July 2014

Kingsmead Newsletter

July 2014

Term Dates

School closes: Friday 18th July

12:00pm

School opens

Wednesday 3rd September

Y7

9:50am

Y12

9:15am

Y13

11:05am

Thursday 4th September

All Years (7, 8, 9, 10 & 11)

8:50am

Y12 Induction Morning

Keys Park 9am—12pm

School closes: Friday 24th

October 3:00pm

School opens: Monday 3rd

November 8:50am

School closes: Friday 19th

December 3:00pm

School opens: Monday 5th

January 9:50am

School closes: Friday 13th

February 3:00pm

In this issue:

Student News

Sports News

School Trips

Primary Liaison

Community Update

House Information

Inter-House Sports Day… and the sun shone!

It’s that annual event that is as old as the school itself… but still continues to excite…

and bring out the best in so many students!

So, it was on a very sunny July afternoon the Inter-House athletics competitions came

to their culmination in the Grand Finale of Sports Day itself.

Fiercely competitive as ever, all students were determined to achieve honours for the

House they represent.

There were many closely fought contests in events such as the Javelin, 100m Sprint

and Long Jump, but as the day progressed Wimblebury and Hayes Houses started to

pull away on the ‘Leader board’ with many of their students achieving top places.

Wimblebury were extremely successful and finally crowned ‘Sports Day Cup Winners’.

The ‘Victor and Victrix Ludorum’ individual competition also takes place at this time.

This is won by the competitors from each year group who gain the most points from

three individual events. Individual winners were as follows:

Girls Champion: Victrix Ludorum

Y7—Lily Walker (Uxbridge)

Y8—Hannah Hampton (Valley) and Megan Nicholson (Wimblebury)

Y9—Mollie-Mae Hudson (Hayes)

Y10—Rachel Cumberledge (Hayes)

Boys Champions: Victor Ludorum

Y7—Nathaniel Francis (Hayes)

Y8—James Chisholm (Littleton)

Y9—Daniel Robinson (Valley)

Y10—Jamie Greenwood (Hayes) and Tom Green (Wimblebury)

Student News

National Memorial Arboretum Competition

To commemorate the outbreak of World War One and the Christmas

Truce of 1914, Y7, Y8 and Y9 students were set a challenge!

In association with the National Memorial Arboretum and the Football

Association, all classes had to design a memorial statue that would

remember and honour soldiers who ceased fighting on Christmas Day and

took part in a friendly game of football in ‘No Mans Land’.

Miss Baylay, teacher of History said “I was inundated with entries and it was an

incredibly hard task to narrow the entries down to the final few. Mr Goodwin,

Deputy Headteacher judged all entries and Y8 were particularly successful. Third

place was awarded to Y8 student Lewis Powell, the runner-up place went to

Jasmine Rainer also in Y8. Rianne Martin Y8, was the overall winner. Her design

has been sent to the National Memorial Arboretum to be judged with other

entries from all over the country. Many congratulations Rianne! The winning

design will be made into a statue to stand at the Arboretum. I am incredibly proud of all the

students who participated and took the time and care to design their statues.”

P.S. ‘We are extremely proud to announce, as we go to press, that Rianne’s entry has been selected as one of the thirty five

shortlisted submissions. These will be presented to the judges: HRH The Duke of Cambridge and footballer Theo Walcott.

The winning design will be announced on the 14th of September 2014.

My Motocross

Each weekend, I race my motorbike in motocross competitions all around the country. I compete against other riders in my

category.

During the week, I practice around a course on ‘Cannock Chase’ to keep me fit for racing. I also do

weight lifting so I am able to hold onto my bike.

This year, I am currently winning the series as I have won four

out of the five rounds. I have five more rounds to go!

My brother and I compete in motocross every weekend, unless it

rains and the meeting is cancelled. We ride on many different

surfaces including sand and woodchip. Sand is the hardest to ride

on! The easiest is when it has been sunny all week and the track goes bone dry.

Luke Woodhoouse

Y7 student

GCE Applied Art and Design Show

Students presented their work in the form of an exhibition. It showcased Y12 Applied Art and Design achievements, featuring a

range of work including textiles, ceramics and animation. Students produced work based on their visit to ‘The Botanical

Gardens’ in Birmingham, as well as ‘The Textiles Heritage’ tasks produced for ‘The Museum of Cannock Chase’.

Y13 work included glass, printing and textiles. Students also

produced a personal negotiated project which promotes

independence.

Friends and relatives attended the event along with staff

from Kingsmead and Norton Canes High School.

Student News

School Council Update

The School Council has had several meetings this term to organise and vote on the £1,000

‘School Improvement Competition’. There has been some very good entries from each

House, including the idea of a school radio station. The winning entry came from Littleton

House, whose idea was to install more water fountains around the school. Mr Bryant,

Headteacher will be overseeing the logistics of this in the near future.

