Pilton community college newsletter spring 26 03 14 high res

News to make you feel

Spring Term 2014

Splurge Guns and Custard Pies!

Explore our world @ piltoncollege.org.uk

to play o

our part

Contents Page 1 Drama production Page 2 Principal’s view Page 3 Petroc Page 4 Pilton Bluecoat Academy Page 5 Pathfield School / Debate Club Page 6 Students’ achievements Page 7-8 Houses Page 9 Library and Resource Centre / English

Page 10 Drama Page 11-13 Specialist Language College Page 14 Science Page 15-16 Outdoors Page 17 Work related activities Page 18 Learning Support Page 19 Dance Page 20-23 Sports

Bugsy was back in town!

Pilton Community College’s annual production is a favourite with the community of Pilton. Each year the annual production plays to packed out audiences and this year was no exception.

Sam Newby’s cool and controlled Bugsy was the perfect foil to Alfie Moore’s marvellously funny Fat Sam and his side kick Knuckles-so cleverly created

by Tom Moody, Callum Sollis and Isaac Spencer were a wonderfully funny duo of O’Dreary and Smolsky. Dotty Mc Cormack’s Blousey was mature and stylish; her singing of “I’m feeling fine” was haunting and beautiful. Tallulah was played with charisma by Sian Brokenshire. Jacob Spencer’s portrayal of Fizzy tugged on the heartstrings of the audience with his wonderful rendition of “Tomorrow”. There was a huge cast of talented students and plenty of splurge and custard pies to help the evening go with a bang!

Bugsy was great fun for the cast and audience. The custard pies and splurge guns were a part of the action. The school technology department made wonderful costumes and props. The music department created a really powerful live Bugsy band. There were fast and jazzy dances by the students which were reminiscent of 1930s and the razmattaz of that era.

It was a great deal of fun for the cast and the staff who were working with them. I felt it was a privilege to work with so many talented young people over the past six months.

Thank you to you all for all that you did to make the performance such fun and so professional.

Lorraine Clements, Head of Drama Our school production was yet again a huge hit! The experience of performing in Bugsy Malone was truly fantastic.

Every time I walked onto the stage I felt proud to be involved and represent my school. The cast was amazing! Everyone put such great energy into every scene they were in which resulted in three excellent performances. Also what

topped it all off was our live orchestra ‘The Bugsy Band’ they really did complete our show! I really would like to say thank you to all the staff who took their time and effort to ensure that Bugsy Malone was a successful production. I will definitely be taking part in next year’s show. I’m hoping it will be as great as Bugsy – which I’m sure it will!

Immi Martyn 8E1 Bugsy Malone was a great experience for me. I had never been in a school production so I wasn’t sure what to expect . Everyone was really nice and very good actors. We did have to do a lot of practice but in the end it was all worth it. Once I was on the stage it was really fun although I did have to sing and I am not that good compared to other people in the production.

I enjoyed it a lot and might try to be in it again next year!

Tom Moody 9A1 For me, Bugsy Malone was an eye opener. It showed me the talent that was inside and present it to a big audience. Before, Bugsy Malone was one of my favourite movies and I had always wanted to be in it. Now that dream had come true. It was an exciting and wonderful experience I will never forget. Everyone in the production had talent and we all got on well. The singing, dancing and acting was fantastic. The school’s live orchestra ‘the Bugsy band’ were amazing and all the backstage people were very organised with the numerous amount of props we had.

Before I went on stage I felt excited yet worried that I would forget my lines. Every night there were too many people to count and it was so breath taking to know they were here to see us. The costumes were incredible with an array of colours, accessories and features. I think that this year’s

production of Bugsy Malone was a great success and next year’s will be just as good or even better.

Sian Brokenshire 8E1 Doing the school production has been a great experience because you get the chance to learn new skills, make new friends and become new characters.

From the start at the auditions where the excitement begins, you get to be involved in a lovable community where you share the same interests. The main process is the rehearsals and you have the characters all trying their hardest. Bugsy, Blousy, Fat Sam, Knuckles and many, many more…

Having your friends there also is a confidence boost because they support you like my friend Dorothy McCormack she would never put you down, help you whenever you needed it. For me that’s the best part because you start to talk to other people and get to see people in a different place other than their own. Then you have the show, some people are really nervous but everyone supports one another (one big family!) From being in the production for the third year in a row I have learnt to trust my instincts.

Bugsy Malone has been a huge stepping stone for me because I had the ability to show every aspect of what I have learnt. Now I can’t wait till next year!

Abbie Harris 9V2 Being in the production was such a treat!

We both had a really amazing time! Met a lot of new people, made a lot of new friends and got a great taste of what it was like to perform on the stage.

The teachers were very supportive and helped us along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed the rehearsals and of course the actual show too. I think Pilton Community College has a wide range of talent and so much to offer.

A massive thank you to all the teachers for making this such a fun time, we couldn’t have done it without you. Lots of splurge, lots of drama.

It was brilliant!

By Neve Yarrow and Rebecca Heard 7D1

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Principal’s view Ms Miller-Marshall talks proudly about news and events

Dear Parent, Carer, Friend of Pilton Community College,

Last year when I wrote this, it was snowing outside. This year, I’m glad to say, the sun is shining and recently it would seem that spring has definitely sprung in North Devon!

Things at Pilton match the bright weather, with everyone very positive and our students continuing to live up to our very high expectations of them, both in school and further afield.

I recently had a letter from a member of the public saying how smart our students look when he sees them in town, and what a credit they are to us and to themselves. That is not a surprise to us, of course, but still very lovely to hear that the wider community recognise how great our young people are.

Many of you will have seen the fabulous school production of Bugsy Malone. It was a tremendous performance, with many stars in the making. I was glad to have escaped the evening without being splurged, but mainly just dazzled by the talent on stage as well as behind the scenes.

As always, I am extremely grateful to all the staff who give their time so generously to make events like this possible.

Creativity continues to flourish here at Pilton in other ways as well. Our Gifted and Talented dancers have had a number of sessions both here

and up at Petroc, our Shakespearean actors and actresses are gearing up for this year’s Shakespeare in Schools festival and our GCSE musicians are planning an evening for an invited audience in a couple of weeks.

Creativity is a real area of strength for Pilton students, and it is great to see how much they get out of this in extra-curricular activities as well as in their formal learning.

Our International School status continues to make a real difference in the life of our school community, and it is extremely pleasing that all the work in that area has been recognised in the award of Centre of Excellence for the Global Learning Project. We have also been delighted to welcome a group of Italian students here as part of our exchange programme, as well as seeing students heading off to Austria, France and Italy (and that’s just this term!).

Budding scientists and engineers in Years 7 – 9 have been involved in Project Bloodhound, which took them down to Exeter to work on exercises connected with the development of the Bloodhound, the world’s first supersonic car. It was a fascinating day for all involved, and hopefully inspired some of them to look at careers in these areas. Apparently the car can go from 0 – 1000mph in just 55 seconds!

Year 10 students have just completed a week’s work experience, which was overwhelmingly successful, with many glowing reports coming back from employers, along with several job offers!

Once again, our talented public speakers have been showing off their skills. We had some representing the school in Salisbury in the English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace, whilst others were triumphing down in Exeter last weekend in the Rotary Club’s Youth Speaks competition.

They will be going on to the next round, having soundly beaten off all competition so far. It is very gratifying to see our Year 10 and 11 students doing so well against 6th form and college students from a range of settings, including West Buckland, Blundells, and Millfield to name but a few. Pilton students really can take on the world and shine!

