Month: September 2018

September 28th 2018

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Dates for your diary

03/10/18 – Y9 Open evening

11/10/2018 – Post 16 Open Evening

16/10/2018 – Y11 Core Subjects Revision Evening
24/10/2018 – Y9 Tutor Evening

 

w/c 29/10/18 – Half term 

05/11/2018 – Inset day

09/11/2018 – PTA Quiz night details below

20/11/2018 – Y13 Parents Evening
29/11/2018 – Y11 Parents Evening
20/12/2018 – Last day of term
21/12/2018 – Inset Day

 Headteacher blog:

This week, our staff have hosted our first revision session to support parents as Year 11 enter their final GCSE year. Whilst the turn out for the session was not as high as we would have hoped, the feedback was very positive. We will make sure we advertise these evenings better for parents in future. 
Our next event, for Year 11 students and parents, is on the 16th October when we will be sharing revision tips for our core subjects. Every year, parents feedback to us how useful they have found the evening. I do hope you are able to join us, when we share, what your sons and daughters will be working on over the next few months. Parents of any other year group are welcome to attend as much of the information will be relevant to all year groups. 
In addition to the revision session, thank you to all the parents who came to our Year 12 induction session. It was excellent to see so many people present on the evening. 
Year 12 have settled in well to the sixth form, and chatting with them today, it was excellent to hear how much they are enjoying the opportunity to focus their study on their 3 or 4 chosen A levels or BTEC qualifications. Many of them are in well established habits, already utilising their study periods to read widely around their subjects, so that they can attain the higher grades. 
I am very much looking forward to our open evening next week and to meeting Year 8 students from our middle schools. Following that, on 11th October, we have our Year 12 open evening when our year 11 students can start thinking about which subjects they wish to study post 16. 
Finally my thanks to Mr Wright who organised staff coffee and cake at break time today to raise money for MacMillan. 

 

6th

On Thursday evening many parents of Year 12 students joined myself and Mrs Dodd for an informal guide to the Sixth Form. Mrs Dodd explained about expectation, enrichment, EPQ’s, charity work and much more.  We would like to reiterate some of the point raised last night to parents of Year 12 and Year 13 students.

  • The school day starts at 8.40 and finishes at 3.05. All students are expected to be in school all day, they are allowed to sign out to ‘pop’ into town but they are expected to return.  Students should not be signing out and going home before 3.05, if they do not have a lesson then they should be using the time in school to complete super-curricular activities, homework or just wider reading.  All students have on their timetable enrichment time, this is where they can complete MOOC’s or an EPQ, EPQ is worth half an A Level. 

 

  • All Female students have been reminded about their Sixth Form uniform. It must be a suit, so trousers and a jacket, skirt and jacket or dress and jacket. Skirts must be of an appropriate length, we have had to remind some female students that wearing a micro-mini skirt of any material is not acceptable; we ask that you reiterate this message to them.  Students who continue to wear the wrong style of skirts to school may be asked to go home and change.

 We have started to ask Year 12 and 13 students to volunteer for events within school, we like to see our Sixth Formers give a little something back to the school. It is very nice to see the helping out at open evenings for new Year 9 intake.  Dates have been given to students.  If they would like to be considered for a role on the Senior Prefect Team in Year 13 then these sort of events are a great way to be noticed.

 

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Power Hour!

Thanks to all the students who took part in a revision workshop with our visiting expert Lucy Parsons.  Even though we are four weeks into the term we, want to support Year 11 and Year 13 students to prepare for the mock exams that will be sat in December and it is not that far away!  
Some students noted that it was really helpful to see that revision can be added to daily, from; even if only 5-10 minutes.  Understanding specification content and making plans to plug gaps in knowledge is also really important. The key message of the day is to start now, even if in smaller bursts. Build in time for exercise and relaxation but make a plan.
 
Lucy introduced students to the ‘Power Hour’ explained in the diagram below – which we will refer to again at our Revision Evening in October.
 
Please see the link to Lucy’s website for further details.

See the presentation here

 

Vet Skills Sessions Autumn Term 2018-2019

Date

 Year 10
02/10/17 Handling, sexing and care of rabbits and guinea pigs
16/10/17 Condition scoring of sheep ready for tupping
06/11/17 Reproductive systems and AI
20/11/17

Care of poultry including checking turkeys ready for Christmas

We are very lucky to have a vet from Glenthorne’s practice coming into school on a fortnightly basis to work with our students and livestock. All sessions will take place on Tuesday from 3.10-4.00pm and are open to yr10 students who are taking Animal Care as an option subject.  These sessions can be used to achieve the ‘skill’ section of the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. If you require any more information about these sessions please contact Mrs North

Internet Safety Advice

This site is suitable for parents/carers, take a look and see what help and advise it can give you

Business Education

Local Business owners needed please! 

Year 12 and 13 will be completing some investigations into Small Local Businesses to help them with their Unit 1 paper at A Level. 

If there are any local businesses owners who would be happy to help them with their studies then please contact Mrs Featherstone on the school contact details. We would love to hear from you. 

Experience in Change Management? 

Year 13 are currently looking at Change Management and would love to hear real life case studies of change within large organisations to help them with their Unit 2 and 3 papers. If anyone has any experience with this part of the syllabus we would also welcome your help! 

