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Contents04 German Trip06 P.E.07 Jaguar Land08 History09 Art & Design11 Lower School

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

During the autumn over ten million people weekly apparently tuned in to watch the serialisation of Downton Abbey on ITV. I feel potentially embarrassed to admit I was one of them – we even recorded it when away for half term. I actually rather enjoyed it, but then on Sunday evening I’m rarely looking to be challenged intellectually and the production was very visually engaging. For those not watching, it told the upstairs/downstairs story of an aristocratic household on the eve of the First World War. So why embarrassed? Because the ‘intellectual snob’ in me feels that drama should be more that pretty scenes and faces, should have characters who are complex and change over time rather than being wooden top stereotypes, and challenge us to challenge our own prejudices and preconceptions. Writing in November Jimmy McGovern asked rather bluntly “why write drama which doesn’t matter”?

In this context we are, this month, staging ‘Rent’ as our annual production. Many schools might steer clear of such a venture as some aspects are, in their exploration of contemporary themes, challenging. As a school, though, we need to challenge constructively, not through presenting alternative views or lifestyles as correct, but through offering them for consideration. In a diverse and complex society this is arguably an important role for a school.

For by challenge we move forward. Our Year 11 in summer gained the school’s best ever set of GCSE results, 81% of mainstream students achieving 5 or more higher grades at GCSE or their equivalent, placing us well within the top half of schools in a high performing Authority like Cheshire East. Part of the reason for this success was that we challenged students with high and demanding targets, which stretched both them and their teachers – not to breaking point but to realise what many may have felt not attainable.

And perhaps we should challenge ourselves about the coming ‘festive period’ also. It may be the season to be merry, but what exactly does merry mean, and what leads us to feel thus? Eating much and owning more may lead to some temporary sense of well-being, but can it be sustained? This comes back to the point we hear often enough that Christmas has, in many ways, lost its meaning, which is more about goodwill than good food.

Nevertheless, can I wish you a happy, peaceful and prosperous Christmas and hope that your family life over the holiday is somewhat more harmonious and enervating than the Crawleys of Downton Abbey!

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY! Knutsford High School would

like to invite you and your family to our

Christmas Carol Serviceat

St John’s Churchon

Wednesday 15th Decemberat 7.00pm

Front Cover Graphics Team - Alex Kriticos and Danni Butler Staff: Mrs C Koch and Mrs N Phillips

Events for 201117th February - Students’ Fashion Show

February Half Term TripsJunior & Sixth Form Ski Trips

ADT & Performing Arts New York TripsBusiness Studies New York Trip

Slattery’s Patisserie & Chocolatier visit

17th March - Beswick Music Festival

7th April - Art & Design Open Evening

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News Chancellor of the Exchequer Quizzed by Young KHS Activists

On Friday 24 September, roughly forty 14-19 year olds from across the North West received the interesting opportunity to voice the concerns and experiences of their generation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. Fifteen lucky Year 9 students from Knutsford High School got the chance to report on the event on behalf of BBC News’ “School Report”. For all who went, it was a valuable occasion and I, personally, thoroughly enjoyed it. Before the Chancellor arrived, the excitement brewed quietly and the tension was very high, however Annabel Tiffin (our host from BBC North West Tonight) warmed us up by asking us about our favourite biscuit! This funny discussion seemed to loosen the suspense in the room and by the time Mr. Osborne arrived, we were all relaxed. Despite being the youngest in the room, the KHS students were able to ask intelligent questions about Academy Schools and how younger people can become involved in politics. Sophie Addison reported that “All of us smiled with pride as our classmate, Alex, became the first of the Knutsford students to confront Mr. Osborne!” We discussed issues from military funding and university fees, to teaching politics at a younger age – the range of issues covered was humongous and Mr. Osborne tried to answer as best he could. Some of the reporters felt that he answered the difficult questions thrown at him calmly and well; however others felt that he was all talk, “During my observations of the discussion, I thought there was little talk of action, just promises. Does Mr. Osborne have any intent of fulfilling them?” Everyone left with their head full of intelligent thoughts and overall, I felt it was an enlightening event and I am very glad that we have a good connection with the BBC – We can remember forever this amazing experience. Molly Deegan 9CPY

EnterpriseThere are a growing number of pupils showing the enterprising

qualities that Sir Alan Sugar would be proud of! It is a great opportunity to have real life experience of running your own

business and the highs and lows along the way!

