2011 Christmas Newsletter

Wade Deacon High School

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTERDecember 2011

Public Speaking Champions

Operation Christmas Child

Ben’s Trampolining Success

Foreword

The Best Results!

On 10th November 2011, Wade Deacon High School was excep onally proud to welcome back the Year 11 class of 2010-11 to receive their well-deserved awards for outstanding a ainment, progress, a endance and ci zenship. This is because in 2011, Wade Deacon High School achieved their best results!

Not only did every child achieve 5 or more A*-C GCSE grades, the school achieved its best A*-A grades ever! Five or more GCSE grades including English and Mathema cs is the Gold Standard and the pupils achieved 78%, which is 20% more than any other school in Halton. We are very proud that through our determined focus on the improvement of literacy from Year 7, 87% of pupils achieved A*-C in English and 94% in English Literature. This is an amazing achievement from all our pupils, members of staff , parents and carers. Well done – and thank you!

A Hive of Ac vity – and Many Successes!

As you will see from the newsle er, the school has been a hive of ac vity and achieved many successes this term from spor ng events, to educa onal visits, interna onal ac vi es, Careers’ Days and many more. In addi on, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to welcome the Australian Rugby Team, who trained on our pitch. Also, congratula ons must go to Suzanne Vanezis, who won the KS4 Halton Speaking Compe on whilst Chloe Jack achieved second place in the KS3 category. These are great achievements and ones of which we are very proud.

Thank You

Once again, we would like to say thank you for the excellent support that you give to Wade Deacon High School and your part in making sure that our philosophy of a Commitment to Excellence in everything that we do, con nues. We would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year and look forward to an outstanding 2012.

Mrs P A WrightExecu ve Headteacher

Mrs J A GormleyHead of School

Tuesday 3rd JanuarySchool Opens

Friday 13th JanuaryPHSE Period 3

Thursday 19th January Year 10 Parents’ Evening

Thursday 26th January Personalised Pathways Evening: Meet the Tutor.

Thursday 1st MarchPersonalised Pathways Evening: Subject Leaders’ Presenta ons

Saturday 4th FebruaryGi ed & Talented Masterclass

Tuesday 7th FebruaryCi zenship & Enterprise Day

Wednesday 8th - Friday 10th February‘Got to Dance’

Friday 10th February School Closes

Monday 13th – Friday 17th February Half Term Holiday

Monday 20th FebruarySchool Opens

Thursday 23rd FebruaryYear 9 Parents’ Evening

Monday 5th MarchPSHE Period 5

Thursday 8th MarchYear 8 Parents’ Evening

Monday 12th – Friday 16th MarchScience, Technology, Engineering & Maths Week

Saturday 24th MarchGi ed & Talented Masterclass

Wednesday 28th MarchCi zenship & Enterprise Day

Thursday 29th MarchSchool Closes

Friday 30th March – Friday 13th AprilEaster Holiday

Monday 16th AprilSchool Opens

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Christmas Newsle er 2011 © Wade Deacon High School. All Rights Reserved02

CELEBRATINGSUCCESS

32nd Annual Awards Presenta on Evening

With another record breaking set of GCSE results this year, our 32nd Annual Awards Presenta on Evening was a vibrant celebra on of the outstanding achievements of Wade Deacon pupils.

The Deputy Mayor of Halton, Cllr Tom McInerney, and Wade Deacon’s former Head Boy, Ben Williams presented trophies to our award winners. A er leaving Wade Deacon, Ben earned a coveted scholarship to the Shrewsbury School, one of the best cricket schools in the country. He is captain of the Oxford University Cricket Team, and has played for Warwickshire’s 2nd XI. Awards were presented in recogni on of pupils’ excellent progress, achievement and ci zenship.

Hard-earned GCSE Cer fi cates were presented to our pupils by professional footballer Sue Smith. Sue represented her country on over 90 occasions, and she scored on her England debut against Germany in 1996.

Head of School Mrs Gormley praised pupils for their “amazing achievements” in examina ons, sport and community work, no ng that “these successes only happen if collec vely, and individually, you have the skills of communica on, teamwork and a determina on to constantly improve.”

