) ended in the same place.

So why the reference to the film Twister in the title of this article? Jo Thornton, a meteorologist and storm chaser in the film, is motivated to better predict tornadoes, owing to one killing her father when she was five years old. She seeks to do that by working with a team of innovative mavericks who work out new ways of getting better information than anybody else, which allows them to model tornadoes better than anyone else. They innovate, they dare to be different, they ask great questions, and they seek meaningful data that helps them fulfil their mission. I think the parallels with what BET is trying to do are significant: • We have a vision for education that is about more than just exam grades: game-changers • We are willing to innovate to strive for that vision: 1-2-1 schemes, immersion language teaching, the teaching of Mandarin, our own DofE app, outdoor classrooms etc.

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SPOTLIGHT ON… EMILY EVANS, LEAD PRACTITIONER FOR VIRTUAL SCHOOL

V I RT UA L

I became Lead Practitioner for the Virtual School in January 2020. At first, I did think the role title belonged in the pages of a Dystopian Science Fiction novel, however I discovered the role combines two elements of teaching that are close to my heart: literacy and strategic support for disadvantaged students across the Trust. My passion and expertise around staff development and training has also been a core part of the role. I also knew my Educational research background from my MA and Chartered Teacher Qualification would come in useful when designing interventions and training for the Trust.

I knew I would be covering miles in my car so invested in many audio books (I would recommend “The Pigeon Tunnel” by John Le Carre) to help propel me to Trust schools. I am convinced the road moves every time I drive to Liphook. A typical day doesn’t really exist. I can be talking through the best practice for Lexia one day, keeping up to date with the latest EEF reports and thinking about how it would translate in the classroom the next, followed by a day of recording and re-recording Loom videos on authentic talk or observing practitioners and advising on how best to structure extended writing. Being a Lead Practitioner for the Virtual School seemed particularly ironic when schools closed, and my role became truly ‘virtual’: I have enjoyed getting back into schools and feeling more connected to the classroom again.

My favourite part of the job is working with teachers from other subject specialisms as I find walking into different classrooms

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inspiration for my own teaching. It is such a privilege to experience another subject, I have to stop myself from getting too involved in the learning myself. I see my role as providing a perspective through the lens of literacy; the biggest challenge is to keep the skills closely aligned to the subject specialism and the requirements of the exam boards without becoming an add on or losing authenticity (no one needs a maths news report).

I recently visited Priory School, working with the history department to look at ways in which to support students with low literacy be successful with such a heavy literacy load. I thoroughly enjoyed watching such skilled history practitioners (along with sharing Tunnock Teacakes, my visit snack of choice) across the age range and then created some literacy resources to support revision. These were then shared across the Trust and I felt a real sense of satisfaction that my approach could impact the classroom on such a wide scale. This felt like a real triumph.

Working closely with Gary Green, Head of Virtual School, and his team of practitioners, I have also loved creating a bank of training resources for all schools. Gary and I have become good at giving and receiving constructive criticism around our sessions which has meant quite a few re-writes but also a sense of creating something of a high quality and purpose. I have strong principles that all CPD should be relevant to classroom practice and I hope these principles are reflected in all the work I do for this role.

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BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW… LANI, HEAD GIRL, YEAR 8, CITY ACADEMY NORWICH (CAN)

Give one example of something you enjoy, respect or have achieved at CAN?

I enjoy being Head Girl, on the School Council and House Captain. I have achieved making new friends, as I barely knew anyone when I joined.

What are your strengths?

What subjects do you enjoy most at CAN, and why?

I love PE, because I’m super active and like to keep healthy, I attend a lot of physical activity clubs outside of school, as well as in school. In PE we can choose the activities we want to do.

Science: we use lots of equipment and the classroom is big, bright and airy. I always look forward to science.

I’m determined, loyal, strong, observant, have a good memory and am also mindful of others and their feelings. I am friendly and kind.

What are your plans when you leave CAN?

What are your weaknesses?

What does being a school leader mean to you?

I can be impatient if I have to keep repeating myself. I can be messy at times, and indecisive when asked to make decisions quickly as I need time to think.

Encouraging and helping others; helping with school decisions; arranging events; showing determination and being strong in your decisions.

Teaching music and dance, or PE – something musical and/or physical.

What or who inspires you?

My family, dancers I watch on You Tube who inspire me as I may want to be a dancer one day.

Your favourite line from a book or film?

‘‘Friends don’t lie’ from Stranger Things.

What’s your favourite food?

Full roast dinner, especially Christmas dinner!

Three words that describe you?

Honest, bubbly, cheerfully-active.

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BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW… HARLEY, HEAD BOY, YEAR 9, CITY ACADEMY NORWICH (CAN)

Give one example of something you enjoy, respect or have achieved at CAN?

What subjects do you enjoy most at CAN, and why?

Enjoy: I have enjoyed doing the pantomimes at Christmas, putting on performances for families to come and watch. I really enjoyed performing in Robin Hood.

Music – because you can learn a variety of different instruments, and it’s engaging and challenging in every lesson.

Drama: because you can freely be yourself and feel safe to act in front of your year group.

What are your strengths?

What are your plans when you leave CAN?

Being able to ignore distractions and to always give my full effort into everything I do.

To find a music and drama college to pursue my love of music and performance.

What are your weaknesses?

What does being a school leader mean to you?

PE.

I can represent the voice of students – especially those who aren’t confident talking in a big group or to school leaders. I listen to everyone and put their views across to senior leaders, making sure their ideas are heard. To make the school a better place for future students.

What or who inspires you?

An ex-CAN student, Emily, who drew my eyes towards the things I could achieve. She was always true about everything.

Also, Miss Clarke – a teacher who has always supported me to achieve my goals.

Your favourite line from a book or film?

“No one has more resilience or matches my tactical practical brilliance (from Hamilton).

What’s your favourite food?

McDonalds Chicken Nuggets.

Three words that describe you?

Hardworking, kind, positive.

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: UNDERCOVER AUTHOR, CAN

As a school based in Norwich, we are fortunate to be in a city which is not only a UNESCO City of Literature, but home to the National Centre for Writing, and – our neighbours - the University of Anglia, well known for its prestigious creative writing course and notable alumni such as Sir Kazuo Ishiguro (Nobel Prize for Literature 2017), John Boyne (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) and Anne Enright (The Gathering).

With such a rich creative heritage, there are great opportunities for our students at CAN on our doorstep.

One of these is Undercover Authors, now in its second year.

It’s a creative writing competition and short story project run in partnership with East Anglian Collaborative Outreach, Take Your Place and higher education providers in East Anglia. It sets out to raise the passion and ambition of Year 9 students, who take part in a series of author presentations, masterclasses and creative writing workshops and have their work published in an anthology printed by the UEA.

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Winners are chosen by author Alexander Gordon Smith from each school taking part and they receive an illustration, drawn by students at the UEA, interpreting their story.

The winner from City Academy Norwich was Lee for his story ‘Escape’.

Mr Collin, Headteacher at CAN, said: “Undercover Authors is a fantastic partnership which encourages young people to explore their creative writing talents. We are thrilled to, yet again, have a number of our young authors included in this years’ published anthology”.

Read the story in full on the next page

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: UNDERCOVER AUTHOR, CAN

ESCAPE There I was – surrounded by cold, concrete wall with my only light source a dim-lit candle. Every now and again a figure would walk past. I didn’t know what they were, but I didn’t want to stay around to find out; I had to escape.

I started to search around my cell for any sort of escape route. I looked and looked and then I found it. On the ceiling was a rusty, worn vent cover. I quickly jumped up onto my bed and started pulling at it. I pulled and pulled then, suddenly – CRASH! The sound of footsteps quickly filled the corridor. I grabbed the vent and myself and got under the covers. I heard the footsteps getting closer and closer, tip, tap, tip, tap. The footsteps stopped and were replaced by heavy breathing which was just outside my cell. I could feel its eyes looking at every single detail of my cell. The only thing I could do was pray it didn’t notice the hole in the ceiling. It felt like an eternity, but it finally left. I let out a gasp of relief. I knew it wouldn’t be long until it came back. I stood up on my bed and started to climb into the vent.

shoot, but I called it an exit. I started to head towards it but then, in the corner of my eye, I saw something – something that would haunt nightmares. A giant seven-foot creature which had layers of fat covering its skeleton. I wanted to scream but forced myself not to. Its face was covered in marks of red flesh which had, over time, become infected. It started to walk over to the counter, picked up a huge butcher’s knife and starting chopping. The knife banging on the counter was enough to give me a headache but that was the least of my worries. I noticed something dangling over the edge of the counter. I didn’t know what it was at first, but my brain quickly came to the horrible realization – it was a child’s leg!

My mind started to rush but only one though came into focus – I needed to escape.

The vent was small and cramped but luckily, it was big enough for a small child like me. I crawled for what seemed like an hour but then I found it – an open vent cover. I rushed over to it and looked through to see if it was safe to jump down. The only thing I could see was a tiled floor and dirty pans. Must be a kitchen I thought to myself.

The thought of food alone quickly pushed me through the small hole. I surveyed my surroundings – no danger. As soon as I realized that, I started to search for food. I looked in every pot, pan and cupboard until my search was stopped by the sound of a door being swung open and footsteps coming in my direction.

