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December 2019

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Dear Parents/Carers

As we move ever closer to Christmas, it is a great time to reflect on the successes of this term. Once again the school has broken all records this academic year at both GCSE and A level. Our provisional Progress 8 data at GCSE shows that we are officially above average as a school with English results well above average for the third year running and strong results in almost every subject. At A level 55% of results were at grade A*, A or B and progress was above national expectations.

These results strengthen our position as one of the strongest schools in the Borough. They are also testimony to the hard work that our students have put in as well as the support from staff who have gone over and above what is expected of them providing revision sessions and delivering quality teaching. Attendance at FBA is also now well above the national average and in the top 20% of secondary schools at over 96%. We are extremely grateful to parents for only taking your daughter out of school when it is absolutely essential. The school continues to be very popular. This was evident during the Ofsted inspection in July. Our parents and carers also continue to tell us at Parents’ Evenings and Welcome Evenings that 97% of our students are happy at school, 97% feel safe, 97% are well looked after and 95% make good progress. At the

Student News 14

History Dept News 14

Jack Petchey 15

Science News 16

Duke of Edinburgh 18

FBA Train News 19

Library News 22

PE News 23

Appleby Gallery 26

Head’s Introduction 1

Year 7 news 3

Year 8 news 4

Year 9 news 5

Year 10 & 11 news

Charity News

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Sixth Form news 11

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recent Open Evening we again had very positive feedback and we continue to be extremely oversubscribed in Year 7 with record numbers in Year 12 too. With almost 1500 people in the building on a normal school day, it is important that students know how to behave calmly and sensibly at all times, treating the school and all of the school community with the respect we all deserve. As well as being a community at FBA, we are part of the local and global community. This year we have been able to support a range of local and national charities. Only last week, the Christmas Jumper Day raised nearly £600 for Save the Children. The Appleby Gallery was officially opened this term, commemorating our longstanding Head of Art, Jacinta Appleby. This term it has hosted the SACRE Primary School Exhibition and the Anne Frank Exhibition which has become an important annual part of life at FBA. Sports successes include Maddie Biggs in Year 11 playing football for England as well as the school winning a wide range of local and regional trophies. You can read more about this inside. We will say farewell this term to Mrs Jupp who worked in the Sixth Form team, Mr Venables, who taught in the Music Department, and Miss Nutman, our Head of Geography, who has been promoted to the Senior Leadership in another school. We are grateful for their contributions to the school.

The LIFE Education Trust, which we founded in 2016 in partnership with Benhurst Primary School, has now grown to include six schools in total. In November we were delighted to attend a ceremony at the NEC in Birmingham as a finalist in the MAT of the Year category. Although we didn’t win, it was great recognition of the progress we have made in the last three years. It continues to be a great delight to lead this wonderful school with the strong support of Ms Darabasz, Mr Turrell, and our other leaders and teachers. Thank you for your support and I hope you have a very peaceful and enjoyable Christmas. With best wishes

Julian Dutnall Executive Head

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Year 7 As our Year 7s finish their first term at FBA, I would like to congratulate the whole year group on a very successful first few months! It can all be a little confusing at first but I am delighted to say that the girls have shown a maturity and resilience that is beyond their years whilst settling into their new forms and sets. Summer Project Congratulations to all those pupils who handed in their Summer Projects on time. The bar was set high and it was a tough decision to choose an overall winner. I am pleased to announce that Alvira Moledina in 7O won with her fantastic project and she won a well-deserved Kindle Fire! Well done to everyone who took part.

Bus Safety Experience The Year 7s all had the opportunity to meet a local London Transport Police PC this December. Each form had one session where they were given lots of useful information about transport safety and rules. The PCs then answered any questions the pupils had. Sadly the bus was unavailable but we used a class room instead. Streetwise Project on Road Safety On Tuesday 12th November, we were lucky enough to have a visit from the Streetwise Project which focuses on safety around roads and how to avoid taking risks as a pedestrian. The Year 7s watched a drama then took part in an interactive activity where they had to answer questions focusing on the aspect of safety. It was very entertaining as well as making us think about road safety. Student of the Form: • F Elisabeth Boyd