Year 10 pupils are taking part in a ‘DRAGONS DEN’ style competition. Alex Mudd, Peter Keeble, Lauren Synclair, Beth Horan,

Hannah McNicholls and Sam Wilson are all creating a product to be sold to a family member at Christmas. The group have been

working on various ideas and the brand image that they would like to create. The pitch to the ‘Dragons’ takes place in November to

secure funding, then its all systems go!! Please show your support by buying their products and making

Knutsford High School the winning team!!!

Young EnterpriseA group of sixth formers are taking part in Young Enterprise for a second year running with high hopes of settling the score against Wilmslow High and winning the top prize!!! They are selling goods both within school and in the outside world under the brand name of EDEN. They will be doing yearbooks again as well as introducing ‘leavers’ hoodies’ to help those leaving us take away special memories!! Other members of the group want to develop awareness of the importance of healthy eating with their ‘feeling fruity’ product line. This includes a brand new t shirt range coming your way this Autumn!!!! If their success is anywhere near the energy and

enthusiasm they have shown so far we are on to a winner!!!

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER

Well done to all the members of staff and students who were involved in raising awareness and funds for the

following during the month of November:

Armistice DayAnti Bullying WeekChildren in Need

Movember – Raising Prostate cancer awarenessThink Pink – Raising Breast cancer awareness

Pictured below are just a few of the 22 teachers who took part in ‘Movember’ and grew moustaches,

all to raise awareness of Prostate cancer in the UK. The admin staff brightened up the school by wearing pink for Breast cancer awareness. On Children in Need day students came to school

wearing an assortment of ‘accessories’ to remember and raise money for these very good

causes

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At the end of the summer term a group of linguists went on a Study Trip to Germany. Some of these students have recounted different aspects of the trip.

VisitsEveryday of the week, in the afternoon, we had a trip to different locations. On Monday, as it was our first trip we were really excited, we visited Burg Eltz, one of Germany’s famous castles. We accompanied this with a picnic lunch which we bought ourselves, on the castle grounds. The castle itself was very big and grand cmplete with royal tapestries and luxurious bedrooms. We also visited the special exhibition that was on; which was showing the castles valuable treasures.

In the evening, after dinner, we visited the banks of the Rhein. We walked on along the little beach and took photos of the sunset. There was a large grassy area where we could play a variety of sports or just sit and chat.

On Tuesday we visited Kochem, a small picturesque town famous for its chairlift to the famous fairytale forest. The chairlift was a fun experience that was well worth the ride as we were rewarded a brilliant view of Germany. We then had free time to go shopping around Kochem. We also bought our lunch at cafés or restaurants.

On Wednesday we visited Mountabaur, a large historical town. We took lots of photos of all the old, cultural buildings. We even visited another, smaller castle. However, everyone was most excited about the swimming baths. It had both an inside pool and an outside one and also had a water slide and diving board. We all had a lot of fun.

On Thursday, we went to the pretty town of Bacharach. It had a large hill on which stood a monastery and a castle. We could then go shopping, eat lunch, go for a walk in the vineyards and admire the scenery.

On the last night, after a pleasant meal we once again visited Rhein and went to a park. As this was our last night in Germany we were all very emotional to leave. After a week of happiness, laughter and memories, we really connected and new friendships have blossomed. By Alicia Buckley and Sarah Duckworth

Learning was an integral part of the study visit and it was combined with cultural visits and activities such as shopping and visiting land marks. Study sessions helped us to learn about how to complete particular tasks, for example going to the post office. The tasks consisted of buying certain items, interviewing some of the shop keepers. For this we needed to learn key German words and phrases. We also explored the picturesque small town of Bad Hönningen and many of the other small market towns and villages in the locality. We learned how to

communicate with the locals whilst completing fun and educational tasks. We wrote a diary about what we did the day before in German. Our personal opinion is that the trip was very enjoyable and we thought that German is easier to learn than expected.

By Connor Tighe and Ross Wilkie

Food & DrinkAfter a long, entertaining journey we arrived at our destination. Along the way we stopped off in France, Belgium and Germany. This gave us a taster of the type of food that other countries eat and what the food would be like in Bäd Hönningen, (at least we thought so).The food was alright but luckily we were blessed with an Aldi just around the corner, which provided a healthy bit of exercise and an opportunity for us to practise our German skills. Additionally there was an opportunity to recycle all the bottles that we bought. However two students Connor and Ross managed to get all the money. For breakfast there was a wide selection of bread, cheese, ham and fruit. This was a typical continental breakfast.

