Issue 26 November 2015

The magazine of Liskeard School & Community College

In this issue...Exam ResultsYear 11 & Sixth Form PromWork ExperienceChallenge WeekAwards EveningFundraisingUganda Trip 2015Art ExhibitionsSports DayRugby World Cupand lots LOTS more...

he eflectionT Rhe eflectionT Rachieving more together

Full reports and news can be found via our

Twitter account and the ‘News’ area of the

school website...

www.liskeard.cornwall.sch.uk@Liskeard_School

1| a place where...

Head’s LetterDear All,

It gives me great pleasure to share with you our first edition of The Reflection for

2015-16. The great cover photo is of students on our second visit to Uganda and there is a wonderfully inspiring article inside about their experiences - a must read for everyone! With articles about Challenge Week, Awards Evening, the summer exam results, the Year 11 & 13 proms and much, much more it really is a bumper edition. With so

much going on it’s not surprising that an ‘outstanding’ number of parents would recommend the school to others!

Parents play a huge part in the success of the school and without your support many of the opportunities and activities celebrated in the magazine would never get off the ground. May I thank you for your continued support and I hope you can find the time to read about all the amazing things that have been going on in school.

With all best wishesAlex Lingard, Head Teacher

GCSE Results

Once again Liskeard School celebrated some amazing achievements

of students in their GCSE exams this summer.

Particular congratulations go to Mungo Harrison-Ward (11 A*s, 1 A), Flo Gregory (10A*s, 1A), Xiao Lin (8A*s, 7As), Grace Trivett (7A*s, 4 As), Ellie Knight (6A*s, 6As) and Lawrence Edge (6A*s, 4As).

Alex Lingard, Head Teacher, said ‘It was wonderful to see so many of our students achieve so well. May I take this opportunity to

congratulate them all and to thank all the staff at school and all the

parents at home for their amazing support’

|2...we shape our futures

A-Level Results Day

This year our A level students have achieved outstanding results with 80 % achieving

A* to C grades and 100 % pass rate. Our vocational courses at both level 2 and 3 have had a 100% success rate with several candidates obtaining double distinction.

Head Teacher, Alex Lingard, said ‘Our sixth form may be relatively small, but it is flourishing. Our level of care and support is second to none and is enabling students to go on and study courses from Medicine and Anthropology to English, Maths, Sciences and the Arts at some of the country’s best universities. Others will be starting some sought after apprenticeships or even begin full-time employment. I am thrilled for the students and teachers who have worked so hard to achieve what they have and I congratulate them all.’

Gill Prichard, Director of Sixth Form, said ‘I am delighted to see that our students have done so well especially in light of all the added pressures and changes with the exam procedures. They have coped with all these challenges and exceeded our expectations. I am so proud of them and wish them all the best in their future plans.’Of those students studying A-levels there are a number who deserve particular praise for outstanding results. These include:Elysia Gregory with A* grades in both Biology and Maths, A grade in Chemistry and B grade in Physics. She is now off to Bristol University to study medicine.

Ben Ackland with A* in Maths, A grade in Further Maths and A grade in Physics. He is now off to Southampton University to study Computer Science.

Hannah Graham with A* in Geography two A grades in Maths and Psychology. She is now off to Durham University to study Anthropology.

Grace Jackson with A* in Photography, A grade Art and B grade in Psychology. She is now off to Falmouth University to study Fine Art.

Alice Collier with A* in Maths, A grade in Philosophy and Ethics and B grade in Chemistry. She is now off to Bath University to study Natural Sciences.

Matthew Howlett with A* in Maths and two B grades in Further Maths and Physics. He is now off to Bath University to study Maths.

Lucy Hancocks with three A grades in Art, English Language and Media. She is now off to Falmouth University to study Art and Design.Alongside their studies the students have also been busy with their extra curricular activities including: Gold Arts Leaders Award where everyone passed and our Physics students who were very busy completing an Engineering project in conjunction with Plymouth University. This year our Football Academy has grown from strength to strength under the leadership of our coach Mr Lee Hodge. These are just a few of their outstanding

achievements in addition to their studies. With this attitude to make things happen, their futures look set to be impressive.

3| a place where...

Awards Evening 2015

Liskeard School and Community College recently held the annual

Awards Evening to recognise the achievements and excellence of students from all year groups.

A revamped evening, organised by new Assistant Head Teacher Mrs Penberthy, offered a fitting tribute to the hard work and dedication demonstrated by students across the academic year. Around sixty students were honoured in this year’s awards ranging from resilience to faculty awards, with the prestigious Head Teacher Award going to Jamie Graham.

Proud parents filled the New Hall to see their child honoured and there were special guests in attendance in the shape of a number of school governors and former Head Teachers Donna Bryant and Tony Wood who presented awards in two categories.

Liskeard School Head Teacher Mr Lingard said, “The Awards Evening was a very special event and one which we hope to hold for many years to come. The trophies are taking pride of place in the school and we hope hundreds of other

students will be inspired by the achievements of those who were nominated.”