• B Sophie Potter

• E Zara Hover

• L Amelia Williamson

• O Sophie Apelgren

• R Libby Cook

• S Brooke Atkinson

• W Eve McKelvey Mrs Worth

Progress Manager Year 7

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Year 8

This year has seen a lot of changes for Year 8. It has been my first year at Frances Bardsley as Progress Manager for Year 8 and it has been a pleasure. Year 8 have worked so hard this term and have achieved so much; we are incredibly proud of them. Rewards: Every week we give out rewards to students from every form- huge congratulations to everyone who has achieved a certificate and prize! Star of the week: each week in Year 8, form tutors select a student in the form and give out rewards to the ‘star student of the week’. Well done to all those who have won so far. Attendance: Congratulations to 8S, who have won the best attendance of term so far and have won the Attendance Cup. Form of the term: every term, we pick a ‘Form of the Term’ who win prizes and a movie afternoon with their form tutor. The first term’s winners were 8B, and the second term’s winners were 8L. Congratulations and Well Done! Walton-on-the-Naze Trip On Thursday 26th September the whole of Year 8 went to Walton on the Naze. The students were conducting Geography fieldwork related to the topic of coasts. After a rainy start, we were lucky the sun came out and it was a very enjoyable, sunny day. We visited the beach, the Naze tower and had some fish and

chips. Year 8 were impeccably behaved and were very responsible the whole day. Year 8 Science Competition Winners Congratulations to the Year 8 students who won the science competition against 5 other schools and are through to the Regional finals in London next year. The students also won a trophy that has been proudly displayed in the science department. This is a brilliant achievement, Well Done! Year 8 Helpers Every day we have two Year 8 students who are based in the school reception as the ‘Reception runners’. The students have been fantastic in passing on messages, delivering things across the school, thank you and well done. I would also like to congratulate and thank the Year 8 students who gave up their time to show parents and visitors around the school on Open Evening and Open Morning. The students are our best ambassadors for the school and Year 8 represented the school very well. We are incredibly proud. Jack Petchey Award Winner: Year 8 are very proud to present Gresa Ahmetaj 8F with the Jack Petchey Award for 2019. Gresa was awarded in Assembly and gifted £250 to present to the department of her choice. Gresa was chosen because she is a wonderful student to have in Year 8. She has 100% attendance, excellent punctuality and 22 Achievement Points. Gresa is polite, hardworking and goes above and beyond in every aspect of school. She

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is an asset to the year group and we are very proud of her. Year 8 Christmas Show On Thursday 19th December, Year 8 performed a ‘Christmas Show’ to the Year 7s in the Rose Theatre. It was a wonderful, festive and fun-filled afternoon with lots of amazing performances from each form group and lots of very talented Year 8 students. The Year 7s seemed to really enjoy themselves. It was a wonderful afternoon for all and a lovely way to end the term. It has been a busy first term and I am very proud of Year 8. Well done on all you have achieved and your hard work. I wish you a Happy Christmas and New Year.

Miss Tauheed Progress Manager, Year 8

Year 9 How this school year has flown and already we have so much to celebrate so far within Year 9. The girls took part in a Suffragette workshop on the 26th September, all were very mature and engaged, I hope they came home with some interesting conversations for you all. Well done to all the girls who interviewed to become Anne Frank peer mentors, the final sixteen girls who were selected are:

Amelia Toff

Michaela Iron

Jazmyne Wright

Riana Dalip

Awa Mamadou

Mollie Greene

Jessica Harding

Shakira Bitali

Hermani Mistry

Molly Kerfoot

Lucy Henney

Zoe Mntazi

Ines Gomes

Paulina Atanasova

Rebecca Troubridge

Isabelle Meecham

All the girls who have 100% attendance are invited to watch a film at lunch time, this is calculated on a monthly basis, and so far the number of girls invited has been, September 167, October 161 and November 140 girls, well done to these girls. Attendance is vital so that you don’t miss the start of a new topic, an explanation or coursework time.

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Each week the form tutors nominate a pupil in their form for outstanding work, being helpful, polite manners, going above and beyond. Congratulations to all the girls who have received this recognition so far this term. We also monitor the girl’s Achievement Points and reward them in assembly with Outstanding Learner Cards and sweets. Achievement Points can be given by any staff member for a variety of reasons such as excellence in lessons, service to the school and an excellent piece of homework. We are very proud to that Year 9 have accumulated 2767 achievement points, and a special mention to Evangaline Harris in 9S who has 49 Achievement Points, the most in Year 9. Please follow the school twitter page, @fba_official so that you can see our weekly achievement photo. As well as focusing hard on our studies we also recognise the importance of developing team work and bonding within forms and in the year group. The form groups had a challenge to design outfits made from

