NewsletterApril 2015

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WelcomeDear Parents/Guardians,So many excellent things have happened throughout the Spring term. I am sure youwill really enjoy reading through the newsletter and will once again be amazed bythe variety of opportunities our students have enjoyed.Our tradition of holding a BEST (Business, Education, Skills, Training) day beganthree years ago and the event goes from strength to strength. Over twenty five localand national organisations visited our school as you will see from the article on pagetwenty three, students in year 11 and the Sixth Form really made the most of theday.We are privileged indeed that so many employers and providers take the time tovisit our school and work with us closely on informing, advising and guiding our

students on choosing the correct pathways.As you will see our student council have been particularly active this term and many of our charitableactivities have been initiated and led by them. A fantastic amount of money has been raised even in thecurrent economic climate; £2357.52 in just one term!We are delighted to be working with Stoke City Football Club and the Staffordshire Police PREVENTteam on a new project which will support our PSHE curriculum. We look forward to hearing all aboutthe development of this programme from our year 8 and year 9 students later in the year.The Trustees met on Tuesday 24th March and they received a report on the progress made towards ourobjectives over the last year. Peter Siddley, our new Chair of the governing body was welcomed as aTrustee as was Bill Durose, our Vice Chair, as a foundation governor. Trustees commended the school onthe breadth of opportunities for students and staff.I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, once again for your support and to wish you all avery Happy Easter.Shân Schanda(Headteacher)

Teaching and Learning

MalaysianTwinningProjectScript

We are embracing the fantastic opportunity to joinFrog Asia, the founders of our VLE and start afabulous twinning project with a school in KualaLumpar.

The project started with a Chinese New YearCelebration on Wednesday 4th March with a videocall at 8am. 7 schools from across the world cametogether live to share cultural experiences anddiscover how the Chinese celebrate New Year.Students were able to ask each other questionsduring the video call as well as post theirreflections, after the event, on a commondashboard where they could continue to sharetheir own cultural experiences. This is what one ofour students thought of the experience, despitethe early start:“It was very interesting and fun because we learntamazing things about the culture such as the

Behaviour for LearningWe are excited to be launching our new Behaviourfor Learning Policy after Easter. Details will beavailable for parents and students on the website.The policy is built around our core ethos:Every student at Blythe Bridge High School andSixth Form has the right to learn and theopportunity to be successful.To help students achieve highly and reach their fullpotential, teachers and other adults will challenge

and support every student and in return everystudent will:� Respect and follow the instructions given byadults.� Listen in silence when members of staff andother students are talking.� Give every task their very best effort.� Arrive at lessons on time and ready for learning.� Behave in a responsible and caring way aroundthe building.Mrs S. Owen and Mr D. Edge, Progress Directors

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As part of our House tutorialprogramme all students haveexplored E-safety, particularlyCyberbullying, and haveparticipated in a number ofactivities linked to our Rights

Respecting School Award. These have promoted safe practicesand a culture of safety both in and out of school. As a result,the students have chosen to join a national campaign in orderto further raise awareness of bullying and help students todevelop into open, self-confident learners, peers and friends.The campaign, “Pink Shirt Day”, took place on Wednesday 25thFebruary. This was a non-uniform day for which students wereasked to wear something pink (not necessarily a shirt) butsensible items to support the theme. As part of our campaign,the Student Council has been leading on a number of activities, including a bake sale and selling anti-bullying wristbands, and have raised over £900 which is to be donated to their chosen charity, “BulliesOut”. Further fundraising events will go towards the creation of a garden to symbolise the school’spledge to prevent bullying. Student Council

Student Councilnature of the different masks they make tocelebrate New Year and all the sugary treats theymake. The celebration also lasts 15 days and welook forward to doing more projects with them.”Kieran Year 8 student.This was the first event to mark the start of thetwinning project and we are now forging links witha school in Kuala Lumpar and establishinginternational projects across the curriculum. Weare particularly interested in two projects. Thefirst entitled is “Culture in a Box”, where studentsgather information about their own country andsend it to their partner school, which will then

produce a presentation or video. Students will havea chance to look for, classify, talk about, share,write, compare and present information on theirculture and that of their partner. The other projectis called “Teach Together” which will increasestudents’ participation in the learning process andat the same time raise their awareness of othercountries and cultures. Teachers will consequentlyinclude an international perspective in theirteaching. This will no doubt improve our students’confidence, independent learning, andinterpersonal skills. Mrs K. Cotterill

Learning Technologies and VLE Development.

Video conferencing with Kuala Lumpur

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Tutor Package:Dove has beenworking hard on theirSTEM projects thisterm; they havereally enjoyedthinking about howthey will use certainsubjects in thefuture. D05 and D010have been workingespecially hardincluding thosestudents who havebaked their very ownyummy STEM cakes!Well done, Dove;keep up the hardwork!

On 11th February GCSEDrama went to seethe Olivier awardwinning ‘The CuriousIncident of the Dog inthe Night time’ at theRegent Theatre. This

play explores the confusing world of a 15 year oldboy who has behaviour difficulties. Year 11 enjoyedthe creativity of this new production, particularlythe use of lights and sound. The class's favouritepart was when Christopher was at the train stationand the actors used physical theatre to explore theworld of confusion in which Christopher lives.

Miss K. WalkerAssemblies:During assemblies this term, many tutor groupshave been brave enough to deliver their ownassemblies including D06 who shared information

about Chinese New Year, even getting Dove housestanding and jumping to answer questions to aquiz! Excellent work D06!

Misss K. Walker, Head of Dove House

With the run up toWorld Book Day wellunder way, our Year 7students have beenstudying short storiesin their EnglishLiterature lessons.

Alongside this, they have been writing their own500 word short stories. These short stories are to bejudged by the English Department and a winner willbe announced before Easter. The students are alsobeing encouraged to enter their stories into the BBCRadio 2, 500 Words Competition, which is promotedeach year by Chris Evans on his BBC Radio 2 show.The winning story last year was read out at theevent final by non-other than Paloma Faith and washeard by many attending celebrities, students,parents and teachers from across the country. Bothcompetitions are a fantastic opportunity for ourstudents to delve into the depths of their creativityand to develop their confidence in their own writingtalents.

The English Department

Pink Day arranged by theStudent Council:

Phoebe and I werewatching an e-safety video whenwe saw the idea ofpink shirt day. Wethought it would bea great idea to letMrs Schanda knowabout our ideas toraise awareness

about bullying; this then led onto the idea of aremembrance garden which would have benchesfor anyone who felt like they were being bulliedby someone, giving them the ability to get awayfrom the bullies.We took the idea to the school council and wepresented assemblies to every house. On the25th of February every student wore somethingpink and paid a pound to the charity Bullies Out.We made cakes and sold them. In my opinion,the day was a great success.

Summer Kerry D07

Dove ReporterDove Reporter The House of Communication

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Congratulations to the following13 students with

100% punctuality and attendanceDO1: Callum Sale.DO2: Abigail PooleDO3: Dylan Lindop and Stephen Delf.DO4: Jacob Wooliscroft and Oliver Aston.DO5: Connor Arthur.DO7: Michael Gordon and Phoebe LloydDO8: Phoebe Tuck.DO9: Isaac Peirson and Jamie McBrien-HayesDO10: Abigail Christie.

