March 2003
March 2003
| FROM THE HEAD TEACHER
Where Next? - An analysis of the career decisions of those who left Surrey schools in 2002 makes interesting reading. The total number of Year 11 leavers was 9938, of those 79.5% elected to continue in education, 10.9% entered employment and 3.4% were unemployed. In the Epsom area, these figures were 2527 and 79.9%, 9.9% and 4.1 %. Of the 218 leavers from Therfield School, 84.2% opted to continue in education, 9.8% entered employment and 1.3% were unemployed. For those who compulsively add up figures, the missing percentages are made up of 'moved away' and 'unknown'. A Visit to Remember - The current political situation in Iraq brought an added dimension to the half term visit to the United States by 40 of our Sixth Formers. In addition, they braved 20 inches of snow, incessant rain and an amber terrorist alert as they visited New York and Washington. No one dropped out of the trip and all voted it 'a fantastic experience'. In New York they visited Wall Street, Ground Zero, Seaport and, of course, a famous department store. The political establishment was the focus of the Washington trip. "We stood outside the White House as George Bush arrived, we climbed the 500m Washington Monument and, most poignantly, paid our respects to those lost in the Korean and Vietnam War. The week was completed by extensive shopping trips and a thrilling visit to a National League Ice Hockey game where we got friendly with the team mascot." "The spirit of the group was fantastic and staff and students had a brilliant week - although we were grateful to get out on the day we did as another snowstorm closed the airport for two days after we left! Not that we would have minded staying but we were almost out of funds!" Dates to Remember - Monday, 31st March is an INSET Day when students are not in school. The Easter holidays start on Friday, 11th April, when school closes at 1.00 pm. Testing Times - A reminder that all 14 year-olds in English state schools will be sitting National Curriculum Tests in Mathematics, Science and English from 6th-9th May this year. It is essential that all Year 9 students are in school at that time. Spring Concert - this takes place on the 27th with all music groups taking part in a varied and lively programme. Concert starts at 7.30 pm with refreshments available from 7.00 pm. Comic Relief - Staff and students entered into the spirit of 'Bad Hair Day' and raised £954.57 for Comic Relief. An additional £50.55 in loose change was cajoled out of everyone by the School Bank Team, who awarded two certificates - one to Miss Hall as 'most enthusiastic teacher and one to 7PCA as 'best Tutor Group'. Disappointment - Those who had been preparing for the arrival of German and French students on this home section of Exchange visits, were disappointed when both decided to withdraw because of the international situation in Iraq. We hope that visits to Germany and France will still go ahead with possible return visits later in the year. Important August Dates - Thursday, 14th, will see the publication of Advanced Level results and Thursday, 21st, is the date for GCSE and GNVQ results. Oxbridge Conference - In view of all the national Press comment about university entrance, twenty of our Year 12 students found the Oxbridge Conference at Sandown Park offered very useful advice and information about the intricacies of applying for higher education. Both Oxford and Cambridge sent their 'brightest and best' tutors to offer an insight into the world of Oxbridge. Many subject areas were represented including Medicine, Psychology, Politics and English and there were sessions on the application procedure, interview technique, college life and sponsorship. The students were uniformly positive about the day and welcomed the opportunity to consider higher education in general, as we!l as Oxford and Cambridge specifically. Therfield's Higher Education Evening will take place on Wednesday, April 30th and all Year 12 parents and students with plans for going on to university are encouraged to attend. Think of a Number - TV star Johnny Ball's Maths musical extravaganza provided a popular and educational outing for 45 Year 7 students. Entitled 'Maths and Legends', the show traced the story of mathematics from Egyptian times to the present day, highlighting all the discoveries and inventions that would not have been possible without Maths. Woking Theatre was packed with schoolchildren from all over Surrey for this fascinating show and it was good to hear that our students were a credit to Therfield with their excellent behaviour. More Maths - Three Further Maths students from the Sixth Form - Poppy Stagg, Michael Singleton and Gabriel Villar - were invited to attend an afternoon of lectures at Surrey University. The first lecture, given by staff of the university, was about space travel and the motion of planets, while the second gave a fascinating insight into the work of code breakers in World War II. A Timely Lecture - A fascinating lecture on Stalin and Hitler held the attention of twenty of our A Level History students when Professor Richard Avery of King's College, University of London, spoke in Guildford last week. The students are about to take their comparative paper about these two dictatorships, so it was a useful and positive experience in the run up to the exams. Head of History, Miss Allen, was impressed by the commitment of the students who voluntarily came to this evening lecture with no coercion at all! Making Music - GCSE music students entertained an audience of parents, friends and staff with an Ensemble Recital on 5th March. The standard of music from these Year 10 and 11 students was high and