either newspaper, toilet rolls or bin liners. We were very impressed with their creativity! There will be lots more challenges throughout the year and we look forward to sharing these on the school twitter account with you. Congratulations to all the Year 9s who took part in the inter form rowing competition. It was an exciting competition, congratulations to 9B who were the winners from our year group. We would like to welcome all year 9 parents/carers to come into school on Monday 13th January 2020 for tea and cake 8:45am – 9:30am, so that we can meet you all. As we only took over as Progress Managers to this year group in September we haven’t had the chance to meet you all and we would love to get to know you all over a slice of cake. If you can attend please contact Miss Parkinson on kparkinson@fbaok.co.uk 01708 443768 ext 228. Wishing you all a very happy and restful holiday, we look forward to welcoming the girls back in 2020 refreshed and ready to continue on our goal of being the best year group at France Bardsley Academy. We will leave you with this important quote. “Always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals” - Michelle Obama

Mrs Cole and Mrs Miller Progress Managers Year 9

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SEN Buddies

These are some of our Year 11 and Year 10 students who are SEN buddies, these students support and help within the Learning support department with students from the lower years. In September Kelly, Georgina, Rebecca, Codie, Ella –Rose and Rebecca supported our New Year 7 students with the transition to secondary school. They continue to be great role models for the other students and are

always happy to offer advice and guidance.

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Year 10 We have been working hard this term to ensure we are preparing ourselves for the challenges that Year 11 bring. Teachers have been awarding many Outstanding Learner Cards to the year group and in November, I had the pleasure of sending nearly 100 postcards home for various achievements. Well done to the following who were also chosen for our ‘Stars of the Half Term’ by their Form Tutors: Jessica Pelley, Suha Raufa, Olivia Williamson, Lia Mills, Rebecca Killigrew, Valerie Vasquez, Hadia Rehman, Sruthi Naidu, Jennifer Okemuyiwa, Gabrielle Safo-Frimpong, Sasha Widdett, Lauryn Chen, Suha Rosun- Jaufur, Eve Degun, Isabel Legg and Ann Cuarto. Congratulations to Eleanor Savine who was awarded with The Jack Petchey Award this term. As a year group we have been working hard to improve our attendance and are striving to have the best attendance in the school! The form with the best attendance this term is 10R and the most improved attendance goes to 10L. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and New Year

Miss Ford Progress Manager Year 10

Year 11

Safe Drive Stay Alive Along with other local schools from all over Havering, Frances Bardsley attended a very moving, yet eye-opening presentation called ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’. During this presentation, we discovered the consequences of Drink Driving and met victims of car crashes caused by this. We also saw how the emergency services dealt with Drink Driving and heard the moving story of how a mother lost her own son because of a drunk driver. These stories and personal accounts really showed us how serious the effects of Drink Driving can be and taught us how to take responsibility behind the wheel. The presentation was very effective, moving everyone to tears, but we were very grateful for the opportunity to attend it as everybody could take something away from it.

Chloe Haley

Year 11 Mocks The mock examinations in November and early December were far from stress free; however, they did not have the crippling feeling I expect from the real GCSEs.

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There were exams I walked into knowing I may not do as well as I would like, but I still pushed through and tried to do my best. Overall, the Mocks were good, but I know in order to improve my grades, I really need to revise better.

Georgina Bratton

Well done to Year 11 for getting through your first set of Mock Exams. I hope you all have a well-deserved Christmas break.

Mrs Wood Progress Manager Year 11

Charity News

On Friday 15th November, we held our annual cake sale to raise money for Children in Need. We were very pleased to raise £82.75, in addition to money raised through our Non Uniform Day on the same day as well. Thank you to the Charity Committee who worked hard to make this event a success Year 7 and 8 have been busy putting together shoeboxes of gifts this half term to donate to the local charity SMILE London and Essex. Catherine Brown

came to the school to collect all of the donations and was very pleased at the hard work of Year 7 and 8 to help ensure local families in need get a gift this Christmas.

Mrs McGrath

Charity Coordinator Catering News

Please visit the school website for information and to view the exciting new menus.

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December 2019

General Election On Thursday 12th December, the UK held a General Election, and the staff and students at FBA took part in our own Mock Election. We were really pleased to see students engaged with current affairs and taking part in form time and lesson activities that examined the manifestos from the three main political parties. This then led students to choose who to vote for on the big day. Our results were quite different from the official result, however we had a fantastic turn out of just under 1200 staff and students. Thank you to the 6th

Form students for helping to run the day.

