Worthing High SchoolApril 2014

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD

Dear Parents, Carers, Staff and Governors,

Having had a successful Ofsted Inspection in January we finish this term with a great sense of optimism. I must pay tribute to the staff for their enormous and continued efforts to work hard in order to improve the learning experience for all students at Worthing High. The distance travelled from December 2012 to January 2014 is considerable and we look forward to further success as we continue the push to ensure our students have the best possible education provision.

As you will see from the content of this newsletter it has been an extremely busy term for students of all year groups. To name but two, our Yr 9 Science team, competing in the University Science Challenge at Royal Holloway. Olivia Baker, Luke Brown, Ellie Drake-Sexton, Jo Mei-Christopher and Harvey Cairns did fabulously well and were only narrowly beaten in the final. Yr 11s took part in the British Physics Olympiad with notable success for Poppy Taylor, Jack Leitch, Stephen Brown, Sam Moore, Jess Jackman and Tom Reynard.

Earlier in March we welcomed Janaki, Headteacher of St Joseph’s School in India. In November last year 15 Year 10 students visited St. Joseph’s to work with the students in the school. Janaki spent the day with us and was kind enough to share her amazing story of how she set up St. Joseph’s.

This term we wish Mrs Graham well as she leaves us on maternity leave, and we say good bye to

Ms Kemmish who leaves to take up an ICT post at Davison High School for Girls. Ms Freestone, Ms Northover and Mr Squibb also come to the end of their contracts with us and we extend our gratitude to them for filling the gap whilst we await new staff to take up their permanent posts.

We were very fortunate to appoint Mr Mansell to cover the maternity absence of Ms Graham, and that Mr Mansell was able to start in March.

At the start of term we will welcome Mr Browne into the Science Department and

Mr Janardo into the MFL department.After May half term Ms Friel and Ms Phippen will be joining the English department and Ms Timms the Science Department.

I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continuing support and to wish you a very peaceful Easter.

Kind regardsCarolyn Dickinson

On Thursday 27th February a group of four Y9 students took part in the University Challenge Competition held at Royal Holloway College, University of London. The team was:

Olivia Baker, Luke Brown, Ellie Drake-Sexton and Jo Mei-Christopher.

In their first round the team faced Collingwood School and had a convincing win scoring 32 points. The questions were varied from muscle systems, planets, photo-synthesis, colour of flame tests to working out the chemical elements (based on the symbols used in the periodic table) which make up words like cosmos, cube, bone and clone. The team gained the highest score in the first round, their closest rivals being Windsor Boys with 29 and that meant that they automatically went through to the finals. Windsor Boys then had a play-off with Silesian College, the winners being Windsor Boys.

On Saturday March 1st the team was joined by Harvey Cairns as reserve and they started the day with a series of activities as part of Super Science Saturday in the

University Laboratories. They were able to look at microscope slides of viruses and bacteria, taste some ice cream made with liquid nitrogen and investigate static electricity.

The team then faced the final competition against Windsor Boys. The questions were similar (if not slightly harder) and lasted twice as long as the match on Thursday. The quick fire questioning required a rapid response on the buzzer from the teams and the two sides remained close until the end when Windsor Boys pulled ahead with questions on computing, what does AIDs stand for and fossil questions like what is a trilobite. In the end the Worthing team came in second overall and were presented with Amazon vouchers by the Professor Paul Hogg, Dean of Science.

UNIVERSITY SCIENCE CHALLENGE

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As part of the Speakers for Schools programme Professor Sir Richard Jolly visited Worthing High School on 6th March 2014. In 1959 Sir Richard took part in the British Alpine Hannibal Expedition, which investigated the route taken by Hannibal’s

famous crossing accompanied by a 1.5 ton elephant called Jumbo. This expedition was of considerable interest to our

students and raised a number of questions. Sir Richard worked for the United Nations as Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, has been a Trustee of Oxfam and is currently

Honorary Professor of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Not surprisingly then

Sir Richard’s talk was based on the theme of “Everything you ought to know about the United Nations” with links to development in terms of equality, education and economic stability. After the talk Sir Richard engaged in a discussion session with the students who asked questions like “How effective has the UN been in solving international disputes?”, the role of women in the UN and of course “What can the UN do about the situation in the Ukraine?” Questions were also raised concerning routes into the UN as a career and Sir Richard was keen to point out the importance of languages, particularly French and Spanish, which he noted were strong subjects at Worthing High School. He also commented on the active involvement by the School in overseas projects like “pump aid” and our links with India which supported his theme of being active in doing something to make a difference in the world.

