We are very excited to present our new formatted newsletter. We hope to celebrate

the achievements and recognitions of our students on a regular basis as well as keep

you up to date on what is coming up in the near future.

Claire Price

Claire Prioce

The KS3 Drama Club put on a

wonderful version of Matilda. Miss

Jones (Head of Usk House and Drama

teacher) said, “I am really proud of

how hard working our KS3 Drama club

have been this year. The performance

of Matilda in twenty minutes to

parents and to our Year 5 local

primary students was excellent. All

students showed enthusiasm and

commitment throughout the process

and their acting, dancing and singing

skills have soared throughout the year.

Thank you for all your hard work! A

special thank you goes to Megan

Marsh in Year 12 who supported as

assistant director and choreographer

throughout the rehearsal process.”

KS3 Drama Club student Matilda

Berkett said, “‘Matilda the Musical’

from my perspective was fantastic! I

loved the exciting build up and it made

the show feel special. I played the role

of ‘Mrs Wormward’ and I had so much

fun. Thanks to Miss Jones, I had the

best time ever doing the show.

Performing in ‘Matilda’ has helped my

confidence and has helped me develop my

drama skills. I can’t wait to be in the next

show.”

Ben Ferns, also a Drama Club student said

“Drama club in KS3 was so much fun this year

and we couldn’t wait to come back each

Wednesday. There was never a dull moment

and everyone was always smiling.

Performance days were very nerve wracking,

especially the day we performed in front of

all the Year 5’s. It was nice to perform for the

primary schools as it gave them a taster of

what Drama and Drama club is like for when

they come to Chepstow School. I loved the

challenge I was given in the show. I had to

multirole as lots of characters which kept me

busy! We made lots of new friends with older

students in KS3 which we may not have met

had it not been for the opportunity of joining

Drama club.”

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This was the third SPOTY presentation

evening and it did not disappoint. We had

ten students nominated for the prestigious

SPOTY 2017 award and all ten nominees

have and continue to represent their sports

at a National level and beyond. Throughout

the evening numerous trophies, medals and

certificates were presented including player

of the season, most improved player and

players’ player. We were delighted to have

Rosie Eccles back with us to present some

awards. Rosie is a past student who has just

completed her degree with a first class

honours and represents Wales and Team GB

in boxing. Rosie will be at the

Commonwealth games in 2018 representing

Wales. We wish her luck! Team of the year

was awarded to the U16 school badminton

team who were crowned Welsh Champions.

Rebecca Loock in Year 9 won the Rosie Eccles

commitment to female school sport award

and Ben Ferns the Barney Nightingale

commitment to boys sports award. The

evening ended with the ten SPOTY nominees

coming onto the stage to hear the top three

nominations.

The overall winners were:

1st place – Jake Gaskell

2nd place – Heather Dent

3rd place – Morgan Daley

We were fortunate to be invited to the Monmouthshire

Youth Triathlon which was held at Caldicot Castle on

Friday June 29th. We took forty students from Years 7 to

10. All students did us proud and competed the triathlon

to the best of their ability. The course involved three runs,

a cycle and a 200m inflatable obstacle course. A special

congratulation to Kayd Dean in Year 7 for completing the

course in the fastest time on the day. All students had a

great time and we hope to be back in 2018.

This was the third sports fayre that we

have held at Chepstow School and it

was a great success. Not only did we

have clear skies but we had a record

number of stalls being run by our

amazing students and several external

clubs. The idea behind the fayre was

to engage with all our students, and

show them what sports clubs and

teams are available to join in the next

academic year. Each stall was student

led with a mini activity. The

atmosphere was fantastic and not

only did the students get involved in

the activities but so too did many

members of staff. Year 6 had their

own fayre after lunch and again this

was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Well

done to everyone who took the time

to create their own stall, activities and

information in readiness for the 2017-

18 academic year.

On Thursday 29th June 2017 Chepstow Students had the opportunity to Take Over the

school! Whilst our staff sat back, our students taught across different subject

areas, working in the learning hub and managing the school as part of the senior

leadership TEAM. From managing budgets to behaviour, creating and delivering

inspiring lessons the students involved really shone. Our staff commented upon the

excellent ideas and initiatives they used, and feedback from students showed how

much they enjoyed the day (particular being called Miss!). Take over Head teacher

Kyle Mailey commented on the level of insight he gained from the experience, and

Callum and Oliver (our humanities teachers) went above and beyond with the

outstanding resources they provided. It was a pleasure to work with these students

and we look forward to seeing how they develop these skills for next year.