I started to panic. I quickly shoved myself into an open cupboard and quietly closed the door. Soon enough the footsteps got louder and louder until, silence. The only sound which filled my ears was the sound of my breath. But soon enough the silence was disrupted by the sound of pots and pans clashing together, but the only thing I could of was, how can I escape?

I opened the cupboard just enough so I could peek through. I saw nothing. But the sound still filled the room. I could not just sit here and starve, so I quietly got out of the cupboard and crouched down as low as I could. As soon as I looked up, I noticed something in the corner of the room; a garbage

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BETTER TIMES

FORMER CAN STUDENT INTERVIEW ALISHA

Memories of City Academy Norwich At school, I was a different person. I was very shy, never outspoken, I had no self-confidence. I knew I wanted to do well but didn’t quite believe I could. I’ve always been creative, so I loved dance, art and photography. I had my heart set on becoming a dancer. But I didn’t believe in myself enough. I discovered a passion for photography in my last year and wanted to pursue that as a career.

What did you do when you left CAN? I applied for college, to dance. The audition terrified me. It was the hardest thing I had done. Despite struggling, I was offered a place on the course. I remember coming out of the audition room, as soon as I was alone, I burst into tears and said to myself “I can’t do this”. I believed my own lies so much that I didn’t go and pursue college. It was then I reached out to my former photography teacher at CAN, Miss Mallett, who gave me work experience helping KS4 students. This helped cement my love of photography. A job came up for a photography assistant at a studio and my friends told me to go for it, but I never applied. That self-doubt was still there, so I never got that opportunity, because again, I didn’t believe in myself.

Despite that, I did start my own Facebook business and started photographing families, friends - I even got asked to photograph the school proms (which was scary!). I had many people reach out and was highly recommended. However, I wasn’t making a living and I soon discovered the only way to make money from it would be to photograph weddings. Mrs Mooney (another teacher who is important to me) gave me an amazing opportunity to shadow a wedding photographer on the job and although this was awesome (Jack Whitehall was there!) the self-doubt crept in and I told myself “I can’t do this”. So, it wasn’t long after that I stopped my photography altogether.

When/How did you start modelling?

I started modelling when I was 18. It’s quite ironic: almost my whole teenage life I had comments that I should pursue modelling. Even

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when I started photography people would always say “you should be on the other side of the camera.” I didn’t believe any of it. However, a little self-belief came my way when I was at a festival in 2015 and an agency scout from London approached me. Someone that’s in the modelling industry saw potential in me to be a model? That was crazy to me! A lot of battling in my mind, I just went for it. I got my friend to do some natural shots in my bedroom. I sent over the photos and waited for a reply. That was HUGE for me. The most important thing to me was that I took that action and I believed in myself, something that I had never done. Shortly after, I had photographer ask if I could model for her. With this little self-belief I had, I said yes! That’s how it started really, from there I built a portfolio of images, made great contacts and signed with my first London agency shortly after.

Fast forward to today, modelling isn’t something I do full time. I still live in Norwich so I’m not on the doorstep of London where most of opportunities are. But that doesn’t stop me. I work a part/full time job alongside and always have. It’s a hustle. I’ve done jobs I really hated, really didn’t want to do, just to get by but still concentrating on building a career in modelling. I’m now really focusing on influencing and my YouTube channel alongside modelling too! I’m determined to work hard and do what I need to do to build the life I’ve been dreaming of and the most important thing is that I now believe in myself and I tell myself, I CAN do it!

How did you feel when your photos appeared in Vogue and Tatler?

Happy! Seeing my face in there was surreal. I’ve modelled several times for Veronika Guardi and the opportunity alone was amazing but to then have our work published in Vogue and Tatler was amazing! To shoot for Vogue one day would be incredible. I’m still not quite used to seeing my face published. I’ve seen people literally sitting down reading a book with my face on, I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever get used to.

Thinking back over the years since you were at CAN, what advice would you give to current students?

To believe in yourself. I wasted so much time, so many opportunities because I didn’t. Don’t waste that, don’t waste yourself! Recognise your potential, even if nobody else does. The only person that’s going to get you places is you. So, no matter what it is, if you want those good grades, believe you are going to get them. If you want that job when you leave education, believe that you are going to get it. No matter what it is, just believe it is yours and the opportunities are endless. I wish I had started believing in myself sooner. Also, be kind to yourself, when you start thinking positively about yourself, you feel good about yourself and that energy projects - onto your family, your friends, everyone around you. That’s what we want, positive vibes!

Lastly, use the teachers and people around you. They believe in you and could help you later with contacts, opportunities! Having great relationships with people can be helpful.

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BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW… CHARLIE BATTISSON, GEOGRAPHY TEACHER AND YEAR 9 TUTOR; D OF E LEAD AT THE COSTELLO SCHOOL

I asked Charlie as she is always so happy and helpful and really does demonstrate the word Enjoy from the inside and out!

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

A barking dog or a small child but I get up early to do some selfdevelopment. Reading, positive affirmations, meditation and my gratitude journal are how I like to start my day and the thought of being the best version of me.

What’s your favourite song lyric or line from a film?

Hey, don’t write yourself off yet, It’s only in your head, you feel left out, or looked down on. Just try your best, try everything you can, and don’t you worry what they tell themselves when you’re away. ‘The Middle’ by Jimmy Eat World.

What’s the best thing about working at BET?

How would you describe your job to a child?

The team spirit among all the staff is second to none and the sense of community we have is brilliant.

I help young people learn new things about the world around us.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

What is your biggest ‘game-changing’ achievement, personal or professional?

I would be a butterfly so I could float around beautiful gardens and meadows all day.

In 2010 I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro which was physically and mentally the hardest thing I have ever done. My team and I raised just over £8,000 for Epilepsy Action, a charity which is close to my heart.

What two things would you take to a desert island?

What three words would you use to describe your job?

A good book and a hammock!

Tell us a joke.

Why did the Romanian stop reading?

To give the Bucharest.

Rewarding, Fulfilling, Exciting – every day brings something new!

Where you do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Teaching a new cohort of wonderful students.

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BETTER TIMES

PUZZLES! BY THE COSTELLO SCHOOL CAN YOU COMPLETE THESE BRAINTEASERS, BY RALPH, MADDIE, RUBY AND GRACE, ALL IN YEAR 9 AT THE COSTELLO SCHOOL? ANSWERS AT THE BACK!

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BOHUNT HORSHAM - ISOLATION AND REUNION: BY GEORGETTE AYLING, HEADTEACHER “I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD THAT FLOATS ON HIGH O’ER VALES AND HILLS, WHEN ALL AT ONCE I SAW A CROWD, A HOST, OF GOLDEN DAFFODILS.” WILLIAM WORDSWORTH We ended the summer term, as we would have done under ‘normal’ circumstances, with a celebration. Each faculty celebrated winners, which happens each term, under three categories: the student who had made the best progress, the student who was consistently brilliant all term and the student who had become better in terms of progress or conduct within that faculty. Best, brilliant, better - three types of achievement to celebrate in all three-faculty areas.

These weren’t normal circumstances though; the summer term of 2020 was one in which education was conducted remotely for all but the children of keyworkers and our most vulnerable learners. It seemed absolutely fitting therefore, that the third ever recipient of the Bohunt Horsham Headteacher’s Award was Hayden. Since joining us in September 2019, Hayden’s progress has been outstanding; some students find a classroom environment, the process of listening to an expert whilst 29 of your peers surround you demonstrate their own varying degrees of focus easy. Some find all that distraction and the weight of all the expectations that you find in a classroom a real challenge. Hayden is one of those that must work extra hard in lessons to be able to focus on what’s important and what he needs to do. Not only did he show exceptional determination throughout terms one and two but, when the world closed and our world with it, Hayden chose not to give up.

Throughout, as a school, we celebrated our engagement in remote learning. While nationally, the number of students learning outside school dropped and dropped, every week ours remained steadfast at over 90%. What’s more, of those 10% who, at any one time weren’t online and engaged in lessons from home, the vast majority were doing something equally important and often something that their families knew was vital to get them through the tough times we were all facing.

Some were off on nature walks within family bubbles, some were participating in virtual get-togethers with loved ones, and some were lost in a world of fiction in their favourite book, film or game. Hayden though, never missed a lesson. Not just that, he never missed a virtual assembly or a virtual school trip. His progress soared and he thrived. My amazing team of dedicated teachers is a factor in that success, of course; they planned and delivered lessons, supportive Zoom calls and

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provided vital feedback that Hayden needed to keep his love of learning alive, Hayden’s parents too played an enormous role in keeping Hayden focused and motivated, keeping him on track and supporting him every step of the way.

The real hero though, is Hayden. Hayden chose to make something incredible out of something awful and, when our gates opened again in September 2020, he was one of the first to bounce (literally) into school with a smile on his face and a determination to succeed that we can all learn from.

Hayden, I can’t imagine anyone will ever deserve this prize more than you; I can’t wait to see what you do next.

BETTER TIMES

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: WHY WE ENJOY DEBATE CLUB AT BOHUNT HORSHAM. BY MATTIE, YEAR 8, BOHUNT HORSHAM

keen to introduce people who we think may also enjoy it. Ms Richardson has already started talking about debating trips and we hope this can happen soon.

As young people, in a weird world at the moment, debating gives us the space to have our say. We have been discussing the US election a LOT. I think it has made us more engaged and enthusiastic about politics, as we see how much it affects our world.

