THERFIELD NEWS Issue No.65 April 1999

SCHOOL BUDGET - As I reported in the last Newsletter, Therfield, along with many other schools in the County, is facing a severe Budget deficit. This has come about because the extra money being put into Education, has proved to be much less than that which was required to meet the need.

The immediate effect for the school is that the courses which have only attracted small numbers of pupils for next year's GCSE, GNVQ and 'A' level will not run. Parents of pupils who have chosen such courses will have heard about this - or will do so very shortly. I realise that this will cause some disappointment but we have to find savings in the region of £160,000 and have little alternative.

There is little that can be done about it this year, but if we are faced with a similar budget next year it would be disastrous and more courses would be mean teachers made redundant. If you feel strongly about this, please make your views known to County Councillors.

HOME SCHOOL AGREEMENT - The Government requires all schools to have agreements in place by September which clearly state what parents can expect from the school and what schools can expect from parents. Such an agreement is not enforceable in law but sets out what the expectation is.

You will find attached to this Newsletter a first draft of such an agreement. Some parents will already have seen this because I was seeking views at some of the Parents' Evenings. I would welcome comments, especially if you feel that the agreement can be improved. Pupils have had an input via the School Council. Please send comments or amended agreements into the School Office.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM TESTS FOR YEAR 9 - These take place next week. The tests will be starting at 8.40, so pupils need to be on time. The tests may finish at 3.15pm so Year 9 may leave a few minutes early at the end of the day. The main papers are English on Tuesday, Maths on Thursday, Science on Friday with extension papers and mental arithmetic at other times. Parents will be told the result in the end of year Report.

EXAM TIME - external exams start in May and parents of pupils being examined may need to be especially patient - it can be quite stressful for all concerned. All pupils have been given individual timetables for the exams - please help them to get here on time and for the right day!

YEAR 11 STUDY LEAVE - has been brought forward to Wednesday, 12th May.

IN MEMORY - the sundial in memory of Mrs Cath Baker was put in place earlier this month with family and friends attending a brief ceremony at the Science block.

WELCOME to Ms Sharon Phillips who has joined the staff to teach Psychology.

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT - Therfield has received a national award for its 'excellent scheme of After School Activities, and commitment to the enrichment of the educational experience of young people'. The award comes from Education Extra and is signed by Lord Young of Dartington, founder and patron. Given that staff give a great deal of free time to run clubs, sports, exchanges, trips and visits for pupils, it is good to see such commitment recognised so widely.

SAILING SUCCESS - 30 pupils and four staff took part in the annual sailing holiday on the Isle of Wight over Easter. Although the weather was cold our sailors adapted to the conditions with a number of short sessions on the water interspersed with hot drinks and hot showers and also enjoyed a day's sailing in the Solent. Other activities included bowling and swimming and a testament to everyone's hard work and keenness is shown by the number of RYA certificates gained - 8 at stage 2, 5 at stage 3, 8 red badges, 2 white badges and 5 blue badges. Special mention should go to Year 11 pupils, Russell Flint and Catherine Manders who gained their RY Instructors Badges and are now fully qualified teachers of sailing.

CONGRATULATIONS - Two Year 7 pupils, Robert Haslam and Katherine Rintoul will be seeing their work on stage shortly as, with three other members of the local Theatre Exchange Group, they have just heard that their play has been successful in an international competition. The group entered 'Four Divided by Four' a very topical play about racism and refugees, in the Young Playwrights' 1999 competition and it was one of six chosen to be professionally performed from a total of 61 entries from all over Britain and abroad.

MUSICAL INVITATIONS - The Summer term brings a number of attractive events from the Music department. On 27th May, Surrey University's Big Band will be giving an evening jazz concert at the school and our own Swing Band and the Stompers will be taking part. On June 21st it will be the turn of the staff to show off their musical talents. Although slightly hampered by an injured wrist, Miss Jarvis is proving to be a formidable recruiter as she 'persuades' staff who can sing or play a musical instrument to feature on the programme. The idea of the concert grew from pupils commenting that they seldom see staff in the Music department actually performing as musicians. This should prove a popular event and money raised will go towards the setting up of a Samba Band in September. Other dates to put in your diaries are 28th June, for 'Africa Evening' and 22nd July when 'Cabaret' brings the school year to an end.

DRAMA PRODUCTION 15th, 16th, 17th July - This year the main show will be 'Little Shop of Horrors', a musical drama. Auditions have taken place. Sixth Formers Emily Plumtree and Michael Peck have leading roles, although the true star of this musical drama is a Man Eating Plant. Tracking down a costume for this called for much research and was finally found in a garage in Sidcup!

SURREY YOUTH GAMES - these wiII be taking place at Guildford on Sunday, 13th June. Mole Valley wiII be entering teams in a variety of sports - more details from Kate Flynn on 01 306 8791 94.

BADMINTON SUCCESS - Chris Langridge in Year 9 has been selected to represent English Schools in the Under 14 team event at the UK tournament to be held at Grantham from April 30 - 2nd May.