‘Dove Stars’ for contribution in tutor groupsDO1 Willam Pointon for sustained exemplary effort and attitude and Phoebe Pritchard for exemplary planner, uniform and conduct.DO2 Samantha Tatton for exemplary uniform and conduct; Oliver Cook for an exemplary planner.DO3 Jade Weston and Joshua Hopkinson are both very helpful with form challenges.DO4 Ellie Robertson and Jacob Wooliscroft for all their help.DO5 Keiran Bentley is committed to the school council.DO6 Dylan Wheatley - Always on time, prepared, polite and has taken an active role in the preparation of the form assembly.DO7 Summer Kerry and Phoebe Lloyd for organising an anti-bullying campaign and joining the school council.DO8 Phoebe Tuck is very hardworking and has perfect uniform and Luca Burgess has a lovely attitude and fantastic uniform.DO9 Alex Whitehouse is dedicated to reading.DO10 Ethan Eve for his caring nature and Connie Holdway because she produced excellent cakes for the STEM challenge.

A reminder that in order to get maximum benefit from ourAccelerated Reader programme, all KS3 students must read fora minimum of 20 minutes per day in order to see the bestimprovement in their reading ability. Students must ensure thatthey bring their reading book to school every day, and time willbe given to complete silent reading each Monday during formtime, and regularly during Literacy lessons.

Celebrations for Easter 2014Celebrations for Easter 2014

Dove Year 7 Top Achievers 1st Aleah McLane 2nd Niall Moss3rd Aaliyah Newbon

Dove Year 8 Top Achievers 1st Katie Beech 2nd Abigail Christie

3rd Imogen Bowers

Dove Year 9 Top Achievers 1st Maya Parker-James 2nd Thea Clay

3rd Thomas Watkinson

Dove Year 10 Top Achievers 1st Phoebe Tuck 2nd Phoebe Lloyd 3rd Dylan Wheatley

Dove Year 11 Top Achievers 1st Benjamin Clarke 2nd Katherine Cannon 3rd Rachel Cannon

Dove  8 1050Dove 5 942Dove 7 909Dove 6 650Dove 3 605Dove 2 525Dove 10 482Dove 1 461Dove 9 451Dove 4 385

1 Kieran Bentley Yr  8 1502 Ellie McDonald Yr 9 1303 Phoebe Tuck Yr 10 1204 Jennifer Warrington Yr  9 1105 Michael Gordon Yr  8 1036 Phoebe Lloyd Yr  10 1017 Thea Clay Yr  9 1008 Joshua Thorley Yr 10 959 Amelia Bourne Yr  7 90

10 Callum Henson Yr  10 90

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English Gifted and TalentedsessionsTo enable our students to find their voice and theirpower of persuasion, a selection of our Gifted andTalented students in English have beenparticipating in weekly sessions with Miss Marsdento prepare for a Public Speaking Challenge in thesummer term. The students are working in teamsof three and will be competing with and againstother students in their Key Stage.Each team has taken on a controversial topic andwill be arguing for or against it. We have somefantastic arguments being presented on topicsranging from prices at football games, door to doorsales, should there be a monarchy, animal testingand human rights. Our students are currentlypreparing for their Public speaking Challenge andthe debating competition will begin with round oneafter Easter.

Miss. J. Marsden

On Thursday 5th March, along with schoolsup and down the country, we celebratedWorld Book Day. Every pupil in schoolwas issued with a £1 Book Token to swapfor one of the specially written £1 books,or to use it as £1 off the price of any book

costing £2.99 or more. During tutorial, each formcompleted a ‘World Book Day Quiz’ and thewinning form from each house received a prize.In addition, pupils took part in starter activities in

their lessons on the day, connected to the themeof ‘World Book Day’ where they found out moreabout the books that their teachers read. Finally,every pupil in Y7, Y8 and Y9 participated in anational competition to design a book token,sponsored by National Book Tokens, where ourpupils have been entered in one of three agecategories, with a chance of winning National BookTokens for themselves and the school. One luckypupil will also be chosen as the winner from our

school, in our own ‘in-school’ competition, beforethe designs are sent off. We look forward toseeing the winning design! Mrs E. Fox

Reading MillionairesCongratulations to the following students, whoeach have read more than one million words sinceSeptember. The numbers in the league table below

show the total number of words read by eachstudent since September 2014. Well done to all andkeep up the excellent reading!

Literacy Update

Student Words read1 Yao Yin 3,330,921

2 Alexander Bloor 3,C1028,2603 Ava Lowndes 2,309,7174 Jessica Hyde 2,175,7285 Maya Parker-James 1,773,4216 Silke Evans 1,612,8377 Eleanor McFarlane 1,563,2628 Joe Gibson 1,442,7579 Chloe Salt 1,196,94510 Thom Hopkins 1,125,269

Blythe Bridge Library Opening TimesMonday 1.00pm - 7.00pm

Tuesday 9.00am - 1.00pm 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Wednesday CLOSED

Thursday 9.00am - 1.00pm 2.00pm - 6.00pm

Friday 9.00am - 1.00pm 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Saturday 9.00am - 1.00pm

Sunday CLOSED

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On Friday 27th February 2015, ten students from across KS3, accompanied by Miss Jones and Mr James,visited The Earls High School in Halesowen to formally start the World Book Day celebrations in 2015.The students were lucky enough to hear a presentation from a number of contemporary authors andillustrators of children’s books. The ringmaster and host of the event was Steve Butler, author of the‘Dennis The Menace’ series. He was joined by Cbeebies star, Cerrie Burnell, acclaimed illustrators SimonBartram, Guy Parker-Rees and Abi Elphinstone, author of ‘The Dream Snatcher’.The students were fortunate enough to each have a book signed by their favourite illustrator or authorfrom the event. Mr D. Sutton

Abi Elphinstone signs a copy of ‘The Dream Snatcher’for Oliver White, Y9.

Students from Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form with their books.

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News from the Eco Team

This year has been a fresh start for the school Eco team. With aset of new faces and a whole host of new challenges, this yearis prepared to see some exciting new changes. Mr Smith andMiss Horobin are now heading the Eco Committee whichconsists of ten enthusiastic Y7 students, many from Manifoldhouse.Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guidesschools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework tohelp embed these principles into the heart of school life.Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form has already beenawarded the Bronze and Silver award. We are currently in theprocess of reapplying for the Green Flag award, one of themost prestigious awards to be given by Eco-School England.The Eco Committee completed an environmental review of theschool following the Christmas break. After discussing theirfindings, they identified three areas within the Eco-Schoolframework that needed to be addressed at Blythe Bridge HighSchool & Sixth Form. These areas are litter, bio diversity andenergy.Once the environmental review had been completed studentscame together to create an action plan. Since Christmas, alitter poster competition has been undertaken as a wholeschool activity. We received many creative pieces of work thataimed to highlight the potential issues litter can cause andways that students can actively improve the schoolenvironment. Lilly Cartwright Tams (MA7) was awarded firstprize for her colourful and contemplative piece of work.Matthew Weaver (DE6) was awarded second prize and FreyaWalker (MA7) received third prize. These posters are nowdisplayed around the school as part of a campaign to raiseawareness of the positive actions students can take to reducelitter.