Many of us who enjoy Debate Club have strong opinions about how debating is important, such as Tilly, who said, “Debating is very important to me because it will help me achieve the job that I want”. Amira stated, “I feel like debating is important because we get to express our opinions on topics, but we also get to see things from other perspectives too”. Issy says, “When you debate, you feel like you’re having an impact on the world around you”.

Bohunt Horsham provides a range of many different clubs including Debating Club, which I happen to attend. We meet every Friday after school in the English room, and we have formal (and sometimes informal) debates.

We usually start by discussing the topic that we’ll be debating.

We have covered interesting topics such as animal testing, voting age and veganism and we discuss both the opposition and the proposition’s arguments. We then get into teams and begin to research. We spend a lot of time researching because we think it’s very important that you have solid points and evidence.

Our passion for debating has brought us closer together, and many of us have made new friends because of it. We regularly talk about Debate Club outside (and inside) of lessons during the week and we can propose topics to debate at the club. We all love attending and feel like it plays a big part in our life not just in school, but outside the classroom too. It offers us the chance to de-stress after a long school week and we can be ourselves without worrying about being judged.

We then watch the teams debate. We always have a laugh, but when the debates start - it gets serious. We all have a passion for debating (and arguing), and we believe that it’s a very good way to de-stress on a Friday after an eventful school week, especially during the BET assessments! We can relax knowing that we have a lovely place to go to, see our friends and to do something we love. This has been even more special during lockdown when we can’t see our friends outside school.

During this uncertain time, we have had to be careful about social distancing, so we have limited the number of students allowed to attend clubs. We hope that after lockdown we can continue to run this club with many more students, as we are

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GAME-CHANGING BOHUNT SCHOOL ALUMNI STUDENT OPENS ‘SIMPLY VINTAGE’ Alumni Jack, a student at Bohunt School in Liphook from 2011 - 2016, has recently opened a new vintage clothing store in Grayshott, Hampshire. Expansion and success of his business since leaving school four years ago have allowed Jack to lease a village store. His shop, ‘Simply Vintage’ opened in October 2020, selling vintage and modern fashion pieces directly to the public, a continuation of his online clothing store Studio21Vintage.

Jack explains why his time at Bohunt made him an example of a ‘game-changer’ who leaves school to take their place in the world.

What did you study at school?

I studied History, Media Studies, GCSE PE, and French. I was mainly interested in PE or a career in sport, as I really enjoyed playing football – however, after I left Bohunt I went to Alton College as there wasn’t a Sixth Form then. I studied Maths, Graphics and Economics. I realised I was interested in opening my own business, so after six months, I decided to open my first small shop in Guildford in 2017. I took a leap of faith!

How did you arrive at the idea for your business?

I used to go into charity shops and look for items to sell online. It is common now but back in 2014 no one really did that, so I used to find some decent stuff. I used to enjoy the buying side of it and my friends used to come round and look at the clothes in my garage and buy little bits here and there. That’s how it all started really. I suppose I was a bit of an entrepreneur!

What made you choose to start this type of business?

To be honest I haven’t ever had a big interest in fashion, but I have always found vintage clothing cool and used to obsess over old photos of cool clothes. So, for example, when I find items of clothing that are interesting, like an Adidas sweatshirt my dad likes wearing, it is quite interesting that other people can see that the item is nice as well. I suppose this is something that business owners start to learn; what is going to sell well? Speculation!

Can you tell me a little more about ‘Simply Vintage’ and your other businesses?

Simply Vintage is a vintage clothing business which features all types of clothing from Victorian Frocks and WW1 Jackets all the way up to Y2K Jeans and 90s Sportswear. I like to think that anyone can walk into my shop and be able to buy anything from an older man buying his first Barbour coat to a 12-year-old who just wants a Nike hoodie. This has led me to sell on many platforms such as ASOS marketplace, eBay and Depop, and I also sell older more interesting pieces at Portobello Market every Friday.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a school leaver today or someone who wanted to start their own business?

Never doubt yourself and never give up. If you work hard enough at making something what you want it to be, you will make your own luck. When I first started off, some weeks I would only sell two or three things online and it never seemed worth it but if you keep at it, it will pay off in the end.

What mindset or set of goals learned at school have helped make you successful?

One mindset that I think has made me succeed is to be determined, so I suppose you can say I’m completely obsessed with my job. Luckily, I absolutely love my job, so I never feel like it’s hard work! I think it’s also good to be open-minded: in the vintage game you will never know everything!

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I would like to expand to have around two or three shops all around the South of England and start to build a bigger business.

The vintage industry is always growing, and I think this is due to the influence and importance of sustainable fashion.

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BETTER TIMES

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF 2020 BOHUNT JAKE, A YEAR 11 STUDENT AT BOHUNT SCHOOL, HAS WRITTEN A POEM TO CAPTURE THE REFLECTIONS STUDENTS MAY BE FEELING AFTER COMING BACK TO SCHOOL POST-LOCKDOWN. School was daunting in year seven It was scary – I’ll admit, Everyone was so different But I suppose that’s the joy of it.

It’s the small things you don’t realise: All those ups and downs, I wished I cherished those memories When the best times were around.

And then came year eight…

It all seemed to go so fast, I remember always thinking: My life’s coming together at last!

It’s the small things you don’t realise: Reminiscing with your friends You only get one childhood, so Let’s enjoy it until it ends.

So then followed year nine, Our choices had finally been made, We realised: this is the fate of our future, Where daunting thoughts begin to fade.

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It’s the small things you don’t realise: Like the time your mate said, ‘thank you’, Because friendship is not everlasting: If only that was not true.

And on came year ten – I think everyone began to feel older!

Exams just around the corner All the pressure of our lives resting on shoulders.

It’s the small things you don’t realise: Not everything was what it seemed to be, We should enjoy ourselves now or we’ll regret it: And that, I guarantee.

Finally, in year eleven, I felt twelve, mere days ago!

And it becomes now that we consider What to our friends and teachers we owe.

It’s the small things about school That I give all my credit to: My friends, my aspirations, my future, And for that, I say ‘thank you’.

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: BOHUNT SIXTH FORM – POETRY CORNER

BY VICKY KENDALL AND ZOE LEARY

Zoe Leary was selected by judges as one of the 85 commended poets in the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2020. Zoe was selected from over 6,000 entrants and over 15,000 poems this year from across the world, an amazing and impressive achievement.

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is for poets aged 1117. Since it began 22 years ago the Award has kick-started the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices. It is the largest competition of its kind and is free to enter. Each year 100 winners (85 Commendations and 15 Overall Winners) are selected by a team of high-profile judges. The top 15 and 85 commended poets receive a range of book prizes, membership to The Poetry Society and continuing support from The Poetry Society.

Alice as a Mother Last year my daughter said she wanted to live in the garden, so I let her brush her hair on branches, tie her limbs upright with reeds and go abseiling down a rabbit hole where she fell into bluebells which replaced her eyes, wandered into sunlight crying petals, washed her face in the rapids, swam through the long grass who nipped at her feet until she grew wings and became a storm cloud heavy and bursting into the scent of mud, wild garlic and a note of purple veined rosemary blooming into the voice of a maimed bird, who flew back home to sing me the story of how she bit into the lip of a foxglove and survived.

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BETTER TIMES

Vicky: This is a poem I wrote for my Re-creative NEA project for English Literature. The poem was written as a response to the Virginia Woolf novel, Orlando, under the lens of Feminist Gender Theory. The story of Orlando follows a young poet, Orlando, whose life covers over 300 years (1588–1928) while only aging thirty-six years. However, the most important part is that over the duration of the novel Orlando also changes gender from a man to a woman, uplifting themes of gender conflict, feminism, and patriarchy. By the end of the novel Orlando meets her husband, a Man who has also undergone gender transformations, and the two of them have a son. I imagine that as she holds her son, Orlando reflects on her life, her gender and her work through her favourite means, poetry.

By the oak, you seem so small, so fragile, as if the tiniest jolt could break you apart in my arms.

But you were not born fragile, you were not born small.

My son, my child, my Everlasting boyish dream- The towering forests of my future twisted me, Touched me, tweaked me, into the shape of an empty man.

Full of desires, longing for any flowering toy To spend the night with.

And I was proud...

My aches of love upheaved rapids of uncaring sonnets, Tumbling turmoils of names I knew not.

Their sunkissed faces swirling into one ugly mist.

What makes the man if not his list of names?

What makes the man if not his lost opportunities?

What makes the man if not his small minded arrogance?

“What makes a woman?”

I guess I hadn’t thought of that beforeA Stiff upper body Curving, Some hips Shaping, I thought I was a clay doll Being sculpted for sale

Nell I thought I would feel a pressure, I’d seen it all around me, Like a kick, Think of men or don’t think at all.

Write about men or don’t write at all.

Love men or don’t love at all.

Live with a man or don’t live at all Was I wrong to think myself lucky?

My small world had burst open, And my male stomach, Crafted only for nourishment, Now had a purpose.

I was able to stand tall, Despite the weight of the world on my back.

I was able to focus, Despite the eyes around me Watching.

I asked myself What changed?

Was it my chest size Or my hips Or my clothes Or was it my world?

The question I had asked was wrong, It’s not what makes the man or the woman It’s what makes me, me.

And what makes me, Orlando.