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Sixth Form News It has been a very busy half term for the Sixth Form. Year 12 have had their mock examinations and Year 13 students have been busy preparing for their January mock examinations whilst writing the script and preparing the Christmas Pantomime. We have also held many events, which you can read about below: Year 12 Enterprise Challenge In September the Year 12 students were set the Enterprise Challenge. Each Year 12 form was given £10 and they had until 3rd December to turn that £10 in to as much money as possible, for a charity of their choice. Some of the chosen charities were Mind, Papyrus and Make a Wish. Over the last two months the students organised activities such as Sponge the Teacher, Sponsored Walks and Cinema Nights. Through their efforts the Year 12 students were able to collectively raise £2058.61, which is a huge achievement. The winning form themselves raised an astonishing £806.33. As a Sixth Form Team we are extremely proud of all the students who participated in order to make this challenge a success, and we feel that the innovative and enterprising skills utilised will benefit the students greatly in their future.

Open Evening On Wednesday the 13th November we held the Sixth Form Open Evening where prospective students from Frances Bardsley and other schools were invited to come and find out about our Sixth Form and all that we offer. Year 12 and 13 students helped out with setting up the evening and touring round prospective students and parents. The Sixth Form students and teachers came together for this event to help achieve a successful and informative night, demonstrating the community spirit that we value so highly here at the Sixth Form.

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Weston Homes Guest Speaker During a CARERS session, we had a guest speaker – Dawn Wylie, from the company Weston Homes came and gave a talk about her career and the different pathways this particular company offers. Hearing about her life and all the things she has achieved, being one of the only women in management of the company and in that field of work in general was inspiring. Dawn shared her experience of leaving sixth form and making that huge decision of whether she should go to University or not - something each of us face at the end of Year 13! Simply hearing about her choosing the world of work and accidentally falling into this company – to then become the youngest person appointed to her job was so motivating for us all. Learning about the field of Land Buying was also extremely interesting as stereotypically it can be seen as a male dominated career – yet Dawn worked her way up the company and is now Land Director of Weston Homes! She told us all the various pathways and sectors of this field and how there is something for everyone (which was extremely beneficial as everybody in the sixth form has different strengths.) Owing to the fact apprenticeships are becoming increasingly popular for 18+ year olds, having Dawn come in has emphasized to us that University isn’t the only option for us and our futures!

Law Bar Mock Trial Sixth form students were given the opportunity to take part in a Bar Mock Trial which required a lot of preparing beforehand and the trial took place on a Saturday. My experience of the Young Citizens Bar Mock trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court gave me a realistic insight into the crucial roles of people within the court. I was playing the part of the Prosecution barrister and although I was quite nervous and intimidated at first, I eventually found that I gained more confidence. The programme not only helped me to improve my public speaking skills, but my teamwork and advocacy skills. It also allowed me to take initiative, and pay strong attention to detail when making my prosecution argument. Overall, I found this experience really beneficial in deciding my career path and participating with my friends was also really enjoyable.

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Christmas Celebrations On Friday 13th December the Sixth Form had their annual Christmas Party where we listened to music and indulged in snacks. This year we were lucky to have a quiz organised by the Deputy Head Girl Anna. Everyone got involved and thoroughly enjoyed it. We also had our Christmas Jumper competition and it was great to see so many sixth formers get involved. These were our winners from left to right – (1st) (2nd) (3rd) (4th).

Careers News It’s been another busy start to the school year in the careers department. Work experience has been launched for Years 10 and 12 for the summer term, and some students have already secured their placements, which is excellent going. Year 11 students have been attending their one to one guidance sessions, and it is great to hear all of their career hopes and dreams for the future. Remember, be aspirational and aim high – you are still at the start of your career journey, and no two paths will be the same. Year 11 have also been using Unifrog, which is an excellent careers advice and guidance platform, with a careers quiz, subject and careers library, CV builder and so much more to use. Unifrog can be accessed via the school website – if you have any queries about this resource please do get in touch with me. I have also been very busy with careers assemblies for each year group, focussing on post 16 options, and careers of the future. With new technological developments, skills shortages and lots of new jobs and careers available, there’s a lot to think about! As we move into the new calendar year, make sure you make the most of the careers events and opportunities in school – here’s to an aspirational 2020! Thank you Miss Woods

Careers Advisor

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Student News

Debating Club Three students put their oracy and critical thinking skills to the test when they competed in the oldest and largest debating competition in the country. Saleem, Simona and Sasha- all in Year 10- have made it through to Round 2 of the English Speaking Union’s School’s Mace Competition in November. The Frances Bardsley Academy, hosted the competition, which included two debates: “This house would make voting compulsory” and “This house would limit each person to one return flight per year.”