The elections for our new School Council Representatives will take place early in the Autumn

term. This will enable work to continue on our next project, which is to focus on keeping the

school litter free. Planning will start next term. We will also be looking at organising a ‘Christmas Raffle’ and ways to attract

sponsorship for further school improvement ideas. If you feel you could help with this, please contact myself at school.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my current Council Representatives, especially Y11, whose input into our first

year has made it a great success and given future members a strong foundation on which to build. Would you like to become

part of the School Council and the decision making process, why not stand for election in September?

Ms A Evans

Your Form as a Book

‘You can’t judge a book by its cover... but can you judge a form?’

To celebrate ‘World Book Day’ and ‘Literacy Week’ all forms were invited to design a book cover

that reflected the character of their form. This was not easy due to all the different personalities

and interests within each form. The challenge was to choose a book title and design a cover for that

book.

We received a huge range of entries, from fairy tales and fantasy, to humour and horror stories. The

top three entries from each House were shortlisted and put on display around the school. Following

some tough judging decisions the favourite from each House then progressed into the ‘Final’.

Our finalists were:

‘The Beanstalk’ (Coppice)

‘Mr MOF Collection’ (Hayes)

‘Littleton Shop of Horrors’ (Littleton)

‘The Story of U-FB—Caring Ground’ (Uxbridge)

‘Recipe for the Perfect Brood’ (Valley)

‘Diary of a Wimpy Form’ (Wimblebury.

Many congratulations to our overall winner ‘Uxbridge House!’

Last Night of the Proms

Students certainly arrived in style to their ‘Prom’ at the Chase Golf Club on

Thursday 3rd July in an array of vehicles including classic, vintage sports cars

and stretch limo’s!

All the students looked fantastic and a

good night was had by all, promenading,

dancing and enjoying both a ‘Hog Roast’ and

‘Chocolate Fountain’.

Thank you to all students, staff and parents for investing so much in

this memorable event!

Snowboarding to success!

Olivia Taylor, a Y8 student has had a fantastic year snowboarding. She has

been concentrating on her ‘freestyle’ snowboarding and has won her first competition, the TSA

Takeover event by beating over sixty other competitors. She also competed in the annual

Snowdome Snowboard Cross competition. Despite being the youngest in her age group, she

finished in second place in the female category and fourth overall.

Olivia has featured on the UKs largest snowboarding website ‘White Lines’ and had several

photo-shoots. She has also met one of her hero’s ‘Olympic Bronze Medallist’ Jenny Jones.

Olivia loves to snowboard... and would live on the snow given the chance!

Staffordshire Young Teenage Fiction Book Award 2014

After months of reading, nominating and short listing, the YTF group of readers at last had the

chance to find out which book had won the prestigious award.

The scheme asks young people to nominate and vote for their favourite book of the year from

the short list of six finalists announced in March.

Eight students visited the ‘JCB Lakeside Club’ on Tuesday 1st July, where they watched six

school presentations in favour of each nominee and took part in the final vote. They met

authors Sally Nicholls (whose book was ‘All Fall Down’), Rob Lloyd Jones (whose book was ‘Wild Boy’) and the winner Tom

Becker with his book ‘While the Others Sleep’.

Y10 and Y12 Futures Week: June 23rd—27th

This year, we introduced a ‘Futures Week’ for our aspiring Y10 and Y12 students. Students took part and experienced a wide

range of opportunities and visits. These were designed to help steer them in their future choices and allow them to make

informed decisions about their careers. Students also undertook ‘Work Placements’ at local businesses, school and retail

outlets to name but a few. The feedback has been excellent. Well done to all!

Y10 applied for a ‘real job’ set up by a local business. They completed a CV, application form and

attended an interview technique seminar. Nine lucky students were selected to attend a ‘real’ interview

with the business. Scarlett Oakes was the successful candidate and received £30 of Amazon vouchers!

Y10 students also visited Leicester and Nottingham Universities. Students experienced sampling the

University life of lectures and seminars and perusing students accommodation. Talks by Barristers,

Entrepreneurs and Bhangra dancers completed their week, which was rounded off by lunch in the Sixth

Form area.

Y12 students experienced a real ‘Internship’ application from the University of York. This involved aptitude tests, team

building skills and E Tray exercises in conjunction with visits to Warwick and Liverpool Universities. Y12 enjoyed presentations

and inspirational talks from a variety of speakers, most notably, a brilliant presentation by Mr Hektor Krome. He really

encouraged our students to think further afield and inspired them to pursue their aspirations. Completed evaluations

showed that over 90% of students enjoyed and benefitted from their ‘Futures Week’.

Keele University Language Visit

For the seventh time, we have been able to take some of our Y8 students to Keele

University to take part in the ‘Routes into Languages’ event. The event lasts all

day with students taking part in a variety of taster lessons and events to gain an

insight into different languages.

Once again, the event proved to be highly popular and successful!

Miss Rosbach

Teacher of MFL

Student News

Sports News

National Hockey Finals—Top Ten Teams in the Country!

Our U13 Girls Hockey team qualified for the ‘National Championship’ that took place on the 9th of May at Cannock Hockey Club. The girls won their first two games beating Felsted School 3—2 and Leeds Grammar School 1—0. We lost our third game against a strong team from Danes Hill School, Surrey. We needed to win our last game against Blundells Independent School, Devon. The girls played some fantastic hockey to secure a 3— 2 win! This win qualified us for the 3rd/4th place play-offs!

