Pilton community college newsletter spring 08 07 15 final print ready low res spreads

Summer term 2015

Sporting sensations

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Principal’s view Ms Miller-Marshall talks proudly about news and events Dear Parent, Carer, Friend of Pilton Community College, Another academic year is coming to a close, and in this issue of our newsletter we are celebrating all the many achievements of our young people: there are certainly a huge number of those! Throughout this edition you will see pictures illustrating the many amazing things that our young people have been getting up to; it certainly makes me proud.

Last week we had another fantastic Sports’ Day, with a huge number of events organised superbly by Mr Richardson and his team. The weather was good to us, and the students were exemplary both in terms of their participation and their team spirit when cheering on their classmates and their Houses.

One event in particular saw a school record that had stood for over 40 years being smashed; what an achievement!

One thing that always amazes me about Pilton, and this is not something that is true of every school, is how committed the students are to raising money for charity and to supporting those who are less fortunate than they are or who have been going through difficult times. The incredible amount raised for Ellie’s Walk (over £10,000) is a perfect example of that. Our

students really do put themselves out on behalf of others, and that fantastic quality is part of why Pilton is such a special place.

We said goodbye to our Year 11 students last week at our annual Prom, which was a truly spectacular event. It was great to see them all looking so stunning and having a wonderful time. As always, their behaviour was impeccable and they really did themselves proud. They truly are a charming and delightful group of young people, and an absolute pleasure to know. We are very sad to see them go in many ways, but we are looking forward to celebrating more successes with them on GCSE results’ day in August, and to hearing about the exciting things that they are going on to do next year.

Despite it being near to the end of term, we still have a number of events to look forward to, at which we will be celebrating the achievements of our students in a whole host of ways. The first is Presentation Evening at the Queen’s Theatre, where we will be showcasing our students’ talents in a range of areas. It is always a spectacular evening and I’m sure this year will be no exception.

We are also holding our Art and Technology exhibition on the 7th July, which is highly impressive, showing the exceptional standard of

work achieved by our young people.

Their commitment, and that of their teachers, is really fantastic.

On a more general note, parents and carers will no doubt be aware that the Department for Education is continuing with its reforming agenda and is keen for all schools to join multi-academy trusts. I just want to reassure parents that we are very aware of this matter and are working hard to ensure that we get the best deal for Pilton.

So, as the holidays approach, it really is great to be able to reflect on the many achievements we have seen this year. As always, it is a privilege to be able to work with such a talented group of students and staff, backed up by such a supportive parent body. My thanks go to you all for continuing to work so hard to make Pilton the amazing place that it is.

With all best wishes for a happy, relaxing and safe summer holiday,

Louise Miller-Marshall 100% Pilton and Proud

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Best Sports’ Day ever Always one of the highlights of the school calendar, this year’s Sports’ Day was surely one of our best ever, with perfect weather, more than a thousand excited competitors and no fewer than four school sporting records broken.

From the youngest Year 7s taking part in their first big school event, to enthusiastic Year 10s chasing their own personal bests and the staff cheering the students’ achievements, the day was full of memorable moments and an unforgettable atmosphere we will all remember for a long time to come.

Mr. Richardson was delighted with the success of Sports’ Day and said: “It was a great day. Whether they were competing or spectating, the students behaved brilliantly and really did themselves, their houses and the school proud. The P.E. staff worked incredibly hard to set up all the events, teams and equipment and we’re grateful to all the other people who made Sports’ Day run so smoothly, including the groundsmen and Mr. Barber’s technical team.”

Adding to the day’s excitement were record-breaking successes for Years 7,

8 and 9, with Luke Hamley (7D2) and Connor Swan (8V3) jumping 9.22m and 9.92m respectively in the Triple Jump and Harriet Turner (8D1) running the 1500m in 5 min 19 secs.

Following in the footsteps of his mother and aunt who still hold school records for the shot putt achieved in the 1990s, Declan Jago (9V1) broke the oldest Sports’ Day record still standing. By clearing a height of 1.66m in the high jump, Declan beat a record of 1.65m set 45 years ago in 1970.

Atlantis House proved overall winners on the day, only a couple of points ahead of Endeavour. Indeed, the fact that the total points of all the houses were so close to one another was a reflection of the commitment and participation of all the students, who certainly proved that taking part was (nearly) as important as winning!

Victor/Victrix Ludorum

Year 7

Year 8 Year 9 Year 10

Boys Connor Pike-Scholtz - 48 pts Brandon Sharples - 48 pt Connor Swan - 48 pts Martin Challacombe - 46 pts Jacob Brown - 45 pts

Girls Georgia Bell - 42 pts Tasha Green - 46 pts Sarah Foxton - 39 pts Karlie Berry - 48 pts

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Art Our talented Year 11 GCSE Art students achieved some wonderful artwork for their final pieces, showing an impressive array of skills in a variety of artistic media. More of the students’ wonderful work was also on display at the school’s Art and Technology exhibition earlier this month.

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Technologies From tables to tepees, construction to cushions and bean bags to barbecues, the achievements of our BTEC Construction and Resistant Materials, Systems & Control and Textiles GCSE students are as varied as they are impressive.

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History

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Having learnt in the classroom about the facts and figures of William the Conqueror’s invasion of Britain nearly a thousand years ago, Year 7 History students took a more practical approach to their learning by re-enacting the Battle of Hastings in the school grounds. Armed with some scarily realistic homemade weapons and hand-crafted shields, the battlefields of 1066 were brought boisterously to life on the playing fields of Pilton.