PTA Meeting

 

Monday 19th November, 7pm in the staffroom.
All welcome.
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TAHS Quiz Night 18 v_online

Elevate Visit

On Wednesday this week we had Elevate visit to work with a group of 35 students looking at revision techniques and strategies to support them in their upcoming exams. Study Sensei was the first of three sessions and introduced students to key revsions tips such as making a note-taking planner, using exam board specifications and practise questions from past exam papers.
There will be two more sessions for these students later in the year as follows:
Friday 9th November – Time Management

Monday 21st January – Ace your exams

Please have a look at the student portal on the elevate website where you can download resources to support your child with their study. The website link and password is as follows:
Password – rondo

Science

This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Beech are:

Year 9

Charlie Hallam and Abbi Hewlett for an excellent start to their GCSE Science courses.

Year 10

Caitlin Beardsley and Melanie Birch for continued hard work in GCSE Science.

Year 11

Tobias King and Rachel Spence for working hard on preparing for GCSEs in Science.

 

This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:

Year 10

 Alex Pope and Felicity Burgess for both making a positive start to the course.

 Year 11

Oliver Davies and Rachel Spence for working hard to complete their course work.

 

Well done!

PE

 

U16 Football – Staffordshire Moorlands League
Cheadle 1 – Thomas Alleynes 7
On Thursday Alleyne’s travelled to Cheadle in the 2nd league fixture of the season.  After the apocalyptic weather of last week the sun shone and Alleynes enjoyed the conditions to put in a dominant display.
An early goal from Charlie Martin put us in charge but with many chances wasted Alleynes began to become frustrated eventually further goals came with the introduction of Charlie Land (2), and captain Frankie Bussell found the bottom corner with a drive.  Second half playing into the wind Alleynes didnt have the same dominace but scored further goals through Max Hunt and 2 from Harvey Belcher late on.
next week see’s 3 games –
Tue Home v Blessed William Howard (County Cup)
Wed Away v Deferrers (Burton & District Cup)
Thu Home v Painsley (League)
Team- Dreher, Shaw, Ball, Ford, Bosworth, Bussell, Belcher, Hunt, Martin, Topliss, Bowyer, Archer, McNair, Simon, Land
Josie Nelson Cycling Update
Josie Nelson is combining her international cycling ambitions with studying BTEC sport at Thomas Alleyne’s sixth form.
In August Josie competed in the European championships at Valle D’Aosta in the Italian Alps.  The course was 6000ft above sea level and was Josie’s first experience of competing at high altitude.  Riding for team “Ride for Charlie” Josie was 5th in the time trial and 15th in the XC race against the best riders in Europe!.
Last week, closer to home, Josie was selected to ride for the West Midlands in the inter regional’s at Hadley on the Olympic course.  The West Midlands came 2nd overall.  The competition was a 3 day team event with teams consisting of 4 boys and 4 girls, with skills events, relay race, Hill Climb which Josie won and XC race which Josie came 4th in.
Next up is the cyclo-cross season beginning on the 7th October in Derby as part of the national cyclo cross series.

 

 

Arts Society 6th form Visit to Birmingham

 
Our Year 12 Art and Photography students were privileged to go to visit the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery,drawing and Photographing artifacts and paintings, and went on to view the stunning architecture of the New Library and visit the Sealife center after the generous support of the local branch of the  Art Society facilitated travel arrangements for the group on Wednesday.
Staff commented on the exceptional effort and fantastic attitude of all those involved. It was a pleasure to see our students fully engaged and absorbed with soaking up the prestigious collections of the museum and gallery; drawing in their sketchbooks or taking reference photography. There is no comparison to see artworks up close and ‘in real life’ compared to the internet. Our aspiring Artists now have a rich source of reference materials to work from as they return back to TAHS and progress with their A Levels.
Outside students made use of the locality where massive amounts of regeneration funding has enabled the library to now be housed in an award winning building with distinctive exterior circular features. This suited the Photography students in particular who were able to compose images within the city and its architecture. This work will be developed further when back in school. 
Finally after an already full day, students were able to spend a couple of hours in the Sealife Center and try to capture drawing creatures such as jellyfish from life. Although a tricky task, its working from direct observation will enhance the students skills. 
A huge thank you from the staff and students to the Arts Society for their generous funding. More details of their organisation can be found https://theartssociety.org/

Thomas Alleyne’s High School Merchandise Shop

This is an online shop where you can purchase the following school items:
uniform – school ties, school badges
stationary sets
maths sets
scientific calculators
overalls and boots for Animal care
folders and sketch books for Art
revision guides for various subjects
Please add items into your basket and then proceed to payment.  Please then print off a receipt – students will need to bring this into school to collect their item(s)
Please note – there is always a link to the online shop at the bottom of this newsletter

European Day of Languages

 

MFL students worked hard on the European day of languages completing work looking at different languages and designing Une recette du bonheur – a recipe for happiness which will be on display at open evening.
Vocab express should be working again now – apologies. Please continue to support and monitor your child’s progress. 

History

Year 12
Year 12 have received their first A level essay questions. You can support the completion of these essays by asking students to explain to you the argument they are making in their writing and asking them what facts they are including to prove their argument is correct.
Year 11
Exam dates have been set for an end of unit test on the American West, 1835 – 1895. You can support revision by asking to see the American West quiz question sheets, which students should have written the answers on, and then use them to test subject knowledge.
Get ahead! Our new GCSE unit will be on Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918 – 1939. Students can always listen to GCSEpods relating to the start of the Weimar Republic before this unit starts to help their understanding in class.

Vacancies

We have vacancies available within our support staff, please see our school website linked below for further details.

Links

Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.