The play-off game was a hard fought contest against Brandeston Hall, Surrey but at the final whistle we were the winners with a 1—0 score line. That makes us third in the country!

Miss Craddock and Mr Chambers, teachers of PE said “We are so proud of our team and their incredible achievement at one of the highest levels of competition. Their hard work, fantastic attitude and skills have resulted in a record breaking achievement for them all! Well done!”

Rounders' Success!

Our Y10 Boys Hockey Team represented Cannock

and Rugeley in the recent ‘Staffordshire and Stoke

Summer Festival’. The team played well and

achieved third in the County! Fantastic result!

Meanwhile, our Y7 and Y8 Girls Rounders Team

were also in

action at

the ‘Staffordshire and Stoke Schools Games

Rounders Competition’ at Keele University.

The girls played to a high standard throughout

and qualified for the Final, where they beat St.

Josephs school 7—1 and were crowned

Champions!

Trampolining

Eight Kingsmead students qualified for the

‘County Trampoline Competition ‘at Trentham

Gardens during May by winning the ‘District

Competition’ last month.

Congratulations to the Intermediate Team:

Lauren Dodd, Shannon Barber, Caitlin Cockayne

and Jasmine Bradbury and to our Beginners

Team: Lewis Byrne, Nicola Payne, Thea Benbow and Amellia Bowen.

Mrs Greenwood, teacher of PE said “The

standard of competition was extremely high

but our students rose to the challenge and

performed extremely well with our

Intermediate team being placed third and our

beginners team finishing fourth. This was an

exceptional achievement, as it was our first

time in this level of competition.”

Cannock Schools and District Athletics

Overall Results June 2014

Y7 Girls—1st

Y7 Boys—4th

Y8 Girls—4th

Y8 Boys—8th

Y9 Girls—2nd

Y9 Boys—1st

Y10 & 11 Girls—3rd

Y10 & 11 Boys—1st

A number of students were selected

to represent Cannock Schools in the

County Championship.

Congratulations to:

Oliver Butler—Triple and Long Jump

Dylan Ottey—Discus and Javelin

Daniel Robinson—High Jump and

Discus

Callum Warren—800m

Tom Pearce 1500m

Niall Hadlington—1500m

Steven Thompson—Hurdles, 100m

and Relay

Jamie Greenwood—Javelin

Matthew Horton—Shot Put

Jack Mucklow—100m and 200m

Dan Ozumba—100m and 200m

Leah Aldred—100m, 200m and Relay

Rachel Cumberledge—200m and

Discuss

School Trips

Belgian Battlefields Trip

Y9 students took part in a highly successful trip in which they experienced the sights of the

Belgian Battlefields.

Our tour departed on Thursday 3rd of July via Dover and we arrived at the hotel in time for our

evening meal. Following a good nights sleep, a packed day lay ahead with visits to the

‘Lissentheok Military Cemetery’ and a three hour guided tour of the ‘Flanders Field

Battlefields’. Following an evening meal at a local restaurant, we visited ‘The Menin Gate’ where students, following the

’Last Post’, laid wreaths. Saturdays excursions included ‘The Museum of the Great War’ in

Peronne and ‘Delville Wood South African Memorial and Museum’. Our last visit of the

tour was to the ‘Vimy Memorial and WW1 Trenches’ on Sunday before travelling home.

“All students were a real credit to themselves and the school.”

Miss A Thompson

Teacher of Geography

Geography Visit to the Dorset Coast

Y12 students recently visited the Dorset Coast as part of their A Level Geography course. The purpose of the visit was to see

at first hand the areas covered in the course and give a greater understanding of the

subject.

The first stop of the day was the town of Dorchester for our ‘Rebranding Places’ unit.

We studied erosion, strata and rock formations as well as coastal management. It was

interesting to see how the recent storms have

affected the shoreline and what is being done to

help the area. It was a short walk over the hill to

‘Lulworth Cove’. We were able to see for ourselves the rock features and formations. We

visited ‘Chesil Beach’, where the destruction from the storms had exposed the ‘Gabions’.

These are cages of rocks used to stop waves from damaging the coast. In ‘Portland’, we

looked at tourism and rebranding. We visited an old lighthouse, two quarries adapted

into a rock sculpture park, a wildlife park and the Olympic Rings.

Students feedback showed they had found the visit useful, informative and beneficial to their A Level course.

Mrs Harrison

School Governor

Y12 Trip to Wolverhampton University

During June, the Art Department and some Y12 students visited Wolverhampton University for A Level Art.

The purpose of the visit was to inspire students to take Art at University and for students to experience Third Year Degree

Shows.

The day began with us taking part in a ‘Ceramics Workshop’ delivered by a University student. We

were shown a series of glazing techniques and given the

opportunity to try them out! In the afternoon, we toured all

the Third Year Degree Shows These included Fine Art, Fashion

and Textiles, Graphics, Interior and Product Design, Animation

and Ceramics.