GIRLS FOOTBALL - the astro-turf facility has greatly helped the popularity of Girls Football at the school. Last month the Club sent 9 of the younger members to a six-a-side tournament at Fulham FC. Competitive fixtures have been hard to find so the girls were pleased to see that 20 teams had entered. Therfield played four matches, winning one, drawing one and losing two. Now the older girls hope a similar tournament or some match challenges can be arranged for them.

PRAYER GROUP - Wednesday, 30th June at 8pm is the next date to meet at the school- all parents are welcome and please contact Jill Poole on 01 932 865476 if you have a special prayer request.

MARKET OUTING - a very successful visit to the market provided by French traders in Leatherhead on 31st March was made by Mr Andrews and his Year 7 students. The pupils were able to try out their French and were happy to buy items such as cheese, bread and toys.

CYCLE TRACK -the new cycling and pedestrian route from near the top of Dilston Road through to the railway station has now been officially opened. This 500m route should be a boon to cyclists and walkers alike as it cuts out parts of the busy Kingston Road and the Plough roundabout.

HAPPY CRUISING - An early start of 4.30 am did nothing to quell the enthusiasm of the 15 Year 9 and 10 students and Mrs Penfold as they set off on April 8th on an exciting and culturally varied whistle-stop cruise of four countries in the Easter Mediterranean. After visiting archaeological sites in Greece and Turkey and experiencing camel rides in front of the Pyramids, the group finished the week floating in the Dead Sea and walking through the Old Jerusalem streets to the Wailing Wall. Days at sea were complemented by lectures, pool side study and sessions in the ship's multi-gym. The Therfield contingent were pleased to win the cruise quiz and featured well in the fancy dress disco. One Year 9 pupil reported - 'there was much to take in over a short period and we all had an excellent time'. Would-be cruisers wiII be pleased to know that the school plans to offer this experience again in 2001 !

VISIT TO SWANAGE - 47 Year 10 pupils took part in a fieldwork trip to Swanage over the last weekend of March so as to boost their studies for Geography GCSE. They stayed in a fieldwork centre just two minutes from the beach which was ideal for work on urban geography as well as the physical geography of the area. A judicious mix of work and play meant that a study of urban transects and long walks studying coastal features and sand dune management combined well with sampling the delights of cream teas and local pie shops. An energetic visit to Corfe Castle was followed by a final day spent investigating out of town developments on the outskirts of Poole. Staff now hope that this enjoyable stay will be reflected in answers to examination questions.

SURREY SPACE CENTRE - a boost to learning in the Earth and Atmosphere module for Physics was given to our Year 13 A level students through a visit to the Space Centre of Surrey University. Staff and students were greatly impressed when they were shown round the remote sensing section by the senior lecturer. Detailed information on the mathematics and physics involved in the work was very relevant to the syllabus and very much to the liking of the students. Space at Surrey has developed over 25 years from very modest beginnings in 1974 to the university becoming an internationally known space centre by 1998. It has, among other enterprises, pioneered low-cost, small satellites.

MOCK TRIAL - On a Saturday morning in Woking Magistrates Court a number of students took part in the area Mock Trial competition. Ben Dobres (Year 8) was the defendant most ably defended by Year 9 lawyers, Ian Lysyzk and Dan Richards. In a second trial, some imaginative questioning was provided by Nick Lambon and Libby Wright as prosecution lawyers. Ben Amold deserves a special mention for achieving full marks in his role of Usher and Court Clerk.

THANK YOU - to all those people who sent in Tesco 3 computer vouchers and 'Books for School' tokens. The Resource Centre and the Learning Support Department have already ordered more than 30 books between them and still have tokens in hand. We have over 17,000 computer tokens - enough to acquire an up-to-the-minute computer and printer. Please continue to send in tokens, as you can see, we put them to good use.

CHARITY - one of last year's House charities was London Lighthouse and the group has thanked the school for its donation of £568.56.

GARDENING CLUB - Mrs Cox now has a team of young gardeners who will help care for the school garden under the supervision of knowledgeable members of Leatherhead Horticultural Society.

SPORT - Cricket, athletics, rounders, volleyball and tennis are our main Summer sports and the PE department plans a fully competitive programme for all activities. Our cricketers are entered for a variety of cups as well as the appropriate leagues. We hope for better weather this year as so many of last year's competitive fixtures were curtailed by rain and damp pitches. As we run so many teams in the various sports, the PE department often finds itself in difficulty with transport - if anyone can offer to help take pupils to local fixtures from time to time, Mr Hill or Miss Jefford would be pleased to hear from them.

FUN WITH SCIENCE - Mr Palfery is starting a Science Club for Years 7-9 on Friday lunchtimes in A6. He promises some interesting investigations, a happy approach and the chance to win awards.

PRIZEWINNER - Mrs Jenny Williams, mother of Neil in 13CA is the lucky winner of the luxury weekend hotel break competition organised to help raise funds for the Venezuela expedition. Thank you to all who took part.

A HAPPY FOOTNOTE - I have just interviewed some parents who are moving to England from Hong Kong. In the process of finding a school for their two children they looked at over 40 Ofsted reports. They selected Therfield as their top choice and, having seen over the school, are now buying a house in the area.

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