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Languages Farewell to Comenius

Another extremely successful Comenius project came to a tearful end at the beginning of the summer half term when Pilton students said farewell to their partners from all over Europe.

This current project “Turning Ideas into Actions� involved partners from Martinique, France, Italy, Spain and Austria and over the course of two years over forty Year 8/9 Pilton students have been able to visit their partners and take part in a range of collaborative project work on Tourism & Business in the various countries.

The final visit was a joint hosting by Pilton and Braunton schools of over fifty foreign visitors who spent a week at school and visiting local attractions.

These included a full day trip to Bristol and the SS Great Britain, the Dartington Glass factory, surfing at Croyde and a full day at the Devon County show.

The closing ceremony at Pilton involved a joint rendition of the European National Anthem, presentations of the week’s joint work, a cream tea and a hugely enjoyable introduction to Ceilidh dancing for all participants, teachers and parents.

Over the years the teachers in the various schools have become firm friends and previous projects have demonstrated a tremendous degree of international co-operation.

We hope that we will receive further European funding to ensure that these life-changing opportunities remain part of the Pilton experience for many years to come.

Foreign languages taster days A group of 12 Year 10 students travelled to Exeter University to take part in two language taster days at the university. They were given a tour of the campus before being welcomed to the Modern Languages Department by Dr Rosalind Leveridge.

The students had a chance to use their French and German and spent the day with language assistants and 4th year students, learning about living and working in these countries, listening to contemporary rap songs and learning how students create text messages.

The day was enjoyed by Pilton pupils and it has helped them to envisage what it might be like to study a MFL at university.

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French exchange

At the beginning of March, 22 students from Pilton Community College and seven pupils from Braunton Academy took part in the French Exchange with College Bellecombe in Lyon. It was a really successful trip - the students were perfectly behaved and really embraced the opportunity to get to know the French students.

The French Exchange will run again next year in March. There will be more details available at the beginning of the Autumn term but if you would like more information before then, please see Mrs Simister in L5.

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Languages

Kosovo visitors

In recent years we have been pleased to welcome visitors from a range of exotic destinations and in early May we hosted a group of trainee teachers from the new European state of Kosovo, once part of Yugoslavia.

The trainees and their teachers were on an English course in Barnstaple and were keen to get first-hand experience of an English school. Mr Tellem and Mrs Davies were their hosts for the morning and the visitors were unanimous in their praise for the school and the students they met during their tour.

The Kosovan co-ordinator, Ms Festa Shabani, is keen to establish further links between Pilton and schools in Kosovo, so watch this space!

Gifted & Talented

Hello from Holland For the third consecutive year we were pleased to welcome a group of students and teachers from Johannes Fontanus School in Barnevelde, Holland.

The students were again visiting England to learn to surf and to practise their English. A key element in their trip is the opportunity to interact with the students at Pilton and to experience an English school environment.

The Dutch students produced an interesting video presentation about a typical school day in Holland and then there was time for teachers and students to break into small groups and discuss the similarities and differences between our two schools.

As usual, the Year 10 Pilton students were great ambassadors for our school, both in the discussion and in showing the guest students around the building. We look forward to another visit next year.

Year 5 pupils from eleven different primary schools came to Pilton to join us for our annual Gifted and Talented Languages Programme. We had a fantastic day with pupils participating in a range of exciting activities including ICT, reading and re-creating a story in French, making Chinese lanterns and some P.E. games in the hall. A big thank you to our Year 9 pupils who joined us to show a cafĂŠ role-play and then to act it out with small groups.

The Year 5 pupils will now join us for three after school sessions when they will have the chance to meet our language prefects. These activities all lead up a trip to Combe Martin Wildlife Park when we will complete a trail in French, answering questions about the animals. We are all looking forward to our trip there on 10th July!

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Gyanodaya School As part of a new British Council funded Connecting Classrooms initiative we were partnered with the Gyanodaya senior school in Kathmandu Nepal, so we were shocked to hear about the huge earthquake which struck Nepal early in May and caused widespread death and destruction throughout the Kathmandu region and further into the Himalayas.

When students and staff at Pilton learnt about the damage sustained by our partner school they were keen to offer help in any way they could. We have already raised £500, money that will go a long way in Nepal to help the school get back up and running.

We hope that as life returns to normal the educational links between students in Nepal and in Devon will be able to resume. We have so much to learn from students and teachers in such a poor country facing regular natural disasters who hold education in such high regard.

Connecting Classrooms As part of another British Council funded “Connecting Classrooms” project, Pilton has this year been able to join with Braunton and South Molton schools in an exciting new link with a cluster of schools in the town of Mar del Plata in the province of Buenos Aires.

In November the three UK teachers visited a number of schools in Mar del Plata, meeting students from primary age up to University level.

The Argentine students were keen to learn about life in the UK and had a very good command of English and engaged the teachers in a range of interesting discussions on topics as varied as “school discipline” and “the Malvinas/Falklands”.

The delegation of teachers from Argentina returned to Devon in May and as well as the chance to deliver lessons about life in Argentina, there was also the opportunity for them to explore many of our local tourist attractions and sample a range of food and drink.

We were recently pleased to learn that this exciting educational link between the two countries has received additional funding to develop links over another year.

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Music

Marvellous music From the first note to the last, Pilton Music Department’s Summer Concert sounded brilliant. The evening saw a delighted crowd of families and friends enjoy Pilton’s orchestra, choir and individual solo performances from a selection of Pilton’s numerous talented musicians.