 

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September 21st 2018

/ hadfieldj / Leave a comment

Dates for your diary

03/10/18 – Y9 Open evening

11/10/2018 – Post 16 Open Evening

16/10/2018 – Y11 Core Subjects Revision Evening
24/10/2018 – Y9 Tutor Evening

 

w/c 29/10/18 – Half term 

05/11/2018 – Inset day

20/11/2018 – Y13 Parents Evening
29/11/2018 – Y11 Parents Evening
20/12/2018 – Last day of term
21/12/2018 – Inset Day

Opportunities ahead!

Girls Rugby
Girls Rugby Training – Monday until 4:30
Year 10/11 Netball – Tuesday afterschool
Year 9 Netball – Wednesday afterschool
All years netball – Friday 5:30

 Headteacher blog:

After seeing students compete in House Cross Country  this week, it struck me how lucky we are to have all the  opportunities we are given to be successful. Just three weeks into term, students are getting themselves involved in all aspects of the school life. They have also turned out in good numbers, to audition for our next school production D.N.A. 
It was a privilege to spend time with our new Head girl, Maisey and Head boy, MacKenzie, and learn a little more about their journey to date through Thomas Alleyne’s. They are clearly passionate about making a positive difference to our school and, having listened to them, I am confident they will do just that. 
Finally, a thanks to our PTA. We met on Monday, and I was struck by the generosity of the group to give up their time to support the school. Last year the money they made a significant difference to our school and I am already looking forward to the first event of their year – the PTA quiz. I hope you can join us. 

Uttoxeter Learning Trust CEO Welcome

Welcome everyone, to what I am sure is going to be another busy and exciting year. Everyone involved in the Uttoxeter Learning Trust is looking forward to building on the successes of last year and really bringing the Uttoxeter Learning Trust to the centre of the community.

The Uttoxeter Learning Trust has been on an incredible journey from April 2017 when the 3 founding schools started the Multi Academy Trust. We have since grown with 4 more local schools and now consist of 7 strong schools:

Thomas Alleyne’s High School

Oldfields Hall Middle School

Windsor Park Middle School

Ryecroft Middle School

Picknalls First School

Hutchinson Memorial School

All Saints First School        

We continue to look for other like-minded locally geographic partners so that we can further develop our educational journey. We have all found that working together for the benefit of all children in and around Uttoxeter has really focused us on designing, delivering and continually evolving the education we offer. We firmly believe in the vision of delivering the best education from the ages of 3-18 in a seamless 3 tier system.

I am honoured to be the acting CEO of the Uttoxeter Learning Trust and the Headteacher at Picknalls First School. I will continue to put my heart and soul, alongside the other headteachers, into establishing and developing the Uttoxeter Learning Trust outstanding educational offer further.

I look forward to keeping you informed about the continued successes of our Multi Academy Trust. We strive to live up to our motto ‘Inspiring Teachers, Inspiring Children.’

Anne Tapp

 

6th

This week is a week where I can look back and feel grateful. Grateful so that so many of our wonderful students are working hard in their lessons and in their non-contacts. Grateful that our Sixth Formers have so many wonderful spaces that they can work in outside of the classroom. Grateful that we have a wonderful team that can offer a multitude of support to each one of our students. 

Tutor times are full of activities. Year 13 are looking at future intentions; working on personal statements, completing UCAS applications, looking at Higher Level Apprenticeships and at future employers. It is vital that all Year 13 students complete their personal statements as soon as possible as they have mock exams before Christmas, by completing them early they allow themselves more time to revise and prepare for the mocks.  Year 12 are still using some of their form time getting to know each other.  12A completed a task which was to build the tallest structure using just spaghetti and very small marshmallows.  They mostly did a fab job, although I did need to tidy the floor a little after they had left. 

Today the National Citizenship Service came to speak to our Year 12 students, this is a great opportunity for all students to take advantage of, and each student was given a form to fill in if they were interested. If you would more details.

We have started to ask Year 12 and 13 students to volunteer for events within school, we like to see our Sixth Formers give a little something back to the school. It is very nice to see the helping out at open evenings for new Year 9 intake.  Dates have been given to students.  If they would like to be considered for a role on the Senior Prefect Team in Year 13 then these sort of events are a great way to be noticed.

 

European day of Languages 26th September.

There will be a celebration of languages in lessons.
Well done to everyone who has worked hard on vocab express – keep it up. Any problems see your French teacher

 

Respect Programme

As we begin this academic year, students at Thomas Alleyne’s are understanding the meaning of “Respect”. Their core focus is about respecting themselves, each other and the environment. During this first half-term Year 9 students will be studying British Values, looking into democracy, the Rule of Law, freedom of faith and challenging discrimination. Year 10 students are tackling some challenging topics on e-safety, including safeguarding, consequences of cyber bullying, use of social media and sexting. Year 11 students will be driven by their GCSE studies and what they want to do in the future, so their focus for this half-term will be on Applying for Jobs. This includes how to write a CV, conducting themselves for interviews and how to write a covering letter of application.

If there is anything further that you wish to discuss about these themes, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s tutor or Head of House.

Year 9 Photographs

If you wish to make any final orders for your child’s Year 9 Photograph, your order form needs to be handed into reception (with arrangement for payment) or completed online through Tempest by Wednesday 26th September at 9:00am if you wish to qualify for free postage and packaging. After this date, Tempest will charge £4 for this. All students have received their order forms containing a sample and the information on how to order. Orders are processed gradually over the next two months, when any photographs arrive into school they will be handed to your child immediately.

