ContactFor all enquiries, please contact

reception:

Tel: 01752 207907Email: reception@torbridge.net

Austen office: 01752 207916Faraday office: 01572 207890Tenzing office: 01725 207917Cade office: 01752 207860

During the first lockdown, Year 8 student Lewis co-wrote a song “Welcome Home” for The Song of the Service Child – an anthem for Armed Forces children scross the UK and around the world.The song was recorded in London at Abbey Road Studios, of Beatles fame, with 20 tri-force service children performing it. The song won first place in the 9-11 age category in the Never Such Innocence annual international song competition, which received entries from 95 countries. “Welcome Home” was premiered at the National Memorial Arboretum on the 26th June for Armed Forces Day, then released on Spotify on Wednesday 30th June.Lewis also visited the National Memorial Arboretum on Armed Forces Day where he and 14 members of a choir sang to Princess Ann, Captain Lawrence and 100 VIP guests.Well done, Lewis!

Songwriter student records song at Abbey Road

Summer term - 2021

Key DatesTerm 1: 6th September – 17th December 2021Autumn break: 25th October – 1st November

Christmas break: 20th December 2021 – 3rd January 2022 Staff Only Training Days: 6th Sept, 22nd Oct 2021 and 4th Jan 2022

Summer School Group 1: 26th July – 30th July 2021Summer School Group 2: 2nd August – 6th August 2021

Year 7 COVID19 Asymptomatic Testing: 7th September 2021Year 7 only induction day (Year 8, 9 12 &13 Asymptomatic testing): 8th Sept 2021Year 7 and Year 12 only induction day (Year 10 & 11 Asymptomatic testing): 9th

Sept 2021 All students full return: 10th September 2021

Open Evening: 23rd September 2021 4.00pm to 7.00pm for arrivals. 8.00pm finishOpen Morning Tours: Tours to be booked via PA to Senior Team.

Dear Parents/Carers,

As I write this message, I am able to think back over the academic year which is coming to a close in just a few days, and also look forward to the start of a new academic year. One which is already being planned and has been in our thinking for some considerable time. Despite the restrictions that we have faced, there has still been a considerable amount and huge variety of things happening in school, much of which is covered within this newsletter. As always, when I sit and consider all of the different things that the students and staff have achieved, I am amazed and so proud to be part of Tor Bridge High.Since the Easter break, we have seen a return to slightly more normal ways of working, with students having lessons in specialist rooms whilst of course remaining in their bubbles before school, at break and also at lunchtime. As you will know from the communications sent home, a very significant and recent challenge has been the number of cases where students have had to self-isolate. On this note, I must give my thanks to the parents and carers who have fully supported the school at this difficult time. I am very pleased that we have not had to send whole year groups home and have managed to keep those students in school who we know have not been a close contact to a positive case. The students, both those in school and those that have had to isolate, have been superb and once again adapted quickly to changes in their learning. I am eagerly awaiting a more normal return to school in September, with students learning and growing in full classes and interacting with staff so that they can continue to achieve their full potential. Much of my optimism is based on the different approach that will be taken from September. When we return, if we are informed of a positive case close contacts will not be required to self-isolate but rather will be asked to undertake LFD tests to see if they, as a close contact, have contracted COVID but are asymptomatic. This will make an enormous difference to the disruption that we have faced. Furthermore, as we prepare for the new academic year in September, we will still follow the guidance by maintaining enhanced cleaning; encouraging students to wash or sanitize their hands regularly;

keeping spaces well ventilated and of course we will once again facilitate asymptomatic testing on site. So while we know we will be still living with COVID-19, it will hopefully feel much more normal in school.

As I reflect on this most unusual year, I would like to take the opportunity to publicly thank the incredible staff that we have at TBH. Whether they are support staff or teaching staff, the commitment and professionalism that they have shown in adapting and delivering lessons both in school and remotely and for all their hard work submitting teacher assessed grades and samples of students’ work in place of exams and their commitment to giving students the very best support, both pastorally and academically, to move forward through this challenging year and beyond has been an inspiration.

