Term 4 draws to a close today. It has been another short term with the early Easter this year. It has also been another productive one with lots to report from its last week.

You will know from a previous message that students from Year 8 had reached the final of the V&A Museum’s Innovate National Schools Challenge. This week the team – Thomas, Thomas, Ethan and Ollie – travelled to London with two members of the Art department to compete against the other finalist and pitch their idea - the Medminder - to a panel of experts, including Jay Blades of the Repair Shop Fame.

The students performed superbly, delivering a faultless pitch. The judges were bowled over by the quality of the idea and compassion that had driven the development of their product. I am delighted to report that the boys won their category and received their V&A Innovate trophy from Jay Blades. This is a truly excellent achievement. We are so proud of all the work the students put into making the final of the competition such as success.

On Tuesday, our two Year 7 teams travelled to Cheltenham to take part in the final of the annual Poetry Slam competition. The teams: the Punctuation Punchers (Ellie, Lottie, Phoebe, Aaliyah and Brooke) and the Bullet Point Bros (Eli, Frankie, Marcel, Oliver and Joshua) were the youngest competitors but they were not fazed. Both teams have been practising hard with Ms Kirk and the result was that they performed superbly; demonstrating great confidence and maturity. I was delighted to hear that the Punctuation Punchers came second overall; a fantastic achievement. Congratulations to all who took part.

On the sporting front, fixtures this week have included:

• Year 7 Netball – on Monday the Year 7 A and B teams played Gloucester Academy in their latest fixture.  Both games were played in great spirits with excellent sportsmanship on display. The A team were defeated 6 - 3 and the B team drew 4 – 4. Players of the Match went to Izzy C (A team) and Caity C and Kyra G (B team). The Year 7 team played their final fixture against Churchdown on Tuesday. They won 8 – 6. Players of the match went to Maddison T for her excellent shooting and Amber H for her fantastic build up and linking play.

• Year 8 Netball – the Year 8 netballers also ended their season with a fixture against Churchdown. An excellent all-round performance resulted in a 14 – 4 victory. Player of the match went to Lotte H for her excellent work rate.

• Year 9 Basketball - the basketball-mad Year 9s played their first ever fixture against Newent on Monday after school. It was a tough game for the boys as Newent had some talented, more experienced players. Nevertheless, the opportunity to play a competitive basketball fixture provided the boys with valuable experience and sets them up nicely for some matches in KS4 next year. Player of the Match went to both Kon W and Rhion O as they both hustled fantastically throughout their time on the court and scored some tough shots. 

• Year 9 Netball – the Year 9 netballers played 2 fixtures this week, the first of which was away at Churchdown. The result was an emphatic 22 – 3 victory with some great play all round. Player of the Match went to Ava. The Year 9B team also had a fixture against St Peter’s. The girls won 9-4 with some brilliant movement in the D and shooting from Freya L and some fantastic interceptions from Aimee H, earning them both joint Player of the Match.

• Year 9/10 Netball - Our combined 9/10 team also played St Peter’s this week. Their opponents had a formidable defence and the girls went down to a 13 – 5 defeat. Player of the match went to Isabel H.

• Year 10 Football - The Year 10 football team lost a thrilling semi-final 3-1 against Churchdown on Wednesday. The game was a tight affair and both teams were very evenly matched. Every single player gave absolutely everything and should feel proud of themselves. We were only 2-1 down with 5 mins to play and had chances to even the match but the ball just would not go in the net. Mason F was courageous in goal and Seb B put in a real Captain’s performance at the back. Will H and Kaelen V also battled hard in Midfield. It has been a great effort from the boys this season.

• Year 10 Netball – The Year 10 netballers were the final team to play away at Churchdown this week. A strong team performance saw them win 19 – 2. Player of the Match was Isabel H.

• U16 Football - Monday - the U16 girls played Dene Magna at home. The game was VERY tense, we were up 3 - 0 at half time and the opponents had a brilliant spell to get it back to 3 - 3. Elle M had scored a brace already, then with the literal last kick of the game was through with the keeper, giving us the win 4 - 3 and a Hatrick for herself. The girls have now won their County Cup group and move on  to the knock-out rounds after Easter. 

Also on the sporting front, last Friday saw 8 students from our SV Flow Club represent the school in our first Table Cricket tournament. We played four games and won three, narrowly missing out on a place in the final, which is a great achievement for our first participation at the event. Special mention goes to Captain Fantastic Archie C who led the team brilliantly throughout the day. Well done to all who took part.

Our week ended with a Fire Drill this morning. This was as a result of a fault with a Hot Trolley in the DT Block which triggered the alarm. The students responded calmly and the drill was completed in an efficient and timely manner. It was a useful reminder of the importance of Fire Drills and ensuring that students give them the respect they deserve.

I do hope you enjoy a great Easter. We will see the students again on Monday 8 April. It will be a week A.

Kind regards,

Richard Johnson
Headteacher