THERFIELD NEWS Issue No.77 24 May 2000

It is a vital job and one that can bring enormous satisfaction. If you are interested and would like to talk about it, either with myself or Mr John Hickey, chairman, please contact us via the school

Sport England has awarded the prestigious Sportsmark Award to Therfield.

This highly prized award is given to schools that:

• show a proper regard for sport in the curriculum
• achieve standards of excellence
• encourage youngsters to take part, join in and compete.

With Trevor Brooking as chairman and Tessa Sanderson as vice chairman, the award is not lightly given and the PE Department went through a rigorous application and checking up process before becoming one of 400 schools to reach the standard this year.

So as to underline our standards of excellence, our Year 8 XI went to Oxted last week to compete in the first round of the County Cup and bowled Oxted out for 11; Irfaan Junaideen was the main destroyer with six wickets!

Our sporting week was complete on Thursday when, in the District Athletics, the Intermediate Boys retained the Shield so hardly won last year from Epsom College, holders for the previous 17 years!

We realise that trainers are popular for use on many occasions but trainers are inappropriate for school wear. If pupils come to school not wearing their correct school shoes, we will be providing them with a pair of black plimsolls to wear during the day. We expect these will not be needed very often as, given such a choice, pupils will prefer to use their proper school shoes.

She sees her main role as counselling for bereavement, exam stress and peer relations and regards her service as crisis prevention. She is in school for a total of five hours per week. Pupils know the times she is available and any interview will be in total confidence unless any issue of safety is involved.

Consultation can be on a drop-in basis so if any parent does not wish a child to talk with Mrs Riseborough, please let Mr Geary know now.

The Friends' page now has a link to Elphick the Estate Agents, who promise a contribution to school funds as a result of houses being sold through this link. So, if you are thinking of moving house, please bear this connection in mind.

To see the latest changes go to the 'What's New' page.

The scholarships mean they will each receive £250 a year to further research during their 'A' levels; much to Mr de Little's delight, the Technology Department receives a similar award. For their GCSE Electronics practical project, the boys designed and made a 'PIG' machine which can go down tunnels to search and explore for defects.

Therfield prides itself on doing well in the Arkwright awards, which are open to and keenly contested by all schools, both independent and state. Two of our present Sixth Formers, Tom Marshall and James Haslam are current beneficiaries.

Sponsors locally for the award are Halliburton, Brown and Root, who also offer much practical help and advice. Daniel and Andrew will be presented with their awards in October at a ceremony to be held at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

The first lecture is in London on June 9th and others follow in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. The cover of the course booklet issued by Stands for Education features a lively colour picture of three Therfield pupils on the cat-walk displaying their costumes at the Africa Evening and inside is a two page article by Mr de Little explaining how KS3 is successfully delivered at Therfield.

The percentage voting (28%) on the first ballot was surprisingly low considering the amount of hard campaigning put in by all candidates.

Pupils should have their new targets recorded in their Planners - these will be reviewed in September. We would be grateful for parents' support in encouraging their son & daughters to achieve these targets and to get them signed off by the member of staff concerned.

Some tears were shed, autographs exchanged and Year Books endorsed then they all met up again very promptly as the GCSE exams got under way. GCSE results are published on 24th August.

Year 13 enjoyed their traditional rounders match against the staff, with three teams each side competing for the Pimms Cup and resulting in a win for the students.

Study leave for them commenced on the 19th May following a final Assembly and the Year 13 Ball held this year at Ockley. They return on 30th June on completion of A levels for a Leavers' Tea.

'A' level results are published on 17 August.

Mr Cox will be pleased to supply copies.

Oxbridge application procedures differ from other universities and a range of presentations and exhibits offered information on courses available, the style of teaching, how to choose a college and some interview techniques.

Of special interest were displays from organisations such as the Armed Forces, the Police and commercial enterprises willing to sponsor students through their degrees. It was felt to be a worthwhile day with a number of mysteries explained and doubts answered.

Pupils also had a chance to visit the State Apartments of William and Orange and the Royal Gardens - most importantly, they all managed to return home without getting lost in the Maze!