Proceedings began with a grand performance of the French tune ‘Tourdion’ from Pilton’s orchestra, which now has over fifty members. Harvey Rostock, the orchestra’s new talented addition, held the piece together with a rich, prominent drum rhythm. Next, Year 10 GCSE Music students Amber Mason and Kaia Sawyer showcased their ‘Hold Back the River’ mix which included over ten different songs; a performance which, to me, stood out as the best of the night.

Fantastic live music continued throughout the evening with Carol Lewis accompanying the Pilton Wind Group in ‘My Heart Will Go On’ and April Walters joining Megan Turner in performing ‘Simple Pleasures’. The orchestra then played another melodic piece, this time a medley from Glee of ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘Don’t Stop Believin’. The ever-charming Tom Barker then brought the 1920s to the stage with a seductive performance of ‘Mack the Knife’.

Following this, Jonah Gibbon featured Chaz Floyde in a weird and wonderful tale of a Southern American miner; it would be an understatement to say that everyone in the room was left puzzled! The delightful talents of Elizabeth Eastwood-Dewing and Harriet Turner then shone brightly with a clarinet duet that mesmorised the audience.

As well as being a celebration of Pilton’s musical talent, the concert was held in memory of Pilton student, Ellie Easton, who sadly passed away in March. Donations were made to the charity that has been set up in her memory; Everything Ellie. Ellie loved the singer and songwriter Adele, so the orchestra performed ‘Make You Feel My Love’, one of Adele’s most famous songs. After this thought-provoking performance, further emotional music was to come with the likes of Ella Crossland performing a stunning rendition of ‘Say Something’ by Great Big World and Christine Aguilera. Pilton’s powerfully harmonic choir then performed three songs, ending with ‘You Raise Me Up’, which always brings a tear to the eye.

The evening ended with a passionate duet of ‘On the Street Where You Live’ by Tyler Prouse and Callum Sollis and then Year 11 student and musical genius, Ben Norris, concluded the concert’s solo performances by presenting the Brahms piano piece ‘Waltz in A Major’, leaving the room spell-bound and wondering if he had three hands!

The exemplary, wonderful and uplifting Pilton Music teacher Aimee Lang then said a fond farewell to her three Year 11 students: Charlotte Rogers, Ben Norris and me. We all feel immensely privileged to have worked with such an inspiring person in Pilton’s music events over the past five years, and we owe Mrs Lang a massive thank you.

Pilton’s hugely successful summer concert finished on a loud dynamic with the orchestra’s contemporarily exotic version of Ritchie Valens’s ‘La Bamba’.

Long may Pilton’s leading musical excellence continue!

Ewan Somerville

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Student Support School chickens The school chickens have settled happily into their new home and provide a regular supply of eggs and much amusement when they trot up and down their run, following students up the corridor on the other side of the glass. Identified by coloured leg bands, each chicken is an honorary member of her own school house and her own name.

Big Butler

Cheeky Nando’s

Jubilee Challenge Part of the larger Ten Tors Challenge, The Jubilee Challenge is a trekking expedition on northern Dartmoor designed specifically for young people with special needs, both physical and educational. In May this year, three Pilton Community College students took part in the Jubilee Challenge, completing an 8½ mile cross country walk and crossing the finishing line accompanied by soldiers from the Exeter University Officer Training Corps.

Blue Peter presenter Barney Harwood was on hand to greet the walkers who all received special Jubilee Challenge bronze awards to commemorate their success.

Jalfrezi

Ruby

Bloomin’ lovely The Student Support gardeners have proved as green-fingered as ever this summer, raising a variety of vegetables and healthy perennials from seed and tiny plug plants and selling them at the Summer Fayre and at the newly created tea-shop in the courtyard garden. Their sweet peas have been particularly splendid!

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Future+

Careers, Guidance & Information Centre

Taster day at Bristol University

Fifty Year 10 students travelled up to Bristol University on the 21st April for a Higher Education Taster Day. The aim of the day was to provide participants with an insight into the range of courses available at the university and to help to challenge some of the misconceptions regarding Higher Education. During their visit students had a university ‘myth busting’ session with current undergraduates and took part in a workshop entitled: ‘Create Your Own Society.’

They also learnt about the physics of ice-cream, which seemed to involve them being let loose in one of the science laboratories!

Year 10 college taster days

During the summer term all Pilton Year 10 students have the chance to try out courses at an FE college, locally or further afield. This year 85 students decided to make the journey to Exeter to find out more about the college there, while another 140 chose Petroc.

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Work Related Learning Work Related learners have achieved much this year with nearly all students completing their Bronze Youth Awards. Work Plus continues with further extended work placements, notably in the areas of agriculture, motor vehicle maintenance, hospitality, catering and retail.

Thanks again to our local partners for providing these fantastic opportunities. Next year’s Year 10 students will be starting a Hair and Beauty course in partnership with Charley’s salon in Barnstaple.

In the autumn those involved in a Pupil Employer Engagement Project enjoyed a visit to the Landmark Theatre for some acting and circus skills workshops and the opportunity to talk to people involved in entertainment and the performing arts. Later in the summer the project moves into its final year with plans for the filming and scripting of a PEEP video for presentation to our sponsors North Devon Council.

Apprenticeships are very much part of the Post 16 world of the future and an important alternate pathway to studying at university, providing young people with a regular income along with a wealth of experience, both in training and the world of work. The ideal route into work for many of our learners at the end of their time in school.

For further information talk to Mr Burn, Mrs Tucker or Debs Frazer at CSW.