The bell tolls on Sunday, 11th October, 2020

I thought I would become someone else’s flowering toy Another forgotten name

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: THEATRE ‘TRIPS’ LIVE ON AT BOHUNT SIXTH FORM IT IS MORE THAN NINE MONTHS SINCE THE GOVERNMENT DECLARED ‘PUBLIC VENUES SUCH AS THEATRES SHOULD NO LONGER BE VISITED.” ADDRESSED TO A NATION OF THEATRE GOERS, IT DID NOT QUITE ADDRESS HOW WE COULD CONTINUE TO INSPIRE AND ENTHUSE OUR DRAMA A-LEVEL STUDENTS, WITHOUT THE PROMISE AND INSPIRATION OF LIVE THEATRE. Graciously, and in large numbers, theatres began opening their digital doors, inviting audiences to experience recorded theatre at home. Rapidly, a new virtual community of ‘at home’ theatre audiences formed.

‘Community’, something Drama so often creates and is at the heart of our schools, was what we quickly needed within Drama A-Level under lockdown.

Therefore, we set up a new weekly, online ‘Theatre Review Club’ for Year 12 and 13 Drama students. They were issued with a digital play to watch, which they would then fervently discuss in our online club. Our viewings consisted of the likes of the National Theatre’s Jane Eyre, A Streetcar Named Desire with Gillian Anderson, the refugee thriller The Container and even a Glyndebourne Opera. Before Zoom, is there such a life, we could only discuss using typed comments. Post Easter, Zoom discussions were in full flow, where reaction buttons quickly became the norm for students excited to review and debate. With one student compiling a weekly poll as to who she thought would have enjoyed or disliked the performance, so in tune was she with her peer’s developing theatrical tastes.

It was these discussions particularly that I benefited from the most. Although I enjoyed this unconventional piece of theatre, some of my peers struggled with the auditory overload, clearly showing the effect this type of theatre can have on audiences.

This discussion enabled me to develop further understanding for the theatre I enjoyed, the practitioner I am to become and the techniques I wanted to try in my future devised work.

Theatre holds key importance for society in general and I am delighted we were not without it. It acts as a space for audiences to suspend or transcend reality and, in some cases, it becomes a vector for change. Thus, I sincerely hope that affordable theatre for the masses continues beyond the confines of the Covid-19 pandemic and that, one day, audiences may once again feel the exhilaration of the raw experience of live theatre.

-Joe Standing, Y13, Bohunt Sixth Form

Images copyright: Twelfth Night at The National Theatre

For students and staff alike, this enabled theatre and community to continue to thrive at Bohunt Sixth Form. As we headed back to school, such virtual trips have continued too. Only this time, students recline in the comfort of our studio, with beanbags, blackout electric curtains and the chance to instantaneously discuss theatre. Theatre ‘trips’ live on here and so too does the inspiration of our bravest theatre makers.

-Deborah Lampard, Head of Drama, Bohunt Sixth Form

The National Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night, directed by Simon Godwin, modernised a timeless play. Using vivid colours and LED lights, the production became contemporary in nature, regardless of its Shakespearean tongue. Another creative set design was the minimalistic set of The Encounter by Complicite.

Here, as opposed to viewing a mass of action, the performance took us on an auditory journey; we delved into the adventure and misfortune of Laurel McIntyre by hearing what he heard through headphones. This creative use of sound (something I had never encountered before) blew me away and led to an interesting weekly review!

In early March 2020, we had the incredible opportunity to see Nora: A Doll’s House at London’s Young Vic Theatre, however the air in London foreshadowed changing conditions. We spoke the whole train journey home about the play; we were moved, stirred and inspired. Fast-forward to the end of March and this type of creative encounter was struck off the calendar.

The chance to experience raw, live theatre... gone. In Drama A-Level, so much inspiration is gathered from live theatre and with the prospect of none of this, I was concerned.

Rapidly however, our teachers proposed a ‘Theatre Review Club’, which on reflection was a real lockdown lifeline. Having the opportunity to watch varied, recorded live theatre, to contemplate, reflect and then discuss over zoom allowed me to consider and understand what aspects of theatre I enjoyed, and which I felt were less engaging.

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BETTER TIMES

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: PRIORY SCHOOL STEM TEAM SECOND IN NATIONAL FINALS! Following Priory’s ‘Energy Gym’ team success in the 2019 national finals of the ‘Solutions of the Planet’ STEM competition, Priory team ‘Beau-tiFill’ secured second place in the 2020 national finals.

Solutions for the Planet is a social enterprise with the vision of creating “a world where sustainable practices are commonplace; every young person is equipped with enterprise skills that benefit people and planet; and social creativity, innovation and diversity is built into every business and workplace.” They really are looking for ‘Big Ideas’ to tackle big challenges. Solutions for the Planet firmly believes that big ideas can come from anyone, anywhere and with this in mind they have set out to involve school children from across the country to get involved, identify an environmental or sustainability issue and create a solution – no matter how big!

Keen to engage the game changer spirit of Priory students, back in February Mrs England-Wood, Priory’s STEM Coordinator, organised a ‘Big Ideas’ day for Yr 7, 8 & 9 students. They worked in small teams to collaborate on environmental issues and problems they believe are important to address. Having identified the issues, they then set about coming up with solutions. After presenting their ideas in front of their peers and a panel of industry experts from companies including Tarmac, Mears, Northern Gas Networks, Kongsberg Automotive, and BIC, 3 teams of Priory students were selected for the regional stage to compete against 34 teams from other schools across the whole of the South of England.

Having gained multiple commendations from the judges for their presentation skills and ideas, two Priory teams were then shortlisted to go through to the regional finals: Year 7 - T.Eco - Seren, Williow and Phoebe. To use Portsmouth island tidal energy to power the island, in a non-polluting, ecofriendly way. Ultimately to make Portsmouth self-sufficient in energy usage.

Year 8 - Beau-tifill - Freya, Madeleine and Gracie, who decided to tackle the amount of waste that comes from cosmetics and personal hygiene products.

Both teams worked solidly on their ideas throughout the lockdown period, completing five challenges along with developing their idea, all whilst keeping up with their home learning!

idea’.” Both Priory teams executed their presentations brilliantly on the day and in the end Year 8 team “Beau-tiFill” emerging as the overall winners, retaining the Portsmouth title Priory!

The national finals were planned to take place at Westminster Palace in the Autumn term, but sadly the events of 2020 made this impossible and meant the event had to be held via Zoom. Having completed more challenges over the summer, including creating a website, branding, PR strategy and business plan, the Beau-tiFill team went up against 12 other short-listed teams in November.

During the final, the girls presented their ideas with flair and passion, and answered multiple challenging questions from the judging panel and other special guests including Rt Hon Hilary Been and our local MP RT Hon Stephen Morgan who showed his support for the Priory team on Twitter and spoke on the day of his pride at Priory’s involvement. BIC’s UK marketing Manager commented on the Beau-tiFill teams presentation skills and was extremely keen to use their strap line ‘All of the quality – none of the waste’! At the end of a long day of presentations and panel discussion, Freya and Maddie took second place!

Headteacher Stewart Vaughan met the girls the day after the competition to congratulate them and give them special head teacher’s awards. Of the competition and the team’s success he said, “This epitomises so much of what we are trying to achieve at Priory, promoting brilliant girls in STEM careers and creating young people who have the confidence to be real gamechangers in life. We are so proud of them.”

The competition began earlier this year with approximately 3900 students taking part nationally from 30 schools across England and Scotland. All the Priory students involved this year enjoyed the amazing opportunity to really think big and put their game changing attitudes to work by identifying a vast range of environmental issues and devising innovative way to tackle them. Next year we will be hoping to retain the Portsmouth title for the third year in a row.

Well done to team Beau-tiFill, we look forward to seeing your idea develop further in the future.

Ms England-Wood said “I had the Pleasure of watching the Q&A session with the regional judges on Tuesday and I can say it was a truly Proud to be Priory moment. These young STEM women of the future blew the judges away! They were commended on their work ethic, teamwork, commitment to their innovative ‘Big

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: STUDENT ADVICE FOR NEW YEAR 7s AT PRIORY SCHOOL THE BEGINNING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL IS A HUGE CHANGE, BUT JUST REMEMBER, EVERYONE ELSE HAS GONE THROUGH IT OR IS GOING THROUGH IT AND IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE YOU FIND A FRIENDSHIP GROUP YOU’RE HAPPY IN AND TEACHERS YOU’RE COMFORTABLE TO TALK WITH. Year 7 is a great leap forward in your school career. Many changes are going to take place in the way you go about your day. For instance, in junior school, you would have been used to staying in the same classroom all day.

However, once you reach secondary school you’ll have to move around the site for each lesson. This will help you with your independence and time management. Should you ever get lost or feel overwhelmed, just ask for help as everyone is there to help. You will find signs dotted around the school site to help you identify which subjects are in each area, so if you do not recognise the building name, you can go to the building with the corresponding subject.

Fairly quickly you will adapt to your new surroundings, and you will start to remember the locations of classrooms and names of teachers as well as other students. Another important thing is to make sure you have a spare timetable or a photo of it just in case you lose it - which happens to almost everyone; you can also reprint it to remember your classes.

Even though secondary school may be daunting with new classes, new teachers and new friends, there are many ways that you can make life easier for yourself. Things like bringing the right equipment, waking up early enough, and learning when and where your classes are for the day ahead. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help! There are many teachers and students willing to help. You can speak to an adult, such as your tutor, progress leader or even to one of the student leadership team if you get lost or have any questions.

is plenty of time to hang out with them at break times. Now you need to keep in mind that friends from Junior school may not be the ones you leave at the end of year 11. But this is ok because there will be many more people and new friendships will form.

