1 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

Thetford Grammar School

The small, friendly school that gets results for individuals.

20th November 2015

Dear Parents and Pupils,

I am certain that our TGS Senior School pupils, Years 7 to 10, are pleased that their examinations are complete for now. Teachers will be going through papers in due course with reports due out week ending the 18th December. Our Year 11 pupils are gently reminded that their GCSE Mock Examinations commence on Tuesday 5th January. As always, key elements of success are organisation and perseverance.

I do hope that parents and Year 9 pupils that attended our Options Evening last night found it to be useful and informative. Please do be reminded that should you need more advice or you have other thoughts we can be available to talk through on an individual basis to try to assist with this process.

I am pleased that our very first TGS Focus Group for Parents will be held on Thursday 26th November, 9.00 - 10.00am. After the very positive Tea and Talk on 9th November I am certain that this will also provide a useful means for parents to find out more about the school. All parents are kindly invited to attend this educational presentation, discussion and workshop. Thetford Grammar School, as an all-through, all-phase school, will try to present topics which are relevant for parents from all year groups. The agenda for the first items to be presented is:

1. Pupil engagement at TGS and how we, as teachers, facilitate this; 2. Positive parenting strategies for the use of electronic devices; 3. ‘School homework - how can parents be positively involved?’ 4. AOB

I wish you a very happy and healthy weekend, and that our three Sixth Form students, Evie Hindle, William Bowers and Gus Altuccini returning from Denmark this evening have had a very enjoyable and worthwhile work experience trip.

Mr Mark S. Bedford Headmaster

PRE-PREP WORLD NURSERY RHYME WEEK

Last week Pre-Prep took part in a ‘Rhyme a Day’ challenge for World Nursery Rhyme Week. The challenge involved children learning a traditional nursery rhyme every day for one week, great fun was had by all and all children who took part were later rewarded with a certificate.

Miss Julie Blakemore Pre-Prep Class Teacher

2 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

HOUSE CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATION COMPETITION An announcement was made by the Heads of Houses and in assembly this week about the forthcoming Christmas Tree House Competition. It has been organised by the PSA and will run for the first time at TGS. Each house will decorate a 6 foot high tree in the Williamson Hall on December 3rd 2015. Each house will choose their own handmade decorations and the trees will be judged by a committee of school representatives on Friday 4th December at the Christmas Fayre. All children across the school have been encouraged to get involved and join in the Christmas fun.

Mrs Kathrin Elders Deputy Head CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE PREPARATIONS

On Tuesday 17th November the Preparatory School received parent support to help paint the backdrops for the school play. This was a very successful and productive morning and we would like to thank Mrs Mason, Mrs Harris and Mrs Bedford for their enthusiasm and help.

Also a letter has been sent home to parents this week detailing the arrangements for our Christmas performance productions on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd December. If you would like to request tickets, please return your reply slips to the

Prep School post box and Mrs Cracknell will issue tickets via sealed addressed envelopes in due course.

YEAR 6 ANCIENT GREEK DAY

On Tuesday 24th November, 6D will be spending the day as Ancient Greeks. To make the day as authentic as possible, we would like to invite the children to come into school in typical Ancient Greek dress (a white sheet is ideal). Children may also wish to dress as Greek soldiers, this too is fine! Mrs Kathrin Elders Deputy Head

3 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

MODEL EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (MEP)

The first day of official MEP commitments consisted of team building; for us that meant a guided tour of Berlin, where we mingled and befriended our committee members. As the sun set, we took a tour of the Bundestag, as well as enjoying an exceptional view of the city we would be spending the next week in.

On Tuesday the official Opening Ceremony took place at the Town Hall of Berlin, the Berliner Rathaus. There, the Heads of Delegations gave their introductory speeches followed by guest speakers who orated their thoughts on the MEP and current affairs. After the Opening Ceremony we were escorted to our committee meeting locations, one of which included the Federal Ministry of Defence.