History

Year 9

Many of Year 9 have been busy this week completing their first GCSE style assessment. Mrs Young and Mrs Johnson are really impressed by how well pupils have applied themselves to the questions and started developing GCSE skills.

GCSE – Year 11

We are nearing the end of our unit on the American West, 1835 – 1895, which we started in May. There will be an end of unit examination for all groups at the beginning of October so start revision now by listening to GCSE Pods, completing your revision quiz answers and coming to lunch-time or after school history if there is anything you are unsure about.

A level

Well done to everyone who is meeting their interim coursework deadlines in Year 13. The good news is that one person has nearly finished their coursework – well ahead of schedule! Year 12 students can make the coursework process easier for themselves by completing independent research on any aspect of 20th century American history. Books are always available in the history library.

Run, Hide, Tell

At Thomas Alleyne’s High School we are committed to safeguarding our students both in out of school. Therefore we have shared the Governments “Run, Hide, Tell” video resource with our students this week, as we have done since the guidance became available.
We spent time to reassure students that there are no new or specific concerns for our community and they responded in a very mature manner. 
Should anyone wish to view the video themselves, it can be found via the link below,

Science

This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Faizey are:

Year 9

Erin Hough and Jessie Johnson for making an excellent start in Chemistry

Year 10

Eleanor Webster for continued hard work in all lessons

Brandon Kirkham for showing real interest and effort in Chemistry

Year 11

Ellis Barkas and Jenson Bosworth for consistently high levels of effort in Chemistry

 

Well done!

PE

 

Year 9 Football

Congratulations to the Yr 9 football team.  After 3 fixtures this week they remain undefeated.  On Monday they played in the County Cup against Trentham High school.  Playing against a strong wind in the first half the team produced a very good display to be only 1 – 0  down.  In the second half the boys took full advantage of the conditions, scoring virtually straight after the restart from a long range effort by Ethan Hudson. From that point on Alleynes dominated with Harry Clarke and Charlie Ratcliffe scoring a brace each.  Alleynes went on to win 5-1. 
Wednesday saw the team progress into the next round of the Burton and District cup without kicking a football! Robert Sutton could not raise a team so Alleyne’s progress into the next round. 
The final game of the week saw Alleynes take on Moorside.  A very strong Moorside team had the better of the first half.  In torrential rain and a howling gale both teams battled very hard in the conditions. At the end of the first half Alleynes  were 2 – 1 down.  again with the wind behind the lads made good use of the conditions and scored to quick goals. Unfortunately through a quick break in midfield Moorside equalised.  The last 20 minutes were battled out and the scored remained 3-3. 
Well done to all the players who have made a strong start to their football career at Thomas Alleynes.  (No photos unfortunately, due to water damage!)
House Cross Country

On Wednesday the first house competition of the year took place with over 200 taking part in the annual house cross country.  
In the Junior competition the individual winners were Jodie Birks and Leighton Thomas in a time that would have won the senior race! 
In the Senior Races the champions were Kieran Coates and Ella Barbour.
Well done to all that took part  (see form tutor for credit)
The team results were as follows
Year 9 Girls
1st Orme 
2nd Torrance
3rd Elkes
4th Whitmore
Year 9 Boys
1st Torrance
2nd Elkes
3rd Whitmore
4th Orme
Senior Girls
1st Whitmore
2nd Orme
3rd Elkes
4th Torrance
Senior Boys
1st Whitmore
2nd Elkes
3rd Orme
4th Torrance

U16 Football

Thomas Alleynes 6 – Moorside 1

On Thursday in monsoon conditions Alleynes began their league season with a home game against Moorside. Alleynes were very professional in their build up with captain Frankie Busssell leading the team excellently. Alleynes began strongly and took the lead through a cross from Alex Shaw. The lead was doubled by centre back Jenson Bosworth who scored on his debut. The score at half time was 3-0 with Charlie Martin rounding the keeper.

The second half saw more of the same with Harvey Belcher who had kept a clean sheet in the first half showing he is the complete football by playing centre forward and scoring 2 as well as hitting the post. Archie Mcnair finished the scoring with a well deserved goal.

Team-
Belcher, Ball, Ford, Bosworth, Shaw, Dawson, Archer, Bussell, Martin, Hunt, McNair, Thornton, Simon, Bowyer

Man of the match- Shaw

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U15 Football

Alleynes were knocked out of the Burton & District Cup by a well drilled Repton side 5-0 in what was a poor performance all round. Back to the drawing board on Tuesday in the county cup.

Team- Whitehead, Cope, Beech, Ball, Stockbridge, Kenny, Brunt, Jakes, Clarkson, Mangon, Hocking, van Hock, Hall, Twigge

Next Weeks Fixtures

Monday U18 v Wolgarston away county cup.

Tuesday U15 v Moorside away county cup

Thursday U14 & U16 v Cheadle away League

Vacancies

We have two vacancies available within our support staff, please see our school website linked below for further details.

Links

Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.

 

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September 14th 2018

/ hadfieldj / Leave a comment

Dates for your diary

03/10/18 – Y9 Open evening

11/10/2018 – Post 16 Open Evening

16/10/2018 – Y11 Core Subjects Revision Evening
24/10/2018 – Y9 Tutor Evening

 

w/c 29/10/18 – Half term 

05/11/2018 – Inset day

20/11/2018 – Y13 Parents Evening
29/11/2018 – Y11 Parents Evening
20/12/2018 – Last day of term
21/12/2018 – Inset Day

Opportunities ahead!