Having mentioned exams, or rather their absence, I would like to remind the parents/carers of students in Years 10, 11 12 and 13, who have completed qualifications this year, that the results days are on the 10th and 12th August. Further details can be found on page 6. While results will be sent out rather than students coming into school, staff will still be available to support students and answer questions that may come about as their results are received. Details regarding this have been sent separately to all relevant parents/carers.

Finally, in a few pages you will see information and words of thanks regarding colleagues that are moving on from Tor Bridge High. We wish them all the very best and thank them for their dedication and service to the school.

I would like to take this opportunity to now wish you all a relaxed and hopefully COVID-19 free summer.

Graham RoserHeadteacher

A message from the Headteacher

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Silver Awards!A huge congratulations goes to seven of our Year 11 students in achieving their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award! This was no easy feat considering we had the lockdown, but they still managed to work hard, helping their community and having fun in the process.

We are especially proud of them for successfully completing their outdoor expedition; this was done in the small window we had for educational groups being able to get together in September last year. Considering they had been in lockdown since last March and had not managed to meet as a team to plan their expedition or practice their outdoor skills, they still got stuck in and carried on regardless – fantastic resilience!! Well done Carys, Emma, Jack, Leah, Millie, Isabel and Katy!

Recently our team of four budding engineers were assessed on the completion of a four-month project and we are proud to say that they have all been accredited with an Industrial Cadets Gold Award. The team this year consisted of Lucas, Owen, Jack and Ben. Their task was to design an automated steering solution that would be able to survive critical failures; a complicated task that tackled both mechanical engineering and electronic engineering.

The team had to work to COVID restrictions, which did raise some issues with regards to meeting up. Like all industries in this trying time they had to result to the use of virtual meetings. For the completion of this project the team had to show a very high level of resilience and had to continually work on communication, delegation and teamwork.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Infineon Technologies and in particular the team’s assigned mentors Dave Addison and Tom Gilbert.

Engineering Education Scheme Graduates

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Staff farewells

Mrs Hirst - Teacher of Technology and BusinessMrs Hirst joined the Technology department us as an ICT and Computer Science teacher but quickly became part of the larger department teaching elements of Hospitality & Catering, Design & Technology and Business. As well as showing herself to be a very adaptable teacher, Mrs Hirst is also well-known for her positive relationships with the students and will often go above and beyond to get the best for them. She will be greatly missed and we wish her well in her new business venture.

Miss Maslin - Teacher of EnglishTwo years ago, Miss Maslin started as a trailblazer for the Teach First programme; an intense introduction to teaching. During her time in the English department, Miss Maslin has really shown how effective this programme is. She immediately established herself as an energetic, enthusiastic, reflective and confident practitioner, and has really developed over the past two years into the amazing teacher she is today. The department, and her students, will miss her sorely, but also wish her all the best in her new post in Wales.

Miss Fowler - Teacher of HistoryThis summer we will be saying goodbye to Miss Fowler, as she takes up a Head of History post at Queen Elizabeth’s in Crediton. Miss Fowler has contributed so much to the students and History department with her passion and subject knowledge. She has also made a great contribution as a tutor and fulfilled her pastoral role (plus more!), particularly when her tutor group got into the GCSE years. She has also been at the forefront of organising many charity events (Children in Need, Comic Relief etc) in which £1000s have been raised. We wish you well!

Mr Riley - Head of Austen SchoolMr Riley will be leaving his role as Head of Austen School at the end of term. We will miss his sense of humour and provision of cake! For the Austen students, and indeed all of the students at Tor Bridge High, he will be missed for the support and time he freely gives to students. Mr Riley is moving on to a school closer to home and will take with him his belief that “kids come first”. We will miss him, but are pleased that he will be able to spend more time with his family.

It has been an exciting and fast paced term for our Sixth Form students. We have said a fond farewell to our Year 13 students after the completion of their courses and we were delighted to share their memories and mark their successes with them in the celebration breakfast that we hosted at the end of their studies. We wish our students the best of luck on results day and with the fantastic, bright futures that they have ahead of them.