After committee meetings, the UK delegation was invited to visit and tour the British Embassy. There, we spoke to Counsellor Nick Leake (Head of EU & Economic Section) about his life in the civil service. Wednesday was comprised entirely of finalizing our resolution as a committee in preparation for lobbying the next day. On Thursday we had our only, but well deserved late

start. Our free time in the morning was spent at the East Side Gallery (the remaining part of the Wall).

At midday we set off on a boat for a cruise on the water, upon which discussions about the resolutions and possible amendments were had. Our final two days took place at the Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus, the Parliament of Berlin, where the General Assembly was held. Each resolution was debated and voted on in a

formal manner, eventually being passed or rejected. Any speeches given were in attendance of 200+ people.

On Saturday morning, the entire assembly was devastated upon learning of the attacks in Paris the night before. The most poignant speech we ever heard was delivered by a French delegate, and every delegation lowered their flags to half-mast as a symbol of unity and compassion. Nevertheless, the debating of resolutions continued, albeit with a notably more merciful opposition. The MEP experience was challenging, enlightening, fulfilling and thrilling. It’s an opportunity we urge anyone who can take it up, to take it up. Not only do you brush shoulders with the future leaders of Europe, but you will also make some incredible friends.

George Rupp and Charles Lamport-Beale Year 13 students

4 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

RE-PREP ROAD SAFETY SESSION

On Thursday 12th November, Pre-Prep put on their high-vis jackets, kindly donated by Specsavers and enjoyed a 40 minute session on road safety. All children enjoyed taking an adventure down to Bridge Street to practise crossing the road safely after watching an animated clip on ‘stop, look and listen’.

Miss Julie Blakemore Pre-Prep Class Teacher

KIDS LIT QUIZ On Thursday, 14th November, ten pupils from Year 7 and Year 8, went to the Kids’ Lit Quiz East of England Heat at Thetford Academy. We left TGS after lunch, driven by Mrs Bull and Mrs Settle. In the car park we met visiting author, Alexander Gordon Smith and had a photo taken with him. Then we were escorted to the main hall, which was set out with dozens of tables for the teams and some seats for the audience.

When everyone was ready the topics and score sheet were projected onto the board and the teams had to pick their joker rounds. On joker rounds you receive double your score so you could get loads of points on a topic that you know well. For example one of the rounds, and one of the most popular joker rounds, was about books that have been turned into movies. Our B team chose that for their joker round. Some of the other topics were Reptiles, Birds and Shipwrecks; there were ten rounds in all. To add to the fun, between each round there were extra questions with instant prizes; both Mrs Settle

and Mrs Bull were very pleased to win book tokens.

At the half-time break, after having a word with both teams, I noticed they were now more comfortable with the situation. I loved the fact that I was in a room filled with people who loved books as much as me. You can know everything about a book but you can never know everything about books! It was quite exciting being around people who were having discussions about books they read last week, a month, a year ago - even books they read when they were young. I think that everyone there enjoyed themselves no matter what really!

As all good things must come to an end the points were taken off the board for the last two rounds so that no one could see who was most likely to win. The “Quiz Master”, Wayne Mills, pictured, read out the final results…in 3rd place, Thetford Grammar; in 2nd place, Thorpe St Andrew and in 1st place, Litcham High. Litcham will now go on to the KLQ National Final, which they won last year.

5 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

All three of the winning scores were high this year, so well done to Team 1: Elizabeth Wright, Christian Eade, Tom Buckley and Emma Sibley, who achieved an excellent 80 points.

Miranda Patalidis-Thomas Year 7 pupil YEAR 6 CYCLING PROFICIENCY

I am delighted to say that the following pupils including Cathy Stoppard (not included in this photo) in Year 6 passed the Cycling Proficiency Test administered by Norfolk County Council under the instruction of Mr M Banham, the Road Safety Officer and were awarded their certificates in today's assembly. The children were required to sit a written test and after several weeks of training were also tested whilst cycling in Thetford. Congratulations Year 6! Thank you also to the following parents and who kindly helped with the training sessions; Mrs Bercovici, Mrs Mason, Mrs Harris and Mrs Russell together with Miss Fitch.