Ben Williams with the Senior Prefects

Senior Prefects with the special Guests

Some of our top award winners

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03Christmas Newsle er

YEAR 8 PUPILS ‘WOW’

AUTHOR35 Year 8 pupils travelled the 16 miles to Knowsley College for the rare privilege of mee ng best-selling author, Joseph Delaney.

A treat for the imagina on, the Year 8 pupils listened to tales about how Mr Delaney created new worlds for his famous Spooks books and how using his skills in crea ve wri ng have opened doors for him throughout his life. A erwards he signed copies of the books for pupils and posed for photos. Miss Briggs, who organised the trip, complimented the pupils on their enthusiasm during the event; “the pupils were an absolute credit to the school and received praise from both the college and from Mr Delaney himself. They all enjoyed the event and the stories he told.”

Beth Blakemore, Sophie Anderson & Megan Burkey

Andrew Lawler, Adam Galloway & Jack Mallabar

YEAR 7 PUPILS SETTLE INTO

WADE DEACON Year 7 have made a fantas c start to their Wade Deacon careers and have already achieved so much. They have adapted superbly to their new school and have made the transi on from primary school to Wade Deacon very successfully.

They recently took part in the Christmas Shoe box appeal and contributed enormously to the collec on of over 100 shoeboxes that will be sent out to children around the world. Over 140 pupils also a ended the fi rst social trip to LA Bowl for a night of bowling and fun, the pupils during the trip were a credit to themselves and the school.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

Thursday 3rd November saw Wade Deacon host its fi rst Careers Day where Year 10 and 11 pupils had the chance to gather informa on and expand their knowledge on what career opportuni es are available to them when they leave Wade Deacon.

This was an extremely successful event where over 20 outside agencies such as Vauxhall, the Army and LIPA came into school and off ered advice and guidance to our pupils as to how they could gain entry to such careers. The day was also a ended by several colleges from Widnes, Runcorn, Liverpool, Knowsley, Warrington and St. Helens. These colleges all gave our pupils the opportunity to get hands on experience in areas such as hairdressing, dance and cookery. Feedback from both the outside agencies and pupils was extremely posi ve and all eff orts will be made to ensure the event is bigger, be er

Andrew Lawler & Joseph Delaney

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Wade Deacon High School04

EXCELLENT PROGRESS IN

BUILDING PROGRAMME

Work has started in earnest on the construc on of the new school building which includes a 500 seat auditorium, a six court sports hall, and fantas c specialist teaching facili es, all within one school building.

In September a ground breaking ceremony celebrated the beginning of the works, with representa ves of all the companies in the HTP Consor um, Halton Borough Council and Wade Deacon High School. Ex-headteachers Mr Barry and Ms Jackson, who between them have 35 years combined service as Headteacher at Wade Deacon High School, were special guests at the event. The ceremony coincided with the 80th anniversary of the opening of the building as Widnes Grammar School in 1931, when the Municipal School moved to the Birchfi eld Road site and was renamed a er Sir Henry Wade Deacon. Regarded at the me as ‘an extremely fi ne building’, it is s ll regarded by many who pass its gates as one of the most beau ful and striking buildings in the town.

The steel frame for the new sports hall has been constructed, and work has commenced on the fl oor. Concrete has been poured for the fi rst of the founda ons of the new buildings to be constructed to the rear of the Lower Wing building. Key historical artefacts such as the stained glass windows have been removed and are being carefully preserved to be reintegrated into the new school.

Plans for the new buildings and a live video feed of the building work are available on the school website; www.wadedeacon.com/bsf

Mrs Wright with Jordan Dearden & Elin Peters

Jordan Wilson & Mrs Gormley

Steelwork for the new sports hall

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Ci zenship & Enterprise

For October’s Ci zenship & Enterprise Day the Birchfi eld Road campus opened its doors to speakers from across our community. Year 10 studied the topic of Homelessness, and were le humbled a er hearing the life story of Graham Hudson, who himself had lived on the streets of Manchester for over two years. Pupils enjoyed Graham’s honest approach and were enthralled by how Graham had turned his life around. Year 10 undertook a full range of ac vi es based on the topic of homelessness, including re-wri ng their own version of the YMCA, building shelters and watching a play performed by NK Theatre Arts. Year 10 Progress Leader, Mr Mealey, was delighted with the day: “The Year 10 pupils were extremely respec ul of the subject ma er and our visitors today.”