Th e evening was chaired by Yenbon, with Shalleema as the timekeeper. The competition saw the FBA team going against pupils from Beale Sixth Form.

In the end, the team from FBA sailed through and impressed judges with their polished arguments and razor sharp rebuttals. The students will be competing in the second stage of the competition on Thursday 30th January at the Brampton Manor Academy against The Drapers’ Academy, who also made it through to the next round of the competition.

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History Dept News History trip to Berlin (4-6th October 2019) Over the weekend of 4th-6th October the History department took a group of 40 Year 11 and Year 13 students to Berlin. The trip was a great success with students and staff finding the trip very rewarding. Whilst in Berlin the students had the opportunity to visit a number of sites of relevance to their studies such as the Reichstag, Olympic Stadium and the remains of the Berlin Wall. The students also had the chance to sample the local cuisine on the Saturday night when they ate at a traditional German restaurant.

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Jack Petchey

September – Eleanor Savine 10S – Eleanor has been involved with the Charity Committee for a number of years and is passionate about raising money for our supported charities. In addition, she is always keen to sign up for additional opportunities and help others. October – Naima James 9W – Outstanding contribution to the PE department. Taken on role of Junior Gymnastics Captain and is organising the junior teams. Running training sessions, trials and routines in preparation for the competition. November – Gresa Ahmetaj 8F – Gresa is a wonderful student to have in year 8. She has 100% attendance, 15 Achievement Points. Gresa is polite, hardworking and goes above and beyond in every aspect of school. She is an asset to the year group and we are very proud of her.

.Mrs C Doherty Admin Support Yr 10

Science Dept News The Chemistry at work event

30 Sixth formers went to ‘The Chemistry at Work’ event at Tilbury Docks, over the October half term which was arranged by the Science Department. This is what one of the students had to say:

“The Chemistry at work event was a very informative and interactive morning of talks and workshops which gave us an insight into the wide range of careers that we could pursue by studying Chemistry. In one session we discussed how water is made safe to drink and saw how that safety is checked. In a Pharmacy session we learnt about the role of a pharmacist beyond dispensing medication, and decided as a group what we thought the best course of action could be for patients with different symptoms, like rashes or fevers. We also went to a few talks on chemical engineering which was particularly appealing to a lot of us, partly due to the exciting nature of a career with a lot of problem-solving involved, and partly due to hearing that it is the second highest paid graduate job!” This was a great opportunity for the students to see what jobs that could get in Chemistry and how they could go about pursuing careers. Some of this information has even been passed on to some Year 11 students who now want to attend next year.

Miss Hanna Science Teacher

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Faraday Challenge Day A group of six Year 8 girls took part in the Faraday Challenge Day at Royal Liberty School against 5 other schools from London/Essex borough. They worked extremely hard and won the competition and are now through to the regional finals! Although the girls are not allowed to share what they did (as competitions are still ongoing around the UK) this is what some of them thought about the day: “When I went to the Faraday Challenge I found it really enjoyable. The task was difficult but it was an amazing experience. I loved working with money to try and make the best thing that we could. Overall it was such a great day”. “When I went to the Faraday Challenge I found it quite hard but it was fun working as a team and figuring it out. We had to work with a budget and create a working invention. Overall it was a great experience and can’t wait to go to the regional final”.

Miss Hanna Science Teacher

London Zoo Skype Call

“Myself and a small group of students from both Year 9 & 10, had the opportunity to Skype a scientific researcher that works for London Zoo and ask them questions about their research and careers.

It was a useful experience for us given how we are fast approaching the pivotal point in our lives where we must begin considering our future careers. With such an immense variety of options for us to take into account, it was useful for us to be able to speak with people who themselves have been through this and learned from their past experiences.

We were able to learn of careers which we weren’t even aware existed and for those of us who have interests in subjects such as Geography and Biology, it opened out eyes to possible fields, particularly if we also had an interest in animals. Personally, I was most intrigued by the prospect of studying Biogeography (which I didn’t even know was a potential degree you could have) and it was great to hear about the different ways in which the scientific researchers discovered their own potentials and how they maximised their employability by actively volunteering and broadening their horizons through travelling. They shared their research to date (mainly regarding the vaccinations of wild or domestic dogs in an attempt to prevent the spread of disease) and kindly answered any questions we had regarding this and left us all pondering the prospects of studying such a thing for ourselves in a few years”.