Girls Rugby
Girls Rugby Training – Monday until 4:30
Year 10/11 Netball – Tuesday afterschool
Year 9 Netball – Wednesday afterschool
All years netball – Friday 5:30
Congratulations to Eve Bednall, Freya Hadgett & Evie Robins who have been selected for the County Netball Team. 
School Football Fixtures
Monday 17th September U14 Home v Trentham – County Cup
Tuesday 18th September U15 Home v Repton – Burton & District Cup
Wednesday 19th September U14 Home v Robert Sutton – Burton & District Cup
Thursday 20th September U14 & U16 Home v Moorside – Staffs Moorlands League.
Team lists will be on PE noticeboard.

 Headteacher blog:

All students in Years 10 and 11 have been set 2 pieces of homework. These are both to access podcasts ,on subjects of their choice, from GCSEpod. 
Following 9 days at school, 501 podcasts have been streamed by our students, which is an excellent start for many.  However, there are also students who have not yet used this online revision tool. 
We are keen to get them into good habits early, by asking them to fit in small amounts of revision regularly into their daily routines. The homework should take less than 25 minutes. 
The most important part of this, is that they do not simply listen to the pods but share what they have learnt. Either, by completing a revision card, a mind map or teaching a parent, carer, grandparent or sibling what they have learnt. 
If you are able to ask them which pods they have accessed, and what they have learnt from each one then this would be a huge help in ensuring they put themselves in the very best position at the start of their GCSE courses. 
The pods they choose can either, re-visit previous information that has been covered in lessons, or prepare for future  lessons. 
On a very different note, I am fortunate to receive many positive comments about our students from members of the local community. An example of some fantastic work that one of our students,  Alyssa, has done for their community is in the story below.
However, this week, I received a complaint about some students’ conduct in Uttoxeter Town Centre after school. We are reminding all students of the importance of being aware of other members of the community when they are in town, and to show respect at all times. 

 

6th

Well done to our sixth form boys and their charity event last week where they had their legs waxed. Ouch!!!
They raised just over £40.00 from people paying to watch.

Equipment for Maths Lessons

All students need to bring the following equipment to their maths lessons:
black or blue pen, green pen, pencil, ruler, rubber, protractor, compass and scientific calculator.
Maths sets (£1.20), casio scientific calculators (£7.80) and revision guides (£2.50) can be purchased from the online shop.

Year 11 – GCSE Maths

All year 11 students have received a letter this week about the opportunity to purchase a set of maths practice exam papers.  The set contains 6 papers with mark schemes and costs £2.50.  The deadline for ordering the practice papers is Friday 28th September and payment is by parentpay or by requesting a barcoded letter in order to pay via paypoint.  The school will pay for any students eligible for Puplil Premium funding.
This is a great way for students to revise for their maths mock exam that will take place before Christmas.

Greeters

Students are being encouraged to focus clearly on what they are learning about in lessons, and to focus on what success in the lesson will look like though the role of class ‘greeter’.  When a visitor, for example a member of the senior leadership team, visits a classroom, a student will be selected by the class teacher to greet them and explain what they are learning about.  So far, students have been excellent in talking about their learning, showing and talking about the work in their books. 

BTEC Success

 In addition to the success of our A-level and GCSE students, this week we wanted to share with you our BTEC successes.

Great outcomes were achieved in Extended Certificate in IT with 25% year 13 students achieved a distinction grade and a second student from Thomas Alleyne’s has taken up an apprenticeship at Total Enterprise Solutions in Rugeley, further strengthening the links with the school. We look forward to welcoming Chris from TES into school later in the year to talk to our ICT and Computer science students about careers in the sector.

In Extended Certificate in Applied Science 50% students gained a distinction and one student gained the top grade available of distinction star. The students are going on to study subjects such as Forensics and Criminology at University as well as another taking up an apprenticeship at JCB.

Our first cohort of students taking BTEC Sport accomplished amazing results with 33% achieving the top distinction star grade and a further 44% getting a distinction with students continuing their sports based careers studying Sports Science at University.

Fantastic results were achieved by our level 2 (GCSE level) students with 26% Health and Social Care students and nearly 20% of Children’s Play, Learning & Development students achieving the top grade – distinction star. In Sixth Form Health and Social Care students continue to do well with 60% students on the Extended Certificate (equivalent to one A-level) achieving distinction grades. All students taking the triple award (3 A-level equivalent) Extended Diploma achieved at least two distinctions with one reaching the top award of three distinction star grades.  Students are going on to study midwifery, psychology and teaching. These students also made an outstanding contribution to the community in their work placements with students working in nurseries, care homes, special needs schools and hospitals.

We wish all of our BTEC students the best for the future and know the combination of vocational content, individual study, examination preparation and managing assignments that BTEC courses entail will help them in their future endeavours.

School Crossing Patrol

 
We have been notified that there will be no crossing patrol person on Monday and Tuesday next week – 17th & 18th – students must use the pelican crossing.

Science

This academic year the Science Department will continue to reward students in Years 9, 10 and 11 for outstanding achievement in GCSE Biology, Chemistry, and Physics and also in BTEC Animal Care.  Students will receive a certificate to acknowledge their success.

This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Milward are:

Year 9

Macy Curran and Reece Archer for effort and attainment

Year 10

Harry Van Hoek for achievement and high scores

Caitlyn Woodings for excellent effort

Year 11

 Rob Davenport and Oliver Davis for a very positive start to the term and excellent classwork

 

This week’s Year 10 Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mrs North are:

Ellie Roobottom and Max Hayes for an enthusiastic start to the course

 

Well done!