PUPILS ENTHUSED BY

GUEST SPEAKERS

Ellie Glynn & Jenny Tyghe with Becca

Miss Hughes and pupils with their shoe boxes

Pupils pose with Angela & Bella

Linda Bancro , her dog Jessie & some Year 11 pupils

Staff at Wade Deacon organised and led sessions including our very own Dragon’s Den, designing our own charity appeal song, and inves ga ng the life of a ba ery chicken. Pupils in Year 9 examined their carbon footprint and suggested ways of reducing environmental impact.

A big thank you to all pupils, staff , and speakers for an excellent day!

On the Peelhouse Lane campus themes of charity, animal welfare and environmental issues were the topics of the day, and we had a visit from Angela at the Dog’s Trust, who brought Bella, a very cute and blind Pug. Bella (and Angela!) charmed Years 7 and 8, and reminded us that kindness to animals is as important as kindness to people. Becca Binyon of Chester Zoo delivered four excellent lessons on the importance of conserva on to Year 9, and brought with her some examples of endangered animals.

Speakers from Ac on Aid and Oxfam illustrated the eff ects of poverty around the globe, and taught the importance of charity in solving problems like drinkable water and clean accommoda on. Opera on Christmas Child was spearheaded by our own Miss Hughes and her team of year eight volunteers who gave a great talk to year seven. They appealed for shoe boxes full of unwanted toys to send to less privileged children around the world. The group collected almost 100 shoe boxes which is an outstanding achievement.

Our Year 11 pupils embraced their Ci zenship & Enterprise day which was themed around the topic of ‘Disability’. Pupils heard fi rst-hand experiences of wheelchair-user Graham Thompson, and were le in awe when hearing of just how much our blind speaker, Linda Bandcro and her dog Jessie, had achieved! Pupils also had the opportunity to learn basic sign language skills, and a empt to undertake day to day ac vi es whilst blindfolded. Mrs Goulding, Ci zenship Coordinator, commented: “The day really encouraged our pupils to think about the diffi cul es that some people in society face. Pupils were extremely though ul and refl ec ve of all of the ac vi es and talks they experienced today.”

www.wadedeacon.com


STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL

LINKS

Interna onal Dimension

Once again, we are delighted to welcome our Mandarin Assistant, Mrs Hu Min, who has joined us from our partner school, Number 12 Middle School in Tongling. Hu Min has made a defi nite impact since her arrival. She is working hard to promote the study of Mandarin and Chinese Culture both within Wade Deacon and also in our partner primary schools. Hu Min is determined to learn as much as she can about the English educa on system and also wants to visit as many parts of the country as possible whilst she is with us.

We are delighted to have Hu Min with us this year.

Following the submission of a detailed bid, we were delighted to receive a substan al grant from the Daiwa Founda on to support a visit to our partner school in Gifu, Japan. The aim is for members of the Business Interna onal Faculty to take pupils to the school in order to consider how Business Educa on is taught and also to fi nd out more about the way Japanese businesses operate. The informa on that the pupils and staff gain will enhance the GCSE Business Studies course and further strengthen links with our partner school.

The Bri sh Council have accepted our bid to strengthen links with our partner school in India. We will receive funds for reciprocal visits between the schools. We are currently planning to host a visit from two members of staff from Maharajah Aggarsain School in Delhi and two members of Wade Deacon staff will visit the Indian school in February. The aim is to enable pupils from both schools to visit each other in the future.

As part of our links with schools in Europe, Sophie Rimmer, accompanied Mr McGee to an Interna onal conference with teachers and pupils from Serbia, Slovakia and Germany. The conference was being run by the Bri sh Council as part of their Connec ng Classrooms (Europe) programme. An outline for further collabora on and curriculum integra on was planned which will be rolled out within our linked cluster schools in Halton and Warrington and also across Europe. One aspect of the plan is to visit at least one of our European partner schools next year.

A group of Year 9 and 10 pupils will visit The Gambia in February in order to develop a link with a school in the country and also provide informa on and resources which will support their awareness of a Developing Country for their GCSE Geography course.