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Prom night - Class of 2015

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Outdoor pursuits

Huge achievement for Ten Tors team Well, what can be said that hasn’t already been said to describe the huge achievement of the 35 miles Ten Tors team? They’ve set an incredible standard for future teams to emulate by returning home in third place out of over two hundred teams.

It was an incredibly exciting wait at the finish line, waiting nervously to see them come out of the mist just a few minutes behind the first and second placed teams at 9.20am on the Sunday morning. Our 45 mile team this year combined with Queen Elizabeth’s to make up the numbers but sadly had to retire at the end of the first day due to team injury.

Congratulations must also go to the three-strong team who completed the Ten Tors Jubilee Challenge, a shorter, 8½ mile cross-country walk designed specifically for young people with special needs. Well done, Lauren, Sophie and Ryan!

35 mile team: Kaine Shaw, Rhys Davies, George Armstrong, Harry Longin, Kyran McManus and Harry Wilson Palmer Duke of Edinburgh Award. 45 Milers: Maddy Moulton, Leon Morey and Luc Shackel

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards It’s again been another very busy year, beginning with the Bronze Qualifying expeditions for the Year 10 (2014 cohort).

They are now finishing off their awards and the following have had their awards recently approved: Nicholas Smyth, Amy Barker, Amelia Knight, Gabby Everest, Shantelle Hill and Cassie-Anne Hooper.

The 2014 school leavers who registered for Silver are in the throes of completing their awards and certificates have been handed out to Sam Armstrong and Emma Huxtable. Tom Dunbavin, Cameron Ekford and Tabitha Wilkinson won’t be far behind, I’m sure.

The 43 strong Year 9 cohort have all completed a practice expedition that took place on Exmoor in mid June and will complete their qualifying expeditions in July. I’ve been impressed with all the participants on expedition and enjoyed the two weekends spent at Cloud Farm. Many thanks to the teaching staff that volunteered their time to help out.

Mr Bell

Students climb to success

The climbing club started the Autumn term with success at the Rock and Rapid Interschool’s Indoor Climbing competition. A team of six then took part in the South West Inter Schools Climbing competition at the Quay in Exeter and secured third place in round one.

Team: Georgia Pilkington, Krystina Allen, Tom Ware, Jed Hooper, Georgia Bell and Rosie Walters.

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Sport English Schools’ Track & Field Cup

We entered four teams in the ESAA T & F Cup at Exeter Arena. The Inter Girls (Years 9/10) finished in second place with 237 points, the Junior Boys finished in first place with 269 points, the Inter Boys finished in third place with 315 points and the Junior Girls finished in third place with 242 points.

The Junior Boys qualified for the Southwest regional final at Exeter and on the day managed to score 319 points, finishing in fourth place for the second year in a row and improving by nearly 50 points! Full results are available online at www.esaa.net.

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Boys’ Cricket The boys’ cricket team came home triumphant from a nail-biting match against West Buckland School last month thanks to some brilliant late batting and a remarkable last over by bowler, Jack Moore, which allowed Pilton to win the watch by just five runs. Top scorers were Bob Whittaker with 48 runs and Sam Bithell with an impressive half century.

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Sport Beach volleyball Pilton was well represented at this year’s Devon Schools Beach Volleyball competition, with 25 teams across all the age groups. Despite difficult weather conditions with lots of wind, the pupils played some excellent volleyball throughout the day. The Year 7 girls dominated their competition, resulting in an all-Pilton U12 final and both first and second places in the bag. Our U14 girls also took first place and the U16 girls came third in their competition. Congratulations all round!

Surfing The education day at Goldcoast Oceanfest saw the return of the North Devon Schools Surfing Championships. Eight Pilton students joined more than sixty junior athletes on Croyde beach for the 12th annual event in conditions that were a perfect 2ft and sunny.

The team came a creditable third overall with brothers Storm and Freedom Wall competing back to back against one another in the WESC Boys Open. In the end it was British Junior Squad member Storm who took the 2015 title, proving his selection at the highest level..

Rounders A great effort by the Year 9 squad saw the girls reach the semi-finals of the North Devon Rounders Tournament.

The team went through as runners up to play Holsworthy and although their hitting wasn’t quite strong enough in this game and they couldn’t get the distance needed to score a rounder, the girls showed great commitment and their fielding was exceptional throughout!

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Pilton Primary School Sports This term all the usual festivals and events took place in our learning community with all our feeder schools taking part. The Olympic Legacy Athletics festival involving all the Barnstaple schools was again a resounding success. Over 360 primary students from Years 2 to 6 took part in a range of relay races, helped along by the Sports leaders.This year for the first time we were able to send a number of our sports leaders out to our primary schools to help with their annual sports days. Fifteen Pilton Sports Leaders from Bratton Fleming played a large part in the success of the newly formatted Bratton Fleming School Sports Day at the village sports club. Each sports leader was able to escort and encourage Reception to Year 6 children around a range of athletic activities. All are past pupils of the school and their help was much appreciated. We were also able to send representatives from Pilton to the N.D. Tag Rugby festivals, the N.D. Quad Kids, N.D. girls and boys football competitions, N.D. Tennis and the N.D. Rounders Competition. All performed really well and had lots of fun.

Wakeboarding

Swimming gala

Wakeboarding Club has been very successful this term. We’ve been making weekly trips to the North Devon Wake Park over at the Milky Way where the Constable family have been very good at helping everyone out, from beginner levels to those who can now hit the kickers and do some tricks!

We also entered a team into the Inter School’s competition and did very well to make it onto the podium with very commendable third place. Well done team!

Please see Mrs Ashton in the PE office if you are interested in having a go at wakeboarding.

Remember - good things come to those who Wake!