MFL

 

The MFL department has a new resource which we will be using for vocabulary learning homeworks. It is called Vocab Express. www.vocabexpress.com school code UKTAHS. Each student has a personalised login and password which is displayed on the noticeboard outside the MFL office and room 23. Homework will be set on insight and completed on Vocab Express. Teachers can access students’ progress in learning vocabulary. Any students without a computer at home can use room 25 on Monday and Thursday lunchtimes. It ia also available as an app for phones. Please support your child’s vocabulary learning. Any problems please contact Mrs Clemett. 

Community Work

It is always inspiring when a pupil from Thomas Alleyne’s High School takes on a challenge within the local community and makes it a success.  Alyssa Shaw in Year 10 did just that.  Due to recent family circumstances, Alyssa decided that she wanted to give back to the organisation that had helped her family members, so she made all the arrangements for a Macmillan Cake sale at Oldfields Sports and Social Club in Uttoxeter.

It was a wet day and the family were worried that this would dampen Alyssa spirit. When they arrived at Oldfields they were ‘blown away’ by the amount of cakes that had been donated by friends, family and the local community.  There were two sporting games on that day, rugby and football, which also added to the amount of people that contributed towards this wonderful event.

Alyssa and her family where overwhelmed by the amount of money that was raised that day, just over £1200.  This is a staggering amount of money and I am very proud of Alyssa’s achievement.  I know that her family would like to thank Oldfields Sports and Social Club for letting her hold the event there and to Evan Richardson for looking after the money during the day. I have added some photographs of the event so you can see what our wonderful Year 10 Torrance student achieved. This is a lovely example of students putting themselves ‘out there’ for others and it goes to show that our students really are the best.

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Insight

Insight is up and running for all students at thomasalleynes.org/insight. Parents with an account can continue to use their existing login and if you now have an additional child in year 9 they should be visible by clicking on the picture icon top left whereby you can switch between children.

Year 9 parents will start to receive their logins as soon as possible and an email will go to the registered email address held in school. Please keep an eye out for an email from insight@tahs.org.uk, in particular your junk / promotions tabs as it may get redirected there.

 

History

Years 9, 10 and 12

Well done to everyone who is successfully making the transition to year 9, or from Year 9 to GCSE and GCSE to A level by working hard in class and completing homework to a high standard and on time. However, don’t forget that if anyone is finding any aspects of new history lessons a challenge then Mrs Johnson and Mrs Young are always happy to go over work at break time, lunchtime or after school.

Year 12 

Get a head start in A level history by using your free time to read a book, chapter or magazine from our ‘Post 16 Stretch and Challenge’ library in room 16. Why not introduce yourself to a bit of American 20th century history in preparation for coursework after Easter?

Year 11 and 13

Mock exams are closer than you think! Make it easier for yourself by starting to review last year’s learning.
Need some help? See Mrs Johnson or Mrs Young about lunchtime and after school revision sessions.

PTA Meeting

Monday, 17th September, 7pm in the Staff room.
All welcome.
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Links

Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.

 

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September 7th 2018

/ hadfieldj / Leave a comment

Thought for the Week 

Assemblies: w/b 10th of September

Mrs Dodd will be leading assemblies this week on the theme of ‘Emotions’.

Thoughts for the Week on the theme of ‘Emotions’

‘Emotions have taught mankind to reason.’ Marquis De Vauvenargues

Emotions are the fuel to really move you along – that’s the only way you can create music. If you don’t feel any emotions, it’s not going to happen.  Jan Hammer

 Headteacher blog:

I have very much enjoyed welcoming students back to the start of our Academic Year.

Year 9 students have settled in very quickly, finding their way around our large school site and making new friends. Our initial assemblies have focused on encouraging all students to aim for their personal best and to take up the opportunities offered to them across the school. Be that, spending their lunchtimes in the art or technology rooms, or getting involved in sports, drama or music.

Many of our Year 10 and Year 11 students are clearly inspired by the work of last year’s students. They are applying themselves well in their lessons, and have been preparing for lessons by accessing over 200 podcasts on GCSEpod in the first 4 days back at school. We know that, the students who made the most progress last year, started their revision from the first week back and some accessed over 1200 podcasts over the year.

Over the summer, our students celebrated some outstanding performances at GCSE this summer for the fourth year in a row. My congratulations to them all and also for the wider achievements. Year 11 and 12 students contributed to many charity events throughout their school career alongside events such as the National Citizenship Programme, Duke of Edinburgh and a trip to Vietnam with World Challenge. 

At GCSE 76% achieved a pass in English, compared to 74% in 2017 and 74% achieved a pass in maths, compared to 69% in 2017. The strong performances in English and Maths followed on from the success in A levels in the previous week.

Performance in science was particularly strong with 33% of students, who studied physics, chemistry and biology, achieving an equivalent of an A/A* known in the new measures as a 7, 8 or 9 grade. History students also performed well with 28% of students achieving 7, 8 or 9 grades.

These results are based on the new GCSEs, which are graded on a one to nine scale. The grade 9s have been designed to recognise the top 3% of students in individual subjects across the country.

Within the headline figures lie some highly impressive individual student performances with 18 students achieving at least 8 grades at the equivalent of A/A*.

Thomas from Uttoxeter achieved an incredible 8 grades at the equivalent of A* or above with six 9s and two 8s, one A.

Matthew from Uttoxeter achieved five 9s, two 8s, two 7s.

Lorna from Uttoxeter achieved a superb three grade 9s, two A*s and five grade 8s.