Congratulations to all the students that were nominated and we look forward to the great work and achievements leading to next year’s awards.

Celebration assemblies were also held to recognise the effort and achievement of other students who just missed out on being nominated for the Awards Evening.

|4...every day matters

Plymouth Symphony Orchestra

Two music teachers from Liskeard School & Community College, Judy

Whitlock and Steven Lunn, have had their music compositions performed by the prestigious Plymouth Symphony Orchestra at Sterts Theatre in Liskeard.

The whole programme comprised a variety of easy-listening pieces and was a very enjoyable event. The seating at Sterts ensured a brilliant view of the orchestra and it was such a lovely venue for a summer evening event.

Judy Whitlock’s ‘Dartmoor Letterboxes’ was commissioned by the orchestra in 2002 and was being performed again this summer. The music for full orchestra portrays seven Dartmoor tors, and also features a linking ‘Walking Theme’ was performed by five of our school’s young flute players.Steven Lunn’s new piece, ‘Be Who You Are!’ is in the manner of a rondo, where ideas return throughout. The mood of the work is quite light-hearted, although with a few darker moments, and with the

orchestra including several unusual instruments.

The orchestral works by Judy Whitlock and Steven Lunn were very well received and the four flautists from Liskeard School played beautifully as part of Judy’s piece, receiving many compliments from the orchestral players who were very impressed with their musicianship and their professionalism. Well done Sam, Abi, Cara and Amy!they have and I congratulate them all.’

The Liskeard Proper Cakey Tea was launched on Friday 26th June from Liskeard

School and Community College. Where better to launch this commemorative event which is celebrating the re-launch of the Liskeard Bun, which in the 1960s was presented by the Town Mayor to the children of Liskeard.

With a twist of the tale, Friday’s re-launch had a unique bun recipe developed by Liskeard School student Josh Rogers and baked by

the school team to present to the town. Reaction from everyone in the town was extremely popular and town’s folk loved the delicate fruit and citrus flavours.

Josh was first in line to recreate the recipe for the long-lost Liskeard Bun and everyone loved his recipe and were hugely appreciative of the school being involved in the project in this way. This prompted many town traders to come up with their own variations on this unique Liskeard Bun.

Proper Cakey Tea

5| a place where...

Year 11 Ball

It was a warm and fine evening with ideal conditions for students to

arrive in vintage cars, tractors and Harley Davidsons for the 2015 Liskeard School and Community College Year 11 Ball held in Liskeard School’s New Hall.

School leavers adorned the red carpet in beautiful gowns and sharp suits to celebrate their time at Liskeard School and say farewell to friends and to staff who proudly hosted the evening.

Fruit punch was served in the quad whilst portrait and group photos were taken, adding to an increasingly joyful atmosphere as students shared stories of the past five years.

Special thanks should go to Mel Russell and the staff at Chartwells for an amazing three course meal. Staff acted as waiters and waitresses on tables for their former students.

Assistant Head of Year Jane Chinn, who organised the event superbly, themed the room with blue and silver around the 1999 full solar eclipse, the year many of the students were born. Jane said “It was an immensely enjoyable evening for all and one which the students thoroughly deserved. We are very proud of the year group and are sad to see them go!”

Students and staff had a fantastic time as they danced the night away. Grace Trivett was awarded the honour of Belle of the Ball and Jordan Rundle the Beau of the Ball.

Liskeard School has welcomed back many of the students as Sixth Formers but wishes them all the best for the future, whatever their chosen path.

All photos can be viewed on the school website in ‘News‘

|6...we feel happy and enjoy ourselves

Work Experience Throughout the week I took photographs around the school of Challenge Week activities which were ongoing at the time. I shared these on Twitter, and also optimised some of them for the school website. We were also sent some photographs from Mrs Hubartt on the Uganda trip, so we uploaded a few of those onto Twitter as well.

To increase my experience of photography I went on work experience visits around Cornwall to get some photographs of students in different environments. Again, this was for the school website and Reflection. Another photography task that I was assigned to was taking photographs of the dance students for their album front cover. We got a successful photograph for each group so it was a rewarding activity. On the same day, we printed the photographs and were able to deliver them to Mrs Mitchell.

I would like to thank Mr Luscombe and Miss Yeoman for allowing me to work with them for the week. It was a really good experience and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Whilst the majority of the school were engaged in Challenge Week activities,

our year 10 students tried their hand at going out into the real world to undertake a week of work experience. Students were encouraged to find a placement to enable them to try an employment area they were really interested, which sometimes took them out of their comfort zone.

Student’s placements varied tremendously and jobs included being a Web Designer, Dairy Farmer, Housing Assistant, Martial Arts Instructor, Rugby Coach, Mechanic, Laboratory Assistant and all those jobs in between. Many were surprised that they actually had to work from 8.30am to 5.30pm, shock – horror!

To ensure that all students were kept safe whilst out on placement, they all participated in work place training in school. These sessions covered Health and Safety in the Work Place, Signs and Signage, Manual Handling, Hazards and Risk Assessments, Law and Child Protection and ‘High Risk’ training. Thankfully, all students returned to school in one piece.