Pilton celebrated second place in the North Devon Schools Swimming Gala, beaten by just one point overall. Congratulations to all our teams. We’ll aim for first place next year!

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Sport

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North Devon Schools’ Athletics Championships The four athletics teams from Pilton recently enjoyed a very successful day at the North Devon Schools’ Athletics Championships, held at Braunton. The Inter Girls Team (Year 10/11) finished in 2nd place and the Junior Girls (Year 8/9) finished in 6th place. The Inter Boys (Year 10/11) finished 2nd and the Junior Boys (Year 8/9) finished 2nd. This was a very good team performance with many outstanding individual performances. Eighteen of our athletes were selected to represent North Devon at the Devon Schools’ Athletics Championships.

Devon Schools’ Athletics Championships The athletes selected to represent North Devon on Saturday, 13th June enjoyed perfect conditions for the competition.

Harriet Turner - 4th -1500m Zahra Bedford-Higgs - 8th - 100m Krystyna Allen - 4th - Javelin Charlie Honey - 8th - Discus Jon Tossell - 2nd - Javelin Declan Jago - 5th - High Jump Karlie Berry - 6th - Shot Putt Well done to all the athletes that took part.

North Devon Schools’ Finals Night The final schools’ competition of the summer term was the NDS Finals night at Braunton track. Pilton finished the night with three winning age groups; a great performance by all the athletes taking part.

Whose legs are these?

Mr. Hunt took a school trip to Wimbledon this week. He insists he was simply accompanying the students but surely those legs look familiar… Suggestions as to who this player might be should be made to any of the P.E. staff.

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Around the houses

Attendance - 95%

I feel very lucky and proud to be House Captain for Atlantis this year. I am very excited for the coming year ahead and all of the opportunities that it will bring. I am looking forward to working with the amazing team of Atlantis prefects to achieve the best we can for our House.

Megan Turner.

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I am really happy and proud that I got picked to be house captain of Atlantis house. I hope we can achieve something great and maybe go on to win the house cup after our great efforts at sports day.

Tom Moody

Attendance - 95.27%

My name is Kyran McManus and I am in 10D2.

I am currently studying Geography, PE GCSE and Additional Science as my GCSE options.

I have recently completed the Ten Tors 35 mile event in a team which performed in record time, which helped me to develop my ability to work well as part of a team.

I am really looking forward to being Discovery House Captain and working with the House Team and the school as a whole in this role of responsibility.

Kyran McManus

I am really looking forward to the next year as Discovery House Captain. I think the experience of working with new people and new situations will help me improve and prepare myself for years to come. I hope to learn a lot and gain new skills which before this opportunity I did not have. I am quite a confident and bubbly person, so I hope people can come and talk to me about anything they need at any time.

Darcy Cockbill

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Endeavour

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Endeavour Attendance - 95.19%

Hello my name is Amelia. I really enjoy my chosen subjects which include Textiles, Triple Science, German and History and after school I enjoy my extra activities including Sign Language, gymnastics, St. John Ambulance and being a young leader at my local Beavers. I applied to be house captain as I thought it would be an exciting opportunity and help me gain more confidence when speaking to people. I can’t wait to fulfil this role and I am very excited to see what the future brings. Amelia Knight.

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I chose to be house captain because I wanted to help develop the role of house within the school. I also want to help younger students to enjoy their time at Pilton and will be available if anyone should want to chat! I am studying Computing, French, Spanish and History as my option choices and really enjoy them. Outside of school I row every weekend and compete every summer. I would like to go to University when I leave school and study Computer Science. Max Barker.

Attendance - 93.98%

I really pleased that I have been given the opportunity to be house captain of Voyager.

Everyone in the school is important and I want to make sure we can all get the best out of our time here at Pilton. My aim for the next year is to make sure that everyone has a voice, so please feel free to come and talk with me so we can put your views forward.

I am proud to represent Voyager with Jack as House Captains. Together let’s make next year a great year for Voyager. Dorothy McCormack.

I take great pride in being made house captain for Voyager. This role certainly gives me a chance to give back to both a school and a house that have supported me throughout my academic career at Pilton. More importantly, this presents an opportunity to work with many students to continue the strive to make Voyage an even better house. I’m fortunate to have taken a position which has excellent foundations already set by previous years. This certainly means I will give all my effort to maintain the thriving nature of our house. Jack Elston.

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Pilton Awards Evening

For more pictures. take a look at our website: www.piltoncollege.org.uk

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Presentation Evening 2015 was a superb event in which the many talents of our young people were celebrated. It was a great reminder of the depth of talent that we have here at Pilton. We were privileged to hear from Sir Nick Harvey who was our guest speaker. As well as many amusing anecdotes about his time in government, Sir Nick spoke to our students about the fact that the world that we live in is really now a global village, and encouraged them to make the most of every opportunity. I’m sure all the students listening found that very relevant, and of course as a languages college the idea of experiencing different cultures is central to what we do.

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News update Pilton poetry slam!

On Thursday 18th June, Year 9 students were privileged to attend a performance

by Harry Baker, international Slam Poetry champion!

Harry is a unique talent, who in the last four years has combined a Maths degree with a year in Germany – not to mention travelling the world performing in slam poetry events! Harry’s poems are entertaining, clever and funny, with subject matter ranging from dinosaurs to desserts. With titles including ‘I got 99 problems but Maths ain’t one’, the brilliant ‘Purple Pop up Paper People’ and the inspiring ‘The Sunshine Kid’, Harry’s poetry surprised and engaged his audience. Highlights of the performance had to be getting the audience singing ‘Let’s all play Monopoly’ (Harry’s cover of 1 Direction’s ‘That’s what makes you beautiful’), plus the genius dessert-themed cover of ‘The A-Team’ by Ed Sheeran. Many students showed their appreciation of Harry’s poetry by staying behind at the end to purchase signed copies of Harry’s book, ‘The Sunshine Kid’. Check out Harry’s poems and TED talks on Youtube to find out more!