SIR PROFESSOR RICHARD JOLLY

WORTHING HIGH STUDENTS TO READ MEDICINE AT OXFORD

Worthing High is delighted that two students who graduated from the school in July 2012 have been offered conditional places at Oxford University both studying medicine. Robert Hyder-Wilson has been offered a place at Christ Church College, Oxford to study medicine and Ben Griffin has also been offered a place for medicine at Wadham College, Oxford (where Sir Christopher Wren studied).Headteacher Carolyn Dickinson said: “Everyone at Worthing High School is enormously proud of

both Rob and Ben, congratulations are certainly due to Rob, Ben and also the staff at Worthing High who taught and inspired the boys to achieve not only their potential at GCSE but to aim for the very best university.”Robert said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Worthing High as Oxford

University selection criteria was heavily weighted towards my GCSE grades which I achieved whilst at Worthing High. I was also recently awarded The Thomas Read Memorial Award at BHASVIC recognising my education achievement at the college since I left Worthing High which I am also very proud of.” Robert is also training to run the Brighton Marathon in April this year for Teenage Cancer Trust. To sponsor Robert please contact Worthing High School on 01903 237864.

Ben Griffin said: “I am really happy that I have been offered a place at Wadham and I’d like to pass on my thanks to all the staff at Worthing High for their support. The high GCSE grades I achieved helped me to secure my offer of a place at Oxford University.”

Rob Hyder-Wilson Ben Griffin

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Date EventTue 22nd April Students return after Easter Holiday (Week 2 on return)Thu 24th April Simply Dance Event – Worthing PavilionThu 1st May Parents Evening – Year 10Tue 6th May STAFF INSET DAYFri 9th May Geography, Ferring Rife Trip – Year 8

Mon 12th May Start of Year 11 examsMon 19th - Fri

23rd May National Walk to School Week

Mon 26th -May – Fri 2nd June

Half term (Week 1 on return)

Fri 27th June Prom, Long Furlong Barn, Year 11Mon 30th June – Fri 4th July

Enrichment Week – All StudentsGeography Italy Trip – Year 10,

Work Experience Week – Year 10Thu 3rd July PE Achievement EveningFri 4th July 100 Year Celebration DayFri 11th July Activ8 DayThu 17th July Worthing Society for the Blind Community Event – Year

8 & 9

Fri 18th July WHSA Summer FestivalTue 22nd July – Fri 25th July

History, Berlin Trip – Year 10

Wed 23rd July Last day of Summer term (students leave at 1.30)

SUMMER TERM: NEWS AND EVENTS

Worthing High School has been delivering free maths sessions for parents with the aim to increase their confidence so that they are able to help with their children’s homework. Andy Lutwyche, one of Worthing High’s maths teachers, led five two-hour sessions focusing on content decided by the attendees. This covered a large portion of the GCSE curriculum and a quick guide to online resources which support homework in maths.

Mr Lutwyche said: “The idea came from a similar programme we used to do through West Sussex. Parents also expressed a concern about helping their children with homework in maths so we were really pleased to provide an opportunity to raise parental confidence. The feedback has been entirely positive and based on this we plan to run more sessions in the future."One parent said: "I am really grateful to the school for providing this opportunity

and would highly recommend the course." Another said: "it was very useful and a nice refresher to keep up to date with how maths is currently taught."

FREE MATHS HELP FOR PARENTS

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2013 INDIA TRIP

REFLECTING ON OUR ‘LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE’.

‘A life-changing experience, full of memories that will stay with me forever.’ – Eden, Year 10.