Miss Pearce, teacher of Art said “The shows were truly

inspired and opened the students mind to what was available

to them after Sixth Form.”

School Trips

Y10 History Visit to Quarry Bank Mill

In June, over one hundred Y10 History students went on a visit to ‘Quarry

Bank Mill’ in Cheshire.

Quarry Bank Mill was a textile mill which first opened in 1784 and

remained in business until 1959. The Mill was owned by the Greg family.

The focus of the visit was on students gaining an understanding of both the

working and living conditions at ‘Quarry Bank Mill’. Students were given a guided tour around the mill

and village, where many of the workers would have lived! The Mill was

pioneering both in terms of what it produced and how it treated its employees. Samuel Greg even

employed a doctor to help look after his workers.

Despite this, students were still shocked both at how loud the

machines were and that children as young as nine worked there. They quickly realised that two hundred years ago, they would have been operating the machines! The tour

guides complimented the students on their engaging and inquisitive nature

throughout the visit.

Commenting on the visit, one student said “I really enjoyed the visit,

especially the tour guide, as he gave us lots of good information about the

Mill that will help us with our coursework. He clearly explained and demonstrated the dangers that the

apprentice children faced working in the mill, as well as showing us a

typical apprentice house.”

The trip was a huge success. Students will use the information from the visit

to complete a piece of controlled coursework about ‘Quarry Bank Mill’.

Rome Trip

On a warm Friday morning, forty one very tired but excited Y10 students along with

four members of staff returned from their week long, yet fantastic trip to Rome. The

tiredness and sore feet were a small price to pay for what had been a brilliant and

enjoyable week. On Monday, we departed for Liverpool airport at 1:30am. After

going through customs, the EasyJet plane was boarded and we started our journey

to ‘Naples’. As soon as we landed, we took the short coach journey to ‘Pompeii’, a

site of an ancient Roman city that has been destroyed by ‘Mount Vesuvius’ erupting

in 79AD. We were taken on a thorough tour of the city visiting the original

amphitheatre and shops, as well as seeing casts of the people who were there at the

time. The weather unfortunately was not on our side, as thunder and lightning

began and continued on into the night. However, this did not stop the enthusiasm as

we checked into our hotel in ‘Sorrento’, had dinner and then strolled into the idyllic

town for an ice cream.

Tuesday morning, we headed to ‘Mount Vesuvius’ to start the climb to the top and

indulge in the stunning view over ‘Naples’. A small

problem was encountered, as due to the weather there

had been a slight landslide making the summit

inaccessible. However, the Italians appeared with

shovels and a path was made for us all to climb! The

weather was glorious at this point with some spectacular

photos being taken at the top. We travelled to the city of

Rome in the afternoon and checked into the ‘Hotel Lazio’. After dinner, the decision

was made to take a leisurely stroll to the ‘Vatican’, a mere 2.6 mile walk, followed

by photo opportunities and then back to the hotel. On Wednesday, we caught the

metro to the ‘Colosseum’. The sheer size of the

building was breath-taking and the tour was insightful

and interesting. This was followed by the Roman

Forum and a short walk to ‘The Trevi Fountain’. After

lunch, we visited ‘Castle Sant’ Angelo’, a fortress built

as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian in 130AD but

also used as a prison and Papal residence. Following

more picture opportunities at the top, we returned to the hotel passing the Spanish

steps. Early Thursday morning, everyone was packed and ready to return to England,

but not before a final day of sightseeing... first stop ‘Vatican City’. As we walked

through the exquisite grounds, Miss Hughes guided us through the impressive rooms

in the Vatican with her extensive knowledge and

finally though the ‘Sistine Chapel’, an awe-inspiring

sight! A short stop in ‘St Peter’s Cathedral’

followed, admiring statues and some late Pope’s

lying in State. After lunch by the ‘Pantheon’ it was a

short walk back to the hotel and then on to the

coach for the drive back to airport.

The week was fantastic, interesting and simply brilliant. A special mention and

thank you to Miss Hughes for organising the trip, Mr Madsen for his super

directions, Mr Cole for getting us lost and Miss Baylay for her singing abilities! Also,

the students must be commended for their fantastic behaviour and maturity

throughout the trip.

Induction Days and Primary Liaison

A welcome to our New Y7 students

As we go to press, we are eagerly anticipating and preparing for the arrival of our new Y7 intake in September.

Certainly, if raw enthusiasm is anything to go by, the Y6 pupils who visited recently for our annual cycle of induction events,

will be a real asset to our school in the years ahead.

On their ‘Induction Day’ visit, they all made a really good impression. They were eager to get to know all about Kingsmead,

eager to engage with other pupils from other primary schools with evaluative comments such as ‘great’, ‘awesome’ and ‘can’t

wait to come’. They were a real credit to their primary schools, their parents and most importantly—themselves!

A similar positive attitude was apparent on the ‘Primary Inter-Schools Sports Day’. This is a ‘fun afternoon’ aimed at gathering

the pupils from our local primary feeder schools to begin to bond together as they participate in Olympian challenges such as

the obstacle, potato and sack race—to name a few!