The Eco Committee is also workingalongside the School Council and theRRSA team to create a garden withinthe school grounds where students canoffer the hand of friendship andcampaign for anti-bullying. The EcoCommittee are currently puttingtogether a mood board and a plan ofthe garden. Students are aiming tocreate a garden which combines keyelements of the school, such as theethos of the four houses, fundamentalelements of the ‘bullies-out’ campaignand a space which encouragesbiodiversity. In the coming weeksstudents will be creating bird housesthat represent Manifold, Churnet,Dove and Derwent. Any donationstowards the garden would begratefully received.The Eco Committee will also beundertaking other projects to activelyreduce the energy consumption of theschool and to recycle more of ourwaste. Tilly Olphin (Y7) expressed herenthusiasm as an Eco Committeemember. She is currently organising anelection process that will select tworepresentatives of the Eco Committeethat can actively represent the Ecoaward within other areas of schoollife. The two representatives will beannounced by the end of the schoolterm. Mr N. Smith & Miss L. Horobin

Manifold ReporterManifold Reporter

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Athletes CelebrateWe have been invited to a unique experience totravel to London with our Athletics coach. We havebeen selected to represent Stoke-on-Trent for asup and coming young athletes. This is part of a bigcelebration and presentation about Joe Deakin whowon the 3 mile Olympic Gold medal in 1908.Joe Deakin resided in Shelton and is the onlyperson from Stoke-On-Trent to win a Gold medal. Aprofessor from Staffordshire University is honouringJoe in a presentation as he would have been 100years this year. The presentation aims to highlight

past and present athletes and the potential forfuture aspiring athletes from Stoke-on-Trent. Weare delighted to have been invited to thisprestigious event in London.We are looking forward to having the opportunityto meet past and present Olympians as part of theLondon 2012 Olympic Games Legacy. We will takefrom this experience lots of pride, honour,pleasure and enthusiasm to help us to succeed. Itis a once in a lifetime chance to meet and ask ouridols questions and advice.

Mr N. Smith

The House of Global Issues and Environmental Concerns

The World War I Centenary Battlefield Tour was fantastic anda thoroughly enjoyable experience for all.Lewis Callear Year 9 CH9 and Elisa Charlesworth Year 10 DE2were extremely well behaved and were exemplary studentsrepresenting Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form.The Battlefield Tour provided an immense depth ofknowledge regarding World War I, soldiers' experiences andthe impact the War had upon everyone involved. Groups ofstudents and teachers from other schools in the Stoke-on-Trent, Chester and Manchester areas interacted with oneanother and shared thoughts and feelings regarding theknowledge and information presented.On the whole, it was an extremely thought provokingexperience which will forever be etched into our minds.

Mrs N. Clarke

Tour of the Battlefields

Matt Porter in Y12 recently took part in the HolocaustEducational Trust’s ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project. Thisproject included meeting Holocaust survivors and visiting theinfamous Auschwitz concentration camp near Krakow inPoland.‘Taking part in this project enabled me to develop myunderstanding of the Holocaust. The camp itself is aharrowing place. It was a really powerful experience to haveliterally walked in the footsteps of many who sadly did notsurvive to tell their horrific story. My visit also inspired me tothink more carefully about the way in which humans oftenmistreat each other on the grounds of race and religion. Iwould certainly recommend a trip to Auschwitz to everyoneas I feel it would have a massive impact on preventing futuregenocides similar to the Holocaust.Sadly, relatively recent events such as the Rwandan genocide

and the Balkans conflict in the 1990s, and current conflicts in the Middle East have shown that suchhorrific events do still occur. One of the key messages from the orientation seminar before the visit toPoland was that we must strive to learn from history what we have clearly not yet learned. I think this,along with never forgetting the tragic events of the 1930s and 1940s, is something everyone should takeon board’. Matt Porter Y12

Lessons fromAuschwitz

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Congratulations to the following18 students with

100% punctuality and attendance

MA1: Molly Bates, Leah Bentley and Emily Robinson.MA2: Eve Fleming and Aaron Ferneyhough.MA3: Chloe Gerrity.MA5: Alysia Bickerton, Josh Anthony and Jacob Sidwell.MA6: Silke Evans and Katie Shaw.MA7: Ella Barnett, Sydney Davies, Jamie Edwards and Freya Walker.MA8: Daniel Fleming.MA10: Daniella Crowther-Green and Siobhan Burrows.

‘Manifold Stars’ for contributionin tutor groups

Congratulations to the following students who have beennominated as their tutor stars:MA1: Molly Leese for her involvement in form activities.MA2: Eve FlemingMA3: Melissa Degg for her commitment to take part in form tutorial package for example cake baking for STEM project. Will Sammut for showing consistent positive progress during Monday literacy time in tutorial.MA4: Holly Wagstaff for excellent use of the school planner and impeccable uniform. Also to Shannon Johnson for her cheery attitude and helpfulness during tutorial.MA5: Alysia Bickerton for her dedication and commitment in helping to organise form events such as the cake baking for Project STEM. Also, Tor Nash for showing independent leadership skills through form dutiesMA6: Laura McManus and Georgia Carnall for contribution to form activities.MA7: Jack Dundas for a continued positive attitude to learning and setting a good example to others . Freya Walker for being consistent in her approach to school life and always trying her best.MA8: Joe Kettle for the consistent hard work and dedication with his GCSE studies. Joe has achieved the most prom points in Y11 so far. His attitude and conduct is a good example for younger members of the form to aspire to. Joseph Bettany for exemplary behaviour and conduct within the classroom and extracurricular activities. Joe consistently presents a positive attitude to learning.MA9: Daniel Farr , for always being polite and hardworking, and for helping Reece Nicholls to become more organised. Reece Nicholls for his vast improvement in behaviour and home work.MA10 : Siobhan Burrows for exceptional politeness and helpfulness as well as participating in a number of sporting activities. Carla Johnson for always being willing to help and contribute to school clubs and events e.g. the eco-committee and open evenings.

Celebrations for Easter 2015Celebrations for Easter 2015Manifold Year 7 Top Achievers1st Bradley Wright2nd Jack Stubbs3rd Mason Foulkes

Manifold Year 8 Top Achievers1st Natasha Roberts2nd Tyler Barnes3rd Siobhan Burrows

Manifold Year 9 Top Achievers1st Lacey Smith2nd Lewis Critchley3rd Nicole Raine

Manifold Year 10 Top Achievers1st Alexander Gerrard2nd Laura McManus3rd Chloe Johnson

Manifold Year 11 Top Achievers1st Daniel Johnson2nd Kaitlin Cornes3rd Sydney Trotman

Manifold 7 1116Manifold 6 1032Manifold 3 875Manifold 9 756Manifold 10 689Manifold 1 670Manifold 8 635Manifold 4 596Manifold 5 584Manifold 2 576

1 Joe Gibson Yr  9 1952 Mollie Skellern Yr 8 1453 Fabian Terry Yr  7 1314 Tyler Barnes Yr  8 1065 Lilly Cartwright-Tams Yr  8 1056 Letisha Davies Yr  9 1007 Freya Walker Yr  8 1008 Tilly Olphin Yr 7 969 Georgia Carnall Yr  10 95

10 Eleanor McFarlane Yr  9 95

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Two Y8 students have received a Headteacher'scommendation for their fantastic response to apiece of RE homework. All students in Y8 REhave worked through a unit looking at howmarriage is celebrated in different religions.They were asked to select a religion and thenact as a wedding planner, planning everyaspect of the ceremony and celebration toreflect the religion and culture of their choice.Mr Edge said that, "the work produced by AlanaHall and Aimee Sargeant was outstanding ineffort and quality. Alana produced a moodboard and Aimee produced a 40 page planincluding hand drawn designs and costings."Well done to both!" Mr D. Edge

Headteacher'sCommendation

Staffordshire Young Singer of the YearEmily Mooney recently achieved Grade 8 London College of Music in Popular Singing. Emily

has performed with the Jazz orchestra for five years, singing in jazz festivals as well as at the VictoriaHall in 'Sing Out 2013 and 2014'. Emily recently sang 'The Wind Beneath my Wings' and 'Because youLoved me' in the opening rounds of the Staffordshire Young Singer of the Year and we wish her all thebest! If you would like to sing with the jazz orchestra, school choral group or have singing lessons inschool, please see a member of the music department.

The Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Music Education Hub

Students who play orchestral instrumentsin our local junior schools to Grade 1standard or above are invited to join theJunior Orchestra which rehearses everyThursday after school, 3.00pm - 4.00pm

with Mrs S. Jones. The orchestra will be performingseveral items in our end of year concert onTuesday July 7th 2015.Having performed to a full house in the ChristmasConcert all of ensembles and choral groups are alsobusy rehearsing for the summer concert.Last summer, Blythe Bridge High School & SixthForm hosted the area Clarinet and FluteExtravaganza, organised by Mrs J. Condliffe.Clarinettist and flautists from local primary andjunior came together on the day and learnt toperform new pieces alongside instrumentalistsfrom our school. The pieces were then performedin concert to parents and friends later in the

morning. Each year this event gets better and moresuccessful. Students will be invited to the Clarinetand Flute Extravaganza 2015 during theforthcoming weeks. Date to be announced.

Cheery Theory ClubThis club meets every Monday afterschool and students work together,coaching each other in preparationfor music theory grades. The aim is

to achieve Grade 5 as this will then enable themusicians to progress to higher practical grades.Three students took exams in March and areawaiting results. The others are taking grades inJune / July.Likewise, our peripatetic team have been busypreparing students for practical gradeexaminations. The results will be published in thenext edition of the newsletter. Mrs J. Stephens

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ChurnetChurnet The cultural, creative and practical house

Keep on DancingOn the 22nd of January a very talented group of students from Key Stage 4 and 5 took to the stage ofHanley’s Regent Theatre as part of the Scratch 015 project. They participated in a rigorous day ofworkshops and rehearsals before putting in an incredible performance of our piece ‘Sasha Fierce’- atribute to Beyonce. Thank you to those who came to support us; I’m sure you are as proud of thestudents as we are for their commitment, dedication and absolutely fierce performance. Well done!As we are now more than half way through the school year things are heating up in the dancedepartment!

As we continue to work towardsGCSE and A level practicaldance exams students areextremely busy choreographingand rehearsing in any sparetime they can find! A selectgroup of students from thisyear’s exam cohort have beenchosen to participate in theStaffordshire Schools Danceshow on Friday, 1st of May atthe Gatehouse Theatre. This isa fantastic opportunity forstudents to showcase theirchoreographic and performancework in a professionalenvironment. Tickets areavailable from StaffordGatehouse Theatre Box Officeon 01785 619080 or from thewebsitewww.staffordgatehousethatre.co.uk. Please come and supportour fantastic work!As a continuation from theirCommunity Sports LeadersAward, our Year 13 A Leveldance students are embarkingon their Higher Sports LeadersAwards in which they will bedelivering a range of differentdance workshops to a number ofdifferent primary schools in thearea. Good luck, we are veryproud to have you representingthe school!Finally we would like towelcome back Miss Housley frommaternity leave; we havemissed you!

Miss A. Richardson

Ella Thomas (Y13), Lucy Griffiths (Y10), Jordan Hewitt (Y13), KatieBirks (Y10) and Liberty Hollins (Y10) performing to ‘Countdown’.

Keavy Miller (Y10) performing to ‘Lose my Breath’.

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Congratulations to the following23 students with 100% punctuality and

attendanceCH1: Emily Brown, Chloe Roberts and Chak Wan.CH2: Taylor Smith and Ryan Brammer.CH3: Maisie Johnstone.CH4: Lauren Mercer and Liberty Hollins.CH5: Rhiannon Thomson and Celia Nascimento De Luz.CH6: Lauren Cooper and Amber Shaw.CH7: Georgia Whitehouse.CH8: Amy Brian, Luke Wareham, Megan Thomas and Lucy Sibbring.CH9: Ryan Walchester, Lewis Callear, Chela Smith and Bethany Townsend.CH10: Jack Gumbley and Joey Chung.

‘Churnet Stars’ for contribution in tutorgroups

CH1 Emily Brown and Megan Bloor for their contribution to form activities.CH2 Bethanie Hill for her effective use of the school planner and Scott Jones for his consistent effort in form activities.CH3 William Ward for a significant contribution to STEM work and Maisie Johnstone for supporting other students during form time.CH4 Aimee Sargeant for her contribution to form activities and excellent use of the school planner; Rebecca Potts for significant contribution to form activities.CH5 Joshua Kinder for his contribution to STEM work and Sam Crowdy for his excellent STEM Power Point presentation.CH6 Daniel Baskeyfield for being such an excellent role model within the form and Charlotte Ellis for her contribution to form activities.CH7 Connor Thomas, Georgia Whitehouse and Lucy Hadley for their excellent work across the curriculum and the effective use of their school planners.CH8 Amy Brian for her contribution to form activities; Olivia Lawton for excellent STEM work and Lucy Sibbring for making significant progress across the curriculum.CH9 Jasmin Fairbanks for assisting her form tutor and Lewis Callear for his excellent contribution to form activities.CH10 Jonathan Amison for supporting other students withinthe form and Amy Gaunt for her effort and contribution during STEM activities.

Celebrations for Easter 2015

J

Churnet  1 803Churnet  9 788Churnet  4 723Churnet  7 646Churnet  8 582Churnet  10 582Churnet  3 540Churnet  5 511Churnet  6 500Churnet 2 481

1 Zak Beaman Yr  8 1202 Chak Wan Yr 10 1153 Hollie Runnett Yr  8 1104 Emma Bloor Yr  7 1035 Aimee Sargeant Yr  8 1006 Lucy Sibbring Yr  10 957 Caitlin Hammersley Yr  7 858 Iona Eyre Yr 8 839 Holly Moore Yr  8 80

10 Charlotte Ellis Yr  10 76

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Churnet Year 7 Top Achievers1st Evie Gething

2nd Joe Devlin3rd Caitlin Hammersley

Churnet Year 8 Top Achievers 1st Brogan Beaman 2nd Rheanne Lomas

3rd Rebecca Potts

Churnet Year 9 Top Achievers1st Lewis Callear

2nd Shannon Quigley 3rd Emily Cuerden

Churnet Year 10 Top Achievers1st Katie Birks

2nd Charlotte Ellis 3rd Georgia Stephen

Churnet Year 11 Top Achievers1st Natnari Charoenphakdi

2nd Ellyse Bateman 3rd Kyle Smith

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Celebrations Easter 2015Celebrations Easter 2015

Derwent Year 7 Top Achievers1st Faith Salt-Prime

2nd Ellie Anderson 3rd Drew NicholsonDerwent Year 8 Top Achievers 1st Charlotte Jackson 2nd Emelia Hall

3rd Elizabeth Smith

Derwent Year 9 Top Achievers1st Bethan Pedlar

2nd Annabelle Perrins 3rd Ryan Pascoe

Derwent Year 10 Top Achievers1st Holly Jackson

2nd Keavy Miller3rd Lucy Griffiths

Derwent Year 11 Top Achievers1st Lewis Tinsley

2nd Katie Finney 3rd Harvey Kidd-Chadwick

DerwentDerwent The House of Business Enterpriseand Work Related Learning

Derwent 2 948Derwent 4 922Derwent 7 785Derwent 10 676Derwent 9 547Derwent 5 538Derwent 6 535Derwent 3 510Derwent 1 462Derwent 8 353

1 Katie Brain Yr  8 1502 Amelia Higgs Yr 7 1213 Leighton Hughes Yr  7 1004 Keavy Miller Yr  10 905 Lewie Dean Yr  8 816 Harriet Chadwick Yr  10 757 Niamh Brammer Yr  7 708 Ewan Hawkins Yr 7 709 Sean Kavanagh Yr  8 70

10 Bethany Pedlar Yr  9 70

Congratulations to the following20 students with

100% punctuality and attendance

DE1: Leanne Wilson and Joseph Hulse.

DE2: Jay Boyles.

DE3: Tamasin Hutt, Emelia Hall, Sam Copeland and Alistair Corbishley.

DE5: Megan Shenton, Dionne Hill, Daniel Tams, Adam Whitehead and Luke Brown.

