1 Issue No 19/2015-2016

Thetford Grammar School

The small, friendly school that gets results for individuals.

12th February 2016

Dear Parents and Pupils,

As we fast approach our half-term break, we have enjoyed yet another extremely busy and

positive week here at Thetford Grammar School. For your information, our Half Term

Reports are being sent out today with your children.

At the end of last week Pre-Prep and Preparatory School held their House Swimming Gala

at Breckland Leisure Centre. It was delightful to watch keen, active and talented

participants, and see all the children cheering on other swimmers irrespective of their House

colours. Well done to all the pupils with particular thanks to Mr Michael Hill, Gala

Coordinator, and all Preparatory School staff for their generous time and support.

Tuesday and Wednesday’s performances of Grimm Tales provided us with an amazingly

theatrical spectacle this week. The performance, I was fortunate to watch twice, had some

wonderfully professional, confident and entertaining acting with breath-taking stagecraft,

including sound and lighting. I was particularly pleased to see how our younger pupils and

older students interacted so positively and well together. My appreciation is extended to our

two dedicated Year 13 Directors, Emily Bell and Phineas Humphris and to Mrs Juliet Boyce,

Head of Drama, for all her hard work and effort.

Four pupils from Year 10, Henry Bittleston, Brynmor Jenkins, Max Elders and Toby Culling

attended a Maths Competition at St Benedict’s Catholic School in Bury St Edmunds on

Tuesday this week accompanied by Mrs Tania Beukes, Head of Mathematics. With fifteen

schools competing in an array of numerical and problem-solving challenges, the boys did

exceptionally well and received First Place in this tough county competition. Well done to all

four pupils.

Our Whole School Assembly in Williamson Hall this morning saw Endeavours Awards (in

Pre-Prep and Preparatory) and Commendations (in Senior School and Sixth Form) presented

to almost ninety pupils and students from across all phases. As always, hard work,

dedication and focus can ensure the best approach to school and maximise outcomes. Well

done to all pupils who received their certificates.

My fondest wishes to you all for a very happy and healthy half-term holiday. I shall look

forward to seeing you refreshed and ready for the second half of this term on Monday 22nd

February.

Mr Mark S. Bedford

Headmaster

2 Issue No 19/2015-2016

WEBSITE ISSUES

A number of you will be aware that we have experienced some technical issues with our

website recently. Scans of our whole network and Virtual Learning Environment show a

clean and secure system and we are working closely with MIUK to ensure that our website

is fully functional as soon as possible. We always advocate that all computer users should

ensure that antivirus software is running and up to date on their machines at home.

Mr Mark Foreman Thetford Grammar School

PREP SCHOOL HOUSE SWIMMING GALA

Well done to all the competitors in this year’s Swimming Gala. Pre-Prep pupils took part in

a variety of mini races and games in the learner pool whilst Prep School pupils participated

in 18 races in total including Relays, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle, Butterfly and even

a Kipper Sandwich race! The overall winners were Coles House, scoring an excellent 59

points, closely followed by Millingtons with 56. Reeds were third scoring 34 points and

Cronsheys were fourth with 32.

The staff were very impressed with the sportsmanship shown

on the day towards each other and the House Captains did a

great job making sure that everybody was ready for their races.

3 Issue No 19/2015-2016

Thank you to all staff who helped on the day and also behind the scenes in preparation for

our annual event.

Mr Michael Hill

PE Teacher

MATHS FEAST

On Tuesday 9th February four pupils, Max Elders,

Toby Culling, Henry Bittleston and Brynmor

Jenkins, participated in a “Maths Feast”

competition run by the Further Maths Support

Programme (FMSP) at St Benedict’s School in

Bury St Edmunds.

This is a national competition which combines

mathematical, communication and teamwork

skills and offers students another way to express

and develop their enjoyment of Mathematics. The

competition was considerable, with fourteen

other schools in total fighting for the coveted first place.

4 Issue No 19/2015-2016

The first round, their mathematical entrée, was a true or false round, pitting the boys’ wits

against challenging questions. In this round Brynmor took the lead by demonstrating his

mental agility, helping to bag the school 20 of the 24 points available in the round, coming in

top position for this section of the competition

The team moved onto a countdown style round, having to find one number, using six given,

in just a minute! Toby excelled in this round, using his mathematical prowess to earn yet

more points for the team.

Halfway through the competition, the staff declared Thetford to be in the top six. Spurred on

by this encouragement, the boys tackled the third round with great gusto, in which the boys

created a rectangle using unique pentomino shapes. Max Elders dominated in this round,

using his shape visualisation to construct complex shapes.

The penultimate round added immense pressure on the team, as the boys had to, under

timed conditions, learn algebraic notation on ‘imaginary numbers’. Henry came into his own

during this round, displaying his broad knowledge of Mathematics to score the boys 15 of

the 20 points, a score noted even by the invigilator!