Mrs Wright with Mr Hosoe Akio, Heatdteacher of Gifu School, Japan

Mr McGee & Sophie Rimmer

Mrs Hu Min outside the Confucius Classroom

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DRAMATIC MAKE OVERS

OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE

SEASIDE....

Year 9 Drama pupils have been busy crea ng characters and illusions via the art of stage make up. A er studying the history of Theatre Make Up, pupils spent me in their lessons applying aging eff ects, wounds and injuries and full character make up to one another. Leader of Achievements & Standards for Drama, Mrs Goulding, praised the pupils: “The pupils have worked really hard throughout this scheme of work. Many have found it a challenge, but have also learnt new skills which they can take on to use throughout the next two years of their GCSE studies.”

On Saturday 12th November 70 Year 10 pupils and 24 of our Year 11 prefects braved the winds and visited Blackpool. Pupils enjoyed all of the rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and came back smiling, despite a few falling vic m to the Valhalla water ride!

PUBLIC SPEAKERS HIT DOUBLE TOP!

Yet again, Wade Deacon High School pupils have achieved outstanding success in public speaking, scooping both 1st and 2nd places in this year’s Halton Schools’ Public Speaking Compe on.

Chloe Jack in Year 8 spoke with confi dence and authority on ‘The X-Rated Factor’ achieving the runner up posi on for KS3 whilst Suzanne Vanezis in Year 10 gave a mesmerising performance on the subject of Demen a, speaking with passion and sincerity and in doing so securing the top prize and tle of the best public speaker in Halton at KS4.

The achievements of Chloe and Suzanne con nue a long history of success in this compe on refl ec ng yet again the precocious talent of our pupils in the forum of public speaking.

Mr Mealey, who, along with Miss Briggs, coordinated and coached our entries this year said: ‘To present a speech at any age is a challenge, so to hear our pupils speaking in such a commanding and professional way in such a formal se ng is extra special. Yet again our pupils’ performances demonstrated their talent and desire to achieve the highest possible standard’.

Suzanne Vanezis wins top prize

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GIFTED & TALENTED

Wade Deacon High School enjoyed another successful Saturday morning of Gi ed & Talented Masterclasses on 15th October. The Masterclasses covered a wide range of ac vi es focussing on fun, stretch and challenge for the more able pupils. Over 220 pupils a ended the sessions and there were also 38 pupils from fi ve local primary schools taking part in a Mathema cs Masterclass.

There was a mixture of academic rigour and prac cal crea vity within the diff ering Masterclasses, with crime scene inves ga ons and Halloween po ons being created in the Science rooms whilst others explored the English language to develop analy cal skills. Some pupils performed in Table Tennis tournaments in the Gym as linguists created Monsters using high-level French vocabulary. The most eye-catching Masterclass had to be the Drama workshop where the pupils used theatrical make-up to create scarily lifelike cuts and bruises and ghastly injuries.

Mr Woan, Director of Founda on Stage and Pupil Engagement said “There was an excellent buzz in every room with all the pupils thoroughly enjoying the ac vi es as well as making great progress”.

Gi ed & Talented

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BEN’S TRAMPOLINING

SUCCESSBen Atkins, Year 9, con nues to go from strength to strength with his trampolining skills. Despite injuring himself earlier in the year, Ben has worked hard to maintain the high standards that are required and gained a gold and two silver medals at the North-West Championships in October. Ben received his gold medal for the junior synchronised rou ne in the under-14 and under-15 elite category. The quality and standard of Ben’s rou nes are extremely impressive and can be viewed on the school’s website by following the link at vimeo.com/33145946 Following this performance, Ben went on to par cipate in the World Championships in November and came in ninth place. This amazing achievement means that Ben is an excellent prospect for the Olympic Games in 2016, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro. Given the fact that he is ninth in the world at the age of thirteen, who knows what he will a ain in four years’ me!

We would like to congratulate Ben and wish him con nued success.

TWO SCHOOLS JOIN FORCES

This term the girls’ rugby team has introduced a new training boot camp to improve par cipa on across Widnes. All girls involved in rugby in both Wade Deacon and St Peter and Paul have come together to work with the Widnes Vikings scholarship coaches. Every Friday over 30 girls are coached by the Widnes Vikings development squad to improve the level of girls rugby in Widnes. The aims of these sessions are to prepare both teams for the Na onal cup tournaments in the Spring term. Widnes schools have always been at the forefront of these tournaments but with compe on improving, we need to up our game.