By Aimal (Year 10)

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Duke of Edinburgh DofE Bronze Award 2019 Wednesday 7th November saw the 2019 Cohort of Bronze Award candidates making their presentations in the Rose Gaughan Theatre in front of the Assessors and their parents. With a combination of PowerPoints and videos, they successfully completed the final element of their expedition.

The Bronze groups – FBA Hustlers, JOSSILE, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Saucy 6 and The Veggies – talked about their aim of teamwork or individual goals and how they collectively overcame difficulties during the Training and Practice expeditions (held in the environs of Danbury, south of Chelmsford) and their Qualifying Expedition in the New Forest.

The girls covered up to 80km over the 6 days of hiking with their food, sleeping equipment and tents in their rucksacks. Using Ordnance Survey maps and a compass, they successfully navigated their way to their campsite or agreed destinations over varied terrain and, for the most part, in pleasant weather.

It would be remiss of me not to have put on record the grateful thanks of all involved for the tremendous amount of time and help invested by Mrs Cambridge, Miss Nutman, Mr Hall, Site team, SLT for their support; and then Special Thanks to: Parents ; Siblings; Trangia; Meteorology; TfL; Danbury; Ordnance Survey; DofE; South West Trains; Wayfarers Foods; Decathlon; iPhone; Vodafone; Sun;

Wind; Mud; Danbury Farmers; New Forest Ponies; Snow&Rock; Miss Nutman; Sunshine & Rain; FBA; Paper Mill Lock; Google; Mrs Hickling; Mars; Frankfurters; FBA Minibus; Sliders; Mr Hall; Nick Barlow & Son; Brockenhurst Tesco; Tent Pegs; Mrs Cambridge; Plastic spoons; The Great Outdoors; …

and finally - Parents, yep again ! That should do it.

Well done to all participants! Proper Job! DofE Bronze Award 2020 We are starting over and have another group of eager Year 10 DofE Bronze candidates, who may be waiting in trepidation for what is to happen. A comprehensive training course awaits them – ranging from pitching a tent, basic first aid, through to map reading and planning a route. I can’t wait!

T A Wheadon, D of E Co-ordinator.

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FBA Train 2019

In the first instance, I must thank Mrs Grimwood for all of her hard work in getting the FBA Train project up and running. It is not to belittle the prescient capabilities and foresight shown by the Founding Fathers – Maurice, John, John, Bob, Ken and Colin - from the Romford Model Engineering Club (RMEC), who established the FBA Train some 4 years ago. I have no doubt a debt is owed to Senior Leadership Team and Mr Dutnall for facilitating the laying of the track, the building of the station and platform – Bardsley Green.

Mrs Grimwood handed over the responsibility of oversight of the Train and all that it entailed at the start of September 2019. Since then I have had regular meetings with the RMEC team, visited mtrEL (Elizabeth Line) offices in the City of London and broached a whole range of ideas and thoughts to facilitate an increased engagement of the FBA girls with the Train.

During the Autumn term, I am pleased to report, the RMEC men have completed Phase 2 – the extension of the track along

the southern border of the Astro turf – and an upgrade to the turntable joining the western track to the new

southern track extension. This is no mean feat as it involved not only laying track but the movement of several (cubic) yards of ballast, to say nothing of needing to weld the track!

In the second half of the term Year 7 and 8 girls have been brought along to the station for a briefing about the Train, engineering and the promise of things to come! All 480 students will have been and my thanks go to the Form Tutors for their kind support. Of particular note was that the majority of Year 7 students will have had a ride up and down the track. The Loco Driver was Yasmin Shahumi (Yr9), who has been trained to be a qualified driver, for which many thanks!

I am looking to unveil some really fantastic opportunities in the coming year and it is for this reason that I am launching the …

Bardsley Green Station and Platform

Locomotive 47155 (Power Station 1 Generator; Class 47) 5” Gauge

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FBA Rail and Engineering Club … from 2020. Over the holidays I will be sending out a brief quiz attached to an application form to join the FBA Rail and Engineering Club that will be posted on ShowMyHomework. Students should all have a go, you never know, your skills may be needed! I can’t wait! Before I close, it would be remiss of me not to express my sincere gratitude not only for the weekly support for the train provided by the men of the RMEC but also for the most generous donation in the form of a gift of £1,000 from the UNITE Union. This is on top of an identical gift for £1,000 the previous year. The funds are used for the upkeep of the train, track and facilities as identified by the RMEC team. If I have overlooked the involvement of anyone in the initial project, please let me know so that I might remedy it in the next newsletter.