• You should try out some of the great clubs and extracurricular activities on offer at your school to make new friends and have new experiences, you will probably find a great new hobby or sport to enjoy.

COVID 19 and how it might affect your transition…

COVID 19 has changed how we function as a school, but thankfully not as a community. Whilst the new one-way system and regular hand sanitizing may be annoying or confusing, remember it is with your best interests at heart. Hopefully, things will be back to normal by the time a new Year 7 group joins schools in 2021. However, if any of the new ways of doing things are still in place in September 2021, really this won’t feel as strange as it will quickly become your new normal and you may well have been doing these things in junior school (such as regular hand sanitising and staying in bubbles). With our new one-way system classes are generally simpler to get to and you don’t run into other year groups, which will hopefully make your adjustment even easier! Most importantly, in this difficult time remember to look for the positive, look out for each other and stay safe!

By: Lucy, Lizzie, Romina, Charlie, Barney and Lewis – all Year 10.

5 Top Tips for making your first day that much better…

1. P REPARATION- pack all the things you need in your rucksack the night before.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! - everyone has been in the same position as you.

3. Get involved - most schools have many new and exciting extracurricular activities to try out.

4. Don’t stress- there will always be someone around the school site to talk to if you are feeling worried about something, whether that’s teachers or even just your friends.

5. Get a good night’s sleep- this will help you stay more focused and concentrated during school especially in the first few days…

There’s a lot to take in!

We did a survey for one of our year 7 tutor groups in Priory, to find out how they are fitting in at Priory so far. Some of the things we found out were interesting to say the least:

• 1 in 5 new year 7s were apprehensive in starting at a new school with new people.

• The major issue that came up was a fear of getting lost at school. I’m sure that anyone from our student body will be more than happy to give you directions to your next lesson.

Another fear was the pressure of friendship groups.

• You may not be in the same class as your friends but there

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BETTER TIMES

SPOTLIGHT ON… THE PETERSFIELD SCHOOL (TPS) STAFF FUN

What is the staff lockdown competition?

We are running weekly ‘lockdown’ competitions that are designed to get people doing something other than work at home and things that mean people can have a bit of a laugh. First week was an artistic representation of the SLT team (an example of the winning image is attached) for a bottle of bubbly, this week it is logging minutes of exercise to win a Dominos voucher.

What motivated you to come up with it?

In HoFs we were discussing how the second lockdown will be challenging for staff due to the poor weather. We were worried about people just working all the time because there is nothing else to do and getting quite down. We also acknowledge that the social side of school was impacted due to COVID-19 restrictions and we wanted to encourage some camaraderie between staff.

What do you hope to achieve?

to relax after work, so they can be their best when they are at school.

What has been the reaction so far?

Really good, people had a real laugh with the SLT competitions and the SLT took it in great spirits. People have been talking a lot about the exercise challenge and wanting to win the Dominos voucher. a couple of people said they were leaving work a bit earlier so they could get their minutes of exercise in!

Any highlights?

Mark being portrayed as Harry Potter, Mr Bean and Batman !

What plans do you have for the future with it?

We have two more competitions coming up (no spoilers allowed though) to see us through to the end of lockdown and will hopefully try to keep some of the fun going when lockdown ends.

We hope to bring a bit of fun and positivity for staff and get them

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: EXTRA-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES AT TPS

BY MAJA, YEAR 10, TPS that the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award can be undertaken by year 9 and 10 students. 235 people signed up which is a school record. Mrs Proudlock said: “We were unsure how COVID-19 would affect sign ups this year but it’s great to have so many students on board” Instead of an overnight expedition, two-day walks will take place, participators have been encouraged to choose activities which comply with the new restrictions such as doing litter picking as part of their daily exercise.

Ollie in year 9 has been working closely with Mrs Edden to get Radio Club back up and running. This has now also moved online via Teams with a focus on creating podcasts on topical issues that can be discussed during tutor time. Actual recording in the radio station will need to take place on a rotation due to the year group bubbles, but students are able to share ideas and content virtually.

TPS is fantastic at providing entertaining and enriching extra-curricular opportunities for students.

Sadly, because of COVID-19 many planned trips such as the surfing residential to Moliets, France and overseas Geography trips (e.g., to Sicily or Iceland) have had to be cancelled. Luckily, there are plenty of clubs that all year groups can participate in, these include: sports, performing arts, music and many more.

Due to the restrictions of coronavirus, clubs have had to find a way to still take place with the added challenges of year group bubbles and the importance of sanitation. As a result, break or lunch clubs have had to stop, furthermore many have had to find separate days for different years. Eco club has responded to this by running it online via Teams. Mrs Beacher says that this is a massive bonus since “Sometimes in the past, it was difficult to get things organised as we would only meet once a week, but now students are all able to talk to each other all the time.”

Another example of a club doing likewise is the string ensemble, which has managed to continue running by adhering to social distancing and wearing masks.

KS3 Extra is provided to the Lower School pupils, it is a bespoke menu of extra-curricular activities which aim to aid the transition between year 6 and secondary school, this also helps them to make new friends. Mr Whitehouse organises these clubs, he believes, “The best pieces of advice we offer Year 6 pupils is to get involved in the wider school community by taking part in a club.” Clubs such as trampolining, and gymnastics prove to be increasingly popular, with around 90 participators. “Trampolining is very fun and enjoyable. It means that I get to be active after school and develop lots of new tricks.”-Lily.

It is amazing to see so many pupils attending a wide range of extra-curricular clubs, since it is so important to remember to balance hard work with enjoyment.

This year, ultimate frisbee has been introduced to TPS for years 7 and 8. Run by Mr Fraser and Miss Mason, the non-contact, self-refereed sport is usually found at university, it is a cross between netball and American football-however it is played with a frisbee. Mr Fraser decided to introduce it to TPS since it is a relatively COVID-19-safe sport and many people really enjoy playing it. Erin attends the club, she feels that: “It is very fun, and it is a sport most people have never done before, so it is very good to try something new and exciting.”

Mrs Glue and Mrs Proudlock have worked very hard to ensure

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BETTER TIMES

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: STEYNING GRAMMAR SCHOOL SIXTH FORM FUNDRAISING Over the past few months, Steyning Sixth Form has hosted several fundraising events. On 9 October, the School organised an activity to fundraise for Macmillan Cancer Research in which we raised over £200. We decided to have students and staff print their hands in green paint across the walls of the Russell Centre to create a legacy before the Sixth Form leaves for the Towers next year.

We also raised £500 on Pink Day. Members of the Sixth Form College all dressed up in pink for the day and brought in £1 to donate towards Breast Cancer awareness month. As a college we are extremely proud of the charity work we have done for our community and hope to continue to contribute more.

Usually at Christmas we would be getting ready for our legendary ‘Jailbreak’, unfortunately due to the coronavirus restrictions this couldn’t take place.

As an alternative we hosted ‘SGS frosty fair’ on Friday the 11th of December. We are raising as much as we can for NSPCC as it’s such an important cause for children in need. The fair consisted of stands in the Sixth Form common room with a variety of fundraising activities, ranging from a raffle and crafts to a Wii Mario Kart tournament.

Students from our KS3 and 4 campuses were asked to donate a food item which will be distributed to families most in need over the Christmas period.

We also hosted a quiz event in the evening which was attended by all staff and students across the three campuses. As well as the Christmas themed rounds, our Sixth Form jazz band and music students performed a variety of songs. In addition, we held a ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ on the same day. Everyone wore either Christmas jumpers or Christmas costumes and donated £1 to ‘Save the Children’.

Everybody had a great time and we raised £2114!

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: LIFE AS A STUDENT AT BOHUNT WOKINGHAM IN 2020 BY NIAMAH, YEAR 10, BOHUNT WOKINGHAM

This year has been heavily defined by the pandemic arising from the COVID-19 virus, leading to global societal and economic disruption, lockdowns galore, and the largest economic disaster since the Great Depression.

For we children especially, this year has been one hell of a crazy ride. As early as March of this year, we were thrust overnight from being taught in physical classrooms at school to undergoing virtual learning exclusively. The transition was abrupt and rough sailing for both students and teachers, bringing disruption to studies; stress and anxiety; and an urgent need for the upgrading of technical skills.

We are living in uncertain times. How the world will look in a few months’ time is yet unknown to even the very scientists working to fight this medical adversary. One can only imagine the long-term impact of such a wide-scale and all-encompassing adversity and the changes that it will bring upon us all. Years may pass before we fully comprehend the devastation that this pandemic has brought.

School has been altered in numerous ways. Going to school and seeing our friends and the teachers who help to build and guide

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us onto our path as productive members of society had been a reassuring constant in our lives. School was something that we could rely on to always be there, bringing fulfilment and giving us direction. But before close of March this year, school ceased to exist for us in any physical form, taking with it our sense of normality and the familiarity it bred for us to relish in our youth.

But all is not lost. This academic year, having returned to Bohunt grounds, we are once more struck with the unconstrained joy of seeing our friends, reconnecting with fellow peers and teachers in real-life and not through a screen or *gasp* through email.

We have finally been able to escape the unlikely prisons of our homes after months of confinement. It is something that we will remember for the remainder of our lives.

2020 has yet been a transformative year, one leading to fundamental changes in the fabric of society. With many challenges already overcome so far, we stand and stare at the new school year, anticipating the next hurdle and priming ourselves for whatever else may come toward us. I only hope we stand adequately prepared.