By Becca Jamison, Charlotte Harmsworth and Beth Horan

German Trip 2010

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A Music Celebration

On Wednesday 20th October a new music event was launched.

Encore: A Music Celebration

showcased the high quality instrumental and vocal work that is produced as part of the curriculum. The three extra-curricular

music groups Funk Band, Lower School Choir and the recently formed Concert Band also gave great performances.

This proved to be a very popular addition to the calendar with many students taking part from Year 7 through to Year 13. The

event was a huge success and was well received by a large and appreciative audience and so I am sure it will become a

regular feature each October.

If you enjoy playing an instrument or singing and would like to get involved see Miss Wright for details

of the varied range of extra-curricular activities and opportunities available.

Miss Emma Wright (Head of Music)

Music for Life Workshop Day

On Wednesday 13th October twelve Music for Life tutors came to Knutsford High School to deliver a day of exciting music workshops. Over seventy Knutsford High School students took part, along with students

from Tytherington High School and All Hallows Catholic College in Macclesfield.

Students could opt to take part in the Samba workshop, the Soul Choir workshop or the Band workshop.

They spent the day learning new musical skills and techniques, as well as putting together performance

pieces for the afternoon showcase.

All the students thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained a lot of valuable skills from this experience.

Miss Emma Wright (Head of Music)

Music

University ChoicesLancaster University.A presentation to our students.

As many students and their parents know, there is something scary about making decisions that can affect the rest of your life. Few decisions will be as great as what to do after leaving school. Whether or not to go to university or apply for a job is a

huge decision. If it is to be Higher Education, what subject and at which university is another enormous problem.

Investigations Week 2010 carried on the Sixth Form tradition of looking at what lies ahead for our students. The Lower Sixth were given an opportunity to get started on the process of choosing courses and making applications for University places. There is a lot to learn in a short time and deadlines for UCAS (the system that handles applications), mean that the students have to finalise applications within just a few school weeks. “It was a heavy week, but it got me thinking” is a typical response from the students now.

During Investigations Week students got advice on many topics, but of particular value were sessions on making applications, writing C.V.s and Personal Statements and a visit to Lancaster University which included a tour and an excellent talk by a University Admissions Officer on what he looks for in successful Personal Statements. “The guy at Lancaster was great, I thought he was funny, but he got me to think properly about my personal statement”.

At the start of this year the students (now Year 13) are preparing to apply through the UCAS system with some enthusiasm and we are in no doubt that Investigations Week 2010 will prove to have helped our Sixth Formers to make successful applications.

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Physical EducationSELECTION FOR

THE NORTH OF ENGLAND!!!I played football for Cheshire during the 2009/10 season and was nominated, with 4 others, to attend trials with the English Schools’ F.A. The same process was happening in the South East, South West and the Midlands and my trial was for the North of England squad.There were approximately 50 players at the North trials and I was selected for the 16 player squad. We will compete against each of the other 3 sectors in England. From these competitions, the England Schools FA manager will select 18 players in total to represent England. I’m through the first stage and looking forward to playing for the North of England and I’m hoping to get through to the final 18!

Ashley Woods

Diving SuccessMy name is Hannah Bolger and I’m 15 years old. As many people know, I do competitive trampolining. A couple of months ago, I decided I wanted to try board diving, as it is quite similar

to trampolining and because many of my friends said it would improve my skills. I signed up at Manchester Aquatics Centre, which is one of only four diving centres in the country with a 10m diving board.

After about 3 months of diving training, I was offered a place at the club. Once they believed that I was good enough to enter a competition, I travelled to

Cheltenham and completed 4 dives from a 1m spring board and 2 dives from a 3m board. The competition was a success and I finished in 4th position, which my coach seemed pleased with for my first comp.

