Issue No.58 September 1998
Issue No.58 September 1998
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
Good News from Ofsted - My thanks again to all of you who returned Ofsted questionnaires and wrote to the Inspector. Thanks also to those who came to the Parents' Evening (over 200 of you came providing one of the biggest turn-outs this Inspector has had!) We still await the formal written report but the oral feedback could hardly have been better. 150 separate judgements are made of the school and not one fell below 'satisfactory' - a record which the Inspector described as "without precedent" in his experience of inspecting 57 different schools. A summary of the full report will be sent to all
parents shortly, with copies of the full report available on
request. I cannot, however, resist sharing some of the headlines
now: He has summarised the strengths of the school as: • Excellent behaviour We have some areas to work on but the Inspector described these as "the very fine tuning of a well-oiled machine". I am absolutely delighted with the outcome because I know how much effort went in from all those connected with the school, it is a fitting tribute to them and the students. EXAMINATION RESULTS - Good news comes in batches! I was also delighted with the examination results this Summer and was pleased to get a letter of congratulation from the Chairman of Surrey County Council, Mrs Heather Hawker, who wrote :- "Congratulations to you, your colleagues, and, of course, the pupils on such impressive achievements in the recently published examination results. You must all feel very pleased. Very well done". Dr Paul Gray, Surrey's Director of Education, has also written to us congratulating us on "a very pleasing set of GCSE results with a high level of improvement". At GCSE there was a big jump in the numbers of pupils gaining five A*-C passes, this being achieved by 67%. Five pupils, Louise Bailey, Philip Haines, Martin Leay, Anna Oberg and Angela Parker, all achieved A* or A in all nine of their subjects. At A Level our average points score was 20.4 for those entered for 3 or more subjects. The A and B pass rate was over 40%. High achievers included Elizabeth Evans (39 points), Adam Levy (38), Alexandra Chambers (34), Andrew Coe (34), Hannah Fenn (33), Ben Freedman (33), Lisa Roberts (33), Rebecca Dear (32), Neil Kester (31), Claire Atkins (30), Linda Hiley (30), Richard See Toh (30). Detailed results have been sent out with the information packs relating to the Governors' meeting. NEW STAFF: We welcome the
following new staff to the school : AMENDMENT TO SCHOOL CALENDAR -
Please note that two dates for 1999 were incorrect in the
Information to Parents booklet sent out at the end of last term.
The amended dates are: FREE SCHOOL MEALS For the publication of Public Examination results we need an accurate figure of the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. If you are entitled but do not claim, please drop me a line, in confidence, so that we can amend our records. BREAKFAST FOOD - the take-up for early morning food has been insufficient to justify the opening and staffing of the Canteen to provide hot snacks before school. From now on the canteen will be open from 8.05 am for hot drinks, fruit juice and 'healthy fruit' bars only. REQUEST - please do not drive into the school grounds when you leave or pick up pupils. Not only does it add to the traffic congestion but is also dangerous. CONGRATULATIONS to Michael Traboulsi and Jenny Williams who have been elected as Senior Students for the coming year. Well done too to Edward Ellis, now in Year 9, who, during the Summer holidays, collected his award for coming top of the course in this year's Nescafe Surrey Youth Cricket coaching and to Jessica Price (Year 11) who has been selected for the Surrey U16 County Netball team. LOOKING AHEAD `A' level results in 1999 will come out on 19th August and GCSE on 26th August. BUSY TIMES Pupils are actively encouraged to add to their language skills outside of lesson time. To this end the Modern Languages department runs lunchtime Clubs in French and German plus, for good measure, Russian! Exchanges are organised for both Upper and Lower School students. Mr Boucry is currently arranging a Sixth Form Exchange in Riom. Pupils in Year 7 can look forward to 'tasters' in French and German culture as four day visits to Dieppe and Koblenz are arranged for the end of the school year. The popularity of these visits are shown by reports which came in following last Summer's activities: Dieppe - despite the 'typically British weather' the group braved the outdoor salt water pool by the sea and took part in several excursions which included a guided tour around the town and a visit to the sea-life museum plus a day trip to Rouen. Throughout the visit the pupils' confidence in their linguistic skills increased and staff were impressed with the enthusiasm with which all 40 students met the