BETTER TIMES

SPOTLIGHT ON… DIGITAL LEARNING AT BOHUNT WOKINGHAM

BY NICK THOMAS, DIGITAL LEARNING LEAD, BOHUNT WOKINGHAM

It has been an exciting and busy first half term. As we know from history challenging times tend to see an advancement in technology and the current crisis is no different. We saw an explosion of new education software and digital teaching methods used during lockdown and we have been busy trying to harness, filter and tame the most effective to use in our new blended learning environments. We have seen lessons involving website design in geography, creating custom google expeditions in computing, food tech vlogs, mandarin social media influencers, guest musicians adding rifts to garage band and even some bitmoji classrooms.

It is not only the staff who have had their technological process expanded, the students have also been expressing themselves digital. Ed Routley, one of our Student Digital Leaders created this video to demonstrate the apps and software we use on a regular basis. Ethan Toal, another Digital Leader, adapted our school map to help year 7s navigate their way to lessons. In science lessons we have seen students creating revision websites and documentaries to make Sir David Attenborough jealous.

The big news, however, is the launch of GCSEPod to all our GCSE students. The blended learning platform has been a huge hit already (both with students and staff) and after just a day of launching has already had over 92% of our students engaging, with 1800 pods watched. As a school we are looking forward to the Christmas Plodding competition!

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BOHUNT WOKINGHAM’S FIRST CPA DIGITAL NEWSLETTER MR GARWELL (SUBJECT LEADER FOR ART & PHOTOGRAPHY) CREATED A FANTASTIC NEWSLETTER TO SHOWCASE THE AMAZING WORK THAT TAKES PLACE IN THE CREATIVE PERFORMING ARTS FACULTY. The idea is that it will form part of a virtual and interactive newsletter dedicated to showcasing the successes and wonderful work that goes on at Bohunt Wokingham. Our students are incredibly enthusiastic and creative - they continue to impress and amaze us!

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BETTER TIMES

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: BOHUNT SCHOOL WORTHING OUTDOOR EDUCATION At Bohunt School Worthing, the whole school is buzzing with excitement for our recently launched Game-changer programme and our newly created Outdoor Education area. As part of these great new initiatives, we have recently completed the D of E Bronze and Silver Day Walks on the South Downs, as well as leading Bushcraft sessions with groups of students in our very own Outdoor Learning Area.

The students have been super motivated by these experiences, with the following comments: Bushcraft students said: Louie, Y8: I’ve really enjoyed all the Bushcraft sessions we have done in our Outdoor Learning Area. We started off by doing a tree identification session and managed to identify 6 different trees growing on the school site.

This session also involved an orienteering task which was great fun! The next two weeks were all about fire lighting and the different ways you can do it, like using cotton wool dipped in petroleum jelly, using dried bark and a battery with steel wool.

We had to go round the whole school site trying to find good fire lighting materials that were in the bushes and hedges. We also learnt about the sizes of materials needed for a fire, starting with pencil lead thin material, moving to thumb thickness and then arm thickness. Our last two sessions have involved learning to use knives safely, and we have crafted tent pegs and then begun making a spoon. I’ve really enjoyed concentrating for the whole time on doing a careful job. Our last two weeks involve putting up shelters and trying out different designs to see what works best. It’s been a really great experience!

In addition, I also learnt self-discipline as I had to motivate myself to get my 3 sections done, during the global pandemic. Overall, I think it’s improved my social skills and self-motivation and was also really good fun.

Tishan, Y10: During my DofE experience, I have learnt many new things. It has helped me learn new skills and developed new abilities. For example, I now know how to edit and produce good videos. My DofE experience has also improved my lifestyle, as I am now more active due to the physical section in which I played extra football. The expedition has also taught me skills like map reading and using a compass correctly. My experience has also given me new opportunities like cleaning the beach. It has also been really challenging and fun to do as for each activity I had a goal I wanted to achieve.

We have even more exciting times ahead! We will be launching the new D of E Ambassadors Programme aimed at our new Silver cohort, as well as signing up our fresh group of Bronze students. The Bushcraft programme will be delivered to more groups and we plan to incorporate our Outdoor Area into mainstream curriculum opportunities. Finally, we are looking to get the John Muir Award up and running, with the aim for all our year 7 and 8 students signed up in the Spring Term, ready to explore the outdoors! Great times on the horizon!

Charlotte, Y7: I absolutely love Bushcraft in school! It’s fun and I love being outdoors. I’ve learnt loads about different trees, and I can now start a fire with just some dry grass and a fire striker.

It’s really helped me settle into my new school.

Josh, Y7: Bushcraft is the best! I had a great time trying to find dry things to light my fire, and then it was a real challenge to try and get my fire started. It’s nice being outside and get out of the classes for a bit.

Amy, Y8: It’s been a tough challenge trying to find things to light a fire. I really struggled to get my fire going, but I know what went wrong and I will try to get things better next time. I can’t wait for the next Bushcraft session!

Some of our DofE students said: Henry, Y10: The DofE was great fun and I also think that I learnt a lot along the way. During the volunteering I picked litter on the beach and enjoyed helping to clean up our environment. During the expedition I improved my map reading skills and made good friends with people I might not have spoken to before the walk.

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BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW… BRIONY PALMER AND LOUIE ROWE

Briony Palmer is Assistant Headteacher at Bohunt Worthing. In August 2020 Louie Rowe left Bohunt Worthing after five years as a student and co-creator of Bohunt Productions, a student run production company. Alongside college, Louie has returned to Worthing in a new role as their Media and Marketing Assistant.

B: My name is Briony Palmer, I’m Assistant Headteacher at Bohunt Worthing and History teacher of Louie Rowe from 2017-2020.

L: I’m Louie Rowe, newly appointed Media and Marketing Assistant at Bohunt School Worthing and student for five years, from 2015, to 2020.

BRIONY TO LOUIE How did you find the transition from student to employee ?

The fact that I was still in helping with things during the lockdown sort of muddied the waters and made the transition more of a gradual process. I’m still not used to calling the teachers by their first names!

After spending five years at Bohunt Worthing, what made you want to stay?

The atmosphere around the school is so open and welcoming. I really enjoyed doing media work as a student at BSW, so when the opportunity arose to stay, and carry on doing the work I love, it was a no-brainer!

LOUIE TO BRIONY: Why was my role created and why did you appoint me?

I think we have been extremely lucky that over the last five years, Bohunt Worthing has been the place which has seen you take on so many exciting opportunities with the chance to provide something creatively fulfilling. You co-created Bohunt Productions, and while it would be disappointing you would be leaving us as a student, it was important we find an opportunity to celebrate and mark all the incredible accomplishments you have achieved. The appointment of Media and Marketing assistant seems like a natural progression.

What does your job require you to do?

I create lots of resources for Bohunt School Worthing. Since joining as a member of staff, I have created our transitional resources for Yr.6s.

How does it feel to work with someone you spent three years teaching?

Well, having taught you History for the last three years I can honestly say it’s a lot easier to manage you now you are an employee. There have been so many times when you stepped up as a student to play a lead role in our digital production, it’s a comfort to know now that you can continue to support us.

What experiences do you have from being a student that are particularly memorable?

The Ski Trip was one of my personal highlights as a student at Bohunt. I really enjoyed the process of being a complete novice on the first day (I’d never skied before!), and then becoming (somewhat) confident by the last day. The Berlin trip also stands out as an amazing experience where we got to experience just what it was like to be in a Nazi concentration camp. I’m really interested in history!

What’s been your favourite moment since joining Bohunt School Worthing?

There’ve been so many of my favourite Bohunt moments - our 100 Day school drone photograph, many school trips from Italy to France; spending an entire week on the nursery slopes in Sestriere, but for me my favourite moment must be sitting our first ever GCSE examinations in 2019. This was a real sense of accomplishment and marked a significant milestone in our school journey.

What’s the best part of your job?

I think the best part of my job is probably getting students involved with our various media projects and hearing the positive feedback from prospective students and parents is both rewarding for them, and us.

What’s the best part of your job?

I get to spend my time working with exceptional people, students and staff. I’m at my happiest when I’m teaching History.

What opportunities have you had being part of Bohunt Education Trust?

The support of the trust has allowed us to create some amazing products, like our Virtual Open Evening site (openevening. bohuntworthing.com), that wouldn’t have been possible, without the help of Bohunt Horsham.

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What opportunities have you had being part of Bohunt Trust?

Speaking to so many like-minded colleagues across all the different Trust schools; sharing the collaborative vision in wanting to create students who are not afraid to take on challenges.

If you could do any other job, what would it be?

Quality assurance for Krispy Kremes.

BETTER TIMES

SPOTLIGHT ON… THE BOHUNT EXPERIENCE, BOHUNT SCHOOL WORTHING Last month, Bohunt School Worthing opened its ‘virtual’ doors for prospective Year 6 students and families for their Virtual Open Evening.

The evenings saw the launch of their Virtual Open Evening site, centred around their ‘Bohunt Experience’ TV Show. The prerecorded show and hosted, filmed and produced by Bohunt Worthing students. The segment included interviews with staff, virtual tours, top facts about Bohunt Worthing and snippets of what to expect on the ‘virtual night’.

Immersive and Interactive Every subject department filmed their own ‘Bohunt Experience’ videos all of which were available on Youtube. During the evening, prospective students and parents took part in the immersive and interactive element by asking questions.