Mrs Nicki Peace Head of Prep School PHILIOSOPHY CONFERENCE

On Monday 16th November, thirteen students, accompanied by Miss Dunsmore and Mr Glassbrook, travelled to the Guildhall, Cambridge for an intense study day of Philosophy, led

by the esteemed author and lecturer, Dr Peter Vardy.

Topics included the Design and Cosmological arguments for the existence of God; the case for atheism – presented by Dr Stephen Law and a discussion of ‘can God actually ‘do’ anything?’ Lastly, the students, among

hundreds of students from other schools, were invited to take part in an open debate of the motion, “God is the best possible explanation for the universe”.

6 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

Year 13 students Finn Humphris and Lauren Haylock represented TGS with their carefully considered and presented points. Well done to everyone involved.

CHOIR FESTIVAL 2015 The senior choir performed at the Norfolk High Schools' Choir Festival on Thursday 5th November at St Andrew's Hall in Norwich. There was a varied repertoire of items, including traditional choral pieces, such as 'Carmina Burana' and arrangements of contemporary pop such as 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams. All the choir members worked very hard, but had a great time singing in such a wonderful venue. We also enjoyed some social time having tea at Pizza Express, another highlight of the trip. The evening concert was a great success and a wonderful opportunity for our young singers. Dr Marie Stoppard Director of Music

QUESTION TIME WITH THE NEW HEAD OF SIXTH FORM

On Friday, students from Y12 and Y13 were given the great opportunity to quiz and question the new Head of Sixth Form. Mrs Pearson, who will be taking over from Mr Spencer at the end of the academic year, was in the hot seat for an interview session in Old School, answering some challenging questions put to her by the students. Mrs Pearson was first asked about her goals in general, a query to which she responded promptly and confidently. An important focus next year will be boosting the numbers in the sixth form, an

issue she believes can be tackled by talking directly to students in Year 11. She hopes to discuss with them the prospect of sixth form and so understand their possible reasons for moving elsewhere after their GCSE year. If we know why some students go to sixth form colleges away from TGS, we should be able to make changes that invite more pupils into Year 12. Next was a question regarding the level of freedom sixth-formers should enjoy. Mrs Pearson pointedly explained that total freedom does not often result in the best levels of studying, and suggested that some sort of timetable be instituted for study periods. Supervision in these periods would encourage students to develop good study habits. Mrs Pearson stressed that there will always be a transition between the full-time lessons of Year 11 and the looser, more independent structure of a sixth-former’s day. It is her hope that she and other members of staff can ease students through that transition as smoothly as possible, maintaining study supervision where it is required but allowing students to find their own learning routine.

7 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

Mrs Pearson was also invited to speak about work experience, an aspect of sixth-form that she feels is very important. It can be very difficult to organise work experience in the current business environment, where companies seem reluctant to accept students for training, but Mrs Pearson intends to compile a database of companies and businesses that are related to the school through our wide network of parents, and so build up a list of opportunities for students. Mrs Pearson has been working with sixth-form colleges for around twenty years, holding managerial positions in large departments and thus gaining a great deal of experience. Having returned to TGS as a former student, she enjoys a personal relationship with the school and looks forward to joining the senior leadership team. Mrs Pearson’s knowledge with regards to work experience, higher education, UCAS applications, references and careers will certainly prove fruitful next year when she formally takes up her role as the new Head of Sixth Form. We look forward to seeing Mrs Pearson as Head of Sixth Form, and wish her the best of luck in her new position.

Robbie Heighton Y13 student

ENGLISH EVENTS

Last week saw us begin our rehearsals for this year’s show, which will be a production of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Our new drama teacher Mrs Boyce took over 25 aspiring young actors into the Williamson Hall on Wednesday night and put them through their paces as part of the audition process.