In October 2013, we were lucky enough to be part of the team

chosen to go to India with the CRED Foundation charity. During our visit we worked in St Joseph’s School, visited the slums, a leprosy colony and a

stonebreakers community. The team worked together and individually to fundraise the money to get us out there and to buy our teaching resources. We worked in pairs to plan and deliver lessons to classes, which had between 25 to 50 non-English speaking students! The whole experience was amazing, a trip of a lifetime, and I can honestly say it was the best ten days of my life, even the 3 days of travelling and 6 flights!When I got back it took some time to re-adjust. Speaking to others who had been on previous trips, I had been told it might affect my outlook on things, especially when I returned home. It has certainly made me realise that we have so much and they have so little out in India; yet we are the ones that often think we are missing out on things or would like

more. In comparison, we have everything we could possibly want and have become used to a society where people expect almost everything instantly. I don’t think anyone on the team takes anything for granted after working so closely with students who are lucky to have food on their plates that evening. They are always smiling and make the best out of every situation – no matter how tough things are. Also, seeing how hard they have to work for so little pay is shocking. Since being back some of us have taught classes on cultural differences, in local schools. Others have presented assemblies to each of the different communities in our school about our trip to raise awareness of the challenges of living in rural India.Recently, Janaki came over from India to talk to us a bit more about her life and what spurred her on to set up FIAM (her charity). She also showed us a video of the students at St Josephs, which included everything we had taken out on our trip and highlighted the benefits of some of the different teaching techniques we used. To hear it had made such an impact on both the students and the teachers after we had gone was fantastic. Doing this trip has definitely made me want to travel more and experience different cultures. I would like to do some more CRED trips so I can work closely with the communities that really need it. This trip has given me, and the team, life changing experiences, skills we can carry through life with us and many unforgettable memories.

“I miss all the amazing things we did in India, especially the kids at St. Joseph’s School. When Janaki came to visit us at School, I was so happy to see her again! She told us all about her story and said we could write to all the kids at St. Josephs and told us that they missed us very much. I think that there is so much going in the world and being able to help people less fortunate was such a big deal to me. I would love to go on another trip as it would give me so many more amazing memories, thank you CRED’’. – Nancy, Year 10

“One of my favourite aspects of the trip, for me, was the team. We all worked so hard to raise funds for this trip and once we arrived, I instantly realised all this hard work had paid off! We had the most amazing time, my life has changed in so many ways and I am full of memories that I will take with me forever.

The trip showed me that we all need a little help in our lives from time-to-time, not only the less privileged in India but also us, in a team; we all needed to support each other to overcome all the challenges. I would love to be able to go on another trip and would definitely recommend it to everyone!’’ – Abi, Year 10.

Article written by: Sophie Penfold, Year 10

Janaki with the Team at Worthing High

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As part of our Community Outreach focus, Worthing High School students have been busy visiting residents in local nursing homes, the aim of this is to engage the residents and build relationships with them.On Friday 21st March, we visited Berkeley Lodge to offer a musical programme as part of their entertainments provision at the home. Berkeley Lodge Nursing Home is conveniently located in the centre of Worthing and offers a specialised care service for people suffering with a form of dementia.The students involved in the project were:Emily Coles, Ella Digby, Zara Goldsmith, Aine Gradisher, Finley Griffiths, Marc Henderson, Milo Liau, Kim Logan, Fleur McBride, Joe Mei-Christopher, Caitlin O’Brien, Nicholas Short, Amelia Smith, Phoebe Walker, Oscar Zienkiewicz, and Jevhan Pandya.

Many of the students gave solo performances or teamed up for duets, all students joined in with some choral pieces and traditional sing-along songs, some accompanied by a ukulele.

Year 10 student, Emily Coles, said, “Having the opportunity to use our musical talents to entertain people who in some cases do not see much of the outside world anymore or have much contact with young people, is deeply rewarding. We have got to know the residents really well now due to this being a longstanding link. I always look forward to visiting Edna in her room and giving her a private concert. Edna cannot join the others in the day-room, so we take the music to her. Seeing Edna smile and hearing her singing along makes this a really important opportunity for us.”Steve Jeffery states, “We have become good friends

with the Lodge. The staff have been essential in educating our young people about what it is like to have dementia and how important music is to restoring memories and improving their quality of life. I am reminded of the value and importance

of community-spirit every time I witness our students giving their time and talents to entertain and bless others. Worthing High students always make me very proud.”

The Community-Outreach team will be performing at The Cloisters and at Melrose Nursing Home in the near future.

BERKELEY LODGE

Worthing High School has been working very closely with a local charity, Worthing Scope.Worthing, Littlehampton & District Scope strives to support people with cerebral palsy and similar disabilities to stand up for their rights, lead fulfilling, rewarding lives, and play a full part in the life of their community and this country.