Alfie from Denstone achieved four 9s, four 8s, one A and one 7.

Thomas from Uttoxeter, achieved five 9s, one A*, one 8, one 7.

Elliot from Uttoxeter achieved four 9s, four 8s.

Emelia from Uttoxeter achieved four 9s, two 8s, three 7s.

Emma-Jo from Doveridge achieved four 9s, two 8s, three 7s.

Georgia from Stowe by Chartley achieved one 9, one A*, one Distinction*, four 8s, two 7s.

Reece from Cheadle achieved four 9s, two 8s, two 7s.

Carys from Kingstone achieved one 9, one A*, three 8s and five 7s.

Emmaley from Tean achieved two 9s, one D* three 8s, two 7s.

Megan from Bramshall achieved one A, two 9s, three 8s, and three 7s.

Emily from Denstone, achieved two 9s, three 8s and four 7s.

Elliot from Alton achieved one 9, and four 7s.

Ellie from Abbotts Bromley achieved one 9, one A, three 8s, three 7s

Laura from Denstone achieved three 8s, two A grades, and four 7s.

Similarly, Thomas Alleyne’s High School sixth form students produced another fantastic set of individual results in their exams this year.

The pass rate was 95% which has once again enabled students to secure top university places including Cambridge University and Higher Apprenticeships in companies such as Barclays Bank as well as enter into the world of work. Vocational subjects have continued to secure superb results with a 100% pass rate.

A high proportion of students achieved exceptional A-level results, with 47% of all grades being achieved at grades A*- B and 69% of all grades at A* – C. The vast majority of students have been successful in securing places at their first choice university.

There have been some exceptional individual performances:

Trudy from Rugeley, senior prefect and sixth form council leader,  has been successful in securing a place to read History at Cambridge University. Trudy achieved A* in History, English and Extended Project as well as an A grade in Biology. Trudy has been awarded a bursary from OCR for when she commences her studies at Peterhouse College.

Lowri from Uttoxeter, achieved A* grades in History and English Literature and an A  grade in Drama. Lowri will be reading English at Oxford University. (More needed here Richard)

Laura from Mayfield, secured A grades in Chemistry, Further Maths and Physics alongside an A* in Further Maths. Laura has been accepted to study History at Loughborough University.

Peter from Alton, achieved an A* in Biology, and A grades in Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths. Peter is planning to study Biochemistry at York University.

Sarah from Uttoxeter, who is an outgoing senior prefect, achieved an A* in English Literature, A grades in History and Maths and a B grade in Physics. Sarah will be studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Nottingham University.

Lucy from Doveridge, achieved an A* in Geography, grade As in Biology and Maths and a grade B in Chemistry. Lucy will be taking a year out before commencing her studies at university.

Laura, outgoing deputy headgirl, from Kingstone achieved an A* in Maths and grade As in Further Maths and Chemistry. Laura will be taking a year out before commencing studying Maths at university.

Kirsten from Denstone, achieved A grades in Psychology and Maths and a B gradw in Chemistry. Kirsten will be studying Maths at Lancaster University.

Ellie and Amy both from Uttoxeter, secured A grades in Biology, Chemistry, and Maths. Ellie will be studying Pharmacy at Cardiff University whilst Amy will be studying Biomedical Sciences at York University. 

Holly achieved 2 grade As and a grade B in History, English and RE respectively. Holly will be studying Classical Civilisation at Nottingham University.

Louise of Uttoxeter, achieved A* in Maths and B grades in Further Maths and Physics. Louise will be reading Mathematics at university. 

Niamh from Tean, Harry from Church Leigh and Anna  from Doveridge achieved 2 A grades and a B. Niamh will be studying Forensic Science, Harry and Anna, senior prefects, will be studying Physics and English respectively. 

Tom and Kate both from Uttoxeter, achieved an A*, B and a C grade. Tom will be studying English at Derby University and Kate has been accepted to study Illustration at Sheffield University.

Deputy Headboy Ben from Tean has secured a highly competive apprenticeship at Barclays Bank. Chloe has secured an apprenticeship at Unilever.

Joshua from Leigh, achieved A grades in Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths and Physics. Joshua will be studying Medicine at Queen Mary University of London.

Niamh from Uttoxeter, achieved a triple starred distinction in Health and Social Care. Niamh will be studying Midwifery at Nottingham University.

Jess from Uttoxeter, achieved a starred distinction in Sport and distinction grades in Applied Science and Health and Social Care. Jess has accepted a place in Sports Coaching at Loughborough University.

Matthew from Hixon, achieved A* grades in Chemistry and Physics along with an A grade in Maths and a B in Geography. Matthew has secured a place at Leeds University to study Mechanical Engineering.

Saul from Leigh, who is an outgoing senior prefect and led a team who raised over £3000 for Dougie Mac Hospice achieved A grades in Maths and Physics and B grades in Chemistry and Further Maths.  Saul intends to study Aerospace Engineering at Bristol University.

Laura from Mayfield, secured A grades in Chemistry, Further Maths and Physics alongside an A* in Further Maths. Laura has been accepted to study History at Loughborough University.

As we welcome our new Head Girl, Maisy Bettany and Head Boy, Mackenzie Smith to their roles in our school, we are thrilled that the outgoing Head Girl, Iona will be studying Law at Manchester Metropolitan University and Head Boy, Ryan, who I am looking forward to seeing playing Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde at Derby Theatre this weekend, will be studying Acting at Drama School.