The final challenge, and the last chance to prove themselves, was a rapid relay round. The

boys felt the pressure mounting, with cracks becoming evident throughout the team. Easy

marks were often dropped, but despite this TGS pulled through, showing outstanding

teamwork, and securing their position in 1st place.

Overall, the event was an astounding success. A very well done to all the boys who

participated, as well as Mrs Beukes who helped organise the event.

Brynmor Jenkins, Toby Culling and Max Elders

Y10

SCHOOL COUNCIL

A huge thank you must go to the out-going

Y13 students of Omar El-Oakley, Emily Bell,

Robbie Heighton, Jacob Dunn, and Suzie

Hayden for their wonderful effort and

contribution to the Student Council.

We now welcome Y12 students Gus Altuccini,

Rachel Brown, Rebecca Grimmond, Harry

Mayall, Kirishoban Sanjeevvijay, Alfie Bloomfield, Edward Taylor-Grant and Clemency

Wood who will be leading the Student Council for the next three terms alongside

representatives from each form group. The Student Council continues to grow in strength

with a wide variety of issues and suggestions being tackled.

Mr Mark Glassbrook

Student Council Coordinator

5 Issue No 19/2015-2016

LAW REPORT

A mock trial organised by Mr Young, Head of

English, elicited some convincing performances

from budding lawyers in Y12 and Y13.

Presenting a case prepared by the Bar Council,

there were opportunities for students to play a

myriad of roles, including prosecution and

defence, witnesses and court officials. Y8

English pupils were subpoenaed to act as jury -

who found the accused guilty as charged.

Take him down!

Mr Stephen Spencer

Head of Sixth Form

JOHN INNES SCIENCE CAMP 2016

Huge congratulations to Toby Culling in Y10 who has just been accepted onto this annual

event giving gifted and talented pupils in Norfolk and Suffolk the chance to experience life

as a scientist at the John Innes Centre.

Pupils apply individually and have to complete an extensive application form covering their

favourite subject, what they would get out of the week and have to describe an experiment

they have enjoyed. This is then supported by a reference from myself.

The week-long structured training programme is held at the end of the summer term and

consists of interactive workshops, networking sessions, practical training and lab experience

placements. Well done Toby!

Mrs Tracy Granger

Head of Science

UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE

Our Y12 and Y13 students this year achieved 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze certificates. Over

8,200 students from across the UK returned their Maths scripts with only the top 10%

receiving Gold, the next 20% receiving Silver and the next 30% receiving Bronze.

Gold Robbie Heighton

Silver Kirishoban Sanjeevvijay

Thomas Dennis

Bronze Megan Curley

6 Issue No 19/2015-2016

Approximately 4,600 of the top students are invited to sit one of the next rounds and Robbie

Heighton was invited to take part in the Senior Kangaroo and received a certificate of

participation after achieving a score equal to the median score, which places Robbie in the

top 7,000 students out of 82,000 in the UK.

Mrs Tania Beukes

Head of Maths

PREP SCHOOL ASSEMBLY – UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING

LATIN

On Monday 8th February, pupils from Senior School attended

Prep School assembly. Jack and Tom Bercovici, Pippa and

Thomas Buckley and Laurie Hyde-Parker prepared and

delivered a presentation about the benefits of learning Latin

when pupils join Senior School. The presentation was

extremely informative and fun.

Jack Bercovici wrote: We

taught them, through role play with younger students,

how to say Hello (Salve), my name is...(nomen mihi) and

Goodbye (Vale). We hope it was enjoyed by all.

Alexis, Y4 said 'I really enjoyed the assembly. I liked

learning about Latin and some of the words that we

would learn'.

Following on from the Latin presentation, Jemimah

Bedford then spoke to the pupils about her

involvement with Thetford Library. Jemimah

explained that on Fridays after school, there is a group

that meets to talk and find out more about books. This

month's theme is 'Chocolate'! Children under the age

of 8 must be accompanied by an adult and children

over the age of 8 can attend unaccompanied.

Jiya, Y4, said that when she heard the word chocolate, she definitely wanted to attend!

Thank you to all of the pupils for well prepared and inspiring presentations.

Mrs Nicki Peace

Head of Prep School

7 Issue No 19/2015-2016

Y12 HIGHER EDUCATION EVENING

UCAS 2017

Y12 students and parents attended an

information evening in which Mr Bedford

outlined Higher Education opportunities in

general. Mr Spencer explained the specific

support provided by the TGS team and

encouraged all students to take advantage of

upcoming events. The first of these is a campus

visit to the University of Nottingham on

Tuesday 8th March, followed by a visit to TGS by a speaker from the University of Kent on

March 11th. On April 26th we will attend the UCAS Higher Education Convention at UEA,

Norwich. UCAS 2017 will go live in June, by which time our cohort will be very well-

informed indeed!

