WHITCHURCH HIGH SCHOOL - whitchurchhs.wales

Best A Level results in the school’s history ◗ 3 Oxbridge entrants

◗ 61% A*B grades at A Level

◗ 84% A*C level grades at A level and 99.5% A*E pass grades at A Level

◗ 75% A*B grades and 99.5% A*C pass grades at Advanced WBQ

◗ Many placements at first class Universities

Best GCSE results in the school’s history◗ 340 Year 11 Students

◗ 26.2% 5A*A grades

◗ 74.4% 5A*C including Maths and English

◗ 81.5% English – 80.0% Maths – 93.2% Science A*C grades

◗ Overwhelming majority of students continuing into our sixth form

Congratulations to all our ‘A’ level and ‘GCSE’ students on achieving the best results in the school’s history to give a joyous double celebration.

Significant improvements have seen the school’s key performance indicators rise again this year. This reflects the sustained long term focus on raising standards and prioritising the quality of learning and teaching, effective tracking and implementing appropriate intervention strategies.

All staff, teaching and non-teaching, and everyone involved in preparing and supporting each student should be rightly equally proud of these stunning results.

We wish all our students every future success in the next stages of their careers.

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5 WHITCHURCH HIGH SCHOOL YSGOL UWCHRADD YR EGLWYS NEWYDD

NewsletterL I N K I N G T H E S C H O O L W I T H T H E CO M M U N I T Y

Record breaking A level and GCSE results Historic double celebration for the School

See pages 12 and 13 for more detailsOxbridge Stars

Headteacher’s Welcome

Each academic year seems to fly past more quickly than the last and 2014 to 2015 has been no exception; it has, overall, been a wonderful year to savour, culminating in record breaking A levels and GCSE success. Everyone should be so proud of the outstanding results which showcase the talents of our students, facilitated and supported by our hard working staff, teaching and non-teaching, as well as parents and the wider community.

Yet again our A level results improved, outstripping last year’s highest and we are delighted that this allowed the overwhelming majority of our students to follow their preferred chosen career paths. The GCSE results saw a quantum shift of such proportions that will not happen in the school again. We have literally torn up the previous record books for the school and our accurate tracking predicted that this would be the case. However, it is the long-standing commitment to learning and teaching and supporting the students, both inside and outside the classroom that has created this success. We thank those students who left us at the end of the year for their contribution to school life and wish them every future success.

We extend our gratitude for the contributions of all staff who left at the end of the year. In particular to assistant head teachers Gareth Daniel and Stephen Clarke; Jackie Allen, Frank Bramhill, Hilary Byron (TA), Julia Kingdon, Anthea Thomas, Chris Harris, Sue Carey, Mary Slade, Pauline Wlodzarckyk and Julia Robinson, who have individually dedicated over ten years to the school. We wish them all the very best for the future.

We welcome new staff and students to the school in September 2015, wishing them a happy and successful time with us as we continue to have the highest expectations for all.

Welsh education is currently going through its greatest period of change for many decades. At such a time the school continues to recognise the value of a rounded education, whilst prioritising high academic standards. This newsletter gives just a flavour of the school, both inside and outside of the classroom. Much more can be seen on the school website which is updated throughout the year. Enjoy the read!

Huw Jones-Williams Headteacher

School

Learning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community2

In Memory of Peter BaldwinThe death of an individual pupil is always one of the greatest sadnesses which a school community can face. Last January 2015 the school mourned the tragic death of Peter Baldwin, a popular and talented Year 8 student. Staff, pupils, parents, governors and the wider communities from both Whitchurch High and Peter’s former primary schools, Whitchurch Primary and Pen-Y-Bryn Primary, continue to pass on their deepest condolences to Peter’s parents, Bethan and Stuart; Peter’s sister, Lia; family and friends. You remain in our thoughts and prayers. Friends of Peter over the course of this year have and will continue to mark in their own special ways their cherished memories of Peter.

10k Invncbl ChallengeCongratulations to WHS staff Emma Flanagan, Sarah Davies, Gemma McIntyre, Noreen Linforth, Liam Burke and Joe Taylor who competed in the 10k Invncbl Challenge at Margam Park in Port Talbot in memory of Peter Baldwin who tragically lost his life to type I diabetes in January of this year.

All proceeds from their adventure will be donated to Diabetes UK.