Joel Evans wins Award!Joel works tirelessly to develop hockey here at school with our younger students and at Knutsford Hockey Club, where he is Junior Co-ordinator and Press Officer. Joel is also leading the Club’s celebrations for their Centenary year. He is a valued club player and qualified umpire. Last season, Joel won not one but 3 club awards – Players’ Player of the Year, Captain’s Player of the Year and Chairman’s Player of the Year. He is proactive and he is an excellent leader, putting several new initiatives in place. He has devoted hundreds of hours, voluntarily, to the school and club and so he was recently nominated for the Cheshire East Youth Volunteer of the Year Award. Following the application process, Joel attended the presentation evening in Congleton in October with members of his family. Deservedly, Joel was announced as winner and is soon to attend the Cheshire & Warrington Sports Partnership Awards night at Mere Golf & Country Club. There is a strong tradition of high quality Sports Leaders at school, but Joel has certainly taken this to the next level and beyond. Best of luck in November, Joel, at Mere !!

Netball UpdateSeptember – October 2010

The girls from years 7 to 13 who have represented the school in netball this season have had a successful start in practice and their matches. The girls have shown real commitment to training and a passion for winning as they continue to play in the Macclesfield & District League, playing both home and away fixtures. The year 10s played some challenging and fast paced games, with Emily Bowcock (captain) being a significant influence on the team’s success. It is no surprise that her efforts on the court were recognised when she was recently selected to represent Cheshire County this season. Emily is not the only Knutsford school girl player we have representing the County. Mia Astbury and Olivia Weatherby (captain) in year 9 are also regularly attending Cheshire training. Their skill level and tactical understanding has improved significantly and the team have needed this in the games they have played. As the winners of division 2 last year, the 9s were promoted and have worked hard in practice but realised that the standard of netball is much higher in division 1. Their matches have been tough and the scores have been extremely close. The year 7 & 8s have trained hard and we have been luck to have some of the very experienced Sport Leaders helping with their practices and games. Olivia Saunders, Evie Snook, Grace Dunkerley and Elle McDonough enthusiastically gave up many hours of their time to motivate, encourage and coach the young players in the school and the year 8 team in particular had some very convincing wins.

Netball has currently finished for the winter but returns after February half term.

Jess Costello, 8DLL and Jade Evans, 10MKT, ran in the Macclesfield and District Cross Country event on 10th November. Jess ran 2900m and finished 7th out of approx 40 runners and Jade ran 3400m, finishing in 2nd place out of approx 20 runners. Conditions were difficult – almost freezing temperatures and an extremely muddy course, forcing the start of the race onto the track, so this was a great achievement for both athletes. The girls are successfully through to the County Cross Country Championships, which take place in January.

Good luck girls!

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Jaguar Land the home of Land Rover Freelander 2

On Thursday 7th October 2010 forty GCSE Business students from Mrs Routs, Ms Martin and Mr Gallagher’s classes visited Jaguar Land inHalewood, Liverpool - a manufacturing centre that includes a Press Shop, Body Assembly, Paint Shop, Trim and Final finish for the Freelander 2. The site has approximately 2,000 employees, covers an Area of 300 Acres and was officially opened in 1963.

The students were split into groups of 13/14 and each group was given a health and safety presentation and kitted out with a high visible jacket and safety goggles before beginning the tour of the factory with an expert speaker from Land Rover.

Students saw how the raw materials that come into the factory are converted into a Land Rover Freelander 2 by following the automated production process around a factory that was as large as 16 football pitches.

We started off watching large sheets of metal being pressed into the shape of doors by a press machine the size of a house. We followed the doors and other body panels as they were glued and spot welded together; this process sent sparks flying high into the air. We followed the shell of the car until it was painted and fitted with windows, seats and accessories until a finished car rolled off the production line. The factory makes up to 480 finished cars per day and exports most of them to the China and Australia.

After lunch the whole group listened to a brief history of the business and then discussed the many threats that it LandRover Freelander 2 faces under the current economic climate of a recession.

Many students commented on how the practical experience of the factory had made issues from business studies specification such as production and systems for improving quality e.g. benchmarking, kaizan and TQM much clearer and hoped to be able to attend another business studies in the near future.

Business

Maths QuizSometimes Maths questions are obvious, but other times they challenge the mind in order for you to find the answer. The latter are the kind of questions found on the UKMT Maths Challenge, which a handful of sixth form students took. The rules were simple; 90 minutes. 25 multiple choice questions. Answer as many as possible. The catch, however, was this: an incorrect answer would lose you marks, so you had to be 100% sure of an answer before choosing your answer. Yet, this was not solely for fun as the best mathematicians in the country would be entered into the ‘Maths Olympiad’, a competition to find the best in the north of England. Think you could be the best? Attempt the question below but remember, no calculators allowed!