I hope you enjoy reading the rest of this newsletter and hearing about all the great things our young people are involved in. Have a very happy and restful Easter holiday, and I look forward to sharing another exciting term with you all after that.

With all best wishes,

Louise Miller-Marshall Proud to play my part as Principal

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2014

Term Dates

4 Apr: Last day of Spring term for students 7 Apr – 22 Apr: Easter holidays 23 Apr: First day of Summer term for students

Pilton to Petroc & Proud Fifteen former students from Pilton Community College were recognised for outstanding academic and personal achievement at the annual awards ceremony held at Petroc.

Silas Clay – A Level Environmental Studies Vashti Cotten – A Level German Laura-Mae Cunningham – A Level Media Studies Bethany Filby – A Level Geography Brad Harman – BTEC Extended Diploma in Medical Science Georgia Hazell – Subsidiary Diploma in Health & Social Care Alice Jordan – A Level Sociology Jack Mullen – Subsidiary Diploma in Music Technology production Johnathan Shapland – A Level Engineering Georgia Hazell, Jack Mullen and Johnathan Shapland were also

presented with STEM Ambition Academy Outstanding Achievement Awards for working as Petroc STEM Ambassadors and National STEMNET Ambassadors, inspiring hundreds of young learners to study Maths, Science and Engineering at higher levels whilst showing that these subjects can also be enjoyable and fun! George Marchant-Brook was also recognised for his efforts completing the British Biology Olympiad along with 4200 other students from across the UK. Exceptional Achievement Awards were awarded to former Pilton students who achieved 3 grade As or better, placing them amongst the highest achievers in the country. They were Florence Barnes, Jordan Brett, Ethny Childs, Bethany Filby and Claire Johnson. We would also like to congratulate Helen Bellew on receiving an Exceptional Merit Award.

26 May – 30 May: Half term 18 Jul: Last day of Summer term for students

School uniform All pupils should wear: • a plain white school shirt • a tie, which will have different colour stripes depending on which House the students are in • a black blazer with the Pilton logo • a standard black pleated skirt or pair of trousers

Administration

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Payments to School Please be aware that we no longer accept cheques in school to make payments for trips and dinner money accounts. We would encourage as many parents/carers as possible to use Parentpay.

ParentPay offers you the freedom to make online payments whenever and wherever you like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - safe in the knowledge that the technology used is of the highest internet security available. Parents have a secure online account, activated using a unique username and password (available from Mrs Rostock, Finance Officer); making a payment with your credit or debit card is straight forward and ParentPay holds an electronic record of your payments for you to view at a later date.

• a black V-necked jumper with a Pilton logo (optional) The uniform is available from Daws & Co. Jewellery should not be worn because it can be dangerous (a pair of small studs or sleepers is permitted for pupils with pierced ears. No facial piercings or tongue piercings are allowed.)

Coats should only be worn outside the school building. Non-school uniform knitwear or any type of sweatshirt, with or without a hood, worn on top of or underneath school uniform is not acceptable on the school site.

Make-up and nail varnish should not be worn. Hair should fall within the normal range of natural hair colour, and should not be in an extreme style.

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Parent Information

Pilton Bluecoat Academy

The Final Frontier Parent Voice Pilton Community College ”Parent Voice” was set up in February 2013. Since then several meetings and workshops have been held covering topics such as: • Finding your way around the school website; • Helping your child with online homework; • Buddy System for Year 7 pupils; • Homework; • ParentPay; • Safeguarding on the internet; Our goal is to connect with parents and carers of pupils at Pilton Community College to help to improve channels of communication and information about what goes on at school. The group is chaired by Mrs Rose Budge (School Business Manager) with input from other members of staff as appropriate. Meetings are held between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm on the school site.

Our hope is that as many parents as possible will get involved. We need your comments and assistance to ensure that Pilton continues to be an amazing learning environment for our children.

For more details please see our website (Parent Information Parent Forum) or contact Mrs Rose Budge on 01271 374381 or email admin@pilton.college.org.uk

School uniform donations We would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents/carers for their continued support throughout the last five years and especially in regards to our new school uniform. We have been really pleased with the very positive responses we have received from both students and from the local community.

We would really appreciate donations of second-hand uniforms and kit in good condition that you may wish to pass on. We would ask that anyone who wishes to do so leaves it at Pilton College Reception desk with Mrs Hingston.

As a College we rely on the generosity of our local community and thank you in advance; it is greatly appreciated by us all.

During this term we have been following the theme of ‘The Final Frontier...’ As part of this, the children have been studying a range of aspects to do with space, space travel and space history.

In January, we visited the At Bristol science experience, where the children were able to encounter lots of different types of hands on experiments. Soon after, we had our Arts Week, which saw the construction of a range of Aliens that are now resident in our school.

The term will end with an Alien Day and an exhibition of Eggstraterrestrials!

This has also been a very active term for our international links, with teacher visits to India and Italy linked to our British Council project. As part of our Global Education Programme we will be taking 28 children to our partner school in Spain next October. Most recently, our Year Five pupils have just returned from London, where they had a great visit that included the Harry Potter studios, a tour of Parliament and encounters at London Zoo. Overall, a really active and exciting term for both children and staff.

Contact Details • Changed your telephone number?

• Changed your email address?

• Recently moved house?

Don’t forget to let us know ...

We are using our texting and email service more frequently to send information to you so please remember to update us with any Mobile, Home Telephone number, Email and Address changes so we can keep you up to date with what’s happening in school.

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Inspiring interaction

World Book Day inspires everyone The week commencing 10th February was our activity week commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I, with a visit to the Barnstaple Museum, pupils brought in memorabilia to the school, and also enjoyed drama, music and art workshops and film animations.

On Tuesday 4th March we celebrated pancake day with a coffee morning which raised approximately £130.

The School Council have been busy representing Pathfield at the Barnstaple Shadow School council meeting which was held at Park School, issues on the agenda included anti-bullying, road safety and school dinners.

After School Clubs have had a very busy term, with four clubs running including cookery, film, art and photography.

We are looking forward to the Pilton Mile on Friday 21st March, when our pupils join with the other Pilton Association Schools to complete the mile in aid of Sport Relief.

Our celebrations for Easter start with a service at Pilton Church on 28th March at 10.30am.

Staff and pupils dressed up as their favourite book character for World Book Day.

We were joined by a fabulous array of characters from Harry Potter, Where’s Wally, Red Riding Hood to 101 Dalmations. The money raised will be used to buy books for children in Africa. Claire May, Headteacher, is going out to Africa to visit Nangina School in March and will take the books over with her.

Gifted & Talented - Debate Club

Jimena Parra-Mello and Josh Newby, Year 10

The English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace Competitors from all over Devon and Somerset braved the elements to get together on Tuesday the 11th of February for an evening of fun and controversy! The English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace is a prestigious competition where students ranging between the ages of 14 and 19 debate on a series of hot topics. Pilton Community College had the great pleasure of hosting the first and second round of the competition. Involved

were: Blundell’s School, Taunton School, Uffculme School, Richard Huish College, Millfield School, The King Alfred School. Going onto the third round, and regional final, are Pilton Community College and Richard Huish College from Taunton. The motions debated included: “Ending all State Funding for Artworks That Cannot be Recognised as Art By an Average Member of the General Public”, “Banning All Individuals Who Have Advocated or Used Violence in Order to Further a Political Cause, From Standing for Election” and “ Capping the Pay of Teachers and Medical Health Professionals Working in the Private Sector to a Level Comparable to that of the Public Sector”. It is with great pride that Josh Newby and Jimena Parra-Mello, both Year 10 students at Pilton Community College, will be representing Devon at the next round.