For BETTER Times, we were able to talk to the central stars of the night, the students, on their role as part of the ‘Bohunt Experience’ https://www.openevening.bohuntworthing.com

BOHUNT EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW: ADAM, Y11 Director and Producer of the Bohunt Experience.

Give three words to summarise ‘the Bohunt Experience’. A: Entertaining, informative and wondrous.

What was your role in the Bohunt Experience?

I helped to film the main show and edited the whole show as well as the very….intense trailer, teasers and promotional materials.

Can you explain the production of the production of the Bohunt Experience?

We started with a plan on what we wanted in the show which was then developed into our final script and production plan. We then started filming the show and the extra interviews and segments within the show, after filming I got all the footage and different assets for it and started work on a first edit which we then went back and filmed extra studio parts for and then developed into our second edit which was then given feedback on and developed into our final edit.

What was the high point of the filming of the Bohunt Experience?

I really enjoyed filming the main show in the studio, but the funniest bit to film was the year 7 interview as they had some quite funny outtakes about taking over the school using ERAs and having a passion and love for staircases.

INTERVIEW WITH LUCA AND ÍDE, YEAR 10 Co-Hosts for the Bohunt Experience Give three words to summarise I: ‘the Bohunt Experience’ informative, fun and enjoyable.

L:Immersive, interesting.

ANNA, YEAR 7 Our Year 7 Welcome Speech.

Give three words to summarise life since joining Bohunt in September?

Friendly, inspiring, supportive.

What was your role in the Virtual Open Evening?

I gave a speech with Freddie for parents and students who are interested in joining the school.

How did your talk give parents a taste of life at Bohunt Worthing?

It gave the parents some perspectives of children who attend the school. We also gave them our first impression of the school as we hadn’t been there very long.

If we watched the outtakes, what would we see?

A: You’d hear us saying some funny and memorable things that had happened in our first few weeks of school.

What was it like working with Luca/ Íde ?

I: His energy and enthusiasm encouraged me to be better and have fun.

L: Íde is a great person, she’s confident and a great person to work with she works well with others.

Can you explain the production of the production of the Bohunt Experience ?

I: I had it filmed in a drama studio with a lot of talented people and it was filmed with a very intimidating camera.

L: We had time to create a whole script and we filmed over 2 days.

Editing was done by Adam Scott and he did a great job.

What was the high point of the filming of the Bohunt Experience?

I: pushing myself out of my comfort zone about showing my face on camera and personality without my amazing improv skills.

L: The whole of the experience was fun and enjoyable.

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: BRONZE AND SILVER DOFE EXPEDITIONS, BOHUNT SCHOOL WORTHING BY DANNY COCHLIN, HEAD OF OUTDOORS AND AST, BOHUNT SCHOOL WORTHING The sun rose on the final day of the Bronze and Silver Qualifying walk, with 40 highly motivated Bohunt Worthing students raring to go. They had already traversed 35 kilometres of rocky terrain over the previous two days, having explored the ancient sites of Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring. On this last day they were tasked with the mission of looking at the Eastern edges of Cissbury Ring and find any clues to one of Britain’s great Iron Age Forts.

We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award Day Walks considering the recent events, and all the students have been incredibly impressive in their attitude and efforts to complete this aspect of their Award. Many have changed their activities for their other sections over the lockdown period so that they could hit the target completion dates they had set themselves weeks before. We now have a strong cohort of students very close to completing their Awards, and many super keen to sign up for more!

Some of the students’ perspectivesNikola - On our DofE walk we learnt all sorts of vital skills that will really help us in the future, despite not being able to camp.

Among other things we were taught map reading, compass skills and camp cooking. We spent the weekend walking around the South Downs trying to navigate our way between checkpoints, which was interesting and fun! I’m already looking forward to my Silver!

Ben - I’m so glad I took part in DofE this year. I think the expedition was the best part of this experience, as we got to go out in the downs and enjoy a weekend all together, out in the glorious sun! This weekend was a character-building opportunity but also team building. It really put your survival instinct to the test. Once again, I really enjoyed this experience and will be taking part in Silver.

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Jamie - I had an amazing time on my Bronze Day Walks! We spent time as a group, working out map reading and compass work, and had to make some challenging decisions as a team.

It’s really taught me the importance of listening to everyone and then making a good decision based on all the facts. The weather was great, and we managed to find our way around Cissbury Ring without getting lost. It was helpful that so many teachers were at the checkpoints, and they really motivated us as we walked round! Can’t wait for Silver!

Daisy - I had a brilliant time on my DofE expedition. I learnt so many things along the way and was glad to be able to put my map reading skills into practice. I enjoyed the teamwork aspect of the expedition and found my group to be very supportive. I am proud to say I’ve made many friends through this experience. I now feel a newfound sense of independence and feel as though I have gained a variety of new skills. I am extremely excited to take part in the Silver DofE! For all of this to happen though, you need a dedicated team of staff and we are very fortunate to have a highly motivated and willing group of individuals who have been instrumental in making all of this happen. From helping deliver training sessions, after school clubs, leading groups on training walks, check pointing groups on the qualifiers or making very welcomed cups of tea, we have now built a team that can build on our successes over the past three years and move the Award forward in our school. The aim now is to get more students signed up than ever before, with the potential to go to more challenging locations for day walks and, once restrictions are lifted, for Silver expeditions.

BETTER TIMES

HOW TO BE A GAME-CHANGER… IN YOUR COMMUNITY INTRODUCING OUR NEW, REGULAR FEATURE ‘HOW TO BE A GAMECHANGER IN…’, WHICH WILL LINK THE BET ‘GAME-CHANGER’ CURRICULUM WITH EXAMPLES OF STUDENT ACTION, VIA OUR AMAZING STUDENTS’ VOICES. THIS ISSUE FOCUSES ON HOW TO MAKE A REAL, LASTING DIFFERENCE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY – AND BEYOND. Being a BET ‘game-changer’ means being empowered to make a positive difference to others in the school, community and beyond. Since January 2020, DofE students across BET have contributed over an incredible 9,308 hours of volunteering within their communities, which has a social value of £40,489.80. These are some of their experiences and the difference they made: Throughout this year I have been volunteering at Hospital Radio at the Royal Berkshire Hospital as part of my Bronze DofE award. This involved researching content and putting together playlists for the children’s shows. Some of the children in hospital are sick and away from home and their families for many weeks.

I hope my work I brought a smile to their faces and it made me feel good knowing I was, in some small way helping others.

Ben, Year 10 (Bohunt Wokingham)

In the summer as I watched the Black Lives Matter movement unfold and grow in significance, I went up to London to protest outside Parliament. I believe this is the most important cause of my generation and I have family members who are part of this community. Witnessing the challenges they have faced I wanted to show my support and solidarity. Over this time, I signed petitions for more black authors to be part of the GCSE English Literature spec and campaigned for fair treatment within our community. I feel passionately about this because it is 2020 and we need to challenge injustice and inequality within our society.

I am the next generation, and it is over to us to take up the fight and pick up where other generations have left off. Whilst I am not part of that community myself, it is a cause that everyone needs to be involved in for change to happen, and this means continuing to stand up against injustice in my community as well.

In January, I began volunteering at my local charity shop; Helen and Douglas House Charity for Children, for my Bronze DofE award. I had never actually volunteered anywhere else before, so was very excited to try something new. My duties involved; clothes sorting and hanging, pricing/labelling items, re-stocking, scanning books/CDs etc. My manager really supported and encouraged me during the learning phase and volunteering has now become one of my favourite hobbies and is always something I look forward to doing every week. COVID and lockdown brought its own set of challenges, with all nonessential shops shutdown for three months. Despite this, I was determined to continue volunteering so I started litter picking along our street and resumed the charity shop volunteering once the lockdown was lifted. I have learnt that volunteering isn’t necessarily about doing huge things for charity - it’s just about helping society by doing little things that count, without expecting any rewards.

When I started volunteering at the charity shop I did it because I wanted to contribute to my community and really have an impact on areas that I’m passionate about, helping underprivileged children. This volunteering experience has given me immense confidence and made me an independent, positive individual. I will continue volunteering in the future and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to make a difference - you will meet new people, experience new things and change someone’s life...

Anika, Year 10 (Bohunt Wokingham)

Cheyenne, Year 11 (Bohunt School, Liphook) My volunteering began in the first lockdown; where I completed the 6-month online work experience course; Medic Mentor.

This opportunity enabled me to gain work experience to help in my applications for Sixth Form and then a degree in Medicine at University. Throughout this course I worked with doctors over Zoom in different departments, such as intensive care and antenatal units. I have learnt so much and would not have been able to do this if it wasn’t for lockdown due to the course being so far away, I have really enjoyed this. DofE has benefitted me so much with my future aspirations and helping me achieve my goals.

Emilia, Year 11 (Bohunt Wokingham)

ISSUE 8

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WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE BET FAMILY – NEW INFOGRAPHIC POSTERS THIS TERM WILL SEE NEW BRANDING IN RECEPTION AREAS ACROSS THE BET FAMILY OF SCHOOLS. TAILORED POSTERS, DESIGNED TO INFORM STUDENTS, STAFF, PARENTS AND VISITORS ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE BET, WILL BE COMING SOON TO A BET SCHOOL NEAR YOU!

THE BET FAMILY

We are a close-knit, high performing, growing family of schools across the South of England and beyond.