This exercise has now firmly established itself as a yearly event that students, employers and the wider community of Liskeard School participate in together, year on year. Without the support of our generous employers, we would not be able to make work experience the success it has become.

Our current year 10 students are now busy trying to secure their own placements for next summer (11-16 July 2016). Fingers-crossed, we will have the support of our existing employers and hope to welcome new ones that will come on-board. If you would like to discuss this further, please call me on 01579 325716.Collette Carlin, Careers & Work Related Learning Co-ordinator

Amy BuntFor my work experience I attended a Student Police Constable course in Camborne – it was so much fun! The week was jam-packed full of activities and I never got bored. The highlight of my week was when the Police Diving Unit visited and we all went scuba diving in the pool. We also had sessions with the Dog Unit and Armed Response. Throughout the week we had to learn to march and on the last day we invited our parents in to watch our Passing-Out Parade. During the parade we each received our certificates and saw a presentation of our week in photos.Luke GwillamMy work experience in year 10 at St Martin’s School was a really good experience and was really worth-while. I enjoyed my week and met a lot of new people who were very welcoming. It was really challenging at points but I was pleased that I overcame them.Ashley StaleyI worked at Heating Southwest in the Ideal Homes Centre. When I was there I learnt lots of new things. I made a new office, learnt all about what the business did, helped fit a kitchen and organised the yard. I also learnt about business and the working environment.

My name is Archie Nicholls, and I’ve just started Year 11. I completed my week

of Work Experience at the end of Year 10 with the Web and Publicity manager at Liskeard School, Mr Luscombe.

My main interest is Web Design; however I was able to be involved with many marketing activities during the week including photography, social media and using photo editing tools which I really enjoyed. I learnt a lot from my time with Mr Luscombe, ranging from the technologies used to keep the school website maintained and the many technologies used for publicity and communication.

I was able to take over the school Twitter account for the week to upload photos and post Tweets. The school prom took place shortly before my work experience started so my first task was to optimise the photos ready for printing and for using on the website using Photoshop. The next task was to add the photos and article to the news area of the school website, which I did under the supervision of Mr Luscombe, and then send them to the press.

Midway through the week, we were lucky enough to have a tour of Deltor Communications, the print company located in Saltash which produce the school prospectus and Reflection Magazine. Deltor print all kinds of promotional material which is sent to them by other businesses around the region. In our tour, we were able to see the big machinery they use and the process from PDF to final product. I learnt a lot from this trip and I thank them very much for allowing us to have a look around and for their time.

Back at the office we used Google Analytics to track website traffic for the school website. Google Analytics allows you to monitor how many people view your website, and how they view it. We sent out a text alert to all Year 11 parents notifying them that the school prom photographs had been uploaded to the school website. We were then able to see the increase and behaviour of web traffic in real time and across the day. This demonstrated the effectiveness of text alerts as a digital channel to increase web traffic.

7| a place where...

Jeans For Genes Day 2015

Liskeard School & Community College continued its support for the charity Jeans for

Genes by fundraising on their annual Jeans for Genes Day again this year. Staff and students adorned various denim items to raise awareness and funds to help children with genetic disorders in the UK.

In total £667.75 was collected as well as raising a number of important issues and awareness for a great cause.

Year 8 Dartmoor Geography Trip

We started our day by visiting the entrance to the moor, where we did

a field sketch, a bi-polar analysis and a pedestrian count.

We quickly recapped on how tors were formed, then made our sketches and notes on the area. Then we walked along the road up to the prison, whilst doing a street transect (this is when you note which buildings you see along a street). Street transects are a good way to tell what tourists like to see when they come to an area, and also what the locals like to do. We then stopped near a playground and

wrote a few notes on the prison and its history. Like in the previous location, we did a bi-polar analysis, field sketch and a pedestrian count. After walking back to the car park, we did the same tasks as we did the previous two times, then had our lunch break.

After lunch, we visited the final

Newquay Zoo Trip

We went to Newquay Zoo with 7I, 7S and 7L. The reason we went was

to learn how other people, like zoo keepers, have to use other languages in their jobs. Zoo keepers go to other countries to collect and learn about all the various animals. They also have to speak other languages so that they can talk to people from different countries and receive animals for the zoo. On several occasions zoos have received animals that weren’t always the animal they wanted. We were learning how to say the animals’ names in French, however some of the animals’ names sound and also look like the English spellings. This makes it easier to learn and remember.

The zoo trip had different animals such as penguins, lions, lemurs, zebra, deer, frogs and snakes. The zoo was really fun and we got to explore around with groups. It was

awesome and we really enjoyed it.

By Aliesha and Aisha

location – the Visitor Information Centre, which had plenty of information about Dartmoor during the war. It included things like what people did for money, what the healthcare was like, education, the economy and even a

bit about how Dartmoor participated in the war. The information was well displayed and interesting to read. We made notes in our booklets and some of us even bought things from the shop! All in all, I had a lovely day and would definitely go back if given the chance.