Congratulations to Year 7 students Isabel Nickell, Tyler Ellis, Harry Cope, Joe Algar, Lee Smyth, Mia Nicholson, Clayton Gatting, Molly Kester, Dan Trapnell and Sammy Kinnish who have been presented with Tutor Group Awards for their varied and important contributions to the life of the school, Since joining Pilton in Year 9 with hardly a word of English, Chinese student Yi Fan Xie (11D1) has not only learnt the language, he has also embraced school life in many other ways, both socially and academically.

As well as completing his GCSE exams in June, he has represented the school at table tennis and this year set himself the challenge of learning to how to swim. Local surfing coach, Martin Purchase, was kind enough to give Yi Fan lessons and within a few months he had mastered not only staying afloat, but also the breast stroke, back stroke and even front crawl.

Many thanks to all the Year 7 students who have represented their year group on the Year 7 council.

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Our reading mentors provide one-to-one reading support to students who may be struggling with their reading.

More advanced readers partner up with a less confident readers, helping them to improve their literacy skills and attainment across the curriculum, improving their attitudes to reading for pleasure and building their confidence and social skills.

Maths block award Our new Maths block has just been recognised at the Building Control Excellence Awards. The building was highly commended following its nomination by Building Control at North Devon Council. The south west regional LABC awards give recognition to the sustainability of buildings, their innovative design and attention to detail in relation to building control matters.

Thanks to a variety of fund-raising activities, Year 7 students raised an impressive ÂŁ250 for the charities Care for Kids and Tiny Tickers during their recent charity day.

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News update

100% Attendance. Showing their commitment to and enthusiasm for their first year at Pilton, all these Year 7 students are celebrating 100% attendance since September last year.

The Big Sheep. On 22nd May 8V2 and 8V3 spent the day at The Big Sheep where they not only spent a fun day enjoying the attraction’s many amenities but also took the chance to talk about their marketing ideas. Students had been analysing promotional brochures in their English lessons and learnt from staff what made the Big Sheep leaflets appealing and how they used colour, photographs and consumer research to decide on their designs.

Gifted & Talented mathematicians Gifted & talented Year 7 Maths students tested their skills at Chumleigh Community College recently when they attended a special Maths day. Throughout the day they took part in a selection of mathematical puzzles and games.

Genevieve Andrews (7D1) and Jess Pedlar (7A2) reported that it was a fun and thought provoking day, providing everyone with a different outlook on Maths.

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Buddies. This term the Buddies have continued to learn new skills and have met other members of our school community.

Mr. Bell, our Head of Outdoor Education, provided some thoroughly enjoyable taster sessions at the climbing wall. Our Community Support Officer, PC Berry, came to talk to us about Road Safety and Safety Online and Mr Barnes brought map-reading alive, teaching us basic skills and showing us how to master the tricky skill of unfolding and re-folding a full-size map!

We also held a party to say a big thank you to our Year 11 Buddy Mentors before they took their exams. We gave them certificates and chocolates for all their hard work.

Art Club blog: Enthusiastic art club member Ben Owens (7E3) has designed and runs his own art club blog to share ideas and pictures of his favourite art work.

Gifted & Talented drama. During a recent Gifted & Talented Drama Day Year 8 Pupils worked with professional artistes from Beaford Arts. They played games, produced mini dramas and explored creative ideas alongside students from Bideford College, Park School and Braunton Community College. The day was very successful with our students showing yet again how talented they are at devising and working with others to create a performance in a day!

‘Clean up Barnstaple’ Competition.

Flynn Rostock and Anna Blunt in 7V2 were proud to come second and third in the Clean Up Barnstaple Competition run by the local town council. This was an art competition where pupils from several North Devon schools sought to show the importance of keeping Barnstaple tidy through an art poster. Both of the girls used rubbish that they had collected to create a picture of a building from the town. Well done girls!

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News update Armed forces event The Armed Forces event which took place in the school grounds over three days at the end of June was declared to be a huge success by its many visitors. This splendid event was visited by Year 6 pupils from many local primary schools during their induction visits to the school and all Pilton students over the course of its stay.

The event was open to the public on the Saturday where the tremendous atmosphere illustrated just how much of a community event it really was.

We’re very much looking forward to hosting the event again next year.

Acting excellence

Champion cyclist

Max Mepsted (9E3) recently represented not only the school but also the South West at the finals of the English-Speaking Union Performing Shakespeare competition. After winning the regional final earlier this year with a Brutus monologue from Julius Caesar, he joined 21 other young people from all over the country at Dartmouth House in London.

Cup-cake winner

Jess Morrish (8D1) is an award winning cyclist who is currently ranked first in the U14 South West Championship and ranked 23rd nationally. She has recently won a first place trophy as the overall winner of the North Devon Wheelers South Fork tour of Tesco 2015 and second place in the North Devon Wheeler South Fork Youth stage race.

Daisy Cass (8D1) was the worthy winner of first prize in the summer- themed cupcake competition at the Summer Fayre, judged by renowned local baker Graham Principe of East and West Bakery in Barnstaple.

Daisy won a voucher for ÂŁ15, donated by Graham.