Finally I wanted to thank our support staff and site staff.  Over the summer, we have also been focusing on further developing the environment in school. The site staff have led the refurbishment of 6 classrooms and extended our dining facilities by over 70 places. I encourage all students to try out the food in our canteen which is excellent.

Thank to parents, governors and school staff for the support they have given to our young people last year. We look forward to another successful year at school.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to support your son or daughter.

Mrs Rudge

 

6th

Welcome back to all our Year 13 students and a very big a welcome to all the new Year 12 students.  It has been a very busy week; all day induction for Year 12 and handing in summer work for Year 13. 
Within the first week back we have seen, as usual, a sense of community amongst both Year groups, working along side each other in the Common Room and Canteen as well as supporting each other with charitable events. I won’t give too much away this week as photo’s are needed to see the commitment these wonderful students have for our forever charity Dougie Mac. 
All Year 12 have now completed their first week and are proving to be a lovely cohort of students. A few grumbles or teething problems with aspects of uniform but nothing that can not be quickly rectified.  
21 Year 12 students have signed up to be an ABC mentor which helps to support Year 9 in their tutor group. Thank you to all that offered this valuable level of support.
We still have places available in the Sixth Form and if you would like more information the  please contact Mrs Walton at Sixthform@tahs.org.uk

INSET Day 3rd September

On 3rd September, school staff had their first INSET day of the new academic year.  As well as looking at the exam results and celebrating the wonderful achievements of the Year 13 and 11 students, staff also had training on various issues such as the new national safeguarding changes, first aid and meta-cognition.

Teachers know that if students reflect on how they learn, they become better learners.  For example, learning strategies that work for maths may be different from those applied in the study of a foreign language. For some, it takes more time to understand biology than chemistry. With greater awareness of how they acquire knowledge, students learn to regulate their behaviour to optimise learning. They begin to see how their strengths and weaknesses affect how they perform. The ability to think about one’s thinking is what neuroscientists call metacognition. As students’ metacognitive abilities increase, research suggests they also make progress at a faster rate.  Teachers will be focussing on strategies to help support metacognition.

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Pastoral students of the week

There are too many to mention, but we want to thank the ABC mentors, the House Captains and all of those students who have assisted our new year 9s settle in by helping them get around our site this week.

Dates for your diary

03/10/18 – Y9 Open evening

11/10/2018 – Post 16 Open Evening

16/10/2018 – Y11 Core Subjects Revision Evening
24/10/2018 – Y9 Tutor Evening

 

w/c 29/10/18 – Half term 

05/11/2018 – Inset day

20/11/2018 – Y13 Parents Evening
29/11/2018 – Y11 Parents Evening
20/12/2018 – Last day of term
21/12/2018 – Inset Day

History

 
A level results
Congratulations to our A level historians who secured some excellent results in 2018. We wish you all well for the future and are really pleased with the success of those who are going on to study history at university.
 
Post-16
Congratulations to last year’s Year 11 on excellent GCSE results and welcome back to those taking A level history.
Well done to those Year 13 students who worked hard on their coursework during the summer holiday – a special mention goes to Rachel Clemmet, Sara Coxon and Aimee Deacon.
GCSE
Follow in the footsteps of last year’s Year 11 by making revision notes, using our revision knowledge quizzes, GCSE Pod and quizlet to consolidate your learning each week.
Year 11
Mock exams are closer than you think! History lunchtime revision is held everyday in rooms 15 and 16 – why don’t you bring your lunch, bring a friend and make a weekly date with either Mrs Johnson or Mrs Young? Alternatively, come after school. Talk to us to choose a day which is best for you.
Year 10
Mrs Johnson and Mrs Young are always available at breaktime and lunchtime if there is anything you are unsure about whilst you make the transtion from Year 9 work to GCSE.
Year 9
Welcome to all our Year 9. This year we will be focusing on 20th century history and will begin with events at the start of the century. If you want to get a head start, find some images of early 20th century Britain to help you think about similarities and differences between then and now.

Science

Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 Science students are strongly encouraged to purchase the appropriate Revision Guides, which will help with their studies throughout the course.

Students studying the three separate science courses require three GCSE AQA Complete Revision and Practice Guides: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Students studying the Combined Science course require one Revision Guide, Foundation Level: GCSE Combined Science for AQA.

Revision Guides are available to purchase from the School Online Shop, please click on the link at the bottom of this newsletter.

 

Canteen

Our new and improved larger canteen is open for business and is busy at both break and lunchtimes. Can we remind all parents to ensure that accounts are regularly checked and kept up to date via parentpay. 

Insight

Insight is up and running for all students at thomasalleynes.org/insight. Parents with an account can continue to use their existing login and if you now have an additional child in year 9 they should be visible by clicking on the picture icon top left whereby you can switch between children.

Year 9 parents will start to receive their logins w/c 17th September and an email will go to the registered email address held in school. Please keep an eye out for an email from insight@tahs.org.uk, in particular your junk / promotions tabs as it may get redirected there.

Sports News

 
Barton hocky club have asked us to promote their sessions, so if this is of interest to you please see this link:

Uniform at Thomas Alleyne’s

Please see the specific details of our uniform policy. It is a clear expectation that this is followed correctly and we ask for the support of parents and carers with this. Please note skinny fit trousers are not accepted as part of our uniform policy. Any student who wears incorrect uniform will be asked to change and parents/carers will be contacted. 
Your support is very much appreciated, particularly to ensure we all make the best start possible to the new school year.
Any questions, please do contact your child’s Head of House.

Links

Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see to it please let us know.

 

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