After the half term break we welcomed the new members of our Sixth Form for a four-week induction period. Our Year 11 leavers have now begun their Sixth Form journey, taking the time to meet their tutors and explore their subjects in great detail. This has given students a strong grounding and insight into life as a Sixth Former so that they can be confident moving forward that they have made the correct subject choices. We have also been fortunate enough to be able to provide our vocational students with the opportunity to conduct step-up work and complete induction visits to their chosen training provider so that they know what to expect when they fully enrol with us in September.

Our Year 12 students have had a busy term, completing mock exams to help them to feel prepared for Year 13, developing their study skills and completing many work experience opportunities from shadowing law firms and orthopaedic surgeons to completing online work experience with the RAF and in branches of medicine. We have also had the opportunity to meet (virtually) with barristers and representatives from a range of universities. Our students are now focusing their energies on preparing for their next steps and beginning the UCAS process. Our students are now well underway with their university planning.

Cade updates

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Miss Keuler - Cover SupervisorMiss Keuler will be leaving to further pursue her passion for sport by studying at university. Having just moved from South Africa she quickly made a positive impact on our students. Miss Keuler, who plays international ice hockey for South Africa, has inspired a number of our students in working hard and enjoying their PE lessons. She has built great working relationships with both students and staff and our loss will be the universities gain. We wish Miss Keuler all the best for the future and will keep a close eye on her international matches.

We also say farewell and thank you to Mrs Hawkins who was the School Library Assistant for seven years. She leaves us to work for the National Trust.

Mrs Jago - Finance AssistantAfter nearly 30 years’ service Jill Jago retired In April 2021. Jill supported the school through many changes mainly the conversion to Academy status in 2012 which had a major impact on the Finance Team. Jill is going to spend her retirement at her caravan in sunny Padstow with her husband George who also worked for the school as a Caretaker. Also spending time with her gorgeous four granddaughters and her beautiful mum who will be celebrating her 100th birthday this year. We wish Jill and have family a lovely relaxing retirement.

Mr Fletcher - Performing Arts TechnicianMr Fletcher has supported students in live performances, always willing to fill in musically for bands in performance and rehearsal, giving performance tips as well as ensuring everything ran smoothly. Mr Fletcher was always willing to be part of the bigger school picture, helping with events such as sports day, celebrations evening and the school musical, supporting students to perform to the best of their ability in a professional way. We wish Mr Fletcher all the best in his new career and his new job role as a parent! Congratulations and good luck.

Mr Raphael - ReceptionistMr Raphael joined us as a receptionist in September 2018. He left us to move closer to family – whilst he was with us he was a valued member of our admin team and we wish him well in his future endeavours.

Throughout Covid we have maintained an active Sixth Form student leadership team and we have been grateful for the work that Head Students Cameron Callicott and Ellie-Mae Marris conducted in terms of giving students the opportunity to vote in the Youth Parliament elections, sharing safety information with students following the death of Sarah Everard and working with external mental health services to put on small group mental health support sessions for our students. As they now leave to pursue their next steps it is time to welcome our new student leadership team. Following a gruelling application process consisting of a letter, the creation of a video presentation (which was put to a staff and student vote) and a formal interview we are delighted to announce that our new Head Students are Jake Beare and Mia Mackenzie. Congratulations also go to our Deputy Head Students Finlay Southern and Gabby Crisp. A huge congratulations to all four students and we look forward to working closely with the team in the future!

Finally, we are delighted to announce that we have welcomed Mrs Luxford to the team as our new Post 16 Pastoral Leader. Mrs Luxford will continue to oversee study time and support students with the development of positive study habits as well as developing the tutorial programme, and training to provide some additional mental health support to our Sixth Form students. Good luck in your new role!