Amelia Nash 8A

|8...there are no end of possibilities

Marie Curie Tea Party

At the end of the summer term students from Year 8 to 10 organised and ran a

cake sale and tea party for staff and visitors in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The event, held in the New Hall, was a huge success with over £300 raised. It was also a very pleasant way to end the working week!

Well done to all our brilliant students for organising and running such a great event and supporting a great cause.

Games Club Fundraiser

Staff at Liskeard School and Community College were left feeling immense pride

recently after hearing of the intentions of a fundraiser for the Learning Support Games Club. Students often collaborate to

raise funds for new equipment or resources for Games Club to improve the important and popular facility. On this occasion students raised £40 during a book sale and, instead of spending it within the school, kindly decided to donate the money to Cancer Research UK.

This is a charity which is close to staff members’ hearts as Liskeard have chosen the charity in the past during fundraisers.

Mrs Cornish who runs Games Club said “We think it is a lovely touch for our students to donate the money they raised to charity and we are incredibly proud of them all.”

Student Council Meeting

Liskeard School and Community College’s School Council recently held a

session in the Town Hall in Liskeard. The session was kindly hosted by current Liskeard Mayor Phil Seeva who was on hand to offer advice, thought provoking insights and support. After the session Mr Seeva allowed students to be pictured wearing the Mayor’s own chain whilst sitting at the front of the room.

The meeting proved a creative success as topics such as town improvements and charity fundraisers were included in the

discussion. It also provided the students with an exclusive insight into the day-to-day requirements synonymous with being the Mayor. The Student Council returned to

school full of ideas and inspiration not only for subjects affecting students within Liskeard School but also the wider community and town.

9| a place where...

Uganda 2015

On Saturday 4th July a group of thirty-five people set off from Liskeard

School on their way to Uganda. There were thirty students, one parent and four members of staff in the party. This trip was the culmination of three years’ hard work and fundraising by the students and families. Altogether they had raised over £7000 by doing a variety of activities and sponsored events, including sleeping rough in the school and selling manure!

We set off on our journey which was a five hour coach trip to Heathrow; a seven hour flight to Doha, Qatar; a two hour stop-over; a five hour flight to Entebbe, Uganda and then a two hour coach journey to Kampala and our accommodation!

After a good night’s sleep, we set off again for the Busu region. Road travel takes on a whole new meaning in Uganda. It really has to be experienced! We passed over the Nile River and stopped in Jinja for a late lunch, arriving in Iganga in the evening.

The next three days were our community project days. Our fundraising money went to two different projects.

The first was to build a house for a woman with nine children, three of which were very disabled. Our students became labourers and spent their time digging out the foundations, stacking bricks and fetching water from the water pump. They then had to carry the water back to the village and they became aware of just how hard a job that it is. A few had a go at laying bricks as well during our time. Alice was overwhelmed with our generosity and we also managed to purchase a goat for her at the

end of our time there. The goat was pregnant and hopefully will give birth to twin kids. This will help Alice feed her family. If her goat then breeds again she is well on the way to getting a cow as six goats equals one cow. Alice works all day in the fields digging and earns the equivalent of £1 a day. Some of her children go to primary school but the uniform is the equivalent of four days’ labour so she can’t afford to buy it for her children.

The second project was the local primary school. The pupils had never seen white people before so were a little scared of us to begin with. The school has very little resources and doesn’t even have enough benches for the pupils to sit on inside or outside! We purchased twenty-five new benches for the school and also bought new sports equipment for the school. Our students ran a sports festival day and also taught the older students how to play netball. The younger pupils had extra English lessons from our students. On top of this we also gave every single pupil a new school bag with school equipment inside; exercise books, protractor set and pencils. One of the problems is lack of food and so every lunchtime the pupils are sent away to look for food in the surrounding area and bush. We decided to arrange lunch to be cooked for all the pupils and this was all done on open fires. Purchases were made and the ladies of the village employed to cook rice, goat, chicken, cabbage and gravy for everyone. To them, this was the equivalent of a Christmas feast and many of the villagers came to be fed too. We are hoping to be able to raise enough money to build a school building for them (a cost of £5000). We finished our time there with a celebration football match. England came second to Uganda!

We also visited Suubi Medical Clinic which we support. It was delightful to see how well it is doing and to meet the staff there. We planted some fruit trees so that in a few years’ time they will provide food for the patients and locals. After our time at the projects we set off back to Kampala. We visited an orphanage and a secondary school on the way. It was pleasing to see how the orphanage had improved over the last three years since our previous visit. We had a boat trip on the Nile on the way and arrived in Kampala in the early evening. The next day was our day of shopping for souvenirs and everyone had a go at bartering for their purchase. We had a pizza evening that night and got ready for setting off to our safari the next day.

We travelled up to Murchison Falls on the main road through the country – they haven’t quite finished building it yet - a very interesting drive! We arrived in a town called Pakwach and checked into our hotel for the next couple of nights. Pakwach as a town does not have any electricity so all of our electricity came from a generator. Cold showers are the norm but as it was around forty degrees and humid, they were very welcome.