Finally, it was encouraging to see such a good turn out for our ‘Induction Parents Evening’

in early July. Parents were, as ever, very supportive and we were delighted to receive

positive parental feedback regarding both the usefulness and effectiveness of the evening.

Mrs Ryder

Senior Leader

Primary Cooking and Drama Lessons at Kingsmead

Our Food Technology Department welcomed Y4 pupils from Five Ways this month.

Pupils used worksheets to create personalised biscuit designs before decorating their

biscuits using a variety of ingredients including icing and sweets!

The results were amazing and all looked fabulous! Pupils took their biscuits home where

we are sure they were thoroughly enjoyed!

Mrs Robins, Subject Leader for Home Economics said “The pupils designs showed a great

amount of imagination and attention to detail. The pupils worked hard and were a

pleasure to teach.”

Y5 pupils from St Peters also visited Mr Truby and our Drama Studio this month. Pupils

created their own scripts and performed the pieces ’on stage’.

Mr Truby, teacher of Drama congratulated the pupils on their creativeness and fantastic

performances. “They were a pleasure to watch. Stars of the future!”

Community Update

Community Partnership with Hednesford Town

Football Club

Our first project with our local Football Club started on Thursday 10th July. ‘Hednesford Town FC’ have commissioned our Y10 GCSE Art Students to produce work for their hospitality suite and grounds.

This is an exciting opportunity for students to take part in a live brief and to potentially have their art work on exhibition in the local community.

A visit has been arranged to the Football Club on Thursday 10th July. Students will attend in two sessions. The purpose of the visit is to make observations, take photographs and gather information to use back in the classroom. Students will have the opportunity to see the venue and the designated space for the final art works.

Steve Price, owner of the club, has also offered students concession tickets to attend a pre-season friendly match at the club on Saturday 19th July. This will give students the opportunity to gain an improved understanding and the chance to experience the atmosphere whilst taking photographs and making drawings to include in their portfolio.

Goodbye and Good Luck

A number of staff are leaving us

this summer including:

Mr Skurr

(started 1987)

Mr Firth

(started 1990)

Mme Pullar

(started 1993)

Charity Balloon Release

During the afternoon of Friday 10th July, Ms

Evans and six members of Wimblebury House

will be releasing balloons in aid of our six

House Charities.

Staff, students and parents have contributed

£5 per balloon and we are hoping for

responses from far and wide.

Prizes will be awarded to the owners of the

balloons that travel the furthest!

Watch this space!...

We wish all staff who are moving on

the very best in the future whether

in retirement or new roles.

We are looking forward to

welcoming a number of staff who

are joining us in September.

Kingsmead Links to German University

For three months, our Language Department has been lucky to have had the support of

Alino Deserno, a student teacher from the ‘Bergische Universitat’ of Wuppertal in

Germany.

Alina quickly settled in and has helped our students with their language learning. She is

well liked by our students and completed some great work with them. She will be an

excellent teacher and we wish her all the best as she leaves us.

We have only recently linked up with this German University

as I managed to enrol us on the ‘Erasmus’ programme last

year. The link has been highly successful! We are looking

forward to next year when we will welcome another student

teacher!

Miss Rosbach

Teacher of MFL

SCHOOL SUMMER HOLIDAYS

Wednesdays—Littleton Green

Thursdays—Cannock Park

Fridays—Hednesford Park

3pm—6pm

WEATHER PERMITTING

House Information

Coppice House

As the school year draws to a close, it is time for reflection;

what a lot Coppice House has packed into their time at

Kingsmead!

It all began in September when we welcomed our new Y7

students and I am so very proud of how well they have

settled into the Kingsmead community. At the other end of

the academic spectre, Coppice said goodbye to our Y13 students including Deputy

Head Girl Amie Sleigh, who has done a sterling job representing both Kingsmead and

Coppice House. Y11 began their study leave in earnest and rounded it off with a

wonderful celebratory morning at their ’Leavers Assembly’. Amy Garraton, Jessica

Dimmack, Jordan Gill and Rhiannon Hill all performed at this special event to make it a

wonderful time to reflect on the last five years at Kingsmead. It was also a pleasure to

see so many of Y11 in their finery at the annual ‘Prom’ at Chase Golf Club earlier this

month.

Megan Ellis, a Y10 student has recently spent

time in France pursuing a successful career in

Boxing. She represents ‘Right Stuff Boxing Club’

in Stafford and has had a very successful year

winning two competitions of late. Megan trains

regularly as well as balancing her studies and is a

great role model for Coppice. Well done Megan!

Yet again, Y11 student Jessica Fowler has been

selected to play for England against Sweden in

the ‘Handball Championship’. This is a great

honour and we wish Jessica

all the best!

Congratulations to Joshua Tiernan and Maisie Cole, our newly

appointed House Captains; Daniel Skerman and Abbie Duffin, Deputy

House Captains; Community Representatives and Lead Prefects Ben

Hawthorne and Lucy Wassell and our elected Prefects: Aiden Stone,

Jordan Reay, Matthew Taylor, Molly Arrowsmith,

Kayleigh Wright, Abbie Davidson, Sophie Freeman and

Reece Shore.