DE7: Natalie Bailey, Kieran Milward, Josh Owen and Caitlin Shutt.

DE8: Cailan Miller.

DE9: Paris Turner and Jake Lea.

DE10: Eleanor Whitehead.

Derwent Stars for contribution in tutorgroups

DE1: Rebecca Wilson- for outstanding organisation and commitment to her studies.

DE2: Keavy Miller- outstanding effort and accumulation of achievement points.DE3: Alistair Corbishley- outstanding contribution to the form environment.

DE4: Chloe Brain- for general organisation and outstanding commitment to school activities.DE5: Megan Shenton- very positive attitude around school.DE6: Georgina Willott, Lucy Pepper and Elizabeth Smith- for consistent impeccable behaviour and outstanding contribution to form activities.DE7: Isabella Shaw- for commitment and contribution to form activities. Holly Jackson- for commitment and contribution to form activities.DE8: Alana Hall- excellent contributions made during tutorial time.DE9: Jessica Hyde- for personal organisation and participation in form activities.DE10: Joshua Ash and Louis Colby- working hard and being very helpful.

15

Achievement Points1st Manifold 7529 points2nd Dove 6460 points3rd Derwent 6276 points4th Churnet 6156 points

Number of Students with 100% punctualityand attendance

1st Manifold 322nd Churnet 233rd Derwent 204th Dove 13

Best Form Attendance1st DE7 96.54%2nd DO8 96.52%3rd CH10 95.54%4th MA10 94.08%

House Leagues and Results:

Attendance

1st Derwent 94.54%2nd Dove 94.04%3rd Churnet 93.55%4th Manifold 93.53%

Swim School andEvening Classes

Monday 4:00 – 6:30 Swimming Lessons 6:30 – 7:15 Family Swim 7:15 – 8:15 Lifesaving ClassTuesday 4:00 – 6:30 Swimming lessons 6:30 – 7:15 Ladies Only 7:15 – 8:15 Lifesaving ClassesWednesday 4:00 – 6:30 Swimming Lessons 6:30 – 7:15 Adult Swim 7:15 – 8:15 Lifesaving ClassesThursday 4:00 – 6:30 Swimming Lessons 6:30 – 9:00 Lifeguards CourseFriday 4:00 – 4:30 Duckling Class 4:30 – 5:30 Lifesaving Class(Swimming Lessons for children aged 4 and over)

Forthcoming Lifeguards Course

Our ‘National Pool Lifeguards Course’ is due tostart in the Autumn Term 2015 and concludeSpring Term 2016 and this qualification willenable the holder to seek employment at anySwimming Pool in the UK.

� Candidates MUST be 16 years or over bythe end of the course.

� Swim 50 metres in 1 min or less. (3lengths).

� Swim 100 metres continuously on the frontand back.

� Tread water in deep water for 30 seconds.� Surface dive to the deepest part of the

pool (2.85 metres).� Climb out of the pool unaided, without the

ladders.� Jump or dive into the pool in deep water.

The cost of the course is approximately £200.00dependant on numbers. This includes the tuition,candidate packs and the exam costs, a £50.00(non refundable) deposit required along with aweekly £10.00 fee to cover the cost of the course.The maximum number of candidates for thiscourse is limited to 12.For more information or to express an interestplease contact Mr. Whittaker on (01782 392519).

SOCIAL MEDIAAre you following the school on social media? Weput regular news/updates/info on there, and it'sreally growing.

Our Facebook page iswww.facebook.com/BlytheHigh

Twitter is @BlytheHighWe also have a school app available onsmartphones and tablets. For furtherinformation please contact

l.barnes@blythebridge.staffs.sch.uk ork.cotterill@blythebridge.staffs.sch.uk

16

Another of our fundraising events this term saw thelaunch of a Comic Relief week which was full ofactivities where forms competed to identifymembers of staff from their baby pictures as wellas raise as much money as possible from their ownsponsored ideas.Although it was a full uniform day, the theme of“Do something funny” was emphasised by wearingfunky socks and a red nose. Over 500 noses weresold, and this year students had the choice of 9different styles. Organised activities included:wearing props; making a funny face in our photo

booth at lunchtime; watching staff participate in aReady Steady Cook challenge; as well as supportour male PE teacher volunteers who agreed to havetheir legs waxed.We would like to thank all our staff, students andparents for their continued support to help us raisea fantastic £1,356. This will no doubt help ComicRelief to continue supporting even more of thepoorest and most disadvantaged people in the UKand around the world.

Student Council

Oh, the pain!This isn't funny

for sure!

Mr Leech's reaction to havinghis legs waxed!

17

MAKE YOUR FACE FUNNY FOR MONEY

18

Our Y7 and Y8 girls took part in Stoke City's PremierLeague Schools Tournament.Unfortunately our BTeam were eliminated in the group stages butperformed well in a tough group. Our A Teamprogressed through their group winning 2 anddrawing 2. As the tournament went on they gotstronger. In the Quarter Final they beat Painsley1-0, in the Semi Final they beat Clayton 2-1, thanks

to astring of fine saves from Kirsten Washington. In athrilling final, the score at the end of normal timewas 3-3. In a nail-biting shoot-out the girls heldtheir nerve to win 3-2. The successful penaltytakers were Sophie Price, Macie Barnes andShannon Johnson. The girls now progress to theNational Finals at Tottenham Hotspur to representStoke City.

Swan Sports Celebrations

Three city netball tournaments have takenplace in the last few weeks. The Year 9netball team played extremely well,

winning all of their fixtures in their section. Theythen went on to play Biddulph High School in thesemi-finals where they put up a valiant fight butwere narrowly beaten 6-4. The standard of playwas outstanding and many schools commented onour team’s performance.The Year 8 netball team went into theirtournament confidently as they had played so wellin previous tournaments. They were right to beconfident as they dominated against other teams,and scored highly in each game. Their strongest

opponent was St Joseph's who unfortunatelymanaged to win their game despite the netballerscommitting to one of their strongest performances.As a result, Blythe Bridge High School & Sixtth Formplaced second overall.The Year 7 netball team was nervous going intotheir first tournament as this was the first timethat they had competed together as a team. Eleventeams entered in total, a fantastic turn out. After ashaky start, the team improved their performanceand won several games. Overall, they were placedfourth in their group and they are now lookingforward to competing in the netball leagues.

Mrs L. Cartlidge

Our U14 and U16 rugby teams both finished runners up in their respective 7’s Tournaments atSt Joseph’s Playing Fields. Both sides played some tremendous rugby and ended up winning 3games. Well done lads!

Mr R. Leech

19

Mrs L. Cartlidge

The Year 11 Basketball team took theirunbeaten record into their remaining twofixtures in February. First up was St Joseph’sCollege, which ended up in a 62-13 victory,with Jack Bradbury scoring an outstanding 28points. This victory meant that if the teamcould avoid defeat in their last game againstDiscovery Academy, then they would win theStoke South league. The boys ended upbeating Discovery Academy 28-15, whichmeant they won the league with 5 wins out of5 games!Well done boys! Mr R. Leech

Year 7 Boys Football TeamBlythe Bridge 3 St Thomas Moore 2Scorers: Joshua Crump, Jay Boyle, Dylan LindopMan of the Match: Joshua CrumpBlythe Bridge 7 Clayton Hall 3Scorers: Dylan Lindop x 5, Jay Boyle x 2Man of the Match: Jack Gumbly

The Year 7 football team is currentlyundefeated in all competitions and have acounty cup final against De Ferrers to lookforward to in April. The PE departmentcannot decide whether this good run ofform is down to pure talent, themanagement skills of Mr D. Smith or therecent coaching that they have had fromformer professional footballer and StokeCity Captain, Andy Griffin. Andy, whoplayed in the Champions League forNewcastle United, has been coming intoschool to coach all of our boys’ footballteams. This has been an incredibleexperience for all of the boys involved andthey have really benefited from hisexperience as a professional footballplayer.