challenge of buying their own lunch in Dieppe market on the last day. A wide variety of food was bought, from a roast chicken to chocolate eclairs and all successfully resisted the easy option of Macdonalds! Koblenz - the energetic tone of this visit was set on the first evening when Mr Andrews led a 'forced march' up the hill so that pupils could enjoy the view of the Deutsches Eck - the point where Father Rhine meets the Mosel. Other highlights of a busy stay for the 40 students included a guided tour of the ancient fortress of Marksburg, a visit to a musical museum and a memorable cruise on the Rhine. Pupils had the chance to try out their German on a treasure hunt, in shops and in the hotel. They delighted their hosts and the locals with both their German and their good manners - an enjoyable and rewarding trip for all concerned. SCIENCE VISIT : Another much-valued visit which took place towards the end of the Summer term was the Year 10 Science trip to Swansea when the students stayed at Swansea University. They visited a coal mine, steel works, cider mill, Cardiff Museum and did some research on sea shells on the beach. Therfield pupils have been going to Swansea for a number of years and it was pleasing to find that as we are a school with a good reputation for behaviour, our accommodation was upgraded accordingly. Another date to look forward to - the School Sailing Holiday on the Isle of Wight takes place next year from 12th17th April. Details will be coming out soon from Mr Stewart. CENTENARY PRAISE - Many of you may have noticed a page full of essays and poems from Therfield students in the Leatherhead Advertiser on August 6th. This was as a result of a competition promoted by the paper in connection with its centenary year. Therfield achieved the runners-up prize in the 12-15 section and will receive a framed copper plate of the published pages plus a cheque for £15. JACOBEAN DRAMA - Students in the Upper School will be taking part in an Evening of Jacobean Drama on the 20th and 21st November. The Evening will take the form of a promenade performance around Jacobean London. PLEA - if anyone intends to get rid of any chairs or sofas in the immediate future, the Drama Department would love to hear from you. Please contact Ms Harris at school. PRAYER GROUP - Two days have been set aside for the group to meet at school this term - Monday, October 5 and Monday, November 23, both at 8 pm. All parents are welcome to attend. FRIENDS ANNUAL MEETING will be held on 7th October at 7.30 pm in conjunction with the Governors' annual meeting with parents. The Friends would also welcome any new members to the Committee. Do try and attend. Thank you from Home and Food Technology to all those who have donated Textiles recently. The Department gets through a vast amount of material in a year so please keep the donations coming in. Plain material is particularly needed. MUSIC - so much happened towards the end of the school year that some important events did not get the attention they deserve. This is particularly true of Summer Cabaret which took place at the end of July and was, as usual a sellout. The programme showed the tremendous versatility, expertise and sheer joy of making music which is so representative of Mr Pratt, his musicians and singers. The School runs two orchestras, a swing band, trad jazz group, keyboard club, main choir and Lower School Singers and the department hopes newcomers will be quick to join in and so keep our musical tradition very much to the fore. VISITORS FROM POLAND - The Science Department had a visit on Thursday from eight Polish scientists who are in this country on a fact-finding tour. They were keen to see an English comprehensive school in action, particularly on how A Level Science was organised. We were recommended by one of the Exam Boards. CRAFT FAIR - Sunday, 1st
November: The Friends would be very grateful for any help that
parents are able to give in publicising this major event -
especially by displaying posters, or a small notice in their
car, or distributing leaflets. Please contact Barbara Sharkey in
the school office. OPEN EVENING - November 11th This is one of the most important dates in our school calendar. If you know of anyone whose child is due to start secondary school in September 1999 please recommend Therfield and suggest they come and visit us. Dates and times of guided tours and talks can be obtained from the school office. MEMORIAL FUND - A final reminder to anyone who wishes to contribute to the Memorial Fund for Cath Baker, as this will soon be closing. SCHOOL- EVENTS - Going-out with this newsletter is a calendar of school events. A list of Clubs and Activities will follow shortly. BUS TIMES - We have just heard that the 479 bus from Bookham and Fetcham will be leaving 10 minutes earlier to enable children to arrive on time. Many thanks to those parents who also applied pressure to get these changes. DATES FOR OCTOBER |