Coppice house bid a fond

farewell to two Tutors this

year; Miss Archer and Mr

Lakeland. We wish them

every success in their new ventures and thank them for all their

hard work in making Coppice such a wonderful team.

I shall miss them greatly.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Coppice staff

and students a wonderful summer break and a well earned rest

after another busy year.

Mrs J Davies

Head of House

Y7

Danielle Anslow

Molly Ashman

Joe Ball

Tegan Kirkham

Rhiannan Pyke

Y8

Joseph Banks

Ewan Gullick

Katie Jones

Amy Langley

Leo Slinger

Y9

Katie Garraton

Chloe Husselbee

Libby Jones

Grace Pike

Daniel Skerman

Courtney Wilson

Y10

Ben Hawthorne

Josh Tiernan

Lucy Wassell

Kayleigh Wright

Students with consistently

high ‘Attitude to Learning’

House Information

Hayes House

It is hard to believe another academic year is coming to an

end. I have found myself reflecting on the success and

development of Hayes House students, particularly Y7 who

have settled in extremely well. It only seems a very short

time since they first started, but this week our new Y6 pupils

arrived for their initial taste of Kingsmead life. It looks as

though Hayes House has a strong intake of musicians, artists,

actors and sports stars joining us this year. I look forward to welcoming them properly

in September!

On the subject of sports stars, Rianne Martin in Y8 has recently

been selected to play hockey at Midlands level and her ambition

does not stop there. Rianne is looking ahead to September when

the Nationals tournament takes place. I am confident her skill and

determination will take her far in her chosen sport. She practices

regularly, as well as working hard in her academic studies. She is a

great role-model for Hayes! Well Done and Good Luck!

The time has come to bid farewell to our Y11 students, who have been true role

models for the younger year groups in Hayes. Helena Pickerill and Luther Williamson

have made very fine House Captains and have helped run the House Council

throughout the year. Their presence and inspiration will be missed. Hayes House and

Kingsmead wish them all the best for the future and thank them for their hard work

and dedication.

Huge congratulations to Isabella Howe and Jamie Greenwood who

have been selected as our House Captains. Sophie Hollyhead and

Bradley Fisher will be representing Hayes as Deputy House Captains.

I would also like to give a special mention to Oliver

Thacker, who has been selected as Lead Prefect after

a fantastic application and interview. Our newly

elected Prefects are: Jack Martin, Tom Johnson, Jacob

Cartwright, Lewis Banks, Georgia Wilson, Adam

Williams, Grace Hewitt, Leah Bodley and Tia Berry. I

know you will all do a great job!

I would like to take this opportunity to thanks all Hayes staff and students for their hard

work and enthusiasm. Have a fabulous summer holiday and a well deserved rest after a

busy and at times challenging year.

I look forward to welcoming you all back in September ready for

all the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Mr P Bradbury

Head of House

Y7

Daniel Dorkins

Sarah Gray

Chloe Pickerill

Megan Renshaw

Tayla Tudor

Y8

Ben Marshall

Rianne Martin

Tia Whittingham

Y9

Owen Baker

Paige Collins

Ella-May Greenfield

Megenta Hiscock

Sophie Hollyhead

Mollie-Mae Hudson

Amy Lynk

Holly Mullen

Tilly Smith

Y10

Phoebe Brickley

Jacob Cartwright

Remi Flavell

Jamie Greenwood

Grace Hewitt

Isabella Howe

Heather Matthews

Oliver Thacker

Georgia Wilson

Students with consistently

high ‘Attitude to Learning’

House Information

Littleton House

Well, here we are again at the end of another very

successful year for Littleton House. We won the ‘Half

Termly Cup’ for the first half of the summer term!

Hopefully, this will put us in a good position to retain the

‘House Cup’ again this year.

Assemblies

This term, rather than having assemblies presented by Tutor Groups, each House has

taken it in turn to produce and show a ’Video Assembly’ based on their House Charity.

I would like to thank Hannah Baker, Caitlin Tsang, Lewis Byrne and Kieran Roberts for

producing an excellent presentation providing information, video clips and photos

about our charity ’Riding for the Disabled’.

New Roles and Responsibilities

Since our Y11 students have left on study leave, we have been busy

interviewing applicants for our vacant roles. Some tough decisions

had to be made as there was some fantastic candidates. In the end,

Lewis Byrne and Charlie Tittley were chosen as our House Captains

and Kieran Roberts and Louise Maunders as our

Deputy House Captains. Congratulations to you all!

We have also elected ten new Prefects from our

current Y10, who have started well in their new role.

Well done to Sophie Wood, Amy Redfurn, Ronan

Mitchell, Sophie Spearman, Gemma Parr, Chelsea

Baker, Sasha Parkes, Chloe Brookes, James Taylor (CF)

and James Taylor (KP).

Sports Day

Sports Day was once again a highly contested Inter-House competition this year with

Littleton finishing in 4th place. Huge congratulations to Y8 students who won their year

group competition. Many thanks to all competitors, a great effort made by all!