Year 8 Boys Football Team:Blythe Bridge 0 St ThomasMoore 1Man of the Match: Oliver Rocke

Year 10 Boys Football Team:Blythe Bridge 1 – Trentham 2Scorer: Ethan CannonierMan of the Match: Zak Hill

Year 11 Boys Football Team:Blythe Bridge 1 – Trentham 2Scorer: Charlie WalfordMan of the Match: Zak Hill

Mr R. Leech and Mr D. Smith

Year 7 Boys Football Team:

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Young Enterprise Update –March 2015Since I last wrote in December about our YoungEnterprise Team, ‘Cygni’, they have gone from strengthto strength. After a quiet January due to mockexaminations the team really had a lot to do inFebruary. The first event on the calendar was the all-important trade fair on Saturday 7th February in Stonetown centre.The trade fair is a key part of the Young Enterpriseprogramme; all teams competing in the Stone andStafford area were required to attend and they were alljudged on their offerings as businesses. This would alsosee the results from the Business Plan element of thecompetition announced which the team submitted backin November.So with all the products made and packaged up, and thedisplay board fully updated in adherence with strictguidelines, the team were ready for the trade fair. Itwas a very cold Saturday that the team had to brave,outside all day in the market square in Stone. The stand,as you can see from the pictures, really looked the partand so did the students; this paid dividends for themlater on. As part of the day they were questioned bythree judges both at the trade stand and on an interviewbasis (the results of the interview will be announced atthe presentation evening at the end of March).At 1pm the results were finally in. All teams were issued

with a certificate to congratulate their attendance atthe trade fair and then the results were announced.Team Cygni stormed to victory in all categories, gaining1st Place for their Business Plan, 2nd Place for their

trade stand on the day and our very ownManaging Director Matthew Porter winning‘Most Enterprising Student’ (articles andvideos of the day can be seen on theStaffordshire Newsletter website). Thisprovided the whole team with a real boostand we are most proud of their venture sofar.I hope to update you in the next edition ofthe newsletter with the results of thepresentation evening and the Business Reportin which we wish them the very best of luck.

Mrs L. Pollitt

Sixth Form News

21

Sixth Form Council News

Year 13 English Language, Media Studies,Music and Drama students were given theopportunity to attend a visit to our localradio station Signal 1 as part of theirscholarship programme. Our students had afantastic day and they were quickly put towork creating a radio advert which wasaired in February, and creating a radioshow. As always, they were all a credit tothe Sixth Form and the two advertsproduced by the students were aired onSignal 1 the week of 23rd February. If youwould like to listen to these adverts and theradio shows, have a look on the Sixth Formwebsite on Frog. Mrs A. DodgsonWhen we arrived at Signal 1 we were givena tour of the radio station. We were thensplit into two groups and worked inalternate workshops. In the morning, ourgroup was given the task of designing anadvert for the Sixth Form with aprofessional script writer. We worked wellas a team and decided to have a speakingpart in the advert. Once we had written ascript, we went into the recording studioand recorded our advert which was thenedited together to produce the finalproduct. In the afternoon, we worked withone of the presenters to create our ownradio show. We were assigned roles such aspresenter, producer, news, traffic andweather. After this, we got the chance tomeet Martin Lowes and listen to himpresenting live on Signal 1. He also showedus how he put the show together and editedsections ready to go live on air. Some staffand students took part in ‘Under Pressure’which went live that night and the followingday. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and wewere presented with a certificate to showthat we had participated in the scholarshipprogramme.

Evelyn Ashley and Kira Mackenzie

Sixth Form studentsbecome Radio DJsfor the day!

22

St. Valentine's Day special on BBC Introducing from Stoke

Future Rock Stars

Taken from You Tube video

''The Albion' will be playing in Liverpool on EasterMonday, The Underground on April 11th 2015 andat the O2 Academy, Birmingham on Sat May 9th.On air, the boys said, 'We love rehearsing. We sendeach other voice memos with new song ideas andthen build on them at the next practice.'"The Albion" are growing in popularity and receivelots of good comments on their Facebook page.

Their main influences are 'Blossoms, a ManchesterBand, Temples, the Doors and the Beatles. 'Ourmusic has the vibes of the the 60's,' commentedRyan.When asked by Rob Adcock what their wishes werefor the future, they replied, ' to be known furtherafield, out of the area. We are really lookingforward to playing at Zanzibar, Liverpool'.We wish Ash and Ryan all the best with their futureevents. If you have not heard their music, perhapsnow is the time to do so and, if you like it, givethem your support. They deserve it!

The Albion features our very ownAshley Godwin Y11 on bass guitarand Ryan Roberts Y9 on drums withWill Carter on vocals and guitarand Dylan Mellor on lead guitar.The boys have been together forjust 6 months and rehearse twice a week on Sundayand Thursday evenings.The band has already had headline gigs at TheSugarmill and The Underground and out of towngigs in Sheffield and Leicester.'Hiding in the Dark' is one of the tracks from theirlatest album; check it out on You Tube. It's a veryprofessional video and a superb track. You can alsolisten to other tracks.

'The Albion' featured in session on 'IntroducingStoke' with Rob Adcock on BBC Radio Stoke onSaturday March 21st. They performed 'Make up yourmind,' their favourite song which they admittedtook them 15 minutes to put together and 'Hiding inthe Dark'. Both were performed as acoustic setswith Ryan playing the cajon (a type of hand drum)because there was no room for his drumkit in thelive studio. Rob Adcock introduced them as 'a newand local band who are very, very good!'

Facebook.com/TheAlbionofficial

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On Thursday 29th January, over twenty five localand national organisations braved the bad weatherand attended BEST Day in the Sixth Form Centre.The event was attended by all of Year 11, 12 and 13students on a 30 minute rota basis from 9am – 1pm.In addition to visiting the stands set up by theorganisations students were able to gain furtherinformation through more dedicated talks:� Keele University – pharmacy and careers inhealth care talk� Staffordshire Police – how to successfully jointhe police force� Staffordshire University – what to study andwhere

During the morning students could also book aninterview with an experienced Human ResourcesManager who gave them feedback on key areas oftheir CV and also vital tips on how to perform wellat interview and secure a job.This year the event focused on broadening student'shorizons and trying to engage them in vitalconversations with organisations. With this in mindstudents entered a competition to win a PotteriesCentre shopping voucher. In order to be successful,they had to answer questions which they could onlyfind out the answer too if they asked theorganisations questions. We were overwhelmed bythe amount of entries and the lucky student wasMatthew McManus in Year 13.We were very pleased by the feedback from theorganisations that were all very complimentaryabout our students and how they approachedconversations with them. The student feedback wasalso excellent; here are some of the comments wehad:‘The visitors explained the college/apprenticeshipsand what opportunities we could have in futurelife’ Jordan, Y11.