KS4 Awards 2014Wednesday 19th November 2014 saw the annual presentation of subject awards to students who attended Whitchurch High School between 2009 to 2014. The ceremony was led by Assistant Headteacher, Mr Jonathan Davies. Student nomination citations were read out by departmental leaders and certificates were awarded to the outstanding student award winners. Presentations were made by governors and senior leaders. Liberty Welch, harpist, played two stunning pieces during the evening: Arabesque No.1 by Debussy and Stairway to Heaven by Plant and Page. Thank you to all who helped organise and support such an enjoyable evening. We were very grateful for the very large number of parents who attended, celebrating the talent and many successes of students.

Dysgu gydol Oes mewn cymuned lwyddiannus gynhwysol a llawn gofalLearning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community 3

Summer Learning Festival Once again Whitchurch High School held its Summer Learning Festival. It was slightly different this year in that, for a number of reasons, the variety of activities had to be curtailed. This meant that, unfortunately, Year 8 were not so involved, though they did have opportunities to participate in the Aberystwyth residential course and the Geography field day at Ogmore earlier in the term.

• Year 7 were involved in three activities which included Science is Fun in Upper School and Games for Mathematicians and Creative Writing in Lower School. These all enhanced the students' literacy and numeracy and were great fun. In addition, there was an opportunity to participate in Space; the Final Frontier activity for the whole of the three days, including two visits to outside establishments.

• Year 9 had their induction to Upper School which included some varied activities. A whole day was spent doing Team Enterprise, which was both intense, interesting and enjoyable and most certainly involved the students in being on a very steep learning curve and developing teamwork.

• Year 10 were on work experience, carried out earlier than in previous years. An amazing range of placements were involved, providing the students with a real taste of the working environment.

• Year 12 spent the last three days of their Welsh Baccalaureate fortnight ensuring they had reached the required standard in all components. In recent years this qualification has become increasingly important for a growing number of students in getting them a place in higher education.

All in all a very successful three days that took as ever a huge amount of organisation by so many. A special thank you to Mr Gareth Daniel who once again led the Summer Learning Festival with meticulous precision.

KS5 Awards, December 2014 The school was delighted to present awards to the record breaking class of 2014, which put the school in the top 10% in the UK for value added based on ALPS indicators.

• 60% of all grades awarded to our students in Y13 are A*, A or B;

• Almost a third of A2 grades awarded are A* or A grade;

• 99% pass rate at A2 level

The platform party consisted of Mrs Sian Hopkins, Vice Chair of Governors; Mr Huw Jones-Williams, Headteacher; Mrs Gaynor Bell, Deputy Headteacher; Mrs Jenny Ford, Deputy Headteacher; Mr Jonathan Davies, Assistant Head Teacher 14 to 19 leader; Mr Darryn Havard, Head of Sixth Form; and Mrs Lis King, Pastoral Secretary.

Congratulations to the students on their outstanding achievements and future successes.

School

4 Learning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community

Understanding and changing our world - Aberystwyth Challenge 2015180 students from Year 8 enjoyed a wonderful residential experience in Aberystwyth, visiting in two groups to incorporate learning about our environment with fun activities. The planning included visits to the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth, exploring the amazing Nature Reserve at Ynyslas, understanding the sea defences at Borth, sport on the beach at Aberystwyth, riding the Rheidhol steam train and walking the gorge at Devil's Bridge.

Students were given an introductory lecture on university life and what it can offer; students are just about to go into Year 9 and many of them are thinking option choices and the ‘Big picture’ in terms of their futures.

This year Mr Brown had challenged all students to choose a variety of ICT vehicles and ideas to communicate their learning whilst at Aberystwyth. There were special assemblies where he showcased a range of apps and software. Also Mr Grieve was keen to challenge the students in terms of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) and there was lots of opportunities for students to think about sustainability at CAT whilst exploring Ynyslas.

Students and staff were asked to make 3 pledges in order to commit to making small but sustainable changes to improve our world. This is also a challenge for our school community. All the providers who worked with our school were really impressed with the behaviour of our students and the interest they showed in the various venues and topics. Students and teachers all had a very memorable time and next year’s Year 8 have already been asking when they are going.

News Academy Our inaugural News Academy Conference in January looked to inspire the next generation of journalists.Students flocked in anticipation to see and talk to a panel of journalists experienced in their field. Schools from across Cardiff, including Radyr, Bishop of Llandaff and Cardiff University attended. Students were then able to grill all the guests in a quick-fire Q & A session. Finally, it was a case of déjà vu as students were back in the main hall for a mock press conference. Everone grasped the opportunities presented and really enjoyed the day.