1. What is the smallest prime number that is equal to the sum of two prime numbers and is also equal to the sum of three different prime numbers?A 7 B11 C13 D17 E19

2. A notice on Morecambe promenade reads: ‘It would take 20 million years to fill Morecambe Bay from a bath tap.’ Assuming that the flow from the bath tap is 6 litres a minute, what does the notice imply is the approximate capacity of Morecambe Bay in litres?

A 6 × 1010 B 6 × 1011 C 6 × 1012 D 6 × 1013 E 6 × 1014

Mr Parr collected a 5ft Marmaduke from the

Odeon Printworks Cinema in Manchester after they kindly offered him to KHS for free.

He will be cared for by Mr Appleby in the

Media Centre.

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Art and DesignHistory Teachers of Tomorrow

Earlier this year a group of committed History students took part in a Specialist Humanities project with one of the school’s primary school partners. The students were involved in the creation of workshops around topics of World War II, an important study in the Key Stage 2 curriculum. The workshops focused on Evacuation, wartime propaganda and the role of women in the war.The students then visited Bexton Primary School to work for two afternoons with Year 6 students.

Mission accomplished! The mission was to produce a workshop for Year 6 students. Sarah (Foord), Katherine (Adams) and I tea-stained our way to creating activities based on evacuation. For our main task we filled an old suitcase with things that an evacuee would have taken with them, along with some things they would not have had, such as a banana or camera. We had prepared cards with the various items shown and asked the students to put the correct items in a mini suitcase. The team with the most correct cards included received pear drops, the kind of sweets they might have had in the 1940s. I really enjoyed the experience. It was great to create our own lesson and decide how to present it, as well as getting the chance to work with younger children and to be a teacher for a day. Your feet do start to ache after a bit, though, with all the standing and pacing around that teachers have to do! Harriet Henry (Year 10)

We all had different workshops and in ours we talked about the role of women in the war. We all baked food and cakes, with the help of Miss Newell, for the children to taste. The whole point of this was to show them how food was rationed. We baked all of the food with potato, including the cakes, because is was what was available in the war. We also dressed in clothes that would have been worn at the time to add to the workshop. After the children tasted the food we got them to draw on paper plates what they would like to eat for tea based on a list of foods. The list was based on our research of rationing and what was available to families in the war. We didn’t tell them that the list was for a week and the children were shocked at how little there was to live on during the war. I found the experience enjoyable and I think it is a good idea and that we should continue to do things similar to this. Bethany Hilton (Year 11)

The workshops were very well received by the primary students. Their engagement with the activities was a clear indication of the successful planning and preparation involved. It was an excellent opportunity for our students to develop their interest in History and a range of important skills, from research to presentation. Mr Scott (Head of History)

My life in the Air Training Corps I joined the Air Training Corps this year after they visited school and they gave a talk on what you could experience being a cadet. I was hooked! As a cadet you have the opportunity to do things that others only dream about such as real flight experience, training camps, abseiling, sports, drill practice and you can even experience handling weapons (SA80 cadet rifle). These experiences are open to all cadets, both boys and girls. My favourite moment was taking a tour on Concorde – it was amazing and a real privelige to experience walking around this great aircraft! Having this opportunity, I would like to join the RAF when I leave school and see the world from above!

By Tyler Longworth Year 10CTR

The Write PathGlobal Winners!

On the 6th October 2010, 12 of Knutsford High School’s students were asked to take part in a worldwide competi-tion for young writers. On our day, authors Andrew Fusek Peters, Cathy Cassidy, David Gatward, Jenna Burtenshaw, Lucy Coats and Melvin Burgess all wrote the beginning to a story, all completely different, and sent them to the peo-ple organising the competition. Six different schools a day were asked to take part and were told to carry on with the story a story in pair s of selected students.Results for the competition came in on Halloween, but no one from KHS was told until the day after we got back. On Thursday 4th November all 12 pupils were gathered and it was announced that we had won first place for the best secondary school writers! Whilst we celebrated we were told that we would be featured in the Knutsford Guardian quite soon.The prize for the competition (as well as a trophy and some IT equipment) was to carry on with part of a Darren Shan book, who everyone knows is a famous author, having written the Demonata and The Saga of Darren Shan series’, which would then be published in an upcoming book.We’d like to thank everyone who helped us win, for your support and advice. We couldn’t have done it without you!Check out the stories at The Write Path (first link on Google) – Blogs (stories here) – then in the search box type: 6th Oc-tober. KHS stories are in each story link, the second from the bottom extracts. We’d love to hear what you think!I hope you share our enthusiasm over the success, and hope you like our additions to the stories.