‘I enjoyed walking around and talking to all thedifferent visitors, I also found the university talkreally useful’ Tia, Y11.‘I found the day really informative and interesting’Joe, Y11.‘I found that the information given on grades andUCAS points needed in order for me to do thecourse I want at university really useful’ Molly, Y11.We would like to take this opportunity to thank allof the organisations which attended the event aswithout them we would not be able to give ourstudents this fantastic experience. A special thanksgo to: Emma Bridgewater, Goodwin Group,Staffordshire County Council, Grant Thornton,Croda, Staffordshire Police Specials, Leek andBuxton College, PTP Training Serco – HMPDovegate, Army Careers Service, Keele University,University of Wolverhampton, PM TrainingHotcourses, Staffordshire University, SteelworksDance and Performing Arts Academy, Lawyers inSchools, Birmingham City University, SeddonConstruction, Reeseheath College, University ofBirmingham, University of Liverpool, Carematch,Derby University and Careers in School.Ensuring that our students make the right choicesfor the future is a key priority for Blythe BridgeHigh School & Sixth Form. That is why we haverecently invested in a new careers package forstudents to use called ‘Kudos Inspire’. Students willhave been introduced to this through their formtutor and hopefully had the chance to complete theinitial sections. The package which is accessedthrough FROG requires students to log in and fill inkey details about the skills and qualities they have,enabling them to be matched to different careers,they are then able to build a CV or even a UCASstatement when required.With this new package students can also accesscareers information through a number of othersources these include:www.apprenticeships.org.uk - all apprenticeships areadvertised through this link and the application processis clearly explained.www.ucas.com – all university applications go throughthis website, you can search all courses provided by allinstitutions in the UK.www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk – this websiteprovides profiles on lots of jobs and careers, providinginformation on pay, hours of work and qualificationsrequired.www.nhscareers.nhs.uk – all NHS careers are thoroughlydescribed on this website, giving clear information onqualifications required and how to achieve them.www.policecouldyou.co.uk – getting in the Police Forcehas become increasingly difficult over the past fewyears, this provides you with all the information neededto be successful in applications. Mrs L. Pollitt

Best Day 2015 Business, Enterprise and Skills Training Day

24

Sixth Form and University Life

Sixth Form Exam FocusWith Mock Examinations complete our focus is now on the all-important final AS and A levelexaminations and BTEC qualifications. Attendance at appropriate revision sessions, additional support incompleting coursework and taking the opportunity to resit an examination can all make the differenceto a final grade. Good luck with your examinations this year!

Keele Unifest15 places are up for grabs at the annual Keele UniFest event at the Universityin June. Gifted and Talented students from both years 10 and 11 were invitedto apply to participate in a 3 day and 2 night residential experience at theuniversity to gain a taste of what university life will be like. The successful

students will attend lectures and seminar workshops as well as develop a range of skills which are highlysought after by universities such as leadership, communication and responsibility.

Sixth Form InterviewsInterviews for Sixth Form places are now wellunderway with current year 11 students. It isalways fantastic finding out the wide and variedinterests and skills our students have to offer andbring into the Sixth Form with them and a pleasure

to speak individually to so many of our students.For further information and guidance on availableplaces and subjects to study at the Sixth Form,please contact the school and ask to speak to oneof the Sixth Form Team.

Miss C. Alford, Head of Sixth Form

Y12 University Summer Schools

We were invited by theStaffordshire University Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorMichael Gunn to StokeMinister (St Peter ad

Vincula). Accompanied by Mr Edge, OliverAston and Georgia Stephen celebrated thefestive season together with the UniversityChaplains, Student Christian Union and IndianSociety. Upon arrival Oliver was asked toperform a reading: ‘The Birth of Jesus, Luke 21-7’ by Revd. Mick Williams, as the alreadyrehearsed reader did not turn up. The servicewas thoroughly enjoyed by the people of

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire whichincluded our Blythe Bridge High Schoolrepresentatives. The service consisted ofpoems, readings and hymns. At the end of theservice the final blessing was performed byRevd. Michael Williams. Afterwards thestudents and other bystanders enjoyedseasonal refreshments in the narthex. Oliverand Georgia both said it ‘showed them howfaith and religion are brought together tocreate a peaceful and comfortableenvironment in the church’. It was a superstart to the festive season.

Oliver Aston and Georgia Stephen.

23rd-25th JuneVarious dates available depending on the course. Summer School places are free.

21st-25th July. Summer Schools are free. Student, parent and teacher sections to becompleted and sent off by end of March.

Eligibility: Three of the following: 8 A*-C at GCSE ( 5B or above), neither parentattended University, FSM, in receipt of bursary or PP, eligible postcode, students incare.

Summer schools are a great introduction toUniversity and to different courses on offer. Thereare over 50,000 courses available to study atuniversity, attending a summer school can helpstudents make some important decisions about

whether Higher Education is the

right route by having a trial week at a universityand experiencing a particular subject at degreelevel. Four of the opportunities currently availableto Year 12 are identified below.See Miss Alford or Mrs Dodgson for furtherinformation and support.

25

Sixth Form Gifted and Talented48 students in year 13 have applied to universitythis year to begin in September 2015. The SixthForm team have supported applications with mockinterviews to help prepare students for theseRussell Group University applications. Well done toall students who have now received offers of placesas a result of successful interviews!Students studying science at KS5 will have theopportunity to attend a Medical conference inLondon, supporting students’ applications toRussell Group or Oxbridge Universities.

Last year Jessica Maund was successful in securingan offer of a scholarship at Birmingham University.Jessica received the conditional offer, whichentitled her to an alternative offer for her chosendegree course of psychology. There are a hugerange of scholarships and bursaries available atuniversity, some providing alternative offers whilstothers provide a non-repayable sum of money. Werecommed Y13 students who have applied this yearto look closely at individual university websites tosee what is on offer.

Miss C. Alford

Sixth Form Council NewsThe Sixth Form carried out fundraising for Childrenin Need in the Autumn Term, which culminated in afancy dress day on Friday November 14th. The SixthForm Council, led by Head Girl Lauren Ogden, ran acharity event called ‘Are you smarter than a sixthformer?’ Staff were put through their paces withquestions from Year 7 through to Year 13, across allsubject disciplines. Overall, the sixth form councilraised more than £240 for Children in Need.Students from the Sports and Social Committee ofthe School council organised an ice skating trip toTrentham gardens on the evening of Friday 12thDecember as well as two film nights, which tookplace after school in the Common Room. Moneyfrom these events supports students in purchasing

tea/ coffee for the sixth for example. They alsoorganised various sporting activities ranging frombasketball to football and water polo. The SixthForm football team had a successful term and gotthrough to the County Cup semi-final.Students in the School Life Committee started up amentoring system within the Sixth Form wherebystudents in Year 12 receive subject specific helpfrom Year 13 students.The Prom Committee has booked Moddershall Oaksfor their Year 13 prom and have been busyfundraising for this by offering refreshments andselling candy canes in the run up to Christmas.

Mrs A. Dodgson

26

Thank you for your support during the recentwinter weather conditions; the safety of students,staff and parents is always paramount. We willkeep you informed of our school closures by text.We will also ensure that local radio stations areinformed and our website is updated with relevantinformation.Please remember to keep up-to-date with schoolnews via the school website. If you would like toaccess the parent portal, which enables you toview letters sent home and other importantinformation regarding your child, please contactMrs Procter on 01782 392519 for a username andpassword.

Student Safety Outside SchoolI would like to remind all students to take care inour community when travelling to and from school,remembering road safety in particular at the trainlines on Uttoxeter Road.As you are aware, I write to parents on a regularbasis regarding the safety of our students on therailway crossings in Blythe Bridge, on StallingtonRoad and Uttoxeter Road.Please could you also remind your child about thedangers of the train crossings in the village.Through assemblies and newsletters we continueto remind students and parents of the dangersassociated with pedestrians and vehicles on railwaycrossings. Further details can be found athttp://networkrail.co.uk/level-crossings/.

School Drop OffCould I remind parents not to use the schooldriveway to park or drop off your children beforeor after school? There are notices up to remind allvisitors that the safety of our students isparamount.The barrier is also in operation for the safety ofour students. The exit barrier will not open if thedriver of a vehicle attempts to enter school via theexit.I am sure you will agree with me that your child’ssafety is extremely important.We are currently working with the local Police toensure that our students are safe outside schooland we will be monitoring the entrance to theschool gates and the barrier during key times inthe day to ensure that an accident does not occur.All school visitors must follow the school entry andexit signs.