Public speaking team goes through to Devon final This year’s Rotary Youth Speaks competition has seen schools from across North Devon go head to head for the annual public speaking prize.

The intermediate category for 11 to 13 year olds was won by West Buckland School. The senior category was won

by Pilton Community College whose presentation was entitled Thank You For The Music. The Pilton team comprised Stan Whittaker, Bethan Funning and Harriet Pollard.

Congratulations!

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Students’ achievements outside school Unlimited Dance Jamie Jones (10E2) is a student at Unlimited Dance Company. At his 5th competition in Wales he came 5th in the under-16s beginner group and qualified to compete at the Worlds in Glasgow this August. He’s also part of a Streetdance Crew called ‘The Solution’ with his sister. At their 2nd competition they came 4th out of 17 crews and also qualified for Worlds. Well done, Jamie, and good luck in August!

British Powerlifting Championships

Climbing Ben Coker 11D2, Tom Ware 8D2 and Rosie Walters 10D2 – All came first place in their age group at the South West Inter Schools Climbing Competition held on the 24th January, The Quay Climbing Centre, Exeter!

(South West and Wales) Aron Blight, 11A1, took part in his first powerlifting championship recently. He has been training regularly, 4 times per week, for the last 4 months. One of the youngest competitors, his performance was deemed as outstanding. Along with another young person, both won their age and weight classes and set British records in all three disciplines – squat, bench press and deadlift. Aron now goes forward to the next round in October. Steven Middleton, their trainer, was also impressed with Aron’s willingness to pass on his new found knowledge and skills to others.

Gook luck in the next round Aron.

Tom Ware, Ben Coker and Rosie Walters

Dan Slater and Aron Blight

Georgia Pilkington

Dan Slater 11D1 – Also took part in a qualifying competition for the British Powerlifting Championships which will be held in Folkestone this August.

Powerlifting consists of benching, squatting and deadlifting and Dan lifted 295kg which is a new British record! Well done Dan and good luck in August.

Georgia Pilkington 10V2 competed in the 1st round of 2014 Para Climbing Series. She came 1st in her category (Hearing Impaired).

It was held at the Castle Centre in London on Tuesday 18th March.

The next round is in Newcastle in April.

What an amazing achievement and such a talented student!

Jamie Jones

Surfing Brothers Storm Wall 9V1 and Freedom Wall 8V1 are both member of Croyde Surf Club and both won their respective age groups and became Youth League Champions. They were presented with their shields in our House assembly.

Storm Wall

Duke of Edinburgh

Freedom Wall

Sam Taylor 11D1 and Rosie Walters 10D2 – Have both received their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award!

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Endeavour

The Calvert Trust – It’s what you can do that counts.

We now have a date for our fundraising this year. On Friday 25th April, at lunchtime, we will be holding an event in the Drama Hall to raise money for The Calvert Trust, Exmoor, a place which provides year round challenging activity breaks for people of all ages with physical, sensory and learning disabilities, together with their families, friends and carers. Each Tutor group from Atlantis House are going to be running a stall which you might come across at a Spring fayre i.e. Splat the Rat, guess how many sweets in a jar, cake stalls, etc. So bring your pennies and have fun at the same time.

Let’s see how much we can raise for this worthy cause.

House points

Attendance

House points total: 4312

House attendance: 92.17%

Best tutor group: KS3: 7A1 with 2057 points /

Best tutor group: 8A1 with 97.81%

KS4: 10A2 with 1100 points

This is the best school attendance so far.

Congratulations!

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House points/attendance as of 15th March 2014

Discovery success After a really successful first year, Discovery House have a bit of work to do if they are to repeat their winning spree of last year!

Sports Day - This forms part of the inter-tutor competition in the Summer term.

Fingers crossed it will go ahead and we can get all tutor groups well represented!

Inter-tutor group competition - We are currently lying second behind Atlantis after a good set of results in the Spring competitions. A final push in the Summer term could take us into a winning position!

House Cup - We are currently a bit behind in the house point totals so we need to try and get some more house points ASAP! Winners of the £10 awards for last half term for the following categories are: 100% Attendance – Chloe Wickham 9D2 Most improved tutor group attendance – 10D2 No Lates – Lauren Rigler 9D1 is an asset to herself and the school.

Chloe Wickham

House points House points total: 4464

House attendance: 93.27%

Best tutor group: KS3: 7D1 with 1861 points /

Best tutor group: 8D2 with 97.02%

KS4: 10D1 with 759 points

Discovery House attendance for this half term is great but it could be better. The first half term was 95% so it would be good to try and repeat that! There are 64 students who have had 100% attendance for the last half term and a large number of students who have had no lates.

Well done!

We aren’t in the lead at the moment, so let’s keep working hard to try and earn as many House Points as we can so we can get back to the top of the points total!

Lauren Rigler

Attendance

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Endeavour

Proud to Play Our Part Endeavour students have once again been playing their part in the life of Pilton Community College. Chloe Wood (10E2) and Hannah Gray (8E3) were a fantastic help at the Christmas Fayre – making and selling cakes and decorations to raise money. We were well represented at the Christmas Concert; most notably by Bethan Funning (11E3) with her amazing rendition of ‘The Power of Love’. Marina Giffoni-Kenton (8E3) did us proud by collecting top prize in the Science photography competition. 8E3’s winning streak continued with Rebekah Hutchings winning the English writing competition. We’d also like to say thank you to Charis Fenn (10E1) for keeping quiet for a day and raising over £30 for our charity Amigos.

We were also thrilled to see so many of our students taking to the stage for the school production of ‘Bugsy Malone’: Amongst them were Sian Brokenshire (8E1) who took on the main part of the dazzling Tallulah, Max Mepsted (8E3) as Bronx Charlie, Matt Lavercombe (8E2) as Angelo and Stevie Ovey (9E2) as Oscar de Velt, to name but a few.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to say ‘Thank You’ to our Junior Leadership Team, including our House Captains, Tom Dunbavin and Bethan Funning (below), who have been brilliant in their roles and have demonstrated that hard work, determination, commitment and a smile can get you far! We wish them all luck for their exams in May and for whatever their futures may hold.

Tom Dunbavin

House points House points total: 4256 Best tutor group: KS3: 8E3 with 1871 points / KS4: 10E1 with 1041 points We need to keep them coming in to secure that first place - keep up the good work!

Bethan Funning

Attendance House attendance: 92.71% Best tutor group: 8E2 with 96.11% Once again, the best attendance - you seem untouchable! Well done!

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House points/attendance as of 15th March 2014

Busy time for Voyager It has been yet again a busy time for Voyager students.

Our Year 11s are preparing for their GCSE examinations. We wish them well and hope that they fulfil their potential!

We would also like to thank our Student Leadership Team and House Captains Holly Crocombe and James Ford for all their hard work over the year. You have all been a huge asset to our house.

We have our sponsored walk on the 23rd March for our charity The Bristol Children’s Hospital. We have nearly 100 pupils taking part in the walk with Mr Mason 10V3 running it with 20 students!

A cake sale was also held by year 11 students and we raised £48 with another sale planned before Easter.