Recently the number of students in Wales winning places to study at Oxford or Cambridge has decreased. However our sixth form students are bucking that trend. Following the success of last year, when five students won places to study at Oxbridge, three of our current Year 13 students are taking up their places.

Congratulations to former Head Girl, Talia Keskin, off to read Law at Balliol College, Oxford, Adam Turner also to read Law at neighboring New College and Sam Pinches to join Christ’s College, Cambridge, on their prestigious Medicine course.

Five other Year 13 students were also interviewed at Cambridge and all have gone on to secure places on highly competitive courses at Russell Group universities. 171 of our Year 13 students have applied for higher education, with the overwhelming majority taking up places in Russell Group universities.

We wish all our Year 13 students every success for their future and fully expect our year 12 cohort to continue this legacy of success.

Higher Education Success

5Dysgu gydol Oes mewn cymuned lwyddiannus gynhwysol a llawn gofalLearning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community

In the second week of July, approximately three hundred and twenty Year 10 students spent a week’s work experience from Cardiff to Neath, Dublin to Florence! This was the first year that students in Year 10 had done so. Here is a whistle stop tour flavour of a small selection of some of the placements.

First stop, Blue Door Nursery where Shannon Chittenden was doing a marvellous job assisting the staff in arranging the babies “snack time”. Next, Harrison Davies surrounded by a vast range of animals at Pets At Home, Llanishen. Further visits ensued….Liz Albert doing a fantastic job at the Olive Branch Coffee Shop, and Sophia Saddler working with enthusiasm and initiative at The Flower Lodge. Next stop, Llandaf North and Olivia Coombes looking very content amongst the fabulous creations at Cakey Wakey. Further up Station Road, and Michaela Webb working hard at Deb’s Salon.

On to Cumines Veterinary Surgery and further excellent reports about another of our students, John Davies. On the return trip to the Village many students were to be located, including Daniel Kempton, Samuel Lewis and Max Thompson looking happy surrounded by a plethora of cycles in Damian Harris’ Cycle shop.

As well as the successes evident on the visits out of school, there were notable successes taking place inside school. Jessica Pittard, Emma Bewick and Taylor Daley proving themselves to be naturally talented at organising and helping whilst Liam Willacott received a glowing report about his work with the WHS Estates team. Equally good feedback was received about Robert Davies at Cardiff University’s Geology Department.

As the week progressed, so many great placement reports were received from our feeder primary schools, local and city centre shops, childcare facilities and businesses. A huge thanks is given to all those employers for providing the opportunities and to everyone who helped organise the week. The students have impressed their employers and done themselves and the school proud. We hope that the experiences of this week will continue to inspire each student to move further forward with their learning in Year 11 and allow them to reach their full potential.

School


Higher Education Evening Our second school-based higher education information evening for parents and students was a great success. Fifteen universities from all over the country were represented. Talks were held on general issues surrounding the application process and student finance. Over 180 parents and students attended with excellent feedback received. Several Year 9 and Year 10 students also took part as part of our More Able and Talented programme. Thanks to all who organised and supported and we look forward to this event moving from strength to strength.

Senior Student Team The quality of applications for Head Boy and Head Girl was once again excellent and competition was intense. Congratulations to Rhys Battle and Lucy Dickinson who have been selected as Head Boy and Head Girl. However, the sixth form team was so impressed by the policies and enthusiasm of all candidates this year that two deputies were chosen to support each of them. Well done to William Williams and Josh Lewis, Deputy Head Boys and Eleri Thomas and Phoebe Young, Deputy Head Girls.

ESDGC Poster Competition ESDGC stands for Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship.A competition was run across the whole school to design a logo to represent the Seven ESDGC Themes:

1. Culture and identity

2. Wealth and poverty

3. Health

4. Consumption and waste

5. Natural environment

6. Climate change

7. Choices and decisions

Many entries were received across all year groups, from Year 7 through to 12, all of a high standard.

Congratulations to Rachel’s entry that was the stand out winner. A fabulous design, incorporating all the themes linked to ESDGC. This logo has now been displayed around school and a new ESDGC poster has been created to remind all pupils of what the themes of ESDGC are. The poster has been produced on the back on the recent ESDGC logo competition. The standard of competition was so high that a runner up's design was incorporated into the poster. Well done to Yasmin (Year 8). The poster will be displayed in all classrooms.