the range of musical styles impressive as everyone benefited from this opportunity to feature in a 'live' performance. Race Night - As part of their Leisure and Recreation course, Sixth Form students are organising 'A Night at the Races' at school on April 9th, Cost will be £6, including supper, you can 'own' a horse for £2 and eight races will be featured. The students are hoping parents will support them by booking a table for the night - if you didn't get an invitation by 'pupil post' please contact the school. Banking Success - As a thank you for all their hard work in organising and running the School Bank, the team of students - Selina Reinlo, Sarah Rowntree, Daniel Joyce, Paolo Condello and James Rodger plus Ms Shariff - were invited out to lunch by the local HSBC branch. This was an enjoyable occasion and included a tour of the bank. Resource Centre News - World Book Week got off to an excellent start with staff and students reading from the book they would take to a desert island. The choice was varied and interesting, ranging from Shakespeare, Jane Austen and poetry by W B Yeats and Kipling to the life of Douglas Bader, the detective novels of Raymond Chandler and that long running favourite Little Women. Over the week, Resource Centre staff kept a running total of the books favoured by most people. The result put The Bible and Shakespeare at the top with support also for Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and even Hello magazine! Other events kept books in the 'shop window' during the week and a final Book Fair meant that £75 in commission could be spent on providing thirty new books. Self Defence - Lessons in self defence will be given to Years 9 and 10 students at lunchtimes starting 1st May. The cost of the twelve week course is £22 and more details can be obtained from Miss Nicholls. Rag Days - Sixth Formers are plotting some outrageous activities next week to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK and SeeAbility. The traditional break out, where students try to get as far from school as possible on a budget of £5, requires sponsorship. Another attraction will be 'Outrageous Challenges' in the Main Hall on Friday (28th). Please send your son or daughter with some extra money that day so they can challenge staff and Sixth Formers in a variety show of crazy games. A donation to one of the chosen charities can be sent in an envelope marked 'Sixth Form Rag Week'. Running for Charity - Two members of staff will be running the London Marathon on 13th April - Mr Garner, Head of Faculty of Performing Arts, will be running for the Leonard Cheshire Foundation and Mrs Pickett from Learning Support is running for the RNLI. Both would be grateful for any sponsorship parents or students would like to contribute. Sailing Success - In the Surrey Schools Regatta held at Papercourt Sailing Club, Alex Stypulkowski (helm) and Freddie Cardew-Smith (crew) beat off the challenge from six other schools to win the Enterprise Class Trophy. Please Save - Please continue to send in the Tesco Computers for Schools tokens and also any empty toner and inkjet cartridges which can be recycled and also raise funds for the school. Shooting Success - Robert Churchman, Year 13, has been selected for the second year in succession to represent England in the British Smallbore Rifle International. Robert is the only state school student in the squad. Design Challenge - Therfield's team of Simon Morris, Bethany Page, Steven Elwood, Joanna Stock, Jessica Crosby and Daniel Lerpiniere, all from Year 8, won through to the finals of the Surrey SATRO Problem Solving Challenge. Twelve schools competed in the opening round and the finals were held last night. Badminton Honours - Sixth Former Chris Langridge continues his development as a top badminton player. He was selected earlier this month to represent England in the German Junior tournament. In the recent U19 National championships at Milton Keynes he and his partner won the doubles without losing a set and Chris now has his first senior tournament as an England player in Holland this week. Representing Mole Valley - The Surrey Youth Games will take place in Guildford on 14th and 15th June and, once again, Mole Valley looks to field a strong team. Squad trials and training will be held soon and anyone with sporting interests should contact Jilly Vincent, Sports Development Officer, on 01306 879194 to find out more. Sports being played include athletics, badminton, judo, basketball, netball, tennis, rugby, hockey and football and are aimed at those aged between 6 and 15 years of age. Happy Skiing - Both senior and junior ski trips went to Austria this half term and enjoyed some of the best conditions and accommodation ever. On their return, they could easily be spotted around the school as they sported very unseasonal suntans with only one member of staff having to resort to crutches! Coming to Ashtead - Chernobyl Children Life Line was set up to bring children from Belarus to stay with host families in the area for a holiday in the summer. A meeting is to be held at Barnett Wood Lane Infants School on 27th March at 8.00 pm and anyone interested in finding out more would be most welcome. Contact Mrs Walton 01372 274828 for more information. Sporting News - Highlight of the Spring term has been the success of our Basketball boys who were district champions for Years 8, 9 and 10. In Rugby, Tom Bingham, Year 8, and Richard Smith, Year 9, will be taking part in an international youth tournament in Holland over Easter. So many matches in a number of sports are still being played that a full round-up will have to wait until the April Newsletter. DATES FOR THE DIARY March,
April & May |