A number of our students attended a football Mash Up in partnership with the FA. They all received a certificate and a pedometer. They are Liam Weeks 8V1, Ed Day 9V1, Owen Pawsey 10V1, Joel Jijo 10V2, Shea Hennessey 10V2 and Joe Mugglestone 10V2.

Holly Crocombe

We have a number of our year 10 students taking part in the Ten Tors this May and the following have a chance of getting into the final 35 mile team. They are: Ollie Alexander 10V1, Stan Whittaker 10V1, Georgia Pilkington 10V2 and Natasha Minns 10V3. Liam Bartlett 10V1 and Kieren Foster 10V1 are walking in the 45mile Year 11 team. Congratulations to you all.

House points

James Ford

Attendance

House points total: 4509

Attendance:

Best tutor group: KS3: 7V1 with 2521 points /

House attendance: 93.08 %

KS4: 10V2 with 812 points

Best tutor group: 8V2 with 96.33%

We are having an amazing start for the year. Keep the good work up!

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Library and Resource Centre Pupils enjoy their book dates Presents and cards all over the place On this day your love should be chased Love and life in the air But for some people it’s just not fair Valentines Day is very close You can now celebrate the ones you love the most Even on Valentine’s Day things are ending But you feel better when things start mending.

Students were given the opportunity to go on a blind date with a book. They were given the chance to select a wrapped book, take it home and be intrigued enough to read it. After returning

their books the pupils informed the Librarians how their blind date went.

Student Logan Jeffery said “Sometimes a cover looks boring and you might judge a book by how it looks instead of trying to read it.” Gus Dunbavin said “This was a great idea because it was something out of the ordinary which made it more exciting.”

Picture of Year 8 students from left to right Chloe Cunningham, Gus Dunbavin, Jessica King, Logan Jeffery and Jasmine Colwill.

Valentine Competition A Valentine Competition was held for students to write their own Valentine poem. The criterion for the poem was it had to be original, funny or serious.

We received a selection of very interesting entries and with the help of the English department it was decided that the winners were Chloe Weeks 8V1 and Bethany Webber 8V1. They both received a box of chocolates.

Bethany’s poem 8V1: You are my one true love You keep me warm like a glove You fly to my heart like a dove.

Then we picked up solid gold rings from heaven above All our hopes and dreams are down to you and me Don’t you see, we work like a, b c There’s a spark in my heart that will never break us apart And at night, I’ll take a flight to the love of my life You take my breath away, and that just goes to say I love you everyday.

Chloe Weeks 8V1: Summer days, remind me of you So beautiful with skies of blue You’re my every thought of the day I wouldn’t have it any other way When times are hard, I know what to do I’m so lucky to have you Finding you was a gift Being with you makes my heart lift Valentine’s Day is full of hearts That’s the day some magic starts!

World Book Day To coincide with World Book Day March 6th, Year 9 students were given the opportunity to meet author Luisa Plaja. Luisa gave an inspirational and really informative talk about how writing fiction encourages students to exercise their creative minds and practise using their imaginations. The students were asked to come up with ideas on a variety of topics which included phobias, likes and dislikes to help improve their ability to ‘think outside of the box’. One student said “It was a privilege to listen to a published author. I got loads of ideas to help me with my English classes.”

Luisa Plaja with Year 9 students

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/English

Drama

The English department also held a competition for World Book Day where students were asked to transform an old book into a piece of art. There were some amazing creative designs ranging from vases of flowers to a worm devouring the pages of its favourite novel. There was a prize given for the overall winner plus a prize for the winner from each House.

Accelerated Reading Success

As one of our focuses this year is Reading for Pleasure, the English department and the Library are delighted at just how many more books are being borrowed this term, even by the usually reluctant readers.

The Accelerated Reader is designed to advise the student on which book will be best for their ability. Our students are delighted to be Star Readers, which they achieve by successfully reading and then being quizzed on books.

Reading Mentor Success Our students were given the opportunity to join our Reading Mentor Programme on a voluntary basis which is hosted in the Library every morning from 8.40 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. We have been delighted with the response.

Students are paired with Reading Mentors to read books which encourage a love of reading for pleasure, build vocabulary and help students get through books they may be struggling with. The students not only receive positive feedback supported by fantastic role-models, but also help build confidence and self esteem. Reading for half an hour a day can really help to improve their reading level. Parents and students can explore books on AR Bookfinder uk.

Year 7 Gifted and Talented Drama Day I think that the gifted and talented drama day went really well. We had great fun and all the games showed us how good our communicative skills were. I enjoyed acting out the short play we were given and I would love to go again.

Archie Wescombe 7V3

I found it very interesting because the exercises we did I had never done before. It was a great day. The teacher wasn’t strict she was nice and friendly.

The thing we did last was a picture scene about a famous person and what they did and how it changed the world. I would definitely do it again if there was another one.

Cameron Johnson 7E1

I think the drama day went well and I would like to do it again. I met a lot of new friends. I enjoyed all the games and I learnt drama, it isn’t all about acting, it is also about games.

Sasha Jade Pinkney 7V3

The drama day was great fun and I had lots of opportunities to try different and better ways of acting. I met lots of my old friends there and even some new ones! All in all the experience was great and I would definitely do it again Chloe Greenstreet 7V3

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Specialist Language College

Comenius Visit to Austria 2nd-8th March 2014

A joint group of 27 students and teachers from Pilton and Braunton Academy has just returned from a successful trip to our partner school in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

The Global Learning Programme (GLP) led by Mr McHugh and his colleagues from the geography department will teach students how the challenges facing the world are being tackled through innovative new technologies, better governance and job creation, and will help them understand the potential of economic development to lift people out of poverty.

A recent survey of CEOs in the UK highlighted concerns that young people’s horizons were not broad enough for a globalised and multicultural economy. They warned that Britain faces being left behind by emerging economies if our young people are not given a more international outlook. Almost all said it was important for schools to help young people develop the ability to think globally.

The Pilton students on the ski slopes

Chloe Weeks as Harry Potter

The Year 8 students met up with other partners from Austria, France, Spain, Italy and Martinique, to enjoy a week of collaborative project work centred on a study of tourism in the small ski resort of Veitsch in Styria, Southern Austria.

The Comenius project continues for Year 8 students over the coming year with opportunities to visit Aracena in Spain in May, Turin in Italy in September and Paris, France in March 2015. The project culminates in Summer 2015 when all partners will converge on North Devon to be hosted by students and teachers from Braunton and Pilton.

The highlight of the project for the students was definitely the opportunity to stay 4 nights in a well equipped Youth Hostel and to spend the mornings skiing in groups made up of students of many different nationalities. The afternoons were spent visiting local tourist attractions, such as the magnesite mine and the giant Pilgrim’s Cross and interviewing the Austrians who worked in these industries. The results of the students’ varied research were then presented on the last evening to local dignitaries and to the parents of the Austrian students.

For two nights of the trip the English students were hosted in Austrian families and given a chance to experience Austrian hospitality and practise their German!

Another International Award for Pilton Pilton Community College has been designated as centre of excellence in a new UK programme to boost students’ global awareness.

British students will be taught about global trade, security, sustainability and development as part of a new programme for UK schools, International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced last month.

Kayaking in Martinique

In England, the GLP will enhance the curriculum by introducing an international perspective and helping place what UK schools are already doing in a global context. It will widen students’ horizons by helping them make connections between their own lives and issues that are important in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalised world.

Ms Miller-Marshall, commented ; “We are thrilled to have received this award and to be able to share good practice in our local community.