Early next morning we set off on safari and it was amazing. To witness dawn in the safari park and watch as the animals start their day was incredible. We saw a lioness come back with her kill to feed her three cubs. We also saw all kinds of antelope, elephants, warthogs, monkeys, buffalo, birds of all varieties and giraffes. Wow, we were so close to the giraffes and how graceful they are too!

In the afternoon we took a boat safari and saw more birds, hippos, elephants, buffalo and even crocodiles. After the boat trip we

|10...we are inspired

then hiked up to the top of Murchison Falls and had spectacular views along the way. We drove back through the safari park on our way home in the evening – a fantastic way to end our day!

After that it was time for the journey home. We travelled back to Kampala staying at the Ndere Centre for our last night in Africa. Wednesday saw us travelling back to Entebbe with a final swim and lunch in the Beach Resort hotel and then on to the airport, security checks and flights home.

We arrived back safe and sound with some amazing memories having had a fabulous time and an unforgettable experience in Africa.

11| a place where...

Exhibitions 2015ART

The exhibition culminates another highly successful and exciting year for students

studying in the Art, Design and Photography departments. Nearly a hundred students exhibited work of the highest standard demonstrating huge interest, energy and excitement within the work. Two dozen GCSE Art and Design students exhibited work, along with thirty-four at GCSE Photography, eleven at AS Art and Design, six at A2 Art and Design, eleven at AS Photography, and seven at A2 Photography. The Arts Award arts leaders also used the opportunity to exhibit the work they had done with students in after school clubs since January. The work on view across all courses exhibited a very wide range of subject matter and personal inspiration. Artwork this year ranged in scale with some of the largest paintings and mixed media drawings we have had at the school. Students explored a variety of formats, materials, techniques and processes in painting, sculpture, construction, and print, as well as wet chemical and digital photography.

Again this year, work demonstrated a wide variety of highly personal in depth academic responses; with some very sensitive and appropriate application of materials and processes from students meant outcomes were highly successful. Work on show demonstrated high levels of technical competence supporting a confidence, independence and diversity within the work. We wish all those students moving onto Arts Degrees and Foundation courses all the very best. Please keep in touch

with us!

Members of the Creative and Performing Arts team as a whole would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of its students on another amazingly creative year. The various ensembles, performances, exhibitions, workshops and Arts Award work across the year groups and throughout the arts faculty have really enriched and inspired all throughout the year. We all look forward to results day in the summer in the knowledge that the quality of creative work and skill development has been excellent. Well done to all who have exhibited and performed their work for public appreciation and critique.

MEDIA

For many years the Liskeard School and Community College has

had photography, art and textiles exhibitions to show off the talent of the GCSE and A-level students.

Media, a personal favourite subject of mine, has produced talented, industry standard work that radiates with originality and careful thought. So it was an amazing experience this summer when the Media Department held an exhibition of their own.

It was a great event where we showcased work from Years 10 to 13. There was a mix of work from all three media platforms: e-media, broadcast and print, which we presented to the general public for the first time. Everyone was impressed by the calibre of work and thoroughly enjoyed the evening and we are really looking forward to showing off media students’ work again next year.

By Nick Tolley

TEXTILES

Another fantastic year for our students studying Art Textiles, which

culminated in a summer AS and GCSE exhibition.

The work exhibited varied in scale and demonstrated a broad range of skills and processes from painting, print and surface embellishment through to costume design. Again this year, the wide variety of personal and sensitive responses meant outcomes were highly successful. The work on show demonstrated excellent levels of technical competence and diversity.

The Textiles Department would like to congratulate all of the students who exhibited.

|12...we learn together & hard work is rewarded

Arts Academy

The Arts Academy have been working on multiple projects. The latest one is

the dance production that was held on Thursday 15th October 2015.

The Arts Academy have advertised, produced tickets, created banners, hosted the dance group C-Scape in the New Hall and had a workshop

Arts Leaders Gold!

Liskeard School celebrates another 100% pass rate for our Gold Arts Leaders. This

has been consistent since we took part in the pilot ten years ago! To celebrate ten years of Arts Award on October 1st we launched our new involvement with dance and choreography; inspired by our leaders work with James Wilton’s dance and David Greeves’ aerial dance/choreography.

Gold Arts Leaders are putting on a series of dance/choreography

related events kick starting with Taste, a new piece by C-Scape. Arts leaders designed some publicity material and were involved in hosting and publicising the event at the school on Thursday October 15th at 7.30pm.

We look forward to an exciting year where arts leaders gain valuable experience through supporting and involving themselves in more dance and choreography opportunities. Please see the school website for other activities and events supporting dance, choreography and the arts.

with Year 10 dance students and C-Scape to create a piece, performed as the curtain raiser on the night of the show. Liskeard students also provided front of house support and hosted the event.

13| a place where...

Challenge WeekFOOTBALL ACADEMY

After an incident in Games Club playing football, I broke my wrist. I was

therefore unable to play. I eventually did alternative playing roles, mainly referreeing but also photography.