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Teacher Assessed Grades and End of Year Exams for Year 10 and 12Another very busy term for both staff and students at Tor Bridge High. Following the decision by the Government to not run exams this Summer in their usual format, schools were asked to present a “portfolio of evidence” on which teachers would be able to award a grade to reflect the performance in a particular subject. While much of the assessment evidence had already been completed, it was important that students had an opportunity to “show what they know” in a formal set of assessments in school, free from the challenges of remote learning. We ran a full series of subject assessments, primarily for students in Year 11 and 13 but also for Culture and Values for our Year 10 cohort and GCSE maths and English for some students in Year 12. The maturity shown by all students, both in the preparation and the sitting of the assessments, was exemplary. We were especially excited to see the positive impacts of a number of our recently introduced strategies coming through in student work – the introduction of low stakes testing in every lesson as a means of information retrieval, the extra lesson time afforded by Period 6 to name just a couple.

Grades have now been submitted, sampling by the awarding organisations is underway and we now look forward to the release of results on Tuesday 10th August for Post 16 results and Thursday 12th August for GCSE results. Further details will come out soon regarding the specific arrangements for the distribution of results.

While the students (for whom Teacher Assessed Grades will have been submitted) can now look back on that period, life in school very much looks forward and we are just at the start of our Year 10 and 12 End of Year Mock Exam period. This is an extremely important phase of the year for the students who will be undertaking external exams next summer. Primarily an opportunity for students to really show what their hard work and effort can achieve, this series also provides that invaluable opportunity to get that “Exam Hall” experience without the added pressure of it being the final exam. All those seemingly small things like reading an exam timetable, having the right equipment, sitting in exam conditions with external invigilators etc will all feel much more normal next year when it really matters.

We of course wish all of our students undertaking these mocks the best and we will be communicating results home before the end of this term.

Mr Winstone

EnglishAs the summer term draws to a close, it never fails to astonish how quickly time flies by, especially in these most unusual of school years. Whilst formal examinations in English, at A-Level and GCSE, may have been cancelled for a second year, our students certainly did not take their foot off the pedal. We were so impressed by their resilience and hard work since their return in March and wish them all the best in their futures. Whilst the formal GCSEs may not have taken place, our Year 10 and 12 students are currently sitting their mock examinations which will be important in supporting their continuing progress when they return as Year 11s.

Staff and students alike have had to make many adaptations through this year with on-line learning, recording lessons, and delivering lessons live through the magic of the internet! One further development has been the extended transition period with our new Year 12 students. It has been fantastic to see so many students returning to English, eager to continue their learning and develop a greater depth in understanding.

I hope you all have a wonderful, and safe, summer break. When we return, I hope that we are able to offer our usual programme of activities including getting back to the Theatre now that it is open!

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ArtDuring the last term our staff and students have shown great resilience and determination in such uncertain times. From lessons online via google classroom (wondering if you were talking to yourself) to returning into the classroom and seeing our students face to face at a two-meter distance. Within lessons we have continued to allow our students to explore a range of media and materials across specialist and non specialist rooms.

In Year 7, 8 and 9, students have continued to develop their skills within a broad range of disciplines. This includes: 3D, Digital Art, Textiles, Architecture and Fine Art. An example of this fantastic art work is below.

Our GCSE and A Level Art and Photography students have been developing their coursework this term and are producing final outcomes that include paintings, sculptures, textiles, digital and traditional photography and graphic design.

It would only be appropriate to say a massive WELL DONE to all of our year 11 and year 13 students who, regardless of COVID, have worked extremely hard and we are proud of their achievements. We have had some phenomenal artists leave us and we wish them all the best for the future. We would also like to welcome our new 6th form students who have some into the transition lessons with an open mind and created some great work so far.

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Band Development DayWe are so pleased we were able to offer school bubbles the opportunity to take part in band development day this term. This is where we take groups of promising instrumentalist and students who have tuition here at Tor Bridge High and run an extended day of musical performance.

We are lucky enough to have a great relationship with Plymouth University and have dedicated PUPOS staff who support the success of this day. Students are assessed on their skills and put into band groups, they spend the day with a dedicated tutor on a song of their choice. The day culminates in a live performance where each newly formed band performs to one another in a fun and enjoyable concert, gaining the real stage experience of lights, camera and action!