Internationalism is central to the school ethos at Pilton. It is vital that in today’s global economy young people from Devon are given the opportunity to meet and interact with fellow students from every corner of the globe.”

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Update

Cultural Diversity Day Hand painting

Ni hao!

Skyler Peng demonstrates the Chinese gugin

On March 19th for the fifth consecutive year Pilton was proud to host its Cultural Diversity Day in the drama hall.

This annual event is a celebration of the many different cultures which are represented in our local community.

The event was the biggest one so far and over the course of the day over 400 primary school students plus 200 Pilton Year 7 students were able to meet and interact with visitors from a wide range of different cultural backgrounds.

The highlight, as usual, for the students was the opportunity to taste a range of specially prepared foods from around the world.

Pilton’s Swedish assistant.

The henna hand-painting stall proved as popular as ever with a long queue all day long.

As always the visiting teachers and students were extremely complimentary about the whole event which definitely helps to build multicultural understanding in the local community.

The event is a key date in Pilton’s international calendar as we are committed to helping our students become outward looking global citizens.

Pilton Bluecoat, Kim and moose

The hall was buzzing

The visitors represented Egypt, China, India, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria and Bangladesh.

The Swedish stall included a life size painting of a Moose representing many hours of preparation by Kim Haraldsson,

Liam goes Chinese

Bartek helps out on the Polish stand

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Specialist Language College Update

Maths

Italian Exchange 2014

At the beginning of March our Italian partners from Valdagno in the North of Italy visited us for the first leg of our exchange.

The Italian group were extremely positive about all aspects of their stay and pleasantly surprised that they experienced such excellent weather.

This enabled them to make the most of their visits to Bath, Clovelly, Tintagel, Lynton, Lynmouth and the Valley of the Rocks where they took in the dramatic coastline which was very different to the landscape they were used to at the foot hills of the Dolomites.

Over the following weeks our Pilton students will attend an intensive Italian conversation course once a week at covering useful expressions and vocabulary in order to give them basic communicative skills when being immersed in Italian family life.

We will be going to Italy at the end of May and will be visiting Venice, Verona, Lake Garda, Gardaland Theme Park and going on a cable car ride in the mountains.

Kaia and Molly said the following: It has been an amazing experience. Our

partners are lovely and we know for sure that we have made some really good friends. On Thursday night we were both very nervous to meet our partners for the first time but once we had it was great! It has been a lovely week, taking them to many different places and sharing our interests with them. It will be really sad to see them go but we can’t wait to go and visit them in May.

MFL Poetry Writing Competition

At a school fete people were asked to guess how many peas there were in a jar.

No one guessed correctly, but the nearest guesses were 163, 169, 178 and 182.

One of the numbers was one out, one was three out, one was ten out and the other sixteen out.

How many peas were there in the jar?

A pearl necklace has 31 pearls with the largest and most valuable in the middle.

Starting from either end, each successive pearl is worth £100 more than the one before (up to the middle one). The whole necklace is worth £69 000.

What is the value of the middle pearl?

Congratulations to our winner Sarath Santhosh, 9A3, who wrote a Valentine’s Day poem in German that would melt any heart!

Runners up from each House were: Jim Lake, 8E2 Matthew Lavercombe, 8E2 Luke Pullen, 8D2 Jessica Morrish, 7D1 Maisy Lisle, 7V2

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Science

Bubble Mania Science students have continued to plan and carry out some fantastic investigations in the department.

The Year 10 students have all been completing GCSE coursework based on how helicopters can auto-rotate in an emergency and land safely, even when they have lost power to the rotor blades. Mr Phillips was taken to RAF Chivenor by Year 11 student Bethany Ashcroft. Bethany is a member of the Air Cadets and she organised the whole visit. Mr Phillips learnt lots of new information about how helicopters work and they were lucky enough to see a take off when the squadron were called out to an emergency rescue in Tintagel.

Elizabeth’s champion bubble

Adam’s density column

Year 7 students have been investigating the power of surface tension, by creating the biggest possible bubbles.

They were also challenged to make a density column in a test tube using different liquids, with indicators to make different colours.

The art department has also helped the students to create an amazing mural for the science walls and this will hopefully be on display by the time this newsletter is printed!

Bethany and Mr Phillips at RAF Chivenor

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Challenging Walks Stunning

hospitalit

Ten Tors 2014 This year’s event is on the 10th and 11th of May and competition for the 2 teams has never been tougher. The 35 mile team began with 22 students going for just 6 places. After a tough decision the 22 have been cut to 10 from which the final team will be selected. The 45 mile team has been a little more selfselective as the desire to test yourself over 45 miles of the southwest’s toughest terrain is only found in a few individuals; so 7 students compete for 6 places. So far they have navigated their way through 5 weekend walks; experiencing Exmoor at its harshest and Bodmin Moor at its wettest before being faced with the rest of their training on Dartmoor. Good luck to all.

A muddy Ten Tors training team

Kilimanjaro 2014 Students continue to fund raise having raised over £350 in a recent clothes collection via Bag2School and will be attending a residential at Rock and Rapid on the 5th and 6th of April to begin their walk training. They will also be attempting to climb the height of Kilimanjaro by repeat assents of the climbing wall at Rock and Rapid in June.

The clock is counting down for the departure to climb the highest mountain in Africa.

Special thanks to the staff who volunteer their time without whom it would not be possible to have such great challenges for our young people to try.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

This year has seen the largest uptake for the Bronze Award and their training and all other aspects will soon get under way. Last year’s Bronze cohort is beginning to finish the award and will be presented with their certificates.

So far 3 have been presented. Last year 14 gained their Bronze Award of which 10 have nearly completed their Silver Award. In total 30 bronze awards have been presented to students from Pilton College in the last few years. If this year’s cohort of 59 keep at it they could easily achieve that total all by themselves. There’s a challenge.

Outdoor Pursuits Update Climbing The school’s Climbing Club has been involved in 2 competitions this year.

The Schools Interschool climbing competition run at Rock and Rapid and the South West Inter Schools Climbing Competition held at the Quay Climbing Centre in Exeter. Both competitions have a great number of schools involved and Pilton came third place over all at Rock and Rapid but made a massive effort to come first place at the Quay Centre. There is a third competition on Sunday 11th May at the TCA in Bristol where we hope to do just as well. Well done to all team members and those who climb regularly at the club.

The Ski Trip Sestriere 2014 Have you ever taken a second to think about going skiing with your friends in a different country with stunning scenery, fantastic hospitality, learning a new skill and creating memories to share for years to come?

Well that is what all of the members of the 2014 Ski trip have done. 48 budding Pilton students turned up to a meeting in S2 in April 2013, with one intention; to go skiing. Some of them with experience on the skis before and others not as much but before hitting the Italian slopes, we were invited to the Plymouth dry ski slope to get a much needed idea and practice of what skiing was like for real. After many times falling over, (some more than others) I think all the members of our group started to grasp the idea of skiing and the essential ‘snowplough’ technique which is a very important part of skiing, because it’s the ‘correct’ way to come to a halt - that or it’s sliding down on your bottom and eventually stopping!

Then came Friday the 14th of February.

At around 7 o’clock , all 48 students and our 6 fantastic members of staff set off for the trip of a lifetime! But after stormy weather and a 36 hour journey on a coach and a ferry, we arrived in Pragelato Italy at our hotel.

I think I can safely say that everyone was shattered! But after a good breakfast, a quick shower and a little sleep, everyone was ready to hit the slopes!