ASK, which is run by a team of trained Sixth Formers, was originally set up to help solve problems brought to them by younger students on a face to face basis.

However, it is hoped that with the new 'anonymous' e-mail service running alongside the original system, the fear of confronting people about their problems could be eliminated. The ASK web site can also be reached via the school web site.

Property which has a name somewhere can be returned, otherwise we can only keep it for a short time.

However, the weekend event was an enjoyable if nerve testing experience for Seb. He stayed in a top hotel, cooked in the kitchens of the Birmingham School of Cookery, was presented with a certificate and personal organiser for reaching the semi-finals as well as the new cooker he won for the school.

The school is proud that he did so well in this, the first year we have entered the competition.

Rhys has won through to represent the South East in a competition to find the 'Schoolboy Penalty King' and will soon be travelling to Newcastle for the final. Having done well in a series of penalty shoot-outs while attending soccer schools run by Chelsea FC, Rhys duly slotted three past Chelsea goalkeeper, Kevin Hitchcock, to win his place in the final.

Rhys plays regularly at right wing for Chipstead and has ambitions to be a professional footballer.

Although the promotions may be officially over, please continue to send in any tokens still lurking in your shopping bags as they can still be used.

The ICT department is grateful to all parents who contributed so spectacularly to the Free Software for Schools campaign run as a newspaper promotion - the software is now beginning to arrive and over 25 titles have been ordered.

This is a considerable achievement, as many of Surrey's most talented young people auditioned for parts and final productions are famous for the quality of performance.

Last weekend he took the gold award in the Surrey Championships for his age group, won silver in the junior boys and was fourth overall - for this he needed to show expertise in 8 different dives.

Matthew is now hoping that a possible perforated eardrum will not keep him out of the All-England competition.

They have also germinated seeds in the shed and put plants into the flower beds. Tom has prepared numbered pots and he and Bert have helped the pupils plant their competition potatoes in them. They have also planted sunflowers, waiting to be transplanted against the supports that Tom has prepared. There will be a contest for height and head size.

There is much laughter in the garden as we potter and there is still plenty to do, including the tomato in a pot competition to organise. We have members from all years, except, so far, Year 7, and would welcome any interested pupils.

We meet Fridays at 3.30 in the garden or Mrs Cox can be seen at any time to give information. As well as being a lot of fun, the wisdom and help so freely given by members of the Horticultural Society could set you up in a worthwhile hobby for life!

The production of this complex play about communication and Anglo-Irish relationships was well worth the trek up the tip the students and staff and provided an excellent complement to revision for those about to sit the Drama Module.

Tuesday 4th July: the Friends will be running a second hand sale 3pm - 4.30pm and would welcome items for sale. Full details are given in the Friends' Newsletter.

Also on Tuesday, 4th July 4pm - 7pm new uniform will be on sale mainly for parents of new Year 7 pupils.

On Wednesday, 5th July 4pm - 7pm new uniform will be on sale for parents of present students.

Details about uniform trousers for girls will be given later.

Most obtained a sailing certificate from the Royal Yachting Association. The weather was reasonable, if a little wet, and allowed a day's sail down the River to Cowes and out into the Solent and westwards to land at Newtown River for lunch.

Apart from practical sailing sessions and theory work ashore, there was still time for leisure activities such as swimming and the traditional last night indoor games session.

Arran Flowerday, Jenny Lawrence and Simon Matthews were awarded their RYA Instructor certificates and 27 other pupils achieved either their first or next step award.

The Intermediate Boys rose to the challenge of retaining the District Shield in face of considerable opposition. We were the first State school to win the Trophy last year - for the previous 17 years it had been held by Epsom College.

The U15 girls came second in their group, with U15 boys and U17 girls taking third place. As well as putting in some excellent team performances we had some first class individual results and 15 of our athletes will be competing for Central Surrey in the County Championships.

Earlier in the week in the English Schools Track and Field Cup regional competition we took second place in four team events - junior boys and girls plus intermediate boys and girls.