Ecuador Our month trip to Ecuador, Summer 2014, proved to be a truly life-changing experience with 13 very lucky travellers from Whitchurch teaming up with other ‘campers’ from Yorkshire and Eastbourne. Ecuador is one of the world’s highest countries, peppered by majestic volcanoes, breath-taking cloud forests, and the edge of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ and located on the equator. Ecuador was breath-taking from the moment we got off the plane: a high ridge of steep sided mountains surrounds it, and the moment we arrived we were already at 2,000 metres above sea level - making Quito one of the world's highest capital cities.

We travelled to our first camp stop, broken up by a visit to the centre of the earth, straddling the equator. Roll forward a few hours until we reached Camp Maqui. It was really out in the sticks with the camp situated above a small community of homes, all positioned around a football pitch. It was made of bamboo - three stories and lots of rooms for all to be bedded down comfortably. Tour work project was to allow the villagers to have a regular supply of clean water. We would be moving the building materials up a haphazard path to where the storage tank would be created. While we struggled with about 1/2 stone of sand, one man and his mule was moving gravel up the same path with consummate ease! We quickly settled in to a routine of return from project at 5pm, shower and then al-fresco dining at 6.30, then games and banter until we are told to be quiet and go to bed around 11pm. We had the time of our lives whilst changing others. We brought clean water to the locals and appreciated what we take for granted back home. We joined in with their lessons and playtime, including getting soaked by the children and playing an Ecuadorian version of cat and mouse!

Our trip to Otavalo, 3000 metres above sea level, was to be quite productive, as we were there to equip ourselves with the layers needed for the highlands of the region in the north east of Quito. It took us a couple of hours to reach Otavalo, a market town near the base of the mountains. We visited on a Monday, and it took us all afternoon to search out the deals; usually this famous South American market is 10 times bigger on any given Sunday, so we were only given the smaller version to explore. The cold and rainy conditions contrasted with the previous sunny, warm airy communal areas, and we were crammed into one small dry but cold shelter… but during the next week came to love this draughty little place!

Surrounded by three volcanoes, our camp overlooked Cambaye volcano, which was snow capped and usually only came from behind her veil of cloud in the early morning as well as when dusk fell. It was glorious; each evening we would wait to see if we could glimpse her beauty before we dined and then went to our various leaky tents. People even got up at night to see the mountains shrouded in a wispy cloud that would appear to soften her jagged edges.

Our work here at camp was varied. We would walk the 30 minutes downhill to our first project work which was to build a Mayan Solar Disc and community meeting area, using bio-construction techniques. Another project was the preparation of an organic seed garden to encourage the local agricultural community to get back to using native types of corn rather than the highly commercial types presently used.

The big news at at our Quito hostel before our trip to the coast, was the earthquake we experienced just after we arrived. It was a 5.1 on the scale, and as we were quick to

tweet our friends of our excitement, we soon realised that this event had actually taken two lives working in one of the local quarries. We travelled to Quito airport early the next morning, travelling southwest to Guayaquil, close to our final camp location at the coast, Camp Costa!

The hotel next to our camp had a diving training pool and over the next couple of days we practised ready for when we boarded our boat to be taken to a local island area. Soon our octopus houses were constructed, school walls painted, and the PADI course passed. Our trip was almost over and our expectations of this beautiful country surpassed.

It was an amazing trip - full of banter, songs, dances, smiles, whale calls and fantastic friends. We hope we do the people of Ecuador proud by sharing with others just how amazing their country is; we have already been told the water storage tank in Camp Maqui is up and running, as is the bio-construction work in Camp Kuri Kucho; we know the many friendships from Eastbourne, Yorkshire and Quito will go on and on.


Walk for Hope Congratulations to Ethan Davies, Year 7, who was the first student home in the George Thomas Hospice 'Walk for Hope' event that took place on Sunday 12th October. Also to Ella Williams (Year 9) and Ethan Davies (Year 7), two of our top fundraisers, who presented a cheque for £581 to Nicky Piper from George Thomas Hospice.

Remembrance Sunday 9th November 2014 Fraser Mackie (Head Boy) and Talia Keskin (Head Girl) took part in the Annual Remembrance Day march and ceremony, laying a wreath on behalf of Whitchurch High School. This year marks one hundred years since the start of the First World War.

Throughout the United Kingdom and Overseas there have been many ways of remembering this centenary year. One of these was the art installation, "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" at the Tower of London. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, with setting by stage designer Tom Piper, 888,246 ceramic poppies filled the Tower's famous moat. Each poppy represented a British military fatality during the war. The poppies encircled the iconic landmark, with the scale of the installation reflecting the magnitude of such a centenary, creating a powerful visual commemoration. Over 4 million visitors viewed the installation and all the poppies were sold, raising approximately £15m for charity.