There were some excellent performances show cased on the different days, check out the school Facebook page for a few videos!

Level 3 Drama in the CommunityWith coronavirus deeply impacting our society and the local community the level 3 Drama students decided they wanted to do something about this and take a positive slant.

Through research the students learnt that the numbers of people suffering from loneliness have risen exponentially throughout C19 and through this research the students learnt that in particular, residents living in supported living were feeling the most impact. They had not been allowed visitors, but also did not live in residentially care where there were other people in communal areas to converse with.

Our students contacted and friended some residents from the local area asking them if they would like to take part in a piece of community drama. Through several phone calls to the residents our students learnt all about the happy memories of these people, having funny stories and memories retold. This was a very uplifting experience for both the students and the local community we contacted.

Through these specific memories, the Year 13 students created a piece of theatre based completely around their memories called ‘A Flickr through Time’. The piece of theatre was filmed and skilfully edited by Mr Nadin our resident technical whizz. We shared the edited film to the residents who thoroughly enjoyed watching their memories creatively performed. A great project all round.

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HumanitiesSummer terms are always a mixed time for any school department as it is this juncture where we see the joy in our Year 11 and 13 students fulfilling their talent and hard work during exams, or in this year’s case their May assessments and also sad to see another group of wonderful young people leave school, in some instances, for the last time before they continue their education or employment elsewhere. For those we wish them all the very best and thank them for their efforts and focus over the years.

This year was also the first time that the Cultures & Values course enabled a whole year group to complete the AQA Religious Studies GCSE and I’m sure there will be many very happy Year 10 students who will receive a worthwhile and fully merited GCSE grade. Since the course has finished, the year group has been learning about personal development with a focus on preparing them for job applications, interviews and identifying those key hard and soft skills that employers are so keen to see in school-leavers. Within their learning they have taken on the roles of employers and determining who to interview, based on application forms and also interviewing each other to draw out correct ways to respond to questions!

Within the other Humanities subjects, it’s been a focus on local History particularly for our Year 9 and 10 historians as they’ve been learning about Elizabethan and Tudor England (which Plymouth has a rich connection with) and also focusing on a Local Study – Buckland Abbey – and how/why it has had many changes of use over time. For our geographers, they have been looking at some major global issues and how people and their actions have impacted on the planet, by focusing on topics such as Climate Change and Plastics in the Ocean. Fingers crossed we will be developing the next David Attenborough of their generation!

LibraryWaggy WednesdayIt was fantastic to be able to welcome back Miss Lawry’s English class to read with Oliver. Waggy Wednesday is a real treat and you can see that Dylan and Isabelle are enjoying reading whilst having a cuddle with Oliver.

In addition to all these great events the library has taken delivery of over 300 fabulous new titles and created book display collections for themes such as Austism Awareness Month, Mental Health Awareness Week, Carnegie Medal Awards, World Ocean Day and Pride Month. Phew…. Good job it is almost the summer break!

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LibraryShakespeare WeekAt the beginning of term five, year 7 had two of their English lessons in the library as part of their introduction to Shakespeare. As well as gaining an overview of the play, Much Ado about Nothing they learnt about the main characters involved and had the opportunity to make masks.

In Much Ado about Nothing masks are used to deceive and hide the identity of characters and to hide one’s true feelings. The entire plot is driven by deception and false information. During their time in the library Year 7 explored how different colours can create moods or can represent feelings and how different symbols, images or designs can tell us something about a character. Above are some of the Year 7 students wearing the masks they designed:

May the 4th be with you/sci-fi promotionA first for us this year we decided to run a May the 4th Be With You activity week where we invited all students to discover new galaxies, far, far away by borrowing one of our fantastic sci-fi books as well as taking part in lots of out of this world activities. Students could compete in games as well as creating BB8 bookmarks, origami Yoda and much more. It was such a fun week we will go bigger and better next year.

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Empathy WeekThe whole of year 8 visited the library for an empathy lesson during term 6. This was part of the school’s ongoing commitment to promote and support Empathy Day.

