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Welcome from the

Principal

Dear Parents

What an amazing start to this academic year.

We have been so pleased to celebrate with our students this week in so

many ways.

Examination successes at GCSE, AS and A level have kept us well and

truly at the top end of exam performance across the town again this year

and it is wonderful to know that so many doors have been opened for our

students as a result of that. Year 13’s have successfully got into their top

choice universities, Year 12’s have got the grades they need to continue

with their A level studies and Year 11’s have achieved great results

enabling them to start Post 16 studies. We have the biggest 6th form KC

has ever seen with students from across the town joining KC students on

the next two years learning journey.

It has also been lovely meeting our biggest ever new intake of Year 7

students – what a great bunch of youngsters and they feel so proud of the

fact that they managed to get a place at KC when so many others have

not been so fortunate. I know they will do themselves proud, their parents

and the college as they make the very best of the opportunities that lie

ahead of them. I am looking forward to watching them blossom

intellectually and emotionally.

What has surprised me a little is just how much of my time this week has

been taken up meeting families who are trying to get their children in to

KC in every year group. It is wonderful to know that Northampton families

are aware of the great things happening here and heart warming to feel

how dedicated and determined parents are in getting what they perceive

as the best for their child. Welcome to all of you who have been

successful with your applications – I know you will thrive as part of the KC

family.

And so the term starts….. busy, energised, dynamic and focused. Here’s

looking forward to next week already!

Ms Morrison OBE

Principal

Summer Activities at KC!

Throughout the summer holidays we continued to be a busy and exciting

place to be! Over the 6 weeks we had hundreds of young people from

across Northampton engaging in a variety of activities and clubs.

Firstly, in partnership with the Area Improvement Partnership (AIP) and

the Trilogy Leisure Centres, we hosted a week of clubs for children aged

4-11 years. These included; Drama, Cycling, Multi-sports, Science, Music,

Cheerleading and Street dancing clubs.

We also ran a couple of summer schools for the year 6 children that are

joining KC this year. It’s been brilliant to start to get to know them and we

were blown away by their enthusiasm to learn! The students had the

opportunity to take part in a huge range of activities. These included taster

lessons as well as teambuilding activities and challenges. It was obvious

that they enjoyed it as by the second day they were practically running in!

One of the most popular activities was the Orienteering Challenge. They

had to work together and use clues to find their way around the school

buildings as quickly as possible. Many of the students said one of their

biggest worries about joining KC was getting lost, but after summer school

they weren’t worried at all!

At the end of each summer school, parents were invited in to watch

celebration assemblies and see a display of the work produced. The

children worked in groups to plan things to present to parents to show

them what they had done at summer school. We were blown away by the

uptake by parents, with over 80 people coming to watch one of the

assemblies! The big crowd didn’t faze the students though! They all did

brilliantly and were rewarded with certificates at the end.

A big thank you to KC staff and students who gave up some of their

holiday to help out!

Here are some quotes from the children who took part in our summer

schools:

‘Orienteering really helped us to get to know our way around the

school’ Freya

‘I enjoyed everything because it was so fun’ Kacey

‘I am more confident that I won’t get lost’ Katie-Jane

‘The best thing about summer school was meeting new

people’ Lauren

‘I’m looking forward to starting KC in September’ Libby

‘My favourite memory was making new friends’ Molly

‘The best thing about summer school was the teachers’ Eliot

Congratulations to Year 13

84% of our students achieved places at their first choice University – well done to all of

you, you have done everyone proud! Good luck for the future in your new ventures.

Akhtar Naima Coventry University Law

Anwar Hassan University College

Birmingham

International Tourism & Business

Management

Babs-Osibodu Oluwatomini The University of

Manchester Law

Booth Alexander DeMontfort University Economics

Bryan Kahvan University of Leicester Sociology

Byard Daniel Sheffield College Business leadership and management

Chappelle Lamara University College International Tourism Management

Birmingham

Clarke Louisa The University of

Birmingham Geography

Coombs Aimee Coventry University Sociology

Davies Jordan University of

Northampton Business Entrepreneurship

Dawson Lewis DeMontfort University Fine Art

Dennis Courtney University of

Northampton Early Childhood Studies

Dyke Shaquille University of Bedfordshire Computer Science and Robotics

Gardner Thomas University of

Northampton Environmental Science

Hammond Daniel University of Worcester Business Management

Harris Jemma University of

Northampton International Relations and Politics

Hirst Elena DeMontfort University Accounting and Finance BA (Hons)

Holder Rochelle Moulton College Applied Animal Studies

Irons Lydia University of

Northampton International Tourism Management.

Johnson Cher-Mere University of Derby Marketing and Consumer

Psychology

Kair Rashel University of

Northampton Accounting and Finance

Kings Jake University of

Northampton Economics

Lee Aaron Southampton Solent

University Sport Journalism

Mason Ellis University of

Hertfordshire Physical Geography

Mckenzie Azrielle Anglican Ruskin

University Psychology

Mellish Shannon Anglican Ruskin

University Criminology

Mnymneh Rami DeMontfort University Business and Marketing

Nosa- Omoruyi Josephine University of

Northampton Law

Nunley Fionnuala University of

Northampton Fine Art, Painting and Drawing

Nwafor Frances University of Leicester Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Old Eleanor University of York Social Policy

Oliver Shannon University of Leicester Criminology

Ostler Amber University College

Birmingham Sport and Fitness Studies

Ostler Paige University of

Northampton Fine Art

Owers Lauren Nottingham Trent

University History

Partridge Sophie University of

Northampton

Early Years Education leading to

QTS (3-7 years)

Patel Parth Nottingham Trent

University Mathematics

Paterson Sam Keel University English

Rose Hanna Oxford Brooks Business Management &

International Relations

Rutter Megan Coventry University Geography

Skelton Lily University of Birmingham French Studies and History

Suleiman Nadhifa University of

Northampton

International Tourism Management

&Business

Wanford Madelaine The University of

Warwick History

Yusuf Hassan DeMontfort University Sociology

Literacy at Kingsthorpe College: Accelerated Reader News - End of term winners

At the end of each term we held a prize draw for our Accelerated Reader

students. Each time a student takes a book quiz and gets 100% they are

automatically entered into a draw to win a £10 Waterstones voucher. We

have 2 winners from the end of term: Niyaz Rahman Go2 and Megan

Robinson R2. Congratulations to you both.