Alongside Mrs Boyce were her assistant directors Phin Humphris and Emily Bell who have been stalwarts of many productions in the past. As a result of the auditions the cast is now in place, the technicians are ready to go and the set is coming along.

Jenni Kingsnorth, Franzi Elders and Madeleine Trussell have produced truly evil performances in ‘Ashputtel’; while old stalwarts such as

Emily Scott and Charles Mead have thrown themselves into their parts with the usual enthusiasm.

In the meantime Mr Young (who performed a very passable ‘Prince’ when he volunteered to help out in one rehearsal) is thinking about ticket sales, programmes and whether we should have a ‘pre-show’ event in the covered way; as in other years. As a result the preparations for this year’s show continue in the usual frenetic way that all shows do.

During the next few weeks we will keep you up to date with events with a monthly diary of our progress.

Wish us luck

Mr Bradley Young Head of English

8 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

GCSE OPTIONS EVENING 2015

Last night our annual Year 9 GCSE Options Evening took place in the Williamson Hall. The Headmaster Mr M. Bedford opened the evening with a brief talk outlining the GCSE options at TGS. He also explained the changes for the 2016 cohort who will take the majority of their assessments at the end of the two year course. Furthermore he spoke about the introduction of scores and how they relate to the present grades.

Later parents and pupils had a chance to visit different subject areas and discuss the demands of the subject with a member of staff. Parents and pupils were very positive about the information that was provided but some said they would find it quite hard to make a decision. Thank you to the many parents and pupils who took the time to attend this very informative evening. Please remember staff will continue to support and advise all Year 9 pupils as they make important decisions on their GCSE subject choices in the coming weeks. Mrs Kathrin Elders Deputy Head

SENIOR UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE

The Senior UKMT Mathematics Challenge took place on Thursday, 5th November. All of Y12 and, due to the Choir Festival taking place on the same day, only some of Y13 were entered into the challenge. Pupils at Thetford Grammar achieved 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze award in this event. Over 98 000 pupils from across the UK sat the challenge with roughly the top 10% receiving a Gold Certificate, the next 20% Silver and the next 30% Bronze.

Year Award Name Score

13 Gold & Best in Year Robert Heighton 97

Silver Tom Dennis 70

12 Silver & Best In Year Kirishoban Sanjeevvijay 71

Bronze Megan Curley 61

We would like to congratulate all students who participated in the challenge. We are also very proud of Robert Heighton who qualified for the Senior Kangaroo that will take place on Tuesday 24th November. Good luck!

9 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

INVITATION TO PUPILS, PARENTS AND STAFF ‘Is there anything Special about Religious Language?’

On Wednesday, 25th November, Thetford Grammar School is proud to host Doctor Philip Wilson as an evening speaker in Old School from 17.30pm. Dr Wilson will be delivering a short talk on ‘is there anything special about religious language?’ All parents and pupils are welcome to attend. Please let the school office know if you wish to come along so that light refreshments can be organised. SUGAR FOR SHELTER Thank you to those who have already brought in sugar for our Sugar Appeal. We have just over a fortnight left in which to collect as many bags of any-brand sugar as possible before these are collected and re-distributed. Although not every supermarket stocks Silver Spoon sugar, British Sugar has offered to match, kilo for kilo, the first two tonnes of this brand. Sugar keeps and stores well and is an important source of energy for those who need this support. As well as being essential to many Christmas foods and beverages, the sugar is needed in large quantities by shelters and soup kitchens, particularly in the winter months.

SKI TRIP 2016

We have two spaces available on the ski trip to Aosta, Italy which departs on Saturday 19th March and returns on Sunday 27th. The cost is £830 – this is a fantastic trip and if you would like your child to take part please contact the school office for details.

FRENCH EXCHANGE 2015-2016 Places available.