Examinations

I would like to wish all our students in Y10, Y11, Y12 and Y13 who have sat exams this

term all the best when they collect their results in the summer holidays. I hope all the

hard work you have put in pays off and you move one step closer

to achieving your future goals.

Finally, to summarise, it has been a very rewarding and enjoyable

year! I hope you all have a great summer and come back

refreshed to start all over again in September.

See you then!

Mrs K Greenwood

Head of House

Y7

Anna Lycett

Abigail Phipps

Lara Tolley

Morgan Upton

Y8

Jude Hughes

Nathan Kaczan

Georgia Rose

Sophie Tompkins

Y9

Hannah Baker

Holly Butterfield

Sarah Dickson

Amie Heath

Joshua Hobson

Abigail Malcolm

Louise Maunders

Kieran Roberts

Catlin Tsang

Anna Woolridge

Y10

Lewis Byrne

Daisy Morrell

Sophie Spearman

James Taylor (KP)

Charlie Tittley

Students with consistently

high ‘Attitude to Learning’

House Information

Uxbridge House

Welcome to the last Uxbridge Newsletter of the academic

year. Hasn’t it gone fast! It doesn’t seem two minutes since I

was welcoming Y7 to Kingsmead and wishing Y11 the best of

luck in their final GCSE year. Now Y7 are well rounded,

confident students going into Y8 and Y11 have finished their

final GCSE exams and had their Prom at Chase Golf Club.

Whilst many will return to Sixth Form, many have also flown

the nest onto college courses, apprenticeships and employment. So, it begins again

with Induction Days for new Y7 students. I welcome all Y6 and encourage them to

enjoy the summer and not be fearful about starting Kingsmead. To quote an over-used

cliché “as one door closes, another opens.” Starting Kingsmead opens a host of new

opportunities, new experiences and new friends.

Since our last Newsletter, lots has

happened at Kingsmead and more

importantly in Uxbridge House. I am

pleased to announce our newly elected

House Captains are Charlie Walker and

Natalya Bubalo and Deputy House

Captains are Dylan Ottey and Heather

Smith. To assist our House Captains, we

have appointed a team of ten Y10

students to take up the role of Prefects.

Along with the badge to wear on their

blazer, Prefects provide a pivotal role in

demonstrating the high standards that

are expected, not only of Uxbridge

students but Kingsmead students on a

whole.

I previously mentioned our Y6 Induction

Days and I would like to thank all my Tutors and House members for the range of tasks

and activities they arranged. These included Icebreakers, board games and preparing

for Sports Day.

In the last twelve months, I am delighted to report we have raised just under £1,000 for

our House Charity, ‘Midlands Air Ambulance’ and we are always looking for new

fundraising ideas. We want to break the £1,000 barrier next year!

So, if you have any ideas or projects you think would help us do

this, I would love to hear about them.

Finally, future students who are waiting to start their first day, I

wish you a relaxing and enjoyable summer. Do not be nervous

about joining us—be excited! Those students who are returning to

Uxbridge after the summer holidays, have a good break, rest and

come back even better than before. Those of you who have

finished your time at Kingsmead, I wish you the best of luck in

your future endeavours.

Mr M Cavanagh

Head of House

Y7

Rachel Harris

Jordan Ketland

Isobel Morson

Luke Pilsbury

Lily Walker

Tom Walters

Y8

Millie Bates

Caitlin Briggs

Carl Corns

Bradley Harvey

Jasmine Rainer

Grace Round

Molly Skelding

Y9

Amy Beech

Ryan Davies

Arnut Hill

Dylan Ottey

Lauren Roberts

Heather Smith

Callum Warren

Y10

Natalya Bubalo

Luke De Lecq Le Montais

Lauren Hylton

Fern Nelson

Joshua Taylor

Charlie Walker

Holly Woods

Students with consistently

high ‘Attitude to Learning’

Uxbridge Prefects 2014 - 2015

Luke De

Lecq Le Montais

U- RP

Chloe

Gardner U-JG

Jacob

Greatrix U-LP

Lauren

Hylton U-AP

Fabian

Smith U-AP

Owen

Aldred U-AP

Fern

Nelson U-TP

Jade

Shirley U-FB

House Information

Valley House

Welcome to my final Valley House Newsletter for this year.

We have had a very successful year!

In last Newsletter, I mentioned the ‘Penny Wars’ charity

event that took place at the end of March. We came second

in the competition, being one of only two Houses to finish

with more copper than silver in the jar at the end of the

week! From one penny and two penny coins this is a fantastic amount raised for

‘Katharine House Hospice’. A big thank you to Luke Rowlands and Callum Scragg for

giving up their free time to supervise the event all week.