To sum up our success on the Accelerated Reader programme at the end

of last year our year 7 and year 8 students read an amazing 8,208 books

which equates to a massive 125,093,695 words read. So our challenge

this year for our year 7 and 8 students is to exceed this target. So don’t

delay and start your reading journey today.

Our recommended summer reads

Our first recommendation of the year is a fabulously

funny story from the master storyteller Sir Terry

Pratchett. This book contains fourteen fantastically

funny stories full of time travel and tortoises, monsters

and mayhem!

Dragons have invaded Crumbling Castle, and all of King

Arthur’s knights are either on holiday or visiting their grannies. It’s a

disaster!

Luckily, there’s a spare suit of armour and a very small boy called Ralph

who’s willing to fill it. Together with Fortnight the Friday knight and

Fossfiddle the wizard, Ralph sets out to defeat the fearsome fire-

breathers. But there's a teeny weeny surprise in store . .

.

If you love comedy stories with a bit of fantasy thrown in we highly

recommend this read.

The word of the week is…….

“Adapt” verb

Definition: To change to fit new conditions

Try and use this word in a sentence this week. My sentence is,

“Our students have adapted well in their new year groups”.

Are you interested in a more active role in

supporting Kingsthorpe College?

Why not join our PARENT’S FORUM?

Kingsthorpe College is on a rapid journey towards excellence and to

ensure we are heading in the right direction we are looking for committed

and enthusiastic parents and carers to join our Parents’ Forum and play

an active part in the improvement and development of the academy.

The Parents’ Forum meets four times a year (September, December,

March & June) with the Principal or members of the Senior Leadership

Team to discuss the exciting plans the college has for its young people.

The Forum provides the ideal opportunity for Parents to provide feedback

on what works well here at the College and what could work even

better. We would also love to hear your own ideas for improvement and

we promise to listen and seriously consider anything you feel could make

a real difference us.

Interested? Please contact: Zoe Day – PA to the Principal on 01604

716106 ext. 1207 or alternatively

email: zoe.day@kingsthorpecollege.org.uk

Kingsthorpe College Annual Chess

Tournament

At the end of term we had the privilege of the

Northamptonshire Schools Chess Association running

our annual school chess tournament. We were

delighted to welcome back Mr John Warren and Mr

David Knight for the fourth consecutive year. 30 of our

students played over five hours of chess in a Swiss

Tournament; this is where each player accumulates points for either a win or

a draw. Each round was fought with great sportsmanship and our students

had the opportunity to hone their skills as they were given tips and tutorials

throughout the day to improve their game. This year the results were tighter

than ever and the results were as follows:

1st Place Kyle Robinson P3

2nd

Place Chris Rudd R3

3rd

Place Kade Mock GO11

We are also really pleased to announce that Mr Knight, from

Northamptonshire Schools Chess Association, will be running an afterschool

chess club. So if you are interested in learning how to play chess or if you

would like to improve your game, keep an eye out for more information

coming soon in September.

Don’t throw out your old uniform!

If you have KC uniform that you no longer need or use and it is still in

good condition, please bring it in to school. We can use it for emergencies

and for our second hand exchange programme. Thank you!.

6th

Form Student Event

We are thrilled to announce that Kingsthorpe

College has been selected to work in

conjunction with the BBC, the booktrust and

BBC Radio 4 to shadow judge the prestigious

BBC National Short Story Award. We are

one of only twenty schools in the entire

United Kingdom to be selected to participate.

On Thursday 10th September in the library we

shall be holding a special launch afternoon tea party for those students

who are interested in joining our shadow judging panel.

We are currently looking for 6th form students who have a passion for

literature and reading to participate and make up our judging panel. For

each participating student they will receive a free copy of the shortlist

anthology. It is also an excellent opportunity for our students to include

this experience in their UCAS applications and in CV’s. However, we only

have a limited number of spaces, so if you would like to be a part of this

prestigious award and to be a part of our judging panel, please contact

either, Mrs Coleman, Mrs Ayres or Mrs Broadbent for further information.

Background information about the BBC National Short Story Award

2015……..

It is one of the most prestigious awards for a single short story and

previous winners include, Lionel Shriver, Sarah Hall and Miroslav Penkov.

The award continues to serve as a reminder of the power of the short

story and celebrates a literary form that is proving ever more versatile in

the 21st century. The adult judging panel will consist of BBC

correspondent Allan Little and includes novelist Tash Aw, writer Sarah

Hall and the UK’s bestselling crime novelist, Ian Rankin.

Our students they will play their part in the shadow judging team and each

will be able to vote for the winner. It is such a wonderful opportunity for

our students to have their say, and to form their own opinions about

current contemporary literature.

Some useful E Safety Resources

UK Safer Internet Centre - Lots of resources around e-safety

Parent Zone

Parentinfo

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