Our photographs show Talia, Fraser, Matthew, Sam and Alex and one of the 888,246 installation poppies. It is our school's tribute: by coming together we commit to never forgetting the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives for the freedom of future generations.

School

Christmas Tingles Congratulations to all who showcased their musical talents in the Upper School Christmas assemblies. They included a cover version of "Real Love" by Tom Odell (Monty theme tune from John Lewis); the famous Pogues Christmas hit "Fairytale in New York"; "I know where I've been" from Hairspray and our senior orchestra. There were also serious messages on the meaning of Christmas, consideration and compassion for others, humorous moments and the opportunity to join in traditional carols.

Christmas Fund Raising Congratulations to Matty Green (Year 7) who raised an amazing £107 for the NSPCC when his maths teacher, Mrs Nesham, gave him a 4 minute tables challenge during the charity's recent Number Day. In total the class raised over £150 for this valued charity.


Schools against racism Congratulations to Rebecca Lewis of 8R who won two prizes in this year's 'Schools Against Racism' calendar design competition. Approximately 800 pupils from 30 schools entered the competition and Rebecca's design was selected as one of the images for the calendar. Her design was also selected as the overall winner in online 'People's Choice Award'! Thank you to everybody who voted for her and to her art teacher, Ms Pauline Wlodarczyk.

Little Princess TrustCongratulations to Kate Vella (Year 13) and Jessica Bright (Year 7) who had their hair chopped short for the Little Princess Trust that provides real hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK who have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment. Over £900 was raised.

Minute silence held On Friday 3rd July Whitchurch High School, in keeping

with schools and workplaces across Wales, held a

minute’s silence to remember the victims of the

Tunisia shootings.

School


Teachers learning togetherOur May 2015 JPDD INSET day saw teachers and cover supervisors learning together. We focused on many developments throughout the day, ensuring that existing, innovative teaching and learning developments continue to maximise impact. We also at looked at 4Matrix, an advanced tracking system, and the use of self-development tools such as IRIS software which will further develop and support learning practice. Towards the end of the morning and ahead of specialist departmental time we looked at formulating some exciting mini-active teacher-led research projects (pedagogy projects) to carry out over the next few months. Everyone agreed it was a successful and enjoyable day, ensuring that teaching and learning continues to have the highest priority for the school and we continue to do our very best for each individual student, whatever their ability.

Year 11 FundraisingAs part of Whitchurch High School's programme to build even stronger ties with the surrounding community, each year the council selects a chosen charity to fundraise for throughout the year. Over the last two years, Year 11 students have been fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity which is very close to their hearts. Students have raised money through various activities such as non-uniform days, bake sales and sporting events. During their leavers' prom on Friday 26th June, Callum Nippers, Callum Jones, Ollie Butt and Shahan Hamza asked if they could organise a collection and raised almost £600. This was donated directly to the Teenage Cancer Trust ward at the Heath Hospital.

Scan the QR code to be directed to the charity webpage where you will be able to help raise much needed funds

Little Princess Trust(See article page 9)

Tenovus(See article page 31)

generated at BeQRious.com

Peter Baldwin (See article page 2)

generated at BeQRious.com


Attendance AwardsA raffle prize was held on the last day of term as one of the ways in which the school drives to continue to raise attendance levels. To qualify students needed attendance levels of 91% or above and must not have missed a day from school in the last four weeks.The following numbers were eligible: Year 7 (245), Year 8 (209), Year 9 (201) and Year 10 (165). Sam Hill (Year 7), a member of the Whole School Council, drew the names of the winners: Louie Edmiston-Lane (9B), Abbie Woodhall (7F), Rio Silva (8M), Kieran Davies (9R), Amelie Le Huray (7R) and Ben Flinn (8C) who is not in the photograph. The attendance raffle has been a contributory factor in seeing attendance levels across the school rise by 0.5% to very close to 95%. Well done to all.

Top University Ambitions for KS3 and KS4 students Forty nine talented students from Years 9, 10 and 11 made their way down south to Exeter on July 7th , for a course entitled ‘Getting Into The Top Universities.’ Run by education providers PIXL, the course was designed to remove obstacles and answer questions that state school students might have, ahead of making an application to Oxford, Cambridge, or Russell Group universities.

An early start saw the students board the bus at half past six, and barring a quick stop for a doughnut (or a dozen), we made our way to the venue, Sandy Park, the home of the rugby team