Congratulations to all involved.

Another brilliant Dragons Den event involving Year 9 students

from Chepstow School and Year 5&6s from Cluster Primary

Schools. This year’s theme was to come up with an innovative

and creative product/ service for the NHS. The groups came up

with outstanding ideas, designs and presentations which

impressed the Dragons on the showcase evening. Pembroke

won the event for their innovative ‘Chip ‘n watch’. Thanks to all

of the students, judges and schools for supporting this fantastic

annual event.

Our 6th formers have, once again, been leading some brilliant initiatives which are transforming the

way we capture student voice across the school. Firstly, they designed a Manifest for Change

campaign which has seen every year group in the school take part in discussions about changes they

would like to see. Representatives from each form were democratically elected by their peers and

presented their form’s manifestos in a series of hustings. We were grateful to Monmouthshire

County Council for loaning us polling booths and ballot boxes, so that we could also raise awareness

of how the election process works. The winners of the hustings have now been announced, and are

as follows:

Year 7 – Ben Ferns and Seren Abbott

Year 8 – Kate Harris and Rhiannon Craig

Year 9 – Jess Ham and Tanisha Leamon

Year 10 – Adam Baglow, Issy Giles and Josh Goodwin-Williams

Year 12 – Jake Lewis and Winston Leung

We have already met with them to discuss the important work we will carry out with them next

year, and they are all looking forward to being part of our new Student Senedd.

On a similar note, our Head Students have worked in collaboration with Ms Thomas, who will be

Assistant Head 14-19 from September, and the University of South Wales to design a structure for a

Students’ Union. This will be a brilliant vehicle for prioritising student campaigns and supporting

their learning, wellbeing and extra- and super-curricular needs. Freshers’ fayre last week launched

the many services of the Students’ Union and participation in the events was exceptionally high. We

are extremely proud of our Head Student team, who have already made a lasting impact on the

school. Thank you to Luca Goddard, Rebecca Ham, Jess Sariak, Joe Summers, Lukas Evans and Lisa

Griffith.

On Friday last week, a football tournament was

held in commemoration of student, Harrison

Marshall. Teams from all Houses competed in the

celebration of his life, with Severn house taking the

trophy. We know that Harrison would be proud of

how far his peers have come, and his love for

football and school was perfectly captured in a

friendly, supportive team environment.

We were thrilled to meet our new Year 12 students for

Year 12 transition week. Students came in on Monday

10th July for a fantastic skills day. Higher Education,

employer and apprenticeship providers offered them a

taste of the skills they will need to build on in preparation

for the 21st century world of work.

Students then attended lessons from Tuesday to Friday,

where they were taught Assessment Objective skills linked

to the subject specifications and were offered a glimpse of

AS level study.

It was a jam-packed and exciting week and we look

forward to enrolment day in the summer!

A group of Year 6 students kick started their time at Chepstow School, attending three

visits prior to transition, allowing them to settle into their new school and start feeling

like true Year 7 students. They worked hard and created a promotional video to share

with their Year 6 class back in their primary school. The range of videos created were

first class. A great time was had by all.

Over the summer many GCSE, AS and A2 students will be eagerly awaiting

their exam results.

AS and A2 results will be released on Thursday 17th August from 10:00am to

12:00pm in the Arts Hall.

GCSE results on Thursday 24th August between 10:00am and 11:30am in the

Arts hall. We look forward to seeing you all and celebrating your success.

Students return to school on Tuesday 5th September 2017. We have many

things taking place next term such as a ‘Labs in a Lorry’ visit to our school for

a few days.

The school will also be showcasing its talent in the Year 6 Open Evening,

which is always an exciting evening to be involved in.

Hannah Crocombe is celebrating success by winning the Mitcheldean

Forest Young Poet age 12-16 award for the second year running. The

judges were incredibly complimentary about her writing and made a

point of coming to talk to her after the recital. Well done Hannah.

The Young Enterprise Masterclass Day at IKEA Cardiff

was a fantastic opportunity for 17 Year 9 students to

take part in a very exciting day learning about

employability and personal skills in the world of

business with IKEA staff. The day comprised of

interactive workshops and a chance to meet and

interview staff from different departments in order to

gain a deeper insight into their roles. A massive thank

you to Young Enterprise Wales and IKEA.