Monday centred on dribbling. I did passing and shooting with Mrs Strevens, then we changed to doing penalties, free kicks and one-twos etc. I took part in the defence activity but with no tackling. Games Club is open for challenge week after all!

I then went to referreeing one half of the two matches, no offsides but I did dish out cards. Before the hour long lunch we did some informal games, it soon got serious, we did world cup teams Round Robin League, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Columbia and India depending on who had never played. After I sent one player off, I was told that the sin bin was too harsh and that I should book him. Matters came to a head at the end of the day with Columbia vs Czech Republic; yet it turned out one sided. It ended 9-2 to the Czech Republic with all but two players sin-binned at the end of a full game that lasted well above ten minutes.

On Wednesday we went to Plymouth, we spent the day at Goals. As well as going to Goals we went to the Sports Science Lab at Marjons. I ended up being a photographer for the day. As well as doing this I took control of the Non Bibs team. I was then interviewed by the Pink Bibs. I soon got let out of the Marjon’s Sports Centre. I stated that my scores should be doubled due to the fact I could only use one arm.

Thursday kicked off with an epic match, it was Bibs vs. Non Bibs. After the first half the scores were 5-5. I gave my team mates what I thought was an inspirational life talk but it didn’t exactly work like I wanted it to. We fell 8-5 behind; we then scored and the score became 8-6. Mr Hodge gave us three minutes injury time allowance. By the end of the game the score was 8-8. The second game was also going to penalties, after four goes it was the Bibs to lose.

Friday kicked off with a double round of games, there were five teams. After lunch we did power and fitness lessons. First there was four in a row, one of which was a shooting game. We then did a game where we had to pass the ball back and forth to one another, then someone would pass it to us and we would shoot and see if we could score. I made it to 3rd place despite scoring just one of six, unfortunately I then missed both of my penalty shots. It was then time for the awards. Joe Moynan won players’ player; Joe also won Mr Hodges manager’s player as well as Ricardo. The prizes were tickets to an Argyle game of their choice.

I would just like to say thanks to these amazing people; Mr Hodge for providing an incredible experience, the players but particularly Roman for being so good, the people from Marjons for giving us an insight as to how everything works and Goals Plymouth for letting us use their facilities. By Eren Kocyigit 8I

SKIING

This year’s Skiing and Snowboarding Challenge Week enjoyed great

weather, with 43 students taking to the slopes. From Yr 7 through to Yr 9, students had the most amazing time learning new skills; challenging themselves mentally and physically. All students were awarded certificates and badges for their levels of attainment at the end of the week, with the majority gaining a Level 3 in skiing and Level B in snowboarding.

Having achieved a Level 4 in skiing and C in snowboarding a small number of students are now able to

SURFING

|14...together we achieve more

ski and snowboard independently on the slope without the aid of an instructor; a significant achievement in such a short space of time in lessons. Après Ski activities included tobogganing and snow tubing.

It was delightful to see the students growing in confidence; having fun and learning things that some thought impossible at the start of the week. They also demonstrated great support for each other, working together and encouraging

each other, and being responsible and respectful throughout the week. Well done to all and a big thank

you to Ms Farrow, Mrs Tuxford, and Mr Laycock for all of their help during the week.

Menheniot Harvest Festival Service

Class 3 led Menheniot Primary School’s Harvest Festival Service in the

Parish Church of St Lalluwy. The children donated food items for the Liskeard and Looe Food Bank. Altogether the food collected weighed in at 76 kg which equated to enough food to feed seven people for at least three days.

Amy and Margaret wrote to the Queen telling her all about our Summer topic

which was ‘The two Queens’.

This is a photograph of them wearing the crowns they made, holding their pictures of the Queen.

Menheniot Letter From Buckingham Palace

Liskeard Show

For the second year running Liskeard School entered competitions shown in the

domestic tent at the Liskeard Show. However this year the entries were even bigger and better!

With over fifteen different categories the students’ work varied from seasonal fruit pies to Japanese poetry; from models of cells in the human body to touching boxes from home to WW1 soldiers on the Frontline; from landscape paintings to Y11 GCSE wooden furniture and models.

The positive feedback from members of the public and families of the students was great to hear, as we were able to showcase

just a flavour of the amazing achievements and creativity of our school.

We are already making plans for next year!

15| a place where...

On 6th October 2015 the A level engineering students went to

Plymouth University and visited the materials laboratory to use the equipment to gain test data for their A level course work.

Students used a tensile testing machine to test how much force is required to break various metals and hence determine the yield stress and ultimate tensile stress of each material.

Students were shown the use of hand held X-ray machines that could analyse the elements of various materials giving the exact percentage of the elements that make up the materials.

They used the most up to date technologies in material science in experiments such as testing the hardness of metals. Using the equipment they could accurately measure the indent from a diamond

Plymouth Uni Engineering Visit

forced into various metals which indicated the hardness of each metal. The tests they witnessed at the lab put what they had been learning at school into practice.