Milly Jackson 9JED

History English

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Art and DesignSUSIE Hough has been named as the best Knutsford High School student for 2009/2010 academic year.

The 18-year-old from Knutsford was presented with the Walter Johnson Award and book token at a ceremony organised by the Rotary Club of Knutsford and held at the Golden Pheasant on Tuesday, 5th October.

Jan Chambers, deputy head who retired this year, introduced Susie as a most outstanding student.

Susie gave the club a talk on her time at the high school and brought along illustrations of her work. She will soon be going to Lincoln University to take a course in illustration She has just completed her ‘A’ level in textiles, graphics and history and is now preparing to embark on a BA (Hons) degree course. Susie produced two pieces of artwork for Knutsford Railway Station as part of a brief for the RHS Flower Show and she has also designed many sets for the school produc-tions over the years, including ageing railway stations for ‘We Will Rock You’ and the mystical world of The Emerald City for ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

Susie has also completed her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, manages the women’s’ Second XI at Knutsford Hockey Club and coaches junior players on a regular basis.

Knutsford Guardian

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October –December 2010

The Food department are working with Down to Earth a community food and gardening initiative based in over ward, Knutsford Cheshire. This is a Big Lottery Funded project whose aims are to improve the health, well being and lifestyles through food and gardening initiatives in the local community.

So far Jenny, Mandy, Miss Newell and Mrs Marshall have had various meetings resulting in a competition on open evening whereby entries could win a hamper of locally grown vegetables-Mrs L Mason won!!!!

At the end of last term Down to Earth came in and ran an assembly for year 7 and handed out garlic bulbs and instructions on how to grow your own.These were eagerly taken up by the students lets see what the results will be!

Next Both Jenny and Mandy will be coming into work with the tear 7 students in the classroom and will team teach with the staff.

Finally we have a greenhouse at both upper and lower and gardening beds and the year 7/8 gardening club are showing us all how to be self sufficient,

We look forward to the results in the spring

Mrs Marshall/Miss Newell

Fundraising for Orphanage in South Africa

We are 4 sixth form students and we would like to tell you about our project. In April 2011, we are going on a trip to South Africa; during our time there we will be visiting an orphanage which cares for single mothers with HIV and orphaned children. We will be working in the orphanage with the children to help refurbish their home. In support of

this project we will be running a range of fundraising activities to both fund our trip and to donate to the orphanage. We would appreciate it if you could look out for our events and support us as much as possible in this venture. You can follow our progress and learn more about our fundraising events by following our blog: knutsaex.blogspot.com

Helen Moss, Megan McIver, Rhiannon Wates and Jenny Parker C/o Miss N Newell and Mr R Acton

A visit to the Tate Art Gallery in Liverpool was arranged for Year 10 pupils studying GCSE Fine Art. The visit gave pupils an opportunity to view different Art and Design work and make their own judgements and reflec-tions through notes/sketches in their sketch books. Students also had the opportunity of see-ing the 2010 Biennial Exhibition and the DLA Piper Series: This is Sculpture.

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PTA - With your help....

DATE FOR YOUR DIARYPTA SUMMER BALL

FRIDAY 24th JUNE 2011

GRAND DRAW WINNERS

August September October Mr K Dawson Mrs K Chadwick Mrs R LawesMrs L Codling Mrs D Fawdry J RobinsonMr J Wrynne Mr J Beaumont Mrs J Kaye

THANK YOU to all Parents and Teacherswho have supported and continue to support the PTA

If you would like to become involved with the PTA please contact Nicola Phillips on nps@knutsfordhs.cheshire.sch.uk

....so far this year, the PTA have been able to provide the school with 4 Data Projectors for the

Science Department, £300 for Performing Arts dept, Tent for Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, and hope to give more

throughout the year

With your help......

the PTA are still able to raise

valuable funds to provide the school

with additional resources for the

benefit of your children

....we were able to raise £147 (despite the bad

Weather!) thanks to the Lower School donations of

chocolate for a tombola held in celebration of the Hockey

Club’s Centenary year.