Students of Worthing High got to know the clients of Worthing Scope over a number of months. Friendships developed and out of these positive relationships, our young musicians and lyricists composed a song entitled “New Coat”.

The song writing process was nurtured by Steve Jeffery and singer-songwriter, Emily Baker who is also a lecturer at Northbrook College. Northbrook College released Emily to work with our students and the college also produced and engineered the recording

at their state-of-the-art recording studios.

The song is now complete and has been mixed. It will be launched on iTunes on the 1st April 2014 and publicised through local media as a charity-download. All funds raised through downloading will go directly to Worthing Scope. The students have made the school exceptionally proud and we are thankful for all those who support Worthing Scope.

WORTHING HIGH SCHOOL SONG - DOWNLOAD

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‘I really enjoyed the day and would definitely recommend it to students next year!’ – Emma, Year 9

On Friday 14th February 2014, twenty eight Gifted and Talented Year 9 and 10 students visited the University of Brighton for a day of activities run by Brighton’s PGCE Geography trainee teachers. The day was a real success and all our students made Worthing High proud with their exceptional behaviour, continued engagement and enthusiasm throughout the day.

The day consisted of a variety of different activities which were

centred on active learning, the topics included: Globalisation, Sustainability and Climate Change. A wide variety of learning styles were tapped into, with activities including the use of Brighton University’s iPads to plot the journey of a pair of jeans from creation to being sold and group work to assess the impact of humans on the globe’s climate.

The day was a fantastic opportunity for our students to work closely with a range of university graduates to develop their learning in each of the topics.

‘I really enjoyed visiting Brighton University for a day of master classes; the activities were really interesting and give me a chance to learn more about each of the topics.’ – Nick, Year 10.

The trip celebrates the strong links which are being made with the Geography department and Higher Education establishments, allowing students to gain a personal insight into University life and future careers in Geography.

BRIGHTON UNIVERSITY GEOGRAPHY TRIP

On Thursday 20th February a group of ten students from Worthing High School visited St John’s College, University of Oxford for the day. St John’s was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White and is home to about 390 undergraduate students and past graduates have included Kingsley Amis, Philip Larkin and former Prime Minister Tony Blair. After an introductory talk about applying to University and the “Oxbridge” system our students were given a guided tour of the College by two first year undergraduates one of whom was studying chemistry and the other theology, so quite a variation in backgrounds. They provided an interesting tour of the college and life from a student prospective from the quiet order of a Tudor library to a lively Junior common room. This was followed by a good lunch in the dining hall which dates from the 16th century and is lined with impressive portraits of dignitaries including a former president Sir John Kendrew who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1962.After lunch our students had

some time to tour the City highlights on a scavenger hunt where they were given a series of tasks to complete from the location of the first Oxfam shop opened in 1947 to the names of three Oxford Colleges located in Turl Street (Exeter, Lincoln and Jesus) before passing the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1664.

On completion of the hunt the students returned to St John’s for an introduction to Classical Greek symbolism and an activity based on finding links between images and religious and cultural activities in the Classical World. Phoebe Walker, a Year 10 student reported on the day as follows. “The recent trip to St John’s College in Oxford was an incredible experience - the picturesque setting of the old

college along with the beautiful architecture of the buildings made sure that the visual appeal of St John’s was at a maximum. The Schools’ Liaison Officer was welcoming and fun, as were the students who talked to us and gave us a tour of the college. Personally I had two favorite places within the tour. The new building was beautiful and I loved the story of the 350 year old tree and also the library had the most amazing feel to it - just seeing it made me want to stay and spend hours pouring over the old books. Another part of the day which I think everyone enjoyed was of course lunch. The delicious food combined with the great atmosphere as well as the energy of the people around us was lovely. My favorite part of the trip however was the session on Greek Mythology which was presented through images. I’ve always loved everything about the Ancient Greek culture and Patrick, a first year classics student delivered the session with an inspiring amount of passion as well as a good dose of wit. All in all it was an awesome day and it has opened up my eyes to the possibilities. I want to go back properly as a student.”

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

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‘There is no substitute for ‘real-world’ learning.’ - Geographical Association.