BET comprises eight schools and a sixth form: I The Costello School I Bohunt School Horshamopened in 2019 & will be the Trust’s first all-through school I Bohunt School, Liphook Plus Bohunt Sixth Form I The Petersfield School I Priory School I Steyning Grammar School - one of only 34 state boarding schools in the country I Bohunt School Wokingham I Bohunt School Worthing

BET’s vision is that the highest expectations, an ethos of ‘enjoy, respect, achieve’, unparalleled opportunity and highly effective teaching combine to develop students who are ‘gamechangers’.

BET’s first sixth form produced the highest A Level results in the area for its first two years running, with student destinations to top universities including Oxford.

44

BET sets the highest expectations for itself and students, reflected in schools’ results and Ofsted progress.

10,000

BET schools are a key part of the Government’s Mandarin Excellence Programme. Immersion teaching and 1:2:1 iPad provision mean students enjoy learning, with opportunities such as scholarships to study abroad and the challenge, differentiation and removal of barriers of using technology for learning.

BET’s approach to teaching and learning is innovative and immersive – a rich blend of the latest education thinking, technology and practice.

BET’s successful programme of outdoor education includes the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, bushcraft camps and expeditions to Mongolia, Greenland and the Himalayas.

BET aims to give all students, regardless of background, an outstanding education and develop skills in the classroom and beyond to help them flourish during their school career and into later life.

BET champions cross-Trust and cultural collaboration, with international links and opportunities for less advantaged students with the independent education BET also provides school improvement support to City Academy Norwich. sector.

subjects studied as part of BET’s curriculum

50% 9308

£650k 1200

students educated & cared for

856

A*/A at A Level (2020)

approx. teaching & support staff employed

students signed up to Duke of Edinburgh Award

£625k

hours of volunteering through DofE

invested in shared educational specialists

saved annually in centralised services

Enjoy I Respect I Achieve " @Bohunt_Trust ! @BohuntTrust $ @bohunt_trust I www.bohunttrust.co.uk BOHUNT_FINAL.indd 4

FUTURE ISSUES OF BETTER TIMES We want to ensure you enjoy BETTER Times and find it a useful and engaging platform. If you have any suggestions for future content, please email Polly Sharpe, BET Director of Communications, at: psharpe@bohunt.hants.sch.uk

07/12/2020 13:12

BETTERTIMES

BETTERTIMES Bohunt Education

Bohunt Education

BETTERTIMES Bohunt Education

Trust Termly Event

s Review ISSUE 6 – SUMM ER 2020 – THE GAME -CHAN GER ISSUE!

Trust Termly Event

s Review ISSUE 7 – AUTU MN 2020 – THE ACHIE VE ISSUE!

E D U C AT I ON TRUS T

E D U C AT I ON TRUS T

E D U C AT I ON TRUS T

BOHUNT EDUC ACHIEVEMENTS ATION TRUST CELEBRAT ES

STUDENTS’ GCSE

GIRL POWER: BET STUDENTS MAKE UP 50% OF MARITIME ROAD ATTENDEES AT SHOW FOR GIRLS !

BOHUNT SCHO NATIONAL COROLS PROUDLY SUPPORT ONAVIRUS RESP ONSE

On Thursday Schools across 20 August, students Bohunt Education across Bohunt Trust (BET) supported the Trust (BET) collected their Education national response proudly Ray Morton, Chair GCSE examinat before embarkin The initiatives to combat the crisis by providing of Trustees said, ion results taking place across g on the next COVID-19 personal protectiv stage of their BET schools compleme game-changing “Students, staff, to frontline NHS e equipment education.

In what has been initiative launched nt the governors and workers and (PPE) an extraordinary by the Trust at March, calling on the whole Bohunt getting food and Trust communit to those who year, with students sit examinations, the end of local communit need it most. resources Education y have pulled unable yet demonstr ating ies to donate unused devices to help together with efforts during hard work, successes enormous dedication to computer students from Staff at Bohunt awe-inspir ing the last few months. across BET schools less advantage and School in Liphook access to home their response I d families gain included: learning.

• Bohunt School helped ensure and The Costello to such a challenging am immensely proud of that the most in Liphook, whose School set which has been The scheme, which vulnerable children achieved ten grade student Mary Skuodas to food through of courage, resilience of circumstances - one had access 9s and one (top) has so far received food drops and and positivity.”

Maths from individuals grade A in Additiona deliveries, and numerous donations Neil Strowger, Worthing staff and local businesses Bohunt School Trust delivered l Leader iPads to elderly • Bohunt School said, “We are , is helping children online so that they celebrating the care homes to people in in delighted to be can continue to to get help them stay hard work of achieved ten gradeWorthing, whose student Tom access education engaged and connected isolated our students today as they Horsham opened Sellens 9s Neil Strowger, across the Trust . collect their examinatio . Bohunt its car park to Trust • The Petersfield Leader of Bohunt Education Horsham Hospital will help them of TPS’ science n results – results School (TPS), to embark on teachers, who and one “Our schools are Trust said: whose students which and Charlie Offen the next stage is lab qualified, Lucy Powell deeply rooted We are inordinate expertise for vital secured a jaw-dropp of their education volunteered his within their local each work being undertake ly proud of our We see it as our ing eleven grade . communities.

2020 cohort and duty to do what the very best 9s n at the local hospital.

Press interest with their next • The Costello wish them we can to protect at this time and was high, given steps, whether School in Basingstok our NHS so it is apposite with us at Bohunt the game-chan that be studying Holland achieved PPE and communit e, whose student for us to do our the heroes on Sixth Form – which ging provision nine grade 9s y support across Sam bit to help the frontline, as of A*/A for A level achieved a record all of our schools, Radio 4, ITV Meridian well as those entries this year Since the start vulnerable.” with BBC who are more of lockdown, BET and local press – colleges or embarking50% apprenticeships.” covering schools’ schools to provide the on efforts. very best in education have worked tirelessly See pages 14 and including an appeal and care to students, 15 for a fantastic to ensure all the double page celebratio results across Trust’s young people access to home the Trust! learning devices, n of I N have T HIS ISSUE a food bank, and of PPE to the staff the provision ... and local NHS providers.

IN THIS I SSUE...

STUDENTS WELCOM ED BACK AFTER VE DAY CELEBRA LOCKDOWN | TIONS | BET HEADS BOHUNT SIXTH IN THE MEDIA | FORM’S A LEVEL TEACHER OF NHS FUNDRA RESULTS THE YEAR AWARD ISING | GAME-C S | VERA AND HANGER ACTIVIT BOB | ‘LOCKDO IES | SUSSEX WN LOWDO WN’ INTERVIE WS | AND MORE…

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Trust Termly Event

s Review ISSUE 5 – SPRING 2 020 – THE RESPECT I SSUE

GAME-CHANGER

| PPE PROVISION | BET AWARDS | TO LOCAL COMMU HOW WE NITIES | FARADAY CHALLE COPED WITH CORONAVIRUS | STEYNIN | DEVICE DONATION CAMPAIG N NGE | ‘BET YOU G TAKES NEXT DIDN’T KNOW’ STEPS TO JOINING INTERVIE WS | BET HR SUPPORT | EVENT

AND MORE…

Last October, students from three BET schools the annual Maritime attended Trust at the home Roadshow for Girls, run by the 1851 of Britain’s America’ INEOS, in Old s Cup Team, Team Portsmouth.

Of the 180 girls, from BET (Priory half were School, TPS Liphook). and Bohunt School in Students took part in a rotation of inspiring activities, growth mind-set workshops, which such as demonstr ated positive thinking. the power of Networking was also a strong feature event, with several of the ambassadors from to students about local businesses leadership skills talking and how to improve strengths. It was also a superb their opportunity for women who work girls to talk to in STEM (Science, and Maths) careers Technolog y, Engineerin and discover how g paths. they forged their career In the afternoon , students moved down to the Tech try hands-on exhibits, Deck to such as writing making sails to code to steer test in the wind boats and tunnel. They also tried temporary

challenges provided by as coding the spherical the Royal Navy STEM ambassado rs such rolling robots to and identifying land on aircraft how STEM skills carriers, are used in the across a variety armed forces of jobs.

The trip was an overwhelming success. An increasing of women are pursuing careers number opportunities in STEM industries such as the and break down misconcep Maritime Roadshow for Girls help tions to that girls may have about Student comments the sector. included: “I’ve learned my only myself,” and “I limitation is really enjoyed the day – it showed so many career me there are choices within STEM.” We look forward to taking more brilliant BET girls roadshow in March. to the next

IN THIS I SSUE...

BET AWARDS

LAUNCH |

SWEDISH VISITORS | MOCK ELECTIO COVERAGE | SIXTH FORM N RESULTS | NATION SLEEP OUT | DUKE SEND CO-ORD AL AND INTERNA OF EDINBURGH INATOR AND TIONAL INSIGHTS EVENT GOVERNANCE | STUDENT LEADERS SPOTLIGHTS | ‘BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW’ INTERVIE WS | AND MORE…

BETTER TIMES

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES FROM PAGE 17.

ISSUE 8

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E D U C AT I O N T RU S T

www.bohunttrust.com Longmoor Road Liphook Hampshire GU30 7NY t: 01428 724324 e: psharpe@bohunt.hants.sch.uk @Bohunt_Trust @bohunt_trust

Enjoy. Respect. Achieve.