....we have provided refreshments for Music Theatre Review Evening,

Music Celebration Evening, GCSE

presentation evening, Year 7 tutor evening and

Parents’ Evening. ......we hope to see you

at the school production of ‘Rent’, the Christmas Service and the A-Level

Presentation evening.

Autumn Extravaganza - Quiz Night and Grand Draw Many thanks to the Quiz Masters, Andy Appleby, Ray Fung and Andy Barber.

We had a successful and enjoyable evening, thank you to all those who supported us

Congratulations to:ITEAM – Winners of the Quiz

Ben Squires – Winner of Christmas HamperClasses 7DLY, 7SMN and 9JED – Prizes

for most Raffle ticket sales, and finally...Congratulations to the Winning ticket for the apple iPad!

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9CPY Supports Water Aid.Mr Perry, who is the esteemed head of R.S., was very moved by the presentation given to us in investigations week by an inspirational woman, named Mrs. Henry. She discussed the issues involving water and hygiene in third world countries. The whole year found it fascinating and shocking, however our form took a particular shine to it and we adopted Water Aid as our form charity. In our form room (U19) we have a large water bottle where we collect small change in the hope that one day it will be a large sum of money and will be able to make a difference in the lives of the unfortunate. In addition to this, every half term we will be giving a larger donation of money and make a small sacrifice; for example giving the money you were going to spend on a chocolate bar to this exemplary charity. We want to change people’s lives, people like Solomon, 11 from Uganda. His family had to collect water from swamps he proclaimed ‘the water was murky and smelt very bad’. Before water Aid came to help his village he didn’t even know that you had to wash your hands after using the toilet. Now he is educated in hygiene and his village now have a water pump which produces clean pure water. People in the village helped build the pump; therefore they would know how to fix it if it broke. If you want to help make a difference, then ask students from 9CPY, who will be able to give you more information. We hope you will take this fabulous opportunity to help others less fortunate then you are.

By Molly Deegan and Hannah Brierley

Shared Science Opportunity for Lower School Pupils

Several lower-school pupils will get the chance to remember their primary school days as they look forward to assisting in practical science lessons at Bexton Primary school. Over the coming weeks, pupils at Bexton will have the opportunity to do more practical science lessons that tie in with their theme for the half-term. Year 3 pupils are currently researching Tutankhamun, in particular the diet in ancient Egypt. Pupils from lower-school will explain to their Bexton counterparts how scientists group and test for different food groups, before the budding scientists get their own hands-on opportunity to find out for themselves. Different year groups will get to experience practical science in future weeks and the lower-school pupils involved will let Junction magazine readers know about their experiences.

If music be the food of love - play on and let’s get the party under way!

It was on the 3rd night in November that a group of KHS students gathered at the Lowry to watch ‘Twelfth Night’. Although this was a Shakespeare play- written in the sixteen hundreds- it certainly didn’t look like that when performed by Filter Theatre Company that night! The traditional play was turned upside down and added to it a blend of audience participation, pizza, music, Velcro balls and much, much more! With a stage full of tables of electrics, instruments, cups, mugs and cables, there was virtually no set relevant to the story and only one (drunken) character in costume. The rawness and fun of it all proved anyone who thought Shakespeare to be ‘stuffy’; completely wrong! The story unfolds when a twin brother and sister are separated by a shipwreck and Viola, finding herself alone, dresses as her brother and goes to be the manservant of Count Orsino. He is in love with Olivia; who then falls in love with Viola (dressed as a man). The result is the confusing comedy of Shakespeare that many know and love. ‘Filter’, the traveling theatre company who performed (in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company) finished showing at the Lowry on Saturday 6th of November, but you can go to their website (http://www.filtertheatre.com/) to find out when and where they are next performing!

By Sara Coggin Y8

Evacuee of World War 2

On 15th October, Mr. Terence Frisby, a man who was an evacuee in World War 2, came into two classes of KHS to talk about what it was like to be an evacuee. From his experience he decided to write a book called ‘Kisses On A Postcard.’ A lot of students from Mrs. Dawson’s class loved it and since the day Mr. Frisby came into school, I have wanted to get the book he wrote. The reason it was called ‘Kisses On A Postcard’ was because his mum had given him and his brother a postcard to send to her once they’d arrived at their new family. She told them that if they put one kiss on it, it would mean they hated it and their mum would go straight there to pick them up. However, if they put 2 it meant it was ok and 3 meant they were enjoying it. Once they had arrived at the new family’s home and the time came to write the postcard, Mr. Frisby and his brother had an argument over how many kisses to put on it, so in the end they decided to put

thousands of kisses on it. Mr. Frisby, being an accomplished writer, also wrote a play of his adventures and in it there are sad, happy and funny bits. It was really kind of him to come to our school and we would like to take this opportunity to thank him.

