It has been a busy week for our students with a range of key assessments taking place. Our Year 11 students have been completing their second set of core mocks. These will be the final exams they will take before the real exams begin in May.

Their attitude and application have been spot on throughout what has been a really challenging week. We know they will have learnt a lot from the experience. They will also have developed further their all-important exam resilience.

Students in Years 7 – 9 have also been busy completing their order B assessments. Again, these have gone very smoothly with the students applying themselves very well.

On Tuesday, six of our Year 9 students (Grace A, Grace A, George H, Armarni F, Josh W and Charley M) took part in the FameLab Academy school final. Each student spoke for 3 minutes in front of an audience and panel of judges without the use of any PowerPoint and, for the most part, without a script. They were all phenomenal!

The overall winner was Grace A with her talk about the physiological changes that take place when sprinting. She will go on to compete against the winners from other schools in Gloucestershire next month in the finals organised by the Cheltenham Festivals. The runners-up prize was given to Charley M for his talk on the hot-cold paradox. Congratulations to all who took place and good luck to Grace in the Gloucestershire final.

Last term, nearly 50 of our Year 9 – 11 students took part in the UK Maths Trust Maths Challenge. The results show some superb achievements. Congratulations to all who took part.

Year 9			Year 10			Year 11
Nate E-B	Bronze		Kiri B	Bronze		Gerrit L	Bronze
Aimee H	Bronze		Oskar D	Bronze		Dylan N	Bronze
Harry J	Bronze		Grace G	Bronze		Daniel P	Bronze
Dylan J	Bronze		Ahmed M	Bronze		Morgan S	Bronze
Charley M	Bronze		Sam B	Silver		Phoebe A	Silver
William S	Bronze		Lauren C	Silver		Connor S	Silver
Oliver T-R	Bronze		Daisy J	Silver		Henry S	Silver
Hunter L-T	Silver		Simon S	Silver		Daniel S	Silver
Mia S	Silver					Candy W	Silver
						Samuel T	Gold

A reminder that two weeks today (Friday 15 March) Year 7 have the opportunity to join Mr Spooner in his charity challenge by running a 5k with him after school. This is all in aid of Cancer Research UK and part of Mr Spooner’s challenge to run 60 5ks in 60 days. Students are asked to donate £1 to run and can do so through parent pay or by cash on the day. Should any other families from other years or non-runners wish to donate, it is also possible to do so via parent pay. Thanks in advance for helping to make this event a great success.

It has been another extremely busy week of fixtures this week including:

• Year 7 Netball – the Year 7 A and B team travelled to St Peters this evening for their latest fixtures. For many of the girls, it was their first chance to represent the school and put their new knowledge of gameplay into practice. Both games ended in defeat, however, there was great spirit and excellent sportsmanship displayed by both teams. POMs went to Kyra G and Maisey D. 

• Year 7 Football – the U12 girls went to Cirencester Town to compete in the next round of the 7v7 county tournament. It was a great experience for the girls to play against lots of schools from across the county. They finished 5^th in their group. Player of the tournament was Amber H. 

• Year 7 Football – the Year 7 boys took part in their 6^th mass participation fixtures at Newent School with over 30 boys involved.  They played 3 games of 15 minutes each against 2 Newent teams, winning 3, drawing 2 and losing 1. Special mention to Kobi, Callum and Cameron for their excellent leadership over the 3 games.

• Year 8 Football – the Year 8 boys football team played their penultimate game of the season against Holmleigh Park, coming away with a dominant 9 - 0 win! Those involved played some excellent attacking football throughout and were always on the front foot, scoring some brilliant solo and team goals. Player of the Match went to Rylan G for his unrelenting defensive work and excellent build-up play to help set up some of the goals.

• Year 9 Netball – the Year 9 A & B teams travelled to the Kings School this week for their latest fixtures. Both games ended in defeat but the girls will certainly have learned a lot from the experience. Players of the match were Mia S (A team) and Millie S and Aimee H (B team).

• Under 14 Football - the U14 girls football team competed in the County Cup against a very strong St Peter's side, losing 7 - 0. Player of the Match went to Abby J in goal, who made a series of super saves. Special mention to Milly N who did not stop working in both attack and defence.

• Year 10 Netball – the Year 10A and B team played away at Ribston this week. The As lost 15 - 9 with Macey M POM. The Bs won 11 - 9 with Sydney F POM.

• Year 10 Football – the Year 10 boys played their last group match of the District Tournament against Holmleigh Park. It was a must win match and the boys did not disappoint, coming away with a 7 – 2 victory. Will Hine scored a hat-trick in a POM display.

• Under 16 Football – the U16 girls also went to Cirencester Town to compete in the next round of the 7v7 county tournament. They came 3rd in the group with 3W, 1D, 1L. The girls applied themselves brilliantly with some great football and a positive attitude to the day. Later in the week the girls played their first county cup football fixture at home against Crypt. They won 5 - 1 with a dominant performance and some brilliant football. Elle M was POM for a great display and 2 excellent goals.

As always, I include my weekly reminder about Free School Meals eligibility. If your financial circumstances have changed, your child may be eligible for Free School Meals. If you click on this link you will find guidance on the eligibility criteria and the application process. It's a quick process and we are notified of all FSM entitlements by Gloucestershire County Council each Monday. I would urge you to take a look if you think you may benefit from financial assistance.  

Kind regards,

Richard Johnson
Headteacher