A big thank you to all who attended the event.

Mr Stephen Spencer

Head of Sixth Form

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

On Monday 8th February, Mrs Bullen and her niece Mi came

to visit Pre-Prep for a Chinese New Year celebration. The

pupils of Pre-Prep were treated to delicious food tasting,

trying on Ao Dai traditional dresses and even had a go at

learning some Vietnamese and Chinese words. Great fun

was had by pupils and teachers alike. A very special thank

you to Mrs Bullen for kindly visiting us with her wealth of

knowledge and a very Happy Chinese New Year to all.

Miss Franchesca Atkins

Teaching Assistant

8 Issue No 19/2015-2016

OLLY DAY ROAD SAFETY MAGIC SHOW

On Wednesday 10th

February, pupils in Prep

School were visited by the

Olly Day Road Safety

Magic Show. Olly Day

taught the pupils about

ways to stay safe whilst out

and about and combined

these important safety tips

with some magical treats.

Mrs Nicki Peace

Head of Preparatory School

WORLD BOOK DAY

Thursday 3rd March is World Book Day and we have a number of exciting events

organized for that week.

Monday 29th February Alex Scarrow – Author visit with Senior School pupils

‘A Pirate Adventure’ for Preparatory pupils

Thursday 3rd March Preparatory School Book Character Day and the ‘Story of Mary

Anning’

Friday 4th March Tasty Book Competition – cakes/cupcakes with a book theme

The attached poster tells all! There is also a separate notice about our Tasty Book Competition – I have been hearing about some great ideas! (but shh… don’t tell your friends – it’s a competition!)

Mrs Julie Settle

Librarian

‘TO BE OR NOT TO BE?’ A DANISH VISITOR WRITES…

I was very excited to visit this school and meet the students. They

have all been friendly and helpful, making a good first impression

and I thank them for that.

The school is in many ways different from my school in Løkken,

Jutland, but there are also similarities. I think that the teachers in

9 Issue No 19/2015-2016

Prep School do very well with the younger children, who learn to read at a young age

compared to Denmark, where we start school much later at the age of 6. I like your school

uniform because it looks smart and it reduces the risk of bullying.

The similarities are that we learn broadly the same subjects, like art, music, our native

language, a foreign language (English for us!), science, maths and history.

I must say that the pupils here are much more polite than those at my school and that is an

important lesson for us all. I am looking forward to seeing some of you again in Løkken.

Miss Anja Præstekær

Danish Student

BUMPER HOUSE BOOK QUIZ: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS OFFICIAL ATTEMPT

We are excited that our students have the opportunity to

participate in a Guinness World Records official attempt to

have the most people taking part in simultaneous book

quizzes. This will take the form of a Bumper House Book

Quiz on Monday 22nd February from 2.00pm – 3.00 pm.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS: As part of

the evidence required to show that we have conformed to GWR

regulations we must submit a video of the event. The video will

only be used to send to GWR to verify our participation in the record attempt.

If you do not wish your child to be video recorded for this event then please contact us by email or

telephone by 9.00 am on Monday 22nd February. Thank you.

Mrs Julie Settle

Librarian

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the following pupils that received certificates from Mrs Peace in Monday

morning’s assembly.

Kit Beaven Sophie Codd Ethan Harris

Elliot Bedford Eleanor Culling

Also, well done to those pupils listed below who received endeavours certificates from Mr

Bedford in today’s main school assembly.

Freddie Bayne Arlo Greenwood Sophie Peace

Elliot Bedford Matthew Kendall Noah Sanders

Ryan Bourne Max Ladell

Jiya Changela Holly Mabbett

10 Issue No 19/2015-2016

The following pupils received commendations this term from Mr Bedford for their excellent

academic performance over the last half term.

Alexandra Ackerman Sophie Gornall George Rupp

Max Albury James Gornall Angus Russell

Cameron Anderson William Graham Shaswathan Sanjeevvijay

Evangeline Bedford William Hartley Elizabeth Shelton

Emily Bell Suzie Hayden Kate Shelton

Jack Bercovici Robbie Heighton Emma Sibley

Henry Bittleston Phineas Humphris Megan Sidery

James Blackman Gabrielle Hunter-Short Daisy Simons

Edward Briars Sophie Jacklin Amy Smith

Megan Brown Brynmor Jenkins Nathan Smith

Rachel Brown Samuel Jones Chloë Sorrel

Philippa Buckley Clarissa Katsikides Emily Stainsby

Mollie Carlyle Zoe Kendall Frank Summers

Rosabella Coleman Jenni Kingsnorth Patrick Taylor

Isabel Curley Charlotte Long Grace Tod

Daniel Connolly Ella Mason Isobel Tod

Toby Culling Minnie Molyneux Emily Tomkins

Patrick Davis Tomás Morgan Charlie Trowell

Thomas Dennis Charlotte Ogilvie Madeleine Trussell

Eleanor Dickens Miranda Patalidis-Thomas Cecily White

Omar El Oakley Oliver Peace Louise Wigglesworth

Franziska Elders Eleanor Pringle Alana Wilson

Maximillian Elders James Robertson Clemency Wood

Seb Floyd Ruby Robertson Elizabeth Wright

Kudzi Garikayi Kai Rourke Jacob Wright

Chloe Garrett Emma Ruddy

Also well done to the following pupils on their awards:

Jenni Kingsnorth Lamda Acting Grade 1 – Solo - Distinction

Franziska Elders Lamda Acting Grade 1 – Combined – Distinction

Madeleine Trussell Lamda Acting Grade 1 – Combined – Distinction

Robbie Ackerman Lamda Acting Grade 1 – Duo – Distinction

Elizabeth Wright Lamda Acting Grade 1 – Duo – Distinction

Emma Sibley Lamda Acting Grade 3 – Combined Merit

Grace Tod Lamda Acting Grade 3 – Combined – Merit

Rory White Lamda Acting Grade 4 – Duo – Merit

James Blackman Lamda Acting Grade 4 – Duo – Distinction

Andrew Forbes Lamda Acting Grade 4 – Solo – Merit

Katie Doyle Lamda Acting Grade 2 – Combined – Merit

Tilly Pettingale Lamda Acting Grade 2 – Combined – Merit

Maia Chalfen Sports Colours for Hockey U16 level

11 Issue No 19/2015-2016

Ella Perry Artist of the Month for Creative and Inspirational Artwork

Robert Heighton UKMT Gold Certificate

Kirishoban Sanjeevvijay UKMT Silver Certificate

Thomas Dennis UKMT Silver Certificate

Megan Curley UKMT Bronze Certificate

MATCH RESULTS

None

NEXT WEEK’S FIXTURES

Tuesday 23rd February U12 Netball v Thetford Academy (A) 4.15pm Pick up 5.30pm

U13 Netball v Thetford Academy (A) 4.15pm Pick up 5.30pm

Thursday 25th February U13 Area Netball Tournament @ Wayland School 4.00pm Pick up

5.45pm

Friday 26th February U11 Netball v Downham Prep (A) starts at 2.00pm. Pick up 4.00pm

from Old School

Friday 26th February U11 Football v Downham Prep (A) starts at 2.00pm. Pick up 4.00pm

from Old School

Saturday 27th February U11 Football Tournament (A) Finborough School

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Monday 22nd February Back to school

Guinness Book of World Records Bumper Book Quiz attempt

Y4-9 WH

Tuesday 23rd February 6.00pm – 8.30pm Y10 Parents’ Evening in Williamson Hall

Wednesday 24th February 9.00am – 3.30pm Y13 Geography trip – Cambridge

4.15pm – 5.15pm PSA Meeting H5. All welcome

Thursday 25th February 2.30pm – 4.30pm Senior School Open Afternoon

Monday 29th February Y7/8 Workshop with Alex Scarrow

Tuesday 1st March Charity Bake Sale for MS

Friday 4th March General Studies Talk Old School 11.00am – 12.00pm. Parents

welcome

12 Issue No 19/2015-2016

SIXTH FORM GENERAL STUDIES

Parents are invited to attend Sixth Form General Studies on Friday 4th March, when Dr Lee

Jarvis, Reader in International Security at UEA (and author of Anti-terrorism, Citizenship and

Security) will be our guest speaker. The event will take place in Old School from 11.00am-

12.00pm. Please register your interest through the school office.

BBC RADIO NORFOLK – EX PUPIL SUCCESS

Ex-pupil Callum Granger's rock and blues band 'Dog Fight' were played on the BBC

‘Introducing’ programme last Saturday. This is the link if you would like to hear their

original song – ‘Fool like me’. It is about the third tune into the programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03g3ts4

The energetic duo are playing a half hour slot at Norwich Arts Centre on Saturday 5th

March between 1.00pm and 4.00pm as part of the Arts Centre Sonic Youth programme. If

you can make it they would be really pleased to see you.

Mrs Tracy Granger

LOST PROPERTY

Ethan Harris ‘Patrick’ Rugby sock – named

Hamish Russell Blue Sondico Shinpad

Gabriel Galveias black gloves – they have a ‘star wars’ picture on each one.

If found please hand in to the office – thank you.

ATTACHMENTS

World Book Day Poster

Tasty Book Competition

FORTHCOMING LETTERS

EYFS – Y13 Reports home today

Pre-Prep – Y2 Visit to Church Farm, Bardolph

Prep-Prep – Y6 Open Morning

If you would like a printed copy of this newsletter please contact the office.