We are currently recruiting participants for our annual French exchange trip. Letters including all the details and a reply slip have been issued to students from years 9 and 10 and can also be found on our website.

10 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

Please remember to return your reply slip to the School Office as soon as possible so that we can start making arrangements with our French partner school in Compiègne (and get cheaper train deals!).

“I seriously recommend the Compiègne exchange trip. I wish I had done it earlier, and I would go back every weekend if I could! Actually, I would live there now if I could!”

Mr R. Maringue Head of French CHRISTMAS ONIONS Mr Spencer is selling bags of white onions, will be available to collect from Cloisters during the afternoon of the TGS Family Christmas Fayre 2pm-4pm Friday 4th December. They are £5.50 for 12.5kg or £3.25 for 6.25kg. If you would like some then please send in your paid orders to Mr Spencer or the School Office; cash or cheques (payable to TGS) please by Tuesday 24th November. Aficionados will remember that these come from Bob Young, ex-TGS parent’s farm locally and are excellent quality. Profits this year will go to the Sixth Form Hamar Jajab School Project in Mogadishu. TGS FAMILY CHRISTMAS

We are holding our Winter Fayre on Friday 4th December at 3.00pm in the Williamson Hall. There will be lots to see and do including a visit to see Santa in his Sleigh, perusing the stalls for Christmas gifts, enjoying some delicious food from the BBQ and finishing it off with a well-deserved cup of tea or coffee.

Tutor groups will be running their own stalls too and there will be fun to be had in the Photo Booth as well as the eagerly anticipated Raffle – there are some delightful prizes up for grabs this year. Envelopes have been sent home with pupils which contain the raffle tickets to raise funds as well as bags for filling with small gifts and goodies such as sweets, small toys, stationary etc. There is a flyer in there too which will outline all the fun activities for the afternoon. We have spare bags and raffle tickets available in the office if you need any. If you are able to help on the day please email Mrs Clare Sutton, PSA Chairman, at clareandrobsutton6@sky.com We thank you as always for your continued support.

11 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

LOST PROPERTY Andrew Forbes Analogue watch Light blue strap Tom Bercovici Thermal top Black Sondico - named Raincoat Black, Nike named John Jenkins Leicester Tigers scarf Green/Red – brand new Joseph Ramsbottom TGS Hoodie named Ben Mason Black PE joggers named Blazer named Ethan Harris TGS black coat Named in the coat seam Joshua Kriehn-Morris School jumper unnamed Arlo Greenwood Wallet Red with black outline Jack Hendrie Water bottle Black and red Hamish Russell PE top named Ben Jacob-Haigh Cake box Plastic with a green lid Freddie Bayne Blazer named Evangeline Bedford PE Skort and PE top Named Franzi Elders Pe sock Black, named

SPORTS NEWS

Congratulations to Cecily White in Y11 who was mentioned in the Eastern Counties Rugby news after her performance in the U18s Rugby South Eastern Festival on Sunday 15th November. Cecily, who plays for Diss, was deservedly praised for her try saving tackles! Well done Cecily.

County Netball

On Saturday 14th November the U14 Netball Squad travelled to Gresham’s for the County round of the schools U14 Netball Championships following their success in the area tournament. They played against the top ten teams in Norfolk and achieved 5th place overall. A fabulous achievement and well done to the whole squad:

Eleanor Pringle, Alice Christian, Hattie Long, Sophie Gornall, Isabel Curley, Isabel Bourne, Zoe Kendall and Sophie Jacklin.

12 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

CONGRATULATIONS

In this morning’s assembly the following pupils received their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Certificates: Laurie Hyde-Parker, Sharon Satish, Sophia Colasante, Sophie Rose-Land, Jacob Wright. Emma Ruddy received her Silver Duke of Edinburgh Certificate also.