T A Wheadon, Overseer of the FBA Train

Our attendance is currently 96.4%. We continue to work with students and parents to improve attendance – a day not in school means 5 hours of teaching lost.

Lost Property Please could you name your daughter’s property including clothing and equipment as there is a growing amount of unclaimed items in Resources. Mrs Bayfield will be donating unclaimed items to either the PE Department or to charity after each half-term break. Parentmail To register, email info@fbaok.co.uk to request activation or call 01708 447368 x 247.

FBA Rail and Engineering Workshop Container

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Vacancies Vacancies can be found on our school website.

Parking You are reminded to park responsibly in the roads surrounding the school if you are dropping off or collecting your daughter on a school day. Please consider our neighbours during the peak times of 8.15am and 3.15pm.

Reporting Student

Absence

Parents/Carers of students in Years 7 to 11 can email their daughter’s absence to their Administrative Support Officer (ASO) linked to their year group or continue to call the absence line on 01708 447368.

Please note there will be some changes to your link ASO from January 2020 Year 7 – Mrs Severn tsevern@fbaok.co.uk; Year 8 – TBC Year 9 – Miss Hyde nhyde@fbaok.co.uk Year 10 – Mrs Chatfield dchatfield@fbaok.co.uk Year 11 – Miss Newman pnewman@fbaok.co.uk To report absence for students in Years 12 and 13 email: Mrs Doherty cdoherty@fbaok.co.uk or call 01708 447368 ext 254

Havering Schoolwear

From January 2nd Havering Schoolwear will be stocking the new FBA Trousers option for uniform. Orders will be taken in store.

Prices are £20.00 or £25.00 depending on size

Havering Schoolwear : 160/162 Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch RM11 1QH Telephone and email: 01708 767890 info@haveringschoolwear.co.uk

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December 2019

Library News

Library trip to see award-winning Kwame Alexander at the Queen’s Theatre 13/11/19 Thirty-one students from Years 8, 9 and 10 attended an amazing performance by the American author Kwame Alexander at the Queen’s Theatre on 13/11. This was part of the Havering Literary Festival, with author events taking place in Havering’s public libraries throughout November. Kwame performed his inspirational poetry accompanied by Randy on the guitar, explaining his path to success and the importance of never giving up: the power of striving to receive one ‘yes’

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Top Readers Congratulations to the top readers who have read the most books this term out of their year groups: Sophie Patis-Stannard 7S 49 books Favour Banwo 8W 118 books- outstanding Vania Ahmed 9F 27 books Lakshithaa Sutharsan 10F 21 books Noor Tahir 11L 18 books

All of these students have received book prizes. Well done to them all … keep reading!

Miss Johnson Librarian

PE News Our annual Sports Awards evening saw one hundred girls presented with their Sports Colours and Achievement certificates by England Netball representative Lindsey Keeble. Maddie Biggs our England Footballer won the outstanding Performer Award for her contribution to Physical Education during her school career. Rebecca O’Rourke in Year 10 continues to work with British Athletics to compete in Para Athletics events. She is now ranked in the top 10 for Para athletics.

Ruby Thorne in Year 10 is working hard for International Honours in Diving. She placed 4th in the 10m platform and 3rd in the 3m springboard at the Scottish National Open Championships. The Under 14 Netball team have won all their games so far in the Essex Cup. The U15 girls took part in the Havering Handball Championships and finished in 2nd Place behind the National champions from Bower Park. The U16 girls had a really exciting basketball tournament and just missed runners up spot. Last month a small group attended the England Women’s International friendly against Germany. It was the largest attendance for a female football game ever in the UK. The P.E. department took the year 9 GCSE PE class and year 12 A level class to the Body World Exhibition at Piccadilly in November. The annual Inter House Indoor Rowing competition took place in December with over 200 pupils involved in the heats and finals. The winners were Year 7 Larch, Year 8 Rowan, Year 9 Birch, Year 10 Elm, Year 11 Fagus and Vertical Birch. Elm House was crowned overall winners. The U16 Badminton squad made up of Abi Clarkson, Jennifer Towler, Devna Joshi and Isabelle Thorogood did one better than last year to become Havering Champions, beating Coopers Coborn for the first time. They will represent Havering after Christmas in the South East regionals.