Many of the girls from both schools play together for local clubs but at the Friday training sessions there is no love lost between them with extremely compe ve and intense games. The success of the training camp has further improved the number of girls a ending and we hope that the hard work and commitment shown by the girls brings back some silverware to Wade Deacon.

TABLE TENNISTwenty Four pupils from Wade Deacon par cipated in the Cheshire Schools Table Tennis Championships.

Results: U13 Girls – WinnersU13 Boys – Winners and runners upU 16 – 3rd

FOOTBALLThe Year 7 football team won the Halton 7-a-side compe on. The Year 8 and 9 football teams are making excellent progress in the Halton league in defence of the tles that the school won last season, with both teams currently top of their respec ve leagues.

9 of the Year 11 football team had the opportunity to spend the day as Premier League footballers at Liverpool FC’s Academy. They received coaching sessions and had the chance to speak with coaches and also Liverpool’s U18s squad about life as a professional footballer.

The Year 10 football team are currently top of the league and are progressing very well in the Cheshire Cup.

Ben with his tropies for 1st place North West Championships, 3rd place Bri sh Schools & 2nd Place North West U15

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Sport

On the 10th of November the girls’ football team had the opportunity to train with England super star Sue Smith. Sue, originally from Liverpool has played with the England Interna onal team for 12 years and has almost 100 caps for her country. She has represented the country in the Women’s FIFA World Cup, The European Cup and is currently playing for Lincoln. Almost 40 girls turned out to the training session to experience some of the best coaching in the country. They were put through their paces with intense drills and games but more importantly they got to show off their talent in front of the interna onal star. Sue commented herself that Wade Deacon has an excep onal group of footballers with many talented individuals that could poten ally pursue football as their career. At the end of the session the girls had the opportunity to ask Sue about her career and how she became so successful. This was an incredible experience for all the girls involved who thoroughly enjoyed the training. We hope that this wont be the last of Sue Smiths visits and that her inspira on and dedica on to football encourages the Wade Deacon girls to succeed.

TRAINING SESSION WITH ENGLAND’S

SUE SMITH

Year 11 football team spend the day at Liverpool FC’s Academy

Sue Smith with the girls’ football team

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Sport

CROSS COUNTRYOn Thursday 26th October, Bankfi eld High hosted the Halton Cross Country School Trials. 5 schools were involved and 26 Wade Deacon pupils competed. All 26 pupils qualifi ed and will now represent Halton in the next round of the trials. In the minor girls race, Hannah Temple took 1st place. In the minor boys race Wade Deacon took the top 3 posi ons. Tom Price in fi rst posi on, Tom Craig in second and Tom Whi ield in third. Kiera Grady came runner up in the junior girls race as did Charmain Warnick in the intermediate girls race.

NETBALLWade Deacon’s Netball teams have had a successful start to their season. Our Year 8 Netball team is currently undefeated in both Year 7 and 8, and had an excellent win against the Heath, winning 18-0. Par cipa on at Netball training has been excellent with over 60 girls training on a weekly basis. We wish them the best of luck with their remaining games and tournaments.

AUSTRALIAN RUGBY TEAM VISIT

WADE DEACONWade Deacon High School had the honour of the Australian Na onal Team training at our school. This was an incredible event and a selec on of pupils got the opportunity to observe the team train which was of great value to these keen rugby enthusiasts.

RUGBYYear 7 rugby team into the semi fi nals of the Carnegie Champion Schools tournament. The fi nal is being played at Wembley and we are op mis c about our Year 7s reaching the fi nal.

Year 11 rugby team are in the quarter fi nal of the Carnegie Champion Schools tournament.

Wade Deacon has made signifi cant progress this year with rugby par cipa on. Strong links have been formed with Widnes Vikings. The Widnes Vikings coaching staff have been dedica ng their me to our a er- school club on Monday where they have been training each year group, developing pathways for them to gain scholarships at the club.

The full sports report is available on the school website

Hannah Temple, Year 7 with Mr Campbell

Tom Price, Year 7 with Mr Campbell

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Documents

2011 Christmas Newsletter