Philippa Buckley was presented with her ABRSM Grade 4 piano certificate passed with Merit. The participants of the prep-school Cross Country event on Wednesday 11th November were presented with their certificates for participating in this event and a special mention was made for Ryan Bourne who achieved a fantastic 2nd place and Tom Hayden in Y6 who came 3rd. Well done to the following pupils that received general awards in the Preparatory School’s assembly on Monday:

Noah Sanders Sarah Stoppard Ryan Bourne Arthur Summers Sophie Peace Cassidy Goodwin Joshua Manning

INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S COMPETITION, LIDICE, PRAGUE

Every year TGS enters an International Children’s Competition in Lidice.

Lidice is a small town near Prague in The Czech Republic. It was the sight of some shocking events during WW2 where the town was razed to the ground and its inhabitants murdered. The town was rebuilt many years after the war and now there is a memorial, a rose garden and a holocaust museum. There is also a gallery housing some very famous works of art but more importantly there is an annual children’s art competition which is held to help raise awareness of what went on during the war and to help ensure that events like this never happen again.

Twenty thousand children enter the competition each year from all over the world and only 7% of the entries win a prize and TGS won two prizes this year.

Megan Gallacher was given the ‘Rose of Lidice’ and Ellie Dickens was given an ‘Honorable Mention.’ Their work is on the wall at the bottom of the Art Department stairs. The other entries can be seen in the register corridor in school house. The title this year was ‘Light’.

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION WINNER

Megan Gallacher has won the annual Scilly Islands’ Partnership photography competition. Her picture called ‘Tropical Oasis’ is an image of St Martin’s taken from on board a Skybus flight.

It received 516 votes on the Visitislesofscilly.com website. Megan wins a B&B stay and two return Scillonian tickets.

13 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

Megan says that she has visited the islands every year since she was 6 years old with her twin brother, parents and grandparents and her family have been going since 1975.

MATCH RESULTS

Friday 13th November U11’s Rugby Match v Glebe House Lost 31 - 20 Tuesday 16th November U14 Hockey v Eccles Hall Won 1 – 0 U15 Hockey v Eccles Hall Won 2 –0 NEXT WEEK’S FIXTURES Thursday 26th November 3:45 – 5:30 U16 Netball v Sacred Heart (A) Friday 27th November 2:00 – 4:00 U11 Tag Rugby Match v Downham & Glebe (A)

SANTA SUIT WANTED

A plea from the PSA!

Has anyone got a Santa suit we would be able to borrow for the Winter Fayre on the 4th December?

If you are able to help please telephone the school office 01842 752840.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday 24th November Year 6 Ancient Greek Day Pre-Prep Festive Fun Morning at 10:15am Winter Concert Williamson Hall 7:00pm

Wednesday 25th November Y13 Maths in Action Day in London Academic Dinner Y10-13 Old School 5:30pm-7:30pm

Thursday 26th November Peter Large Interviews TGS Focus Group for Parents 9:00am-10:00am

Friday 27th November Pre-Prep – Year 3 Swimming Lessons at 2.00pm at BLC

Monday 30th November Senior Tutorial Week starts Tuesday 1st December Christmas Pre-prep/Prep Performance at 2.30pm in Williamson

Hall Wednesday 2nd December Christmas Pre-prep/Prep Performance at 7.00 in Williamson

Hall Y7 Panto Jack & the Beanstalk trip 9:30am – 1:00pm An Inspector Calls theatre trip 6:00-11:00pm

14 Issue No 10/ 2015-2016

PRE-PREP FESTIVE FUN

The Early Years Festive Fun Christmas Craft Open Morning takes place on Tuesday 24th November starting at 10.15. This will be held in the Goldcrest classroom. A flier is attached to this newsletter please share with friends and family members who may be interested in coming. Thank you. Mrs N. Peace Head of Preparatory School ATTACHMENTS For a direct link to our website click here. Festive Fun Poster Sugar for Shelters poster

FORTHCOMING LETTERS

Pre-Prep – Year 6 Christmas Performance TGS Family Christmas Envelopes

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