Students also had the opportunity to speak to PhD students about their PhD projects. One student explained her project on fatigue testing. The student used the test equipment shown which used cyclic loading, (the metal being put under stress on and off repeatedly) at a frequency of 15Hz, to grow cracks in aluminium plate. A crack grew from the notch at a certain rate and it was possible to predict when the material would fail. This type of experiment gave the Liskeard students an understanding of what

‘real world’ engineering was about and solutions to real engineering problems. The Liskeard students also spoke to a qualified dentist completing an engineering research project using an electron microscope looking at cell growth on titanium implants. The microscope was able to view the cells at a magnification of a millionth of mm. All this new technology completely inspired the engineering students where they came away awe struck and had a better understanding of what they would like to do as a career within engineering.

Year 12 Biologists spent the day on the rocky shore at Wembury, conducting

a quantitative analysis of biodiversity on different tidal zones on the shore.

They were joined by a volunteer from Looe Marine Conservation group who is also a second year Marine Biology and Oceanography student. She was extremely impressed with their surveying skills. The students found some real treasure on the lower shore including beautiful star ascidians, velvet swimming crabs, polycheate worms, porcelain crabs, strawberry anemones and even a sand mason worm.

Year 12 Biology - Rocky Shore Ecology Trip

|16...we can investigate, be creative and experiment

Sunshine and Smiles - that’s how Liskeard School and Community College Sixth

Formers will remember their summer prom. The weather held out and everyone was able to enjoy the warm summer evening at St Mellion International Resort in Saltash.

It was a perfect way for students to celebrate their time at Liskeard having all worked so hard for their exams. Hannah Graham was crowned Belle of the Ball with Tom Fry winning Beau of the Ball but all students looked stunning in their gowns and tuxedos. A very proud Director of Sixth Form said “This is always a time of mixed emotions as it is exciting to hear all the students’ plans for the future but it is sad to see them go after working with them for so long. I am sure that they visit us with all their news of what they have been doing and until then I wish them all the best and hope that they are happy in whatever they choose to do’’

Sixth Form Ball

First of all Mrs Crosswood set us some homework. It was to make a Spanish hat.

The reason we were making the hats were because Saturday was the European Day of Languages so all of the new Year 7s had to make a Spanish or a French hat and there would be prizes for the winners. There would be two winners, one for French and one for Spanish.

On the Monday we all came in with our fantastic hats and it was just like any other day, same rules and things, but once the bell went after lunch everyone put on the hats that they had made.

European Day of Languages

Then when everyone was silent Mr Mitchell said to each Year 7 tutor that they had to pick three hats that they thought were the best in their tutor and then those students would go up on stage and Mrs Chinn (Assistant Head of Year) and Mr Mitchell picked the best of the best, although they were all fantastic.

In the end after a hard time thinking they picked the winners. In the French group the winner in first place was Chloe Hawke and the runner up was Natasha. First place in the Spanish category was a bull hat by Owen Unsworth and runner up was Emily and that was the amazing day of Spanish and French hats. Demi-Lee Walker 7K

17| a place where...

Year 12 Biology students visited the Electron Microscopy Centre at

Plymouth University, getting them off to a brilliant start for their brand new two year A level course.

The students had the opportunity to use state of the art transmission and scanning electron microscopes which are used to study everything from meteorite crystallography to

diagnostic pathology.

Following the lecture, we visited

Year 12 Electron Microscopy Centre Visit

Plymouth University library where the students were able to use undergraduate books to further research the practical applications of electron microscopy.

Mr Inger and Miss Oldham were very

Liskeard School and Community College student and former Caradon

Hockey Club player Molly Walsh represented England in The Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games held in Manchester over four days from 3-6 September.

Hockey is one of twelve sports played at the Sainsbury’s National School Games. Students compete in an U17 competition with England, Scotland, Wales & Ulster battling it out. The England side beat Wales 4-1 and Ulster 3-1 in the classification matches to face Scotland in the final on Sunday going on to win the gold medal with another convincing 3-1 win.

The games seek to create an inspirational and motivational setting that not only provides elite young sports people with the opportunity to thrive and perform at the highest levels, but encourages more young people to take part and succeed in sport. The Youth Sport Trust has developed and organised the Sainsbury’s 2015 National School Games with support and funding from the National Lottery and Sport England. Molly started playing hockey aged eight with Caradon, building her

Molly Walsh at the Sainsburys School Gamesexperience through the continuously developing junior section of the club. By the age of thirteen she was playing senior club hockey and over the next few years progressed from county to regional levels through the England Hockey Single System.

Last year Molly was selected for the National Age Groups (NAGS) Academy where athletes benefit from high quality technical and tactical coaching led by England Hockey Development Coaches. This involved fifteen sessions at the nearest regional centre in Taunton during 2015. She has also been attending the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire. This is a government

funded apprenticeship scheme which involves four residential camps designed to directly measure the athletes ability to plan, apply and evaluate their development in hockey covering a range of modules and leading to NVQ certification. As a result of this dedication, Molly was selected to play for England Under 17s in the National School Games bringing home the gold medal.