As part of the GCSE Geography course, Year 10 students visited Chichester for their Controlled Assessment fieldwork. Fieldwork is a valuable component of the Geography curriculum, allowing students to actively engage with the world around them. The trip provides students with a day to apply the knowledge they have acquired in the classroom to a real place and test whether it meets the classroom theories.

Students spent the day in Chichester looking at different aspects of the area, allowing students to test the hypothesis: ‘Chichester lacks the services necessary to be regarded as a major shopping destination’. The data collection included a land use survey, pedestrian count, field sketches and a questionnaire. Highlights of the trip included seeing the Mayor of Worthing (Bob Smytherman) who took part in the questionnaire for students, thus adding to their evaluation section of the project to test the theory of Chichester’s ‘Sphere of Influence’.

The project creation has now begun in the classroom with Year 10 students applying their findings from the day to geographical theories – this project is worth 25% of their final GCSE Geography grade.

‘The trip gave me a chance to test whether what we have learnt in the classroom actually applies to somewhere I have been!’ – Sophie, Year 10.

The fieldwork aspects of the days promotes motivation in geography and builds skills in team work, evaluation of theory and a personalisation of learning whilst the project develops a range of skills which will benefit them in higher education and their future careers in Geography.

Mark Leswell – Geography Department

SUCCESS AT SUSSEX CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP

CHICHESTER CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TRIP, YEAR 10

Worthing High students achieved great success at the Sussex Schools Cross Country Championship this term.

Despite the mud and the threat of getting soaked there were a record number of 550 runners at the Sussex Schools Cross-country championships at Waterhall, Brighton. Organised by Chris Jones and students and staff of the Cardinal Newman Catholic School this was the largest number of runners for at least a decade and our students really enjoyed the event.

Jack Leitch Year 11 finished 14th in the Inter Boys race with a very strong, determined finish and his brother Matt Leitch, also Year 11 finished 21st in the same race with

another excellent run and gutsy sprint at the finish. There was a good field of at least 150 runners in their race. Jack is now automatically selected to represent Sussex in an Inter-County race next month. Matt has to wait on tenterhooks to see if he will join him, as only the top 20 are selected.

Millie Hughes Year 9 finished a gallant 53rd, in a field of over 200 Junior Girls - once again a fantastic effort, especially in the wet, misty and sometimes windy conditions. Max Holland Year 9 also ran in the Junior Boys race.

Nicky Stevenson, Worthing High PE Teacher said: “The course was pretty challenging and extremely muddy, slippery and very narrow in places;

good stamina was needed to combat the slopes and uphill part, and a determined tactical race plan to keep ahead and know when and where to overtake. Our students did very well and we are proud of their achievements.”

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LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRE

Chris Bradford visited the school this month to talk to our Year 8 students. We also welcomed many of our feeder schools and local secondary schools.Chris put on a fabulous action packed show and students all had an amazing time. We heard about how he trained in martial arts and personal protection

to write his Young Samurai and Bodyguard books. He told us what it takes to be a good Bodyguard and he also showed us some

basic techniques (kihon waza) with his Samurai Sword (Katana).

Many students got the chance to participate in the presentation, Matthew Clegg being one. On hearing that Chris was coming to WHS Matthew read all of the Young Samurai series in just four weeks! Chris presented him with a signed copy of his Bodyguard book. Many students said it was one of the best author talks we have ever had and our feeder schools are looking forward to returning for any future events.

Chris Bradford – Author Visit

Would you like to join in? You can join a book club or read them by yourself. Come to the LRC for more information.

The Awards are rounded off with an amazing Presentation Evening on Friday 11th July where you get to find out who has won and meet the authors.

All family members and friends are welcome to attend the presentation evening.

Further information on the website: http://amazingbookawards.co.uk/

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Earlier in the year we started our first joint book group with a local school, The Vale Year 7 students. On their first visit our Year 9 book club students introduced them to the library which they thought fantastic and spent the first half of the visit excitedly looking around selecting books they would like to read off the shelves. Many went home with a long list of books to pass on to their parents. Our students then gave enthusiastic reviews of their favourite reads and these books were then donated to the Vale School library so that their students can enjoy them too. The aim of the joint book group is to introduce the students to the amazing array of fantastic children’s fiction there is

available to them and to encourage them to read different and more stretching books. We have now met three times and the students are currently reading MAXIMUM RIDE.When we met at the Chris Bradford event they were all keen to tell me how much they are enjoying the book and are looking forward to meeting up again next term.