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National Schools Gymnastics champions The Pilton Community College gymnasts were crowned National Schools Gymnastics champions when they represented the South West in the U14 Girls Floor and Vault section in Stoke-onTrent. The girls competed superbly, with each achieving over 15 out of 16 and were ecstatic as they were called to the top of the rostrum, winning by only 0.05. They also helped the South West tie with the East for the Regional trophy.

Congratulations to Flynn Rostock, Sarah Foxton, Sophie Lethaby, Brooke Timmins, Lauren Puig and Taylor Langmead.

Best in show Owen Stentiford (9D1) enjoyed success at Cutcombe Market last month when his sheep won first prize and best in show in the Braunton Young Farmers competition.

Since it was born back in January, Owen has reared the sheep himself, checking its feet regularly for lameness and giving it a tidy-up and wash before the show.

UKMT Challenge winners Congratulations to Maths students in all year groups who successfully completed the Junior and Intermediate challenges set by the UK Maths Trust. Best in Year 7 was Alfie Cotterell and best in Year 8 was Jess Walsh, who also qualified for the Junior Kangaroo award given to students who achieve a score of 88 or more in their paper. Year 8 students Milo Robinson and Jake Davies both achieved Gold certificates for scores of 78+. The highest scoring student in Year 9 was Benjamin Rousseau, in Year 10, Tom Gibbs and in Year 11, Stan Whittaker, who also qualified for a Kangaroo award.

Public speaking at Plymouth University On Wednesday, 10th of June four of us went to Plymouth University to present a speech on the topic of Sustainability and Business. With the help of an undergraduate, we had the morning to prepare a fifteen minute speech about energy micro-generation for businesses. After a delicious lunch we went to a lecture theatre to do the presentations.

Unfortunately, we didn’t win but we all learnt a lot and had fun. The day really made us want to go to university and we met some very nice people. We all recommend you taking part in this amazing opportunity.

Ben Rousseau, Thomas Ware, James Smith and Finn Whittley (all 9D2)

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News update

Farewell to Jean

Wimbledon trip Despite a 5.30am start, spirits (and the noise level) were high on the bus as we began our journey to London. As we grew closer, the temperatures began to rise and we were treated to a day of blazing sunshine at the All England Championships. We were lucky enough to have a predominantly ‘All England’ day seeing Kyle Edmons first, followed by Laura Robson. Sadly both of them lost their matches, but it was great to cheer them both along on their journeys. We then went to ‘Murray’s Mound’ to watch Andy Murray defeat Kukushkin fairly easily in three straight sets. Our final match was a real spectacle from the seeded Gael Monfils playing some outstanding tennis, along with a really showy performance against Carreno Busta. We were all a bit frazzled by the time we made it back to the coach but after dinner and a good night’s sleep we were all ready to go again.

Even the hottest day in the city’s history (37 °C) couldn’t stop us having a good time in the capital but the air conditioning inside the London Eye was a real treat. With not a single cloud in the sky we could see the sights of London for miles and miles. We then crossed the Thames to Covent Garden where we finished our day with some final refreshments and a bit of shopping. Every single pupil on the trip was a real delight to be with, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and they were all a real credit to the school. Well done everyone. Mrs Ashton

A favourite with generations of Pilton students, Jean Davie finally retired at the end of April after working as a cleaner in the school for an astonishing 50 years.

Her long service was recognised at a cream tea celebration where 86 year-old Jean said she had a “wonderful time” working at the school. “The teachers have been wonderful to me and the office staff,” she said. “I have got a lot of memories here at Pilton school.

I have had a lot of laughs and a lot of trips.”

Jean was born and bred in Pilton and has lived in the same house for 63 years. She married her husband Clifford in 1950 and has four sons,13 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Summer Fayre The Summer Fayre took place at school on a sunny evening at the end of last month and raised £500 for local charities.

Visitors were treated to a tempting choice of stalls, games and entertainment, from face painting and fancy cakes to chicken naming and chilli con carne.

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Charity news Little princesses Year 8 students Maisie Lisle and Millie-May Cheetham (both 8V3) have had their hair cut for a good cause. Both girls had their long locks lopped off and sent their hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides real hair wigs to children across the U.K. and Ireland that have lost their

own hair through cancer treatment.

Further information at littleprincesses.org.uk

Cecily’s fund

Creative baker

Cecily’s Fund is a small international development charity based in the UK which helps to provide education to orphaned and vulnerable Zambian children. Elizabeth Eastwood Dewing accompanied her parents to Zambia on the adventure of a lifetime to go out and see the projects they have been supporting for years. One of the places she visited was the Bwafano school in Lusaka where she was struck by how happy the children were to be in school, despite the huge class sizes and limited resources.

The well-deserved winner of the Summer Fayre cake competition was Sharon Rendle, a member of our Student Support team.

The cake was auctioned at the fayre in aid of the Jaime Bayliss Fund.

Rugby shirt raffle An Exeter Chiefs rugby shirt was generously donated to the school by Aviva Premiership assistant referee Gareth Copsey and was signed by the Exeter Chiefs Premiership Squad at their away game at London Wasps. It’s the shirt worn by the referee for the game and was auctioned by Mr. Woodhead, along with a raffle for an Exeter Chiefs rugby ball. Our own Art teaching assistant Hazel Morgan placed the winning bid and the shirt is expected to raise nearly £300 in total after the raffle.

All funds will go to the Jaime Bayliss Fund.