All this has been done bearing in mind her academic studies at Liskeard School and Community College as well as her part time jobs as a life guard at both Lux Park and Looe Bay Holiday Park.

impressed with the enthusiasm of the students and are very much looking forward to teaching them over the next two years.

|18...we achieve, reflect and improve

Sports Day 2015 brought with it sunshine and showers, sport, music, a blazing BBQ

and most importantly a fantastic atmosphere.

In the netball tournament we saw some fantastic passing, dodging and pivoting, some amazing shots and brave interceptions. All tutor groups fought hard against the other tutors groups in their year which brought out the competitive side in everyone. This year’s netball was fiercely contested with six teams entered in each year group. The eventual winners of each year group were 7I, 8L, 9E, and 10S. There was a real sense of team work with lower years stepping in to fill places in the upper year groups and the Sixth Formers helping where ever they could. Sportsmanship was evident throughout and the rain even held off until the last game!

In rounders, close games in every year group meant that there was fierce competition throughout the morning with nearly 200 children throwing, hitting and catching.

All matches were played in a friendly atmosphere and the high standard of play meant all players had to be ready to work hard for their team – to chase down every ball and keep the opposition scores to a minimum. Ably assisted by Sixth Form volunteers, staff ensured that quick changeovers between matches kept the energy levels high and the excitement brewing. Quality play in the field with competitors diving to make catches and accurate throws into posts meant that hitting needed to be accurate if rounders were to be scored and there were fine examples of sportsmanship and friendly rivalry between the teams in each year.

Support and encouragement from team mates and strong leaders on the pitch saw the Year 9 competition end in a win for 9K, victory in Year 8 went to 8I with runners up being 8K and in Year 7, 7S reigned supreme.

The sports day football tournament took place with over 150 pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 vying for top spot in their respective competitions.

Sports Day 2015 A league format allowed each team to show off their defensive skills and attacking prowess! The Year 7s showed their potential for enjoying future success at the school with some fantastic performances from many pupils. We witnessed 20 yard screamers, diving saves, thundering headers, half way line lobs and absolute rocket shots which kept all the staff and spectators highly entertained throughout! It was great to see both girls and boys providing an entertaining and infectious event with enjoyment and fair play at the core of the competition.

A huge thank you and well done to all of those involved. The eventual winners were 7E, 8A and 9L.

The Kwick Cricket event was a new addition to our Sports Day and was an immediate hit due to its inclusive nature. The integration of Year 10 and Sixth Form was seamless with all participants playing with a smile on their faces. The games were competitive and keenly contested with standout performances from Louis Devine and Rhys Colrein. Our eventual winners were 10K who performed consistently throughout the entire day.

The 2015 sports day volleyball tournament was keenly contested as per usual with games being

officiated by a specially trained team of teacher referees who encouraged sportsmanship and fair play at all times. Play commenced with the added pressure of playing in the middle of the sports day arena watched by the educated eyes of spectators and with all competitors being influenced throughout by the tantalising smell of the nearby barbeque.

The early results suggested that the invitational Sixth Form team would be a force to be reckoned with, unlike the staff team whose personnel appeared to change with each consecutive game – a team strategy that ultimately led to embarrassing failure. As the tournament progressed it became apparent that 10K were struggling to adapt and that 10A were clear favourites, eventually culminating in a final between the Sixth Form team and 10A, which the older students won 25-23. A massive thank you and congratulations to all the teams involved.

After an amazing morning of competition, unfortunately the day was cut short by some heavy showers and at lunchtime the call was made by the tournament umpire to postpone the relays until the last day of term - and what a way to finish the year it will be!

19| @Liskeard_School www.liskeard.cornwall.sch.uk

On Tuesday 29th September 23 students from Years 10 and 11 at Liskeard

School, visited Sandy Park in Exeter to get involved in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Year 10 and 11 girls were county rugby champions last year with the boys reaching the semi-finals.

It was a beautiful hot autumn day with the group arriving early to soak up the atmosphere, pose with the Webb Ellis Trophy and take photos outside the ground.

The match was a Pool C clash between Tonga and Namibia. The students had fantastic views from the stands and managed to get in a few shots broadcast live on ITV4.

Student Amy Bunt was interviewed from the stands at half time by BBC Radio Devon and Radio Cornwall. She said “The trip was an unbelievable experience and it was great to get involved in such a big event.”

Students witnessed fast breaks, hard hits and some unbelievable individual skill as well as meeting England woman’s captain Maggie Alphonsi during an entertaining 35 to 21 Tongan victory.

The students were amazing ambassadors for the school and, via a huge Cornish flag, literally flew the flag for Liskeard Looe Rugby Club who helped secure extra tickets to ensure more students could enjoy the live action.

Student Abbie Palmer tweeted “Best day ever! Thank you @Liskeard_PE and @LiskeardSchool for arranging such an unbelievable experience.”

@Liskeard_PE

Rugby World Cup 2015

Sainsbury’s School Games Silver Mark

Liskeard School and Community College’s PE Department is delighted to

announce it has been awarded with the Sainsbury’s School Games ‘Silver Mark’ for commitment to the development competition across the school.

The award is a government led scheme to reward schools for their hard work in physical education.