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scenery, fantastic ty and a new skill learnt

But before we could hit the slopes, all of us had to collect probably the most important pieces of equipment that we had for the whole week! That was of course our skis, ski boots, skiing poles and a helmet. Putting on all of our gear and our skis for the first time did feel a little bit strange, but at least everyone looked the part!

To start off our skiing experience, we started on one of the smaller slopes of the resort just to get everyone back into the swing of skiing. Also we had the first chance to meet our ski instructors who stayed with us for the week. The next day we were split into our skiing groups, where we stayed for the duration of the week.

I was in the intermediate group, along with 13 other skiers, and we all perfected the art of snowploughing, parallel turning and began to start learning to jump on the skis. The proper way to do a jump is to get up lots of speed, keep the skis parallel and lean forward oddly enough, which really did take some getting used to.

I think we all managed to get the hang of it! I think some of the members of each group began to perfect jumping and landing as well, but others didn’t, with quite a lot of bumps and bruises resulting from that one or two members had a little accident and a trip to the Italian A&E, so that was ‘probably’ another great new experience! Also another thing that I think everyone managed to get the

hang of by the end of the week was the use of the ski lifts, especially considering Alex Mullen and I got stuck on one of the lifts and instead of getting off at the first stop, we ended up going all the way to the top of the mountain and having to come all the way back down. However there was a good plus side, the view from the top was breathtaking! But thankfully, our instructor wasn’t angry or annoyed with us, so perhaps other people have made that mistake before!

Another thing to add was that all of the instructors’ English was fantastic.

It was certainly better than my Italian which made everyone’s lives a lot easier!

One of my favourite parts of the day was the evenings as our teachers let us go out and explore Pragelato or let us relax in our room or around the hotel.

Dinner from the hotel was also brilliant, and very tasty too! Also we had a Pizza evening which was thoroughly enjoyable, I guess you just can’t beat

Pizza that’s been made in Italy!

There were also different evening activities too, our Pizza evening, a quiz with our Active4 representative, a Disco, a super hero auction and swimming outside in a not so thermal, thermal pool.

Finally, probably the favourite part of our trip, (apart from skiing!) was playing ‘donkey or doyen’. To be a ‘donkey’ you have to be a skier that crashes quite a bit or is slightly struggling to grasp the tasks set by the instructor. To be a ‘doyen’ you would be a leader of the group or ski with style, skill and finesse.

But on the last night of our trip, our donkey was to be awarded to the most improved skier of each group throughout the week.

I was fortunate enough to be the donkey or the most improved skier and I felt rather proud of myself! I also got to keep the donkey, so I was doubly happy with myself!

I would just like to say finally how happy I was to participate on such a fantastic trip and I would like to thank all of the members of staff for taking the time to plan out everything and making this trip run so smoothly and generally make everyone have a fantastic time, I think we all had a brilliant time skiing and would really like to do it again!

Ben Tucker 11E2

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Work related activities

Careers Drop In We have ‘drop in’ sessions running in G5 throughout this term open to everyone who is interested in a particular career path or wanting to find out more about it.

So far we have had Babcock Marine, Local accountants, Bray Leino and the Navy visit. More visits are planned so keep an eye out in the bulletin and remember this quote we found.

Work Placements

“The best career advice given to the young is: Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.?”

Katherine Whitehorn

Work Experience

Ewan Somerville 10V1

Sophie Welch 10A2

Work experience provides many benefits, giving pupils skills and experience that will allow them to stand out to potential employers as well as helping them choose the right sector to work in.

At Pilton our pupils went out during March and we had a record amount of students organised, with placements varying from the Army Air Corps, Cobbett Hill Earth Station, Rock and Rapid outdoor adventure and many retail outlets.

Work experience equips pupils with skills such as team working, communication skills and commercial awareness, all of which are sought after by employers and colleges.

We wish them all luck in the placements with special thanks to Mrs Tucker who has worked incredibly hard organising the week and to Brend Hotels who are taking 17 pupils in varying roles in their hotels.

In the newsletter we want to put the spotlight on some of our successful pupils who have had work placements in the community.

With many employers increasingly looking for experience as well as academic achievement in candidates for their positions, work placements have an increasing importance in gaining a good job.

April Ringrose has been at Kiddiwinks Nursery 1 day a week this year. She has worked really hard with the children there and received some great reports.

April hopes to continue working with young children in other places this year.

Well done April !

TRIP There will be a trip to Woodlands for Year 7 students on July 7th. This will be a whole day of fun and will be open to all students who are working well and whose behaviour has been acceptable throughout the year. The cost of the trip will be about £24 . If you want to go then you will need to show us how great you can be.

Pilton and proud!

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Learning Support Inspiring Intervention

Royal Navy Visibility Day On Tuesday 25th February, 3 Marines from Lymstone spent the day with a group of students. The morning began with leadership tasks in the gym and after break the students had fitness challenges on the hard playing surface until lunchtime. In the afternoon there was a debrief on the morning’s activities and then a small insight into what life can be like in the Royal Marines. The students worked hard and despite initial protests, they really enjoyed themselves. The Marines commented on what a good group of students they worked with and are looking forward to returning next year!

Pupils who need a little boost with their reading, spelling and organisation are now withdrawn from some lessons each week for additional literacy intervention, either one to one or in small groups. During these sessions they follow programmes including Everyone Can Read, Hickey and Phonological Awareness Training (P.A.T) depending on their specific needs.

Pupils really enjoy these groups as they can see the intensive work activities making a real difference in the rest of their lessons as well as boosting their confidence.

These are all multi-sensory programmes which include reading, spelling and writing practice presented in a lively and fun way with language based games being a big part of the process.

We are also running Numeracy groups for Years 8s and 9s, they have been working on planning trips to the cinema and holidays abroad. They have all worked hard but been surprised at how much planning it takes and how much it costs!

Gardening

Pancake Madness

Spring has come early in the greenhouse for KS4 students involved in this year’s garden project. Year 10 and 11 pupils have been clearing and cleaning in preparation for the new season and there are already lots of seeds sprouting in the growing trays. Once the seedlings are big enough, some will be sold to staff and pupils to fund new projects and others will be grown on in school.

Last year students grew all the ingredients for some delicious salads throughout the summer term.

This year we’ve already planted tomatoes, chillies, garlic and a selection of bedding plants, including begonias, geraniums and alyssum.

If you have any large pots or containers you no longer require, we would be delighted to take them off your hands so that we can plant some impressive displays for our courtyard garden.

Year 7 literacy groups have had the chance to make some pancakes this Shrove Tuesday. They enjoyed preparing the ingredients, cooking and tossing the finished pancakes.

They worked hard on developing their reading skills to follow the recipe and communication skills to take orders.

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Dance Primary Dance Festival

On Wednesday 12th March, Miss Farr hosted the annual Primary Dance Festival. It was held in the sports hall.

Several primary schools attended, including Pilton Bluecoats, Fremington Primary school and Bratton Flemming.

The day started with a vibrant warm-up led by four year nine students. Karlie Berry, Jasmine Hawkins, Tia Heather and Zahra Bedford–Higgs. Each school then performed at least two dances which all had an original theme. I have been busy rehearsing a duet with my friend Chloe Wise. We choreographed and performed a jazz dance to “Happy”. I was a bit nervous at the start but I am really glad that we got involved because it was really fun. We all enjoyed watching the range of dances.