During July, several students from Valley House met with the school Governors to receive a letter of congratulations in recognition of their achievement, attitude and contribution to school life during the year. Congratulations to: Lacey Stevens: For exceptional commitment to fund raising for Katharine House Hospice and after a highly successful year as Deputy House Captain. Appointed as House Captain. Liam Allen: Outstanding attitude to learning and achievement and after a highly successful year as Deputy House Captain. Appointed as House Captain. Daniel Robinson: Outstanding attitude to learning and achievement. Sports and Form Rep. Appointed as Deputy House Captain. Isobel Cummings: Outstanding attitude to learning and achievement Key Stage 3 School Council Rep. Appointed as Deputy House Captain. Oliver Butler: Outstanding attitude to learning and achievement. Commitment to sporting activities both in and out of school. Luke Rowlands: Exceptional and consistent effort with fundraising events for Katharine House Hospice. Sophie Fillingham: Outstanding attitude to learning and achievement. Has taken part in a wide range of volunteer work in the community with the Cadets. Louie Smith: Outstanding attitude to learning and achievement. Reaching the final of the ‘Bake Off’ competition. Elected as Sports Rep for his year group.

The following Y10 students have also been appointed as Prefects: Charlie Hill, Isabelle Rogers, Bethany O’Sullivan, Casey Jones, Elleshia Larner, Sophie Fillingham, Vicki Egan, Olivia Dakin, Hollie-Bea Martin and James Greenhill.

I am very proud of all our Valley House students and it was fantastic to see their hard work praised and recognised by the school governors. I am also confident that our new House Captains, Deputy Captains and Prefects possess the skills and determination to carry out their new roles successfully.

There has been much to look forward to at the end of this term including Sports Day, Y6 Induction Days, Y11 Prom and the end of year Achievement Assemblies—hopefully the House Cup will have purple ribbons attached to it!

In closing, I would like to thank all Valley House students for their

hard work this year and wish them and their families a very happy

and relaxing summer break.

Mr R Broomhall

Head of House

Y7

Caitlin Cockayne

Madison Griffiths

Victoria Khyts

Kieran Ramah

Kyle Ramah

Kezia Robinson

Louie Smith

Bethany Webb

Y8

Jai Ramah

Louise Smith

Y9

Oliver Butler

Isobel Cummings

Hollie Davis

Ellie Merricks

Elisha Pearce

Daniel Robinson

Drew Roden

Y10

Liam Allen

Charlie Hill

Casey Jones

Students with consistently

high ‘Attitude to Learning’

House Information

Wimblebury House

Hello again! It has been another busy term for Wimblebury

students. We began by saying goodbye to our wonderful

Y11 students and wishing them all the best for their GCSE

exams. I will be there to see the smiles on your faces on

results day.

Following their departure, I had to appoint new Prefects

and House Captains. I am pleased to announce our new House Captains are Kayleigh

Ghent and Liam Pinson. Deputy House Captains; Joshua Lilly and Bethany Hayward and

our Y10 Prefects; Tom Green, Aaron Barratt, Millie Rogers, Kate Baldwin, Sophie

Nutting, Katie Stansbie, Laura Allsop, Shania Wright, Bethany Vassiere and Heidi

Jennings.

The newly appointed Charity House Representatives have been working very hard and

have successfully arranged our whole school charity event ‘The Kingsmead Balloon

Race’.

Congratulations to Niall Toolan Y8, who will be meeting HRH

Princess Ann in the near future as he is the senior member of

the ‘Junior Sailing Club’ committee at ‘South Staffs

Gailey Sailing Club’. He will perform some of his

enviable sailing skills before meeting HRH.

I would also like to make a special mention of

several Wimblebury students who have notably

made a huge effort to improve their ‘Attitude to

Learning’ this year and have successfully turned

their school experience into a positive one. You

should be very proud!

All Wimblebury staff and students are

very excited about meeting our new Y7

intake in September and welcoming them

to our team. On behalf of us all I wish you

a fantastic summer break.

And last... but by no means least, after a

few years of trying…

‘WE WON THE SPORTS DAY CUP!’

Congratulations to all

competitors who

performed

exceptionally well. Y7

and Y9 students also

won their year group

competition! Miss A Evans

Head of House

Y7

Jeeven Bahia

Holly Barfield

Becky Heseltine

Callum Jennings

Ronan Lilly

Y8

Sharanjeet Bassi

Alethea Buck

Isobel Copland

Josh Holdcroft

Megan Nicholson

Lewis Powell

James Robson

Y9

Bethany Hayward

Simran Kaur

Emily Watson

Y10

Kayleigh Ghent

Heidi Jennings

Scarlett Oakes

Sam Perry

Liam Pinson

Students with consistently

high ‘Attitude to Learning’

Contact information

Future Events

Wednesday 10th

September

Y12 Welcome Evening

Wednesday 24th

September

Y11 Partnership Evening

Friday 26th September

Y7 & Y8 Photographs

Thursday 2nd October

Open Evening

Friday 3rd October

Staff Training Day

Tuesday 7th October

Y10 Partnership Evening

Thursday 16th October

Y7 Partnership Evening

Thursday 23rd October

Festival of Achievement

Wednesday 5th

November

Y9 & Y10 Photographs

Tuesday 11th November

Y8 Partnership Evening

Tuesday 20th November

Sixth Form Information

Evening

Thursday 11th

December

Y12 Parents Evening

Kingsmead School

Kings Avenue

Hednesford

Cannock

Staffs

WS12 1DH

01543 512455

[email protected]

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