The day focuses on using books to step into someone else’s shoes. Scientists say that we can train our brain with stories – the more you empathise with characters, the more you understand other people’s feelings.

To promote this further, our library is bursting with empathy boosting books for our students to borrow. As Cressida Cowell, Children’s Laureate states “empathy is a vital skill, and books are the best, and most fun way to learn.”

Author visitWhat an absolute delight to have author Kathryn Evans return in June. It was a very exciting day all round given that it was the first visit for both us and Kathryn since the lockdowns commenced.

Kathryn is a Carnegie medal nominated author with a passion for engaging young people to read and write their own creative pieces and she captivated all the students with four fantastic workshops. Kathryn was bursting with energy, passion and enthusiasm. Her empathy-based talks to Years 7, 8 and 9 were relevant and engaging and subtly adapted to suit each year group. Her workshop had our Year 10 students bursting with ideas and discussions.

During each event, Kathryn shared her thoughts on the power of reading; “Gaming and TV are all stories but books give you something else... It puts you inside someone else’s head.” Throughout her workshops she also spoke about other authors and books she loves which changed her perspective and enabled her to think about what life is like for others. Rest assured I was taking notes to make sure I had all these great books in our library!

- Mrs Bowles, Senior Librarian

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Sports starsCongratulations to Finley (Year 9), who has been selected to represent Plymouth School Boys Football Squad. Finley has demonstrated excellent ability, drive and determination and has been chosen as part of the squad that will train over the next few weeks, before representing the city in a number of fixtures and tournaments. This is a fantastic opportunity and we wish Finley all the best with his upcoming fixtures.As recognition for Finley’s contribution to school sport in representing Tor Bridge High, we have awarded him the school’s sports tie. This tie is awarded in recognition of students who have represented the school in sport and/or those who have achieved at a high level of sport outside of school. We would love to hear from any student who is currently performing at a high level!

Tia and Elisha have been awarded the Tor Bridge High School Sport Tie for recognition in reaching an outstanding level in their chosen sports of swimming and gymnastics, respectively. Both Tia and Elisha have demonstrated excellent commitment and determination that has enabled them to attain such high standards.Elisha represents Plymouth Swallows Gymnastics Elite Squad as well as representing Devon. Alongside Elisha’s studies, she trains 22 hours a week as well as inspiring future gymnastic stars in coaching. Elisha has competed in international competitions, the most recent being in Orlando, Florida, which was an amazing experience for her. Other competitions include the English Championships and British Team events. Elisha is well on her way to becoming a future coach and she is dedicated, resilient, mature and full of aspirations. Tia competes for Plymouth Leander, and is training with the Regional/National Age Group Squad. Just before lockdown Tia was about to compete in the South West Regionals Championships. Similar to Elisha, Tia trains for 14 hours each week on top of her school studies. Tia starts her training before school, some days starting at 5am. Weekends are committed to competing in various competitions and her determination to succeed is clear for all to see.We will be following the sporting successes of these two wonderful students whose drive, determination and resilience has enabled them to reach top level sport. We wish them both all the success in the future.We at Tor Bridge High want to celebrate the success of all students who demonstrate the attributes both Tia and Elisha have and would love to hear from students and celebrate with them.

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TechnologyYear 11 students have been taking on a wide range of Engineering challenges as part of our transition programme for students moving into Year 12 in September. Our BTEC Engineering sixth form courses cover electronics, mechanical principles, commercial practices, further physics, maths skills, practical workshop skills and more.

The highlight for students has been the opportunity to undertake practical manufacture projects in teams over the course of four weeks, which have involved welding, forging, cutting and forming steel and using hydraulic presses. Students have produced technical drawings for a range of products, and have risen to the challenge of producing commercially viable designs for potential sale to the public. The opportunity for working in teams is something we value in Post 16 work, which can help to develop employability skills, and encourage leadership and decision making. Several students are opting for Engineering in Year 12 despite never studying engineering in the lower years, and have found the course to be extremely accessible and enjoyable for all abilities.