The other Pilton dances were a year seven boys break dance group. They have only been rehearsing as a crew for a few months but managed to impress us all with their moves! Everyone had a fantastic time and all children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Catherine Tickell 7V2

Watch out!

Both the boys and girls gifted and talented dance groups have been keeping busy this term continuing their workshops but soon you will see the fruits of their labour. Both groups will be performing their dances. The first performance is on Thursday 5th June at Petroc. The second performance will be at The Queens Theatre on July 3rd!

Good luck to Joely Walker (GCSE Dance student) who is off to America over the Easter holidays with her dance school to perform in a festival! Pictures and a full report will follow next term.

There have been lots of requests for some more Street Dance, so listen out for the bulletin as we are in the process of organising a workshop for next term!

Dance Works 2014 In February some of the GCSE pupils and prospective GCSE dance pupils went to PETROC to watch the annual Dance works production. As always Claire China and the creative arts team put together a wonderful performance. This year it was based on The Mill. At times the piece was very moving as it focused upon the poor working class conditions in the 18th century. What was so nice to see was the amount of ex Pilton students who were performing in the production. There were approximately 18 male and female dance and drama students. Helena Adams, Megan Ward, Cassie Dobert and Charlie Bowden all had solo roles, delivered with poise and maturity.

Clubs: Monday RAD Ballet 3:45pm-5:00pm & boys break dance 3:15pm – 4:15pm Tuesday GCSE rehearsals Thursday lunch Year 7 & 8 dance club.

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Girls’ Rugby hot on the agenda

of tries were scored. Yr 8 finished 7th out of 13 teams and the Yr 10 team finished in 4th place out of 10 teams. A great start to competitive Girls Rugby at Pilton.

Well done to everyone involved!

Year 8 Holly Hunter, Georgia Adams, Erin Hall, Jess Peel, Georgia Mitchell, Emma Featherstone, India Ford, Keira Newby Year 10 Charlotte Rogers, Morgan Howgate, Orlagh Turner, Megan Gregory, Frilly Ansdell, Danielle Ball, Mia Kenna, Lauren Smith, Macole Beckham, Jimena Parra-Mello

Pilton Bluecoat and Fremington qualified for the ND finals.

The central Venue netball sessions in the sports hall after school have been attracting at least 20 Year 5s and 6s every week this term. Three Pilton Sports Leaders have turned out to help them with their skills and practice in game situations. Next term we move on to rounders.

• This year’s Pilton High Five Netball tournament was won by Bratton Fleming with Pilton Bluecoat the runners up.

• Bratton Fleming also took part in the ND Quicksticks competition. Well done to all.

Chris Farr, Pilton SSCo

Year 8

Year 10

Rugby has been hot on the agenda of a team of Year 8 and Year 10 girls. Following on from the success of the day they spent learning about the sport at South Molton they have been putting in lots of hard (and sometimes painful!) practice.

Girls from the two year groups have received two specialist training sessions from Wayne Reed who is the Devon Community Coach. They were put through their paces as they developed their tackling, scrumming and line out skills.

They organised their positions in the team and got extremely muddy in the process!

All the training was put into practice on 7th March when the teams travelled to Exeter to compete in the Devon County Girls Rugby Competiton.

Indoor Athletics South Dartmoor versus Pilton Pilton took a group of Year 8s to the North Devon Schools U13 Indoor Athletics competition on Thursday 23rd January. The top 2 schools would be sent through to the South West finals in Exeter. Pupils had to compete in two relay races, one long and one short distance, and a hurdles race as a team of 3. All of the athletes then had to compete in a number of other activities all of which contributed to an overall team score. These activities included standing long jump, speed bounce and shot put.

Pilton gave a superb performance throughout the whole competition, with the boy’s A team taking first place in both of the relay races, and the girls teams doing consistently well against tough competition, not to mention some surprise performances in the shot put! Pilton finished in third place overall, missing out on the South West finals by the narrowest of margins to second placed Park. Great Torrington went through as overall winners. A huge well done to everyone who competed on the day, they did the school proud!

Pilton Primary School Sport Update

The performance of both teams on the day was outstanding – they looked like they had been playing rugby for years! They coped amazingly against numerous teams who had a great deal more rugby experience. Crunching tackles flew in and their commitment was fantastic to see.

Our Year 1 Mutliskills festival was a great success in December, with over 215 Year 1 students from all our Pilton primary schools taking part. Fourteen multiskill based activities were planned and organised with the help of 38 Sports Leaders from the Pilton Sports Leadership Academy.

Numerous injuries were picked up along the way but team spirits remained high as lots

Five of our schools took part in the Indoor athletics event at the end of December.

In the first 20 minutes the game was very tight with not many chances to score. Three quarters into the first half Sam Bithell plays a curling ball past the defence, and Bailey Walker runs onto it and finishes coolly through the keepers legs. 1-0.

At the fifty minute mark Bailey Walker picks the ball up near the halfway line and dribbles the ball all the way to the opposition eighteen yard box and slots it past the keeper. 2-0.

A few minutes later South Dartmoor get a goal back. 2-1. As the game opened up George Richardson made a darting run down the wing crosses it in hoping for the best and a South Dartmoor defender puts it in his own net. 3-1. As it goes into the late stages of the game South Dartmoor grab two scruffy goals. 3-3. So it goes into extra-time. In the first minute of extra-time Bob Whittaker scores a goal, however the ball bounces of the inside frame of the goal and the referee decides it wasn’t a goal.

So Pilton keep their heads up Bailey Harris runs down the line and makes a decent cross into the danger zone and Dylan Gosling makes the most of it with a first touch finish past the keeper into the middle of the net. 4-3. Full Time. Pilton are through to the quarter finals!

Bailey Walker 8D3 & George Richardson 8E1

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Football Mash Up launches

This term saw Pilton come together with the FA to launch a new footballing programme called the Football Mash Up. The festival was part of a national project aimed at tackling the drop out of teenagers from football.

Despite the rain and wind, hundreds of our pupils took the opportunity to participate in the Mash Up Festival.

With qualified FA coaches leading the sessions, our pupils were able to experience football in a more fun and relaxed environment, often with the aid of music in the background.

The FA coaches were impressed by the attitude and commitment our young pupils displayed, not to mention the large numbers of girl footballers who braved the weather to participate.

Volleyball In the middle of March Pilton hosted the North Devon Schools U13 4 – a side indoor volleyball tournament. A fantastic number of students with little or no background in volleyball entered from Pilton alongside one or two more experienced teams, which enabled Pilton to enter 6 boys teams and 7 girls teams. Braunton sent their teams of more experienced volleyballers, making up the final two teams in each of the tournaments. As expected Braunton’s 1st teams in both the girls and boys categories came out as overall winners, but Pilton managed to secure the second spot in each of the competitions, ensuring that both a girls and a boys team will go on to the next round of the South West Schools’ Competition in Exeter later this year. Both the girls and the boys teams will continue to train hard for this competition at Pilton’s after school club and should be proud of getting to this stage against strong opposition!

Girls’ Hockey The Year 10 team has been in action since Christmas and have now played their last games of hockey for this year.

They went to Bideford and played against Bideford and Park. A close game saw them draw 1-1 against Bideford, Emma Wade 9A1 getting the goal in that game and they then lost narrowly to Park, 2-1. Emma Wade again, getting on the team sheet.

The North Devon Tournament was held at Park School in quite challenging conditions.

Some Year 9s again helped to make up the

numbers and the girls played really well.

They lost to West Buckland 1-0 in the end, but the score didn’t reflect the game and Macole Beckham performed well in goal.