Bare legs for Baillie Baillie Braund heroically agreed to have his legs waxed to raise money for the Jaime Bayliss Foundation. Smiling bravely through the pain and without too many agonised screams, Baillie raised nearly £40 at the Summer Fayre with more money from other sponsors still to come. Go Baillie!

Jaime Bayliss Fund Jaime Bayliss is a Year 8 student at Pilton who is fighting leukaemia and is currently undergoing six months of chemotherapy treatment in Bristol. As well as fundraising for Clic Sargent North Devon, who have been helping Jaime and her family though this difficult time, Jaime’s mum, Jackie, has set up a Facebook fund in Jaime’s name to support her on her journey.

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Charity news Sports mile At the end of last term the whole school community took part in the annual Sports Mile with the most of the school paying for the privilege of donning their sports gear and running down Chaddiford Lane and right around the school grounds, joined by lots of the staff and cheered on by some of the less energetic members of the school. As always, our students participated with enthusiasm and good humour and as a result of their efforts they raised a wonderful ÂŁ2,200 which was shared between Clic Sargeant North Devon and Care for Kids North Devon.

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Ellie’s walk

Ellie Easton was a polite, determined and loyal Year 11 student at Pilton Community College, who was initially diagnosed with cancer during the spring of Year 9. She then went through surgery, received multiple chemotherapy treatments and was told she’d been cured of her cancer in the summer of 2013.

Sadly, later that year, doctors had discovered that Ellie had developed leukaemia and despite putting up an incredibly brave fight, Ellie passed away on 16th March this year. Ellie was such an inspiration to so many of her peers. She is missed terribly and will be forever in our memories. This was proved by the huge number of people taking time to show their respect and love for Ellie on Saturday, 9th May when nearly five hundred students, teachers, families, friends and dogs took part in a sponsored walk in memory of Ellie, to raise money for CLIC Sargent, a charity that worked very closely with Ellie’s family during her treatment. To date, the total amount raised from the walk has been over £10,000, a phenomenal achievement by everyone concerned. Thank you.

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Pilton election Election fever Pilton went “election crazy� in May! Five of our Year 11s took on the roles of party leaders, each with a team of five experts who researched in depth one of these five topics: NHS, Education, Economy, Environment and Defence. We hosted a debate on each one of the topics in the library at lunchtime over a period of a week. The five local candidates: Peter Heaton-Jones for the Conservatives, Mark Cann for Labour, Nick Harvey for the Lib Dems, Ricky Knight for the Greens, and Steve Crowther for UKIP, visited the school and all were impressed by the depth of knowledge of our students. The final hustings took place the day before the general election and featured that evening on BBC Spotlight.

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Term dates

2015

Pilton and Proud

17 July - Last day of term

3rd September - First day of term

Parent Voice

Our Parent Voice group continues to prove a popular and informal way for parents and carers to share concerns, ask questions and enjoy a variety of speakers and presentations.

26-30 October - Half term 17 December - Last day of term

For further information, please contact Rose Budge on 01271 349062 or email admin@piltoncollege.org.uk

School uniform

Uniform donations Our school uniform donations shop has proved very popular with parents and carers, particularly those with more than one child in the school We would really appreciate donations of second hand uniform items and P.E. kit in good condition.

Please give any donations to Mrs Hingston in front reception. Thank you.

All pupils should wear: • A plain white school shirt.

• A tie with stripes in the appropriate House colour.

• A black blazer with the Pilton logo • A standard black pleated skirt or a pair of black trousers. Skirts should be at least knee-length.

• Trousers must not be skinny leg style • An optional black V-necked jumper with the Pilton logo

School transport • Pilton Community College supports the Devon County Council’s “No Pass, • No Travel” scheme which operates on transport to and from school.

• Only students who show a valid pass to the driver on every journey will be • allowed to travel. Students must only travel on the vehicle indicated on their pass.

• Drivers are not allowed to carry passengers who cannot show a valid pass.

• DCC carries out regular pass checks through the year.

• Please ensure that your child has their pass before they leave home every day • and that they know what to do if they are not allowed to travel for any reason or • if the bus doesn’t arrive due to breakdown, traffic conditions or severe weather.

• If your child loses their bus pass during the day they can collect a temporary ten • day pass from the main office. Replacement passes cost £5 each and can • be ordered online.

• Further information at devon.gov.uk/school_transport

Contact details Please don’t forget to let us know if you have changed your address, telephone number or email address so that we can keep you up to date with what’s happening in school.

• Shoes must be plain black, with a flat heel. Trainers, canvas shoes or boots, including ankle boots, are not acceptable.

• Socks should be black, white or grey.

• Jewellery should not be worn other than a pair of small studs for students with pierced ears.

• Facial or tongue piercings are not allowed.

• Make-up and nail varnish should not be worn.

• Outdoor coats should not be worn on the school site.

• Non-uniform knitwear, including hoodies, should not be worn.

• Hair should fall within the normal range of hair colour and should not be in an extreme or excessively short style.

• All uniform items are available from Daws & Co in Barnstaple.

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Pilton and proud

Year 7 Sports Day winners

Year 8 Sports Day winners

Year 9 Sports Day winners

Year 10 Sports Day winners

Many congratulations Many congratulations to Dotty McCormack and Tom Moody who have been chosen as Pilton’s new head girl and head boy.

Announcing their new roles, Ms Miller-Marshall said: “Selecting Head Boy and Head Girl for the next year has been an extremely difficult job. The calibre of candidate was extremely high, indeed any one of the young people that I saw could have done the job and would have done it well. Congratulations to Dotty and Tom. I am sure they will be outstanding in their roles.”

Coming soon….

Your staff, their songs, your vote!

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