Happy Easter everyoneMrs PhelanLearning Resources Manager

WORTHING HIGH AND THE VALE SCHOOL COMBINED BOOK GROUPS

On the first Sunday of each month, Worthing High School

have hosted an “Acoustic Café” event at Green Cuisine Café,

Rowlands Road, Worthing

Unfortunately the Green Cuisine

has now closed and is not renewing its lease.

Worthing High would like to thank Clare and her staff at the Cafe for

all their support over their four years. They gave our students the

opportunity to perform to their friends and family, which has

helped the students grow in both ability and confidence.

These events were very popular indeed, and proved to be a lovely way to spend an afternoon, listening to live

performances and enjoying food and drink in the café.

So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Green Cuisine and wish Clare all the very best

in her next venture.

If anyone has an alternative venue that has the facilities required for live performances then please do not hesitate to contact Mr Jeffery

on sjeffery@worthinghigh.net

ACOUSTIC CAFé

SADLY ENDS

Our Year 9 students reading along with The Vale

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ROBOT WARS, STEMNET 2014‘I really enjoyed the day, I loved learning about how science can be used to make and control robots!’ - Amy, Year 8

On Tuesday the 25th March, a team of four Year 8 pupils and 2 teams of Year 9 pupils visited Ricardo’s in Shoreham for a fun packed day of ‘Robot Wars’. This was part of a STEMNET (Science Technology Maths and Engineer-ing) promotion to encourage young people to consider careers in each of these vitally important areas. Schools from all over the South East had been invited, trophies and cash prizes were awarded to the winning teams.

As students excitedly waited to arrive at the venue, Miss Davis explained to the students that Ricardo’s does secret work for McLaren and other car/motor-bike/train companies like Volkswagen. On arrival, students had individual name badges and were taken on an exciting tour of the factory floor, engine testing hangers and discovered that cars were made to sound sporty using clever engineering techniques!

Dr Klemenic ensured he took notes and is cur-rently hard at work adapting his Fiat to sound like a formula one car!Miss Davis was very impressed with the role of engineers at the facility, one role includes pushing each of the manufacturers engines to the limit in attempt to find faults and limitations of each piece of machinery; this is a serious business as car engines need to be tested to see how many hours they can last in thousands of different weather conditions.

Matthew, Year 8 said: ‘I really enjoyed manoeuvring the robotic crane, although I nearly dismantling Ricardo’s safety screens in the process!’

The time had then come for students to begin the building and testing of their own robots. All students enthusiastically began designing, building and testing each of their robots. The students could use only the materials they were provided with on the desk, cocktail sticks, plastic cups, cardboard, sticky tape, paper, pencils, some tin lid wheels, a remote controller and a servo connected to 2 wheels.

They were allowed to use a hot glue gun only to attach the wheels to the servo.

Some of the designs were incredible: there was a mouse, a block of cheese, a kitten and even a giraffe! The final adjustments were made and then the floor was cleared to turn it into the arena for football robot wars to take place. This was closely followed by SUMO robot wars where the robots fought to their death on top of an ever decreasing table top, the last robot standing was victorious. Despite doing well in several heats, the team narrowly missed winning. However, all the Worthing High teams competed in an honest and exemplary team manner at all times. Miss Davis and Dr Klemenic were exceedingly proud of all the students who took part.

Well done to all the students, the days are now counting down until next year’s competition.

INTERNATIONAL PEN PALS Students in Year 9 and 10 have been developing international relationships through writing letters to students in schools in Spain and France. The students passionately write about their current learning in Modern Foreign Languages and send these to students of a similar age group at Enrique de Arfe School in Toledo, Spain and Elbeuf sur Seine in Rouen, France. Once received, students then correct the spelling, punctuation and grammar in their letter and include it with their response. The letters allow students to discuss cultural differences and students are enjoying this creative method for writing in French and Spanish.

‘It shows me the importance of learning a different language as I need it to communicate with my pen pal.’ – Year 10 student.The activities have really engaged students with their learning. There are plans to build the relationships further with Skype communication and the possibility of a future trip.