CateringWe continue to offer our students and staff a widevariety of healthy and nutritious food selection

during break and lunchtimes. Our food is excellentquality and extremely good value. Our bread isbaked in our kitchen every morning by our chefswho pride themselves on cooking fresh, homemadefood on a daily basis.We will continue to vary our food selectionsavailable on our “hot deli”, providing a widevariety of healthy paninis, hot baguettes,ciabattas, healthy wraps and “Mississippi chicken”sandwiches.None of our daily options cost more than £2.20 perday; this includes a drink too!If you think you may be entitled to free schoolmeals please contact Mrs J Procter on 01782392519. All information will remain confidential.

ParentPayWe’re pleased to announce that we now acceptpayments online for items such as school trips,peripatetic music tuition payments and uniform.Using a secure website called ParentPay you willbe able to pay online using your credit or debitcard. ParentPay will be our preferred method ofmaking payments to school.What are the benefits to parents and pupils?� ParentPay is easy-to-use and will offer you thefreedom to make online payments wheneverand wherever you like, 24/7.� the technology used is of the highest internetsecurity available ensuring that your moneywill reach school safely – offering you peace ofmind.� payments can be made by credit/debit card oralso through PayPoint.� full payment histories and statements areavailable to you securely online at anytime.� parents can choose to be alerted when theirbalances are low via email and/or SMS text .

Visit the website at: www.parentpay.com/Parents

UniformOur on-line uniform ordering service remainsavailable to all parents, please visit our website atwww.blythebridge.staffs.sch.uk to order youruniform. Over the next few months our websitewill be updated with summer term uniform shopsavailable for parents to purchase their uniformdirectly, please keep checking the website!If you have any questions regarding the aboveinformation please contact me directly via email :w.keeble@blythebridge.staffs.sch.uk.I will continue to keep parents informed ofimportant and useful information via thenewsletter.

Business & Operations Manager's Update Spring 2015

27

Parent Partnership Health Watch - Spring Term 2015MEDICAL UPDATE

Symptoms of Asthma and Hay FeverThe symptoms of asthma can range from mild tosevere. Most people will only experience occasionalsymptoms, although a  few  people will haveproblems most of the time.The main symptoms of asthma are:� wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe)� shortness of breath� a tight chest – which may feel like a band istightening around it� coughing

These symptoms are often worse at night and earlyin the morning, particularly if the condition is notwell controlled. They may also develop or becomeworse in response to a certain trigger, such asexercise or exposure to an allergen.Read the section below for some of the causes ofasthma and the potential triggers.Speak to your GP if you think you or your child mayhave asthma. You should also talk to your doctor orasthma nurse if you have been diagnosed withasthma and you are finding it difficult to controlthe symptoms.

Asthma attacksWhen asthma symptoms get significantly worse, itis known as an asthma attack or "acute asthmaexacerbation".Asthma attacks often develop slowly, sometimestaking a couple of days or more to become serious,although some people with asthma are prone tosudden, unexpected severe attacks. It is importantto recognise attacks early and take appropriateaction.During an asthma attack, the symptoms describedabove may get worse and – if you're already ontreatment  –  your inhaler medication may notwork as well as it normally does.You might be monitoring your asthma using adevice called a peak flow meter, and there may bea drop in your peak expiratory flow. Read aboutdiagnosing asthma for more information.If you think you or your child are having an asthmaattack, don't ignore it. Contact your GP or asthmaclinic as soon as possible, or consult and use yourasthma action plan if you have one.Signs of a particularly severe asthma attack caninclude:� your reliever inhaler (which is usually blue) isnot helping symptoms as much as usual, or at all

� wheezing, coughing and chest tightnessbecoming severe and constant� being too breathless to eat, speak or sleep� breathing faster� a rapid heartbeat� feeling drowsy, exhausted or dizzy� your lips or fingers turning blue (cyanosis)

Call 999 to seek immediate help if you or someoneelse has symptoms of a severe asthma attack. (NHSWebsite Information Feb. 2015)

Hay feverHay fever affects around 1 in 5 people in the UKand is characterised by symptoms of sneezing,blocked or runny nose and itching around the eyes,nose and throat. It occurs in response to exposureto a variety of pollens present in the environmentduring the pollen season. Whilst considered atrivial ailment, for sufferers the symptoms can bedebilitating and this is especially problematic forthose planning to sit exams throughout the springand summer period.Managing hay fever primarily involves avoidingexposure to pollen wherever possible. Simplepractical measures include:� Keeping an eye on pollen counts in your areaand stay indoors as much as possible whenpollen counts are high. Pollen forecasts areavailable athttp://www.metoffice.gov.uk/health/public/pollen-forecast/hay-fever� Avoid freshly mowed lawns.� Wear wraparound sun glasses to protect eyesfrom exposure to pollen.� Consider applying a small amount of nasal balmor Vaseline just inside the nostrils to protectnasal passages from exposure to pollen.� Avoid drying clothes and bedding outside whenthe pollen count is high.

Other treatments for hay fever are available fromyour pharmacist or on prescription from your GP.These include non- sedating antihistamines, topicalsteroid nasal preparations and eye drops. It’s worthremembering that these treatments are mosteffective when started a couple of weeks beforesymptoms begin so try to forward plan and avoidgetting caught out by hay fever this spring.Mrs W. Keeble, Business and Operations Manager

Other news / Information for Parents / Guardians

28

This festival for nominatedgifted and talented Year 5students will be hosted byBlythe Bridge High School& Sixth Form onWednesday 1st July 2015

Transition

Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form, Cheadle Road, Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire ST11 9PWTel: 01782 392519

www.blythebridge.staffs.sch.uk

Wishing you all a Happy Easter Break.Term starts

Thursday, 16th April at 8.35 a.m

Year 4 & 5 students from ForsbrookPrimary School celebrated NationalScience week by attending lessons atBlythe Bridge High School & SixthForm. Year 4 had the opportunity toexplore cells and living organisms usingmicroscopes, whilst Year 5 wereengaged in Physics, researching andcalculating how different lengths oflevers can be used to lift differingloads.Year 4 class teacher Jenny Kirkcommented ‘the lesson fit inbeautifully with our Spring topic ofliving things. Just the opportunity toattend lessons at Blythe Bridge HighSchool and Sixth Form is exciting, letalone using the equipment that wedon’t have available within theprimary school'.Mr A. Jackson. Progress Director -Transition and Vocational Learning

Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form is pleasedto confirm that 180 Year 6 students have beenallocated a place for September 2015. Asignificant number of applications were made toStaffordshire School Admissions Service withapplications ranked and allocated based on the

Staffordshire admissions criteria. Unsuccessfulapplicants will have the opportunity to appeal theLocal Authority's decision through the appealprocess. Any parents or guardians requiringclarification regarding this process are asked tocontact Mr Jackson directly.

Year 6:

New Intake DayFriday 26th June 2015

Preparation EveningMonday 29th June 2015

Familiarisation DaysMonday 29th June andTuesday 30th June 2015(Nominated students only)

Year 4Olympic Legacy Day - Wednesday 17th

June 2015Year 5 Transition days:

Forsbrook Junior School - Tuesday 24th March 2015The William Amory - Tuesday 31st March 2015

Fulford Junior School - Tuesday 31st March 2015Springcroft Junior School- Tuesday 21st April 2015St Peters CE Junior - Tuesday 28th April 2015Meir Heath Junior - Tuesday 5th & 19th May 2015Weston Coyney Junior Tuesday 2nd & 16th June 2015

Forsbrook Junior School celebrate National Science Weekat Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form