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December 2019

Molly Sweetman, Lucy Kerr and Sadaf Afzal in Year 13 ran exceptionally well in the Havering District Cross Country to achieve runners up spot in the team event. Faye Wicks in Year 8 goes from strength to strength achieving 5th place which earned her a spot on the Havering team for the London Youth Games at Parliament Hills. Faith ran a brilliant race to earn a bronze team medal and an overall gold medal for the first team. Some things to look forward to in the new year include the PGL Netball tour which takes place the weekend of March 6th and then a GCSE PE and A level theatre trip to see Mary Poppins.

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December 2019

We have an active Twitter account in P.E. and we hope you will follow our successes on here too. Follow @FBA_PE

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December 2019

Appleby Gallery Grand Opening In September, we celebrated the Grand Opening of ‘The Appleby Gallery’ to which Mrs Appleby, whom the gallery is named after and her friends and family were invited. Also in attendance was the Mayor of Havering, Mr Dutnall and other members of the senior leadership

team together with our governors.

Mrs Appleby unveiling the new sign

Grand opening event

SACRE Primary school exhibition. In September we were joined by ‘SACRE’ the Standard Advisory Council for religious education in schools. Inspired by the BBC’s year of beliefs they exhibited work made by primary schools exploring different religious beliefs. On the 25th September members spent the day in the gallery talking to students about their respective religious beliefs.

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December 2019

Havering Young Artist 2019 This was our fourth year of hosting the Havering Young Artist Competition. It was an honour to be able to showcase our new gallery with the fabulous work loaned to us from schools across the borough. We received almost 48 submissions from 9 schools across the borough including, Abbs Cross, Coopers, Frances Bardsley, Hall Mead, Marshalls Park, Sacred Heart, St Edwards and The Campion School. Yet again we were thoroughly impressed with the high standard of work. We would like to thank our competition judges Natalie Bays, Deputy Manager of the Romford Mercury Shopping Centre and her artist collaborator and teacher Joe Burns. Their support has been invaluable. Winners were announced at a prize giving event held at the gallery on the evening of the 10th October, The Mayor of Havering was there to award prizes as well as parents and friends of the young artists. Former FBA pupil Sajda Al Haj Hamad won the first prize for Key Stage 5. Many thanks to Tesco and the Mercury Shopping Centre for donating prizes

Sajda’s artwork and 1st prize winner

Movement and Connection.

Art student and ex pupil Isabella Pavitt filled the gallery with a collaborative art piece inspired by movements and connection. During lunch times the girls were invited to replay their journeys to school with string. There were some really interesting shapes and lines created. Isabella is going to use the research gained during this exhibition for her next art project.

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December 2019

Royal Drawing School scholarship for Sajda Al Haj Hamad

Congratulations to Sajda Al Haj Hamad for being awarded a scholarship for a Fine Art foundation year to the Royal Drawing School. Daniel McAuliffe, Head of Foundation and Young Artists Learning at the Royal Academy wrote to us, “course leaders were impressed with the skill and quality of work in your student’s portfolio and impressed with their interest and commitment to the subject.” Sajda is hoping to go on to university next year to study architecture, It’s been a real pleasure to be a part of Sajda’s journey and we wish her all the best for her future endeavors.

Sajda’s installation for her final A-Level Exam

Anne Frank Exhibition

We were delighted to host the Anne Frank Exhibition in The Appleby Gallery from 25th November-6th December. 16 Year 9 students were chosen to train as Peer Guides to show a range of year groups around the exhibition. The feedback about this group of students was excellent, with the staff from the Anne Frank Trust and teachers complimenting the groups on how confident and articulate they were. From this group, 8 students were selected to develop into the role of Anne Frank Ambassadors. Part of this worked involved working with a film maker to create and shoot a short film with an anti-prejudice message. We are really excited to see the finished product in the New Year. Congratulations to all students involved.

Mrs G McGrath Head of Ethos and Culture

Anne Frank Peer Guides Riana Dalip Molly Kerfoot Hermani Mistry Amelia Toff Zoe Mntazi Awa Mamadou Rebecca Troubridge Jazmyne Wright Lucy Henney Mollie Green Shakira Bitali Michaela Iron Ines Gomes Paulina Atanasova Jessica Harding Isabelle Meecham