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DRACULA

SPECTACULAR

“I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the success of Dracula Spectacular! It was so much fun, thank you to everyone who came to watch!”- Ben, Year 10

The eagerly awaited production from Worthing High School finally arrived at the beginning of March. The strong cast of 34 aged from 12 to 16 reproduced the comical ‘Dracula Spectacular Show’.

It tells the tale of the forces of good against evil as the Lord of the Vampires seeks to seduce the sweet and vulnerable school teacher, Miss Nadia Naive. The front man Ben Curtis played Dracula remarkably in the eerie and immensely entertaining production which is set in Transylvania.

The cast pulled out all the stops with all- singing, all- dancing rock and roll through the upbeat music and sleek choreography. The hilarious comedy routines created by Luke Scattergood

and Amelia Smith were a particular highlight that kept the audience entertained and created variation within the show.

This school production was a fantastic experience for all involved and highlighted the fact that we have so much young talent throughout Worthing High School. I would like to thank all of the staff and students involved for making the production a great success.

“I would love to be part of more plays here at school; it was so worth all the hard work!” Emily, Year 9

Gates Open 12pm (SELLERS ONLY) Car Boot Sale Starts 12.30pm

(BUYERS)

Sellers cars/people carrier £6Transit Van (private) £10

Transit Van (commercial) £20Buyers – adults 25p, children free

Refreshments available

5th April, 10th May 14th June and19th July 2014

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GUARDIAN JOURNALISTRETURNS Jemima Kiss, a former pupil of Worthing High, is the Head of Technology at The Guardian. She covers stories on big technology businesses, start-ups and technology trends and is also a member of the British Journalism Review editorial board and has been with The Guardian since 2006. Jemima returned to Worthing High School to give a careers talk to some of our Year 10 and 11 students on Wednesday the 5th of March.‘This interesting and informative talk gave us an insight into how technology can be used to make us more efficient at work and during our later life’ – Jade, Year 10 pupil.

The talk excited students into considering careers in journalism, technology and business along with promoting students to continue their learning journey from Worthing High into higher education. During the talk, Jemima explained how her smartphone has increased her efficiency whilst working at The Guardian newspaper. Jemima gave an example by saying: ‘I use the

maps application to find my way to a location, use another app as a Dictaphone and then check my emails all using my smartphone’. Jemima also trailed a new technology during the talk, a clip on camera. Jemima and the students however recognised some flaws with the technology, including privacy issues.

On Wednesday 26th March, Selected Year 10 and 11 students were treated to a ‘Newsroom Bootcamp’ workshop by John Young, a television and radio journalist. The session included interactive quizzes and games which allowed students an insight into how the media works. This was useful preparation for the English Language GCSE, focussing in on Non-Fiction techniquesused in today’s media

and giving students a taste of life in a newsroom, working to deadlines and careful consideration of an audience.

The students enjoyed the experience and many showed a clear interest in the job opportunities that are available in the media. They were enthusiastic and engaged throughout the workshop and were a credit to the school.

NEWSROOM BOOTCAMP

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A group of 26 Year 11 Physics students took part in an exciting competition named ‘The British Physics Olympiad (BPhO)’. It involved a series of four Physics competitions, encouraging young physicists to test their understanding and problem solving skills. It was open to Years 11-13 (GCSE to A2) with Worthing High School being the only non-fee paying school taking part. We are delighted to announce

that Poppy Taylor, Jack Leitch, Stephen Brown, Sam Moore, Jess Jackman and Tom Reynard were all awarded Bronze 1 certificates - a brilliant achievement!The BPhO shows students the real-world application of class-room based theory through a series of open ended problems. The competition will gain students a prestigious award which can be used for their CVs and UCAS forms when applying

to university. Many students whom have taken part in this event have continued their learning journey onto higher education, with many graduating from Oxford and Cambridge. “When I was 18, I represented Britain at the International Physics Olympiad in Yugoslavia and had a great time!’’ David MacKay, Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK, Department of Energy and Climate Change.

