Term 5 draws to a close today as another academic year continues to fly by. For our Year 11s two weeks of their GCSE exam season are now complete. They have continued to apply themselves superbly though what has been a demanding two weeks. Their attitude and conduct remain first class and they have definitely earned themselves a break.

Last weekend our 34 Bronze and 5 Silver participants completed their expedition section. In stark contrast to the practice expedition the weather was wall to wall sunshine. The route around Cleeve Hill allowed for a slightly more challenging navigational route and also was much hillier than the Berkeley Vale. The students responded to both really well with the Bronze groups walking about 20km over two days and the Silver group walking about 35km over three days. Other walkers and the staff from Ocean Rock, who are the provider we work with to deliver our expedition section, were full of praise for how polite and engaged our students were. We were again lucky to have staff volunteers out with the groups. It is always nice for students to see a friendly face and we would like to thank all the staff who generously give up their time to support all aspects of the DofE at Severn Vale. 

Our five termly lunchtime performance platforms which took place this week have been met with an enthusiastic response from the students. This week's performances have continued to prove this is an ideal opportunity for our students to showcase and develop their musical and performance skills to whomever they feel ready or choose to perform to. This term has highlighted (again), we have very budding singers in our younger year groups, including a Year 7 student Honey S composing her own lyrics and performing her own song and up to Year 10 Amelia K singing with impressive French pronunciation too. It has been lovely to see students keen to attend, listen and support as audience too with genuine want to enjoy being part of this frequent part of our school's musical culture. 

We have just been told that our Science Club has been awarded a STEM Club Quality Mark Silver level. This recognises the quality of the provision. A huge congratulations to the Science department, and in particular Ms Butcher, for all her hard work in ensuring the club provides such a quality experience for our students.

It has been a bumper week for fixtures including:

• Year 7 Cricket –we hosted our second cricket fixture against Gloucester Academy. Our students were brilliant once again showing real improvements in their bowling and batting, We mixed in with GA students and everyone really helped each other. The SV students most noticeable progress was in their bowling and fielding, which resulted in some really accurate bowling and some great catches!

• Year 9 Cricket – the Year 9 Cricket team travelled over to Gloucester Academy to play a limited overs match. We went into bat first and scored a total of 64 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, With Oliver W top scoring with 23 runs. In reply, Gloucester Academy only managed to score 52 runs. Kieran M performed exceptionally well getting two successive wickets, narrowly missing out on his 'Hat-trick' ball. He also took a catch and as a result was voted as 'man of the match'. The Year 9s had a second fixture of the week versus St Peter’s which they also won. St Peters batted first and scored an impressive 89 runs from 12 overs. We then went into bat and eclipsed this total with 4 overs remaining.  There were 6s galore from Captain Mason F and Dylan B. Notable mention to for Josh M for his all-round play. We had two debutants playing with Tom H and Will H who made a great catch to start his cricketing career. A fantastic start to the season!

• Year 8 Rounders - We took 2 year 8 rounders teams across to Crypt. Both games were played in great spirit and the girls batted really well. The A team lost 9.5-11; batter of the match was Julia, fielder of the match Phoebe H. The B team lost 13.5-14; batter of the match was Chloe S and fielder of the match Mia S.

• Year 9 Rounders - Year 9A team travelled to St Peter’s to play a game against the St Peter’s Year 10 B Team. A mix-up saw them actually play the St Peter's Year 10A team! A strong performance against tough opposition ended up in a 14 – 10 defeat. Batter of the match: Macey M; fielder of the match: Maddie R. The Year 9s had their second match of the week versus The Crypt. The final score was 14.5 - 13 to Crypt in what was a very close match that The Crypt edged with some big hitters! Fielder of the match, Evelyn H and batter of the match, Hannah M.

• Year 10 Rounders - The Year 10 team played the St Peter's B team and won 16 - 12.5, a marked improvement in terms of match play and understanding the game from their last fixture. Batter of the match: Heather O’R, fielder of the match: Tavie L. The Year 10s also played The Crypt this week with the girls losing a nail-biting match by half a rounder, the final score was 11.5 - 11. Fielder of the match was Ava C, batter of the match was Heather O'R.

In other sporting news:

• Congratulations go to Henry Driver-Dickerson who was called up to play for Gloucestershire’s Seconds this week. This is an unbelievable achievement for a Year 10 student. Congratulations Henry.

• Congratulations also go to Year 11 student Fin Williamson who has been identified for the final selection for the Bowls England Under 18 National Team.

My regular reminder that a recent analysis showed that approximately 10% of those who are entitled to Free School Meals are not currently taking advantage of this scheme. If you think your child may be eligible for Free School Meals you can click on this link to find guidance on the eligibility criteria and the application process. It's a quick process and we are notified of all FSM entitlements by GCC each Monday. I would urge you to take a look if you think you may benefit from financial assistance. 

The weather is set fair for the bank holiday weekend and beyond. I hope you enjoy a great weekend with your family.

We will return to school on Monday 5 June. It will be a week B.

Regards,

Richard Johnson 
Headteacher