They then lost to Park 2-1 again, with Paige Potter 9A2 working really well in defence.

Hockey club is now on a Tuesday night for Years 7 & 8. We need more players as we have matches coming up, particularly Year 7s so if you fancy having a go and coming along, you are more than welcome!

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Girls’ Football

Football

Year 11 Football Champions

The Year 11 football team have been crowned North Devon champions for the third and final time by beating Bideford College in the final 5-2.

Pilton qualified for the final comfortably in their group stages with clear victories over other local schools.

However, the final was likely to be a much closer match having lost to Bideford in the final in Year 10.

Pilton made a strong start, keeping much of the possession and creating a few good chances before Luke Kerswell put them ahead inside 15 minutes. Bideford however replied with an equaliser shortly after with a well-struck shot. Pilton then tightened up in defence and started to play much better regaining the lead and extending it further to 3-1 before half time with goals from Joe Langmead and Emilio Bennett popping up

Cricket triangular tournament U13 1. Bideford 2. Pilton 3. Park

Pilton’s U13s came second, narrowly missing out on the first place.

The boys came away with a convincing win in their first game over Park, in which a special mention must go to Jack Moore, who took 5 wickets in 2 overs. Pilton then faced a strong Bideford team for the chance to go through to the North Devon finals.

After loosing a couple of wickets early in their innings, Pilton came together to put up a respectable score for Bideford to chase.

With 2 overs remaining, Bideford needed

unmarked to knock in a corner at the back post.

Having played so well into a strong wind in the first half it was essential that Pilton continued to work hard and keep Bideford’s chances to a minimum.

With little time left on the clock Pilton extended their lead to 4-1 through Sam Lathwell, who had worked tirelessly up front closing down defenders and creating several opportunities for himself.

Bideford scored their second with five minutes to go just to remind Pilton that the game wasn’t quite out of reach at 4-2. Alfie Huxtable in goal made a fantastic point blank save and then became provider by sending a quick long kick to set up Liam Beer who lobbed the Bideford keeper in style to wrap up the match 5-2.

The result was testament to a strong team performance and a lot of hard work in difficult conditions. Pilton’s Year 11 had always been the best footballing team locally and it was nice to finish as Champions. They will now go on as regional representatives to play in the Devon Schools’ Semi-Final.

Photo: Bennett, Terry, Benham, Beer, Beck. Lathwell, Jones, Burbidge, Langmead, Rashbrooke, Knill, Cornish. Missing: Huxtable, Kerswell.

only 7 runs to take the win, but the Pilton team kept them just short, with 2 runs needed in the final over to secure a victory.

With only a few balls left in the over Bideford managed to scrape the runs needed and claim a well earned win.

U15 1. Bideford 2. Great Torrington 3. Pilton

Pilton’s U15s again won their first match against Bideford with ease. Good bowling and sensible batting led to a good victory against the home side. Bideford then beat Great Torrington in the second game of the day, which left Pilton with the opportunity of going through as clear winners if they secured a victory against Torrington.

Some wayward bowling, and good batting from the Torrington team left Pilton with a good, but not insurmountable score to

The girls’ football is coming to an end but it has been a fast and furious season! This term saw the U12s make their debut in January at the regional tournament. Natasha Barrow and Laura Kingdom have been pioneers in the team since September and their practice was evident on the pitch.

Natasha deserves a special mention for putting on an amazing display in goal. The girls played very well considering they hadn’t played together as a team for long; Celina Halsey, Abi Pye and Isobel Turley in defence along with Libby Taylor, Natasha Pickering and Laura upfront with super strikers Macey Webb and Tilly Evans.

The U14 have been the most determined and committed all season.

Zara Bedford Higgs, Krystina Allen, Paige Potter, Amy Barker, Ellie Holland, Danni McKernon and Caitlyn Philpotts have all been regulars - ever ready and up for it (even wanting to practice in torrential rain and gale force winds).

Grit, determination, guts and glory!

Lauren McWhinnie, Lauren Frisby and Annabelle Franklin have also all been regulars at training and earning their stars - keep up the good work girls.

And last, but not least…. Macole Beckham has been on hand each week to help coach and referee games along with belting balls at everyone to keep them on their toes! Well done to all of you for your commitment to the teams this year, there have been some brilliant games and fun times, roll on next season! chase. However, excellent bowling from the Torrington team, and a breakdown in communication on a number of occasions, caused the fall of the first 4 wickets in quick succession. This left the Pilton tail end batters with a very difficult task. Torrington kept things tight and bowled the Pilton boys all out for 27, which meant each team had one win and one loss. Total runs scored throughout the day were compared to separate the teams. Pilton 82, Torrington 87, Bideford 87. Bideford went through to the finals, having lost fewer wickets overall.

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Cross Country

North Devon Schools’ Cross Country

The North Devon Schools’ Cross Country took place at West Buckland School on Friday 6 December. The course was in great condition with lots of mud! A number of the Year 11 runners were competing for the last time and they have been fantastic representing the school over the last 5 years. The final results were; Inter Boys finished in 3rd place with Chester Clay 9th, Stan Whittaker 12th and Ben Mandeville 15th. Inter Girls finished in 3rd place with Kelly Jeffery 4th and Morgan Howgate 7th. Junior Boys finished in 1st place, with Bob Whittaker 11th, John Morgan 12th, Dan Roberts 15th and Luke Foster 17th.

Junior Girls finished in 6th place. Year 7 Boys finished in 6th place with Oaklan Clarke 7th and Warren Goss 16th.

Year 7 Girls finished in 4th place, with Harriet Turner 4th. Pilton finished with

12 runners selected to represent North Devon at the Devon Schools’ Cross Country. Well done to everyone who took part.

Badminton Tournament Results Both the U14s and U16s badminton teams enjoyed a successful outing at the North Devon Schools’ Badminton Tournament which was held at Chulmleigh.

The U14 girls’ team finished 5th, whilst the U14/U16 boys’ teams finished 4th and 2nd respectively. Well done to all who took part. Girls U14; Ellie Holland, Krystina Allen, Amy Barker, Emma Wade. Boys U14; Sarath Santosh, Tom Hawkins, Ross Swales, Ethan stamp. Boys U16; Ben Norris, Tom Poole Oliver Pinn, Tim Rowtcliff.

Devon Schools’ Cross Country The Devon Schools’ Cross Country took place at The Big Sheep, Abbotsham on a very wet and cold Saturday 18 January. Well done to all those that competed in very testing conditions. (Year 7 Girls) Harriet Turner 7th, (Year 7 Boys) Warren Goss 49th, (Year 8/9 Boys) Bob Whittaker 28th, John Morgan 31st, Luke Foster 40th, (Year 10/11 Boys) Chester Clay 34th, Ben Mandeville 42nd.

Southwest Schools’ Cross Country

My cross country experience at Bournemouth:

How I got there.

The first stepping stone to get to Bournemouth was the inter tutor competition held at Pilton Community College on the playing fields. To get to the next stage you had to come top 10 boys and girls. A few weeks later we were invited to enter the Stephen Shield cross country in Torrington.

The whole team ran very well and we managed to finish fifth.

The following race was the North Devon Schools’ cross country held at West Buckland School. To qualify we had to come top 10. I qualified for the Year 7 girls and two other Year 7 boys managed to proceed to the next race.

The Devon Schools Cross Country was at The Big Sheep. The whole race was about 2.7 km around a muddy water logged field. By Harriet Turner 7D1

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