BRITISH PHYSICS OLYMPIAD

Worthing High School singers are currently enjoying the challenge of singing Madrigals. A madrigal is a secular song written in a number of parts – mainly from the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, they are unaccompanied and the number of voices involved varies from two to eight. Worthing High School’s Madrigalia has been learning French and English Madrigals and will soon add an Italian piece to their repertoire. The first madrigal that they mastered was “Margot Labourez Les Vignes”. This was performed in 4-parts (SATB) and sung in French. It tells the story of a peasant woman attending to her work on the grapevines as her lady muses on how the outcome of the crop will affect her destiny. Colin Mason, the onetime bass from The King’s Singers describes how nobles and royalty around the time of

the song’s composition were very fond of hearing songs about how hard the workers laboured away as it brought them closer to the countryside, but the very last thing they would have wished to do was get down to it themselves.Madrigalia certainly had to labour over this piece as the nature of the polyphony makes it a challenging piece to learn and to perform. They certainly did master it and enjoyed giving numerous public performances of it to great acclaim. Currently, they are learning Gibbon’s “The Silver Swan” which is even more complex and now ready for public airing. Our next venture will be to learn the ancient Catalan madrigal, “Din Dirin Din”. Madrigalia are currently building up a repertoire so that they can perform a substantial set at public events. We are proud of each member of the Madrigalia, they work exceptionally hard and make theschool proud which each and

every performance. If your son/daughter is keen to be involved in a music ensemble such as this, please contact Mr. Jeffery for more details. The group rehearses on Wednesday lunch-times in the music room.On Thursday Lunchtime, the school choir meets to rehearse. This is a keen and musical group of young people from Years 9-11. We are thrilled to have all four parts (SATB) available this year and this has enabled us to attempt more challenging and highly rewarding pieces. Currently, the choir are learning the following pieces: “Oh Happy Day”, “It’s Me O Lord”, “The Rhythm of Life” and “Down by the Riverside” Last term, we enjoyed learning “Gonna Build a Mountain” and also composing our own piece in 6-parts. The choir is open to any interested student from Years 8-11 and is run by Mr. Jeffery in D7.

USING OUR VOICES

Tel: 01903 237864email - achieve@worthinghigh.net

U15 CRICKET- LORD TAVERNERS INDOOR TOURNAMENT

Worthing High School hosted the U15 Taverners indoor Tournament on Friday 14th February. The students enjoyed a fantastic day of cricket developing their skills in bowling, batting and fielding. Worthing High school entered two teams into the tournament a mixture of year 9 and 10 students. The B team competed strongly with excellent bowling on display from Abi, Heidi, Eloise and Jazmine. Dolly as wicket keeper proved vital preventing any additional runs. Erin, Caitlin, and Maddy all worked extremely hard and clocked up a number of runs for the team. WHS A team showed superb bowling and fielding, taking wickets and making catches in all matches.

Ella Bourne captained the A team and lead by example throughout. Fantastic bowling from Ella, Grace, Skye, Shania, Tammy, and Brittany was on display throughout the tournament. Grace, Tammy and Lucy showed excellent skills as wicket keeper and Emma worked tirelessly in the field.

Final positions WHS A team 1st; second, third and fourth place were determined by number of runs as all teams finished on the same number of points.

The Angmering School finished 2nd, TLA 3rd and WHS B team 4th. and Diana NicholsonMiss FieldHead of PE

A selection of Year 10 and 11 students from Worthing High School have been making the School proud through their commitment and excellence in an U16 girls district football league.

The team has fought and battled with the best of teams from a range of other schools, including: Shoreham Academy and Davison, competing and attacking in every situation, in both the League and County Cup for football. As the girls gained experience, it was clear to see both the

girls’ skills and fitness levels improving. Each of the girls are to be congratulated on their continued commitment and team spirit throughout the season. In particular, credit must be awarded to: Emily (Captain) who has lead by example, Abi whose determination and efforts in goal have kept the opposition on their feet, Holly and Eloise who have been excellent at the back and Lucy and Dolly who have both been pivotal players in midfield and upfront this season. The girls have been an absolute pleasure to take to all the fixtures and I look forward to their continued commitment and team spirit for next season. The team have been a real credit to Worthing High School and a massive well done on their victory.

Miss FieldHead of PE

U16 GIRLS WIN DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Team: Holly Nelson, Abi Downham, Eloise Lumley, Dolly Culver,

Emily Wadge, Lucy Steel Absent from photo: Jade Minter.

FINAL RESULTS:

1st- WHS2nd- SRWA3rd- Shoreham 4th- Davison5th TLA6th SGS

Team Captain Emily Wadge (right) receiving the trophy