By Jessica Healey 8SDN

Lower School

Page 12

Should the government protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or education?

This was the crucial question put out to over 100 year six children, teachers, head-teachers, governors, rotary club members and parents on the 5th November. Knutsford High School were fortunate enough to be joined by Knutsford Primary schools for a heated debate between the year six’s of Edgerton, St Vincent’s, Bexton and Manor Park.

The Year sixes across Knutsford had been researching UNICEF and looking at various case studies relating to child labour and work, particularly article 32 on Children’s Rights and Responsibilities. They then explored various argument and counter argument techniques considering how to put their point of view across.

Each primary school selected 4 representatives to make their case both for and against the proposal. The four speakers from each primary school took their turn to put forward their side of the argument.

Also in the audience were a Year 8 English class, to listen to the debate and provide their understanding and insight into speaking and listening back to the year 6 children. This proved a nice moment during the refreshments, for the year 6s and year 8s to talk about their speeches and for the year 6s to get some constructive feedback.

The debate was a huge success and a valuable experience for all involved! The speakers were truly excellent and so confident standing on our stage in front of all those people.

After the refreshments we took a vote and it was decided that yes, the government should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or education!

Thank to all those who were involved – we look forward to next year!

Miss North

Anti- Bullying week 15th- 19th NovemberAs part of the ‘remember in November’, anti bullying week reminds us to remember the damage and effect bullying can have on people and why we shouldn’t do it. To start the reminders a drama group called ‘active drama’ came in. The drama had six people in all playing different roles. There was a ‘chav’, a boy who sounded like ‘shaggy from Scooby-doo’, a girl who followed the ‘chav’ around, a blond boy who got the wound up because he liked to read and a girl who got wound up for being smart. The group sang and acted, stating issues. The first half was all about the blond guy and the smart girl secretly liking each other, but it was obvious that they liked each other (to the audience). The ‘chav’ also likes the blond and this causes problems between the girls. The boys create trouble when it is discovered that the blond likes the smart girl. The chav starts being really mean to the smart girl. Around half way in the show stopped and the man playing the piano got the audience (yr7 and yr8 students) to give their thoughts and opinions on the drama so far. Many students offered opinions including the word chav, which came a lot, and that the guy with the hat sounded like shaggy from Scooby doo. In the second half the chav starts treating the smart girl horribly and when the blond and the smart girl go on a date things get worse. By the end it got so bad that the chav starts physically hurting the smart girl and the chav’s follower realizes it’s wrong and stops acting the same way. It gets so bad that the smart girl commits suicide and dies. They end the drama by telling us about the other people in the UK, some not that far away, who did commit suicide and die, and why they did. Some of the reasons were ridiculous like their size their hair colour some just for who they are. There is currently a competition going on through out lower school where all students have been asked to create a poster to show awareness of bullying and the best are going to get prizes. The best are decided through a vote by the students and teachers at lower. Bands are also being sold at the office for a pound to beat bullying. If you are being bullied go to a teacher, Mrs Handby (or your head of student services), parents or friends. Don’t hide it away! Becky Lawes Year 8

As part of the Physical Education/Sport Academy, it seemed appropriate that the students should end the year participating in a sporting event. Given that the students had recently been studying the theory of training and were about to begin their own endurance training, the chosen event was a three mile run for charity and was held after school on Wednesday 7th July 2010. The course was based around the school grounds and was run in aid of Cancer Research. The activity was inspired by a father and son team from America. Should you wish to find out more information about the team please watch the YouTube clip ‘My Redeemer Lives – Team Hoyt’, proving that anything is possible, whatever the situationThe group of students set off, with Miss Walsh running around the 3 mile course, with marshals from the 6th Form cheering on at various points on the course. All who took part completed the 3 miles and the sponsor money came flying in. I am pleased to let you know that after 45 minutes of hard work the group raised £463.40 which is a great achievement for a great cause. Miss N Walsh

Seasons Greetings to all our Readers

GUESS WHO: By Ella Harding Y8 Who is this ………………………?

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