We have been particularly impressed with the level of independence students have shown in their team work and the clear passion for gaining new skills. A huge thanks to all our future Level 3 BTEC students for making this year’s transition course such a success. Well done!

PEThis term has seen the long-awaited return of competitive sport. Our Year 7 girls represented Tor Bridge High with great dedication and determination in the central venue rounders competition. The girls played three tough opponents and although they lost their matches, each match saw a great improvement in understanding of the key tactics of the game. The team spirit shown was outstanding and it was commented by the opposition that all of these young stars are a credit to the school.

The school has been running year group sports clubs on a weekly bases and these are being well attended by our students. All students are welcome to these attend these sessions. More events are planned for the next academic year.

We are pleased to announce that Sports Day will take place this year and will be in a slightly different format than in previous years. The sessions will run on year group days and run during periods 3, 4 and 5. Updates on how each school is performing along with action photos will be posted via our social media platform so keep an eye out between the 14th July to the 20th July for these updates. Austen school are our last winners in 2019. Can Tenzing or Faraday win the Governors’ Trophy this year?

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MathsThe Maths department have been really pleased with how adapting and resilient our students have been since lockdown. Some of the work produced during the remote learning period was phenomenal and it was brilliant to see so many students engaging in this very different method of study. The Maths department has worked incredibly hard to ensure that students are receiving the very best experience in the classroom to address any knowledge gaps, and are being stretched and challenged across all areas of the curriculum. We had great success with our Year 11 transition sessions with those wishing to study Maths at A Level in Year 12.

Hegarty Heroes

We have some Hegarty Maths successes that we would like to celebrate. They have all shown dedication and commitment that goes above and beyond in improving their mathematical knowledge and building on their own personal skillset.

The top five students with the most answered questions since September are:

1. Josh Chown (Year 12) has answered an incredible 1832 questions!2. Alfie Smith (Year 7) – 1351 questions3. Thomas Rayner (Year 9) – 1284 questions4. Ethan Sanders (Year 11) – 1230 questions5. Ethan Lightfoot (Year 9) – 1172 questions

The top five students who spent the most time on their Hegarty Maths since September are:

1. Brianna Martin (Year 10) – who has spent an amazing 68 hours on Hegarty Maths!2. Kamil Sabura (Year 7) – 50 hours 3. Beatrisa Iljinkova (Year 11) – 35 hours 4. Gabriela Rowinska (Year 8) – 27 hours5. Jessica Button (Year 10) – 27 hours

Hegarty Maths Information for Parents

All students in Years 7-11 are given Hegarty home learning tasks for maths each week. To support your son or daughter in their home learning for Maths we have provided some key information below.

What does my child need to complete this homework? This homework can be completed on any device with an internet connection. They will need to write notes on the video and all their working out, so they will need their home learning journal to do this.

How do they log in? Logging in is really easy – simply choose the school name, then use their name and date of birth to log in. If your child is struggling to log in, please let their Maths teacher know so they can reset their password.

Website: https://hegartymaths.com

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ScienceBack in labs!Having started the academic year teaching our science lessons in non-specialist rooms, we were delighted to get back into the labs after the Easter break. It has been wonderful to be able to allow students to carry out practical work in their science lessons.

Among many other practical lessons, Year 7 have been burning food to find out which food contains the most energy. Year 8 have looked at the alkali metals and how they react in water. Year 9 have been able to observe pondweed carrying our photosynthesis and year 10 have carried out investigations into rates of reactions.

The Royal Navy volunteer their services in the Science GardenThe science garden was looking very overgrown following the lockdown periods. Through a community volunteering project with the Royal Navy and Cann Bridge School, a group of Year 1 trainee submariners were able to lend a very productive hand at returning our garden to a more manageable state. Many tasks were undertaken such as painting and re-felting the sheds, re- structuring the raised beds with recycled sleepers, weeding, hedge trimming to mention just a few. The team worked meticulously over 2 days with the assistance of Cann Bridge students resulting in a garden which now looks great and will continue to provide for all of our students a great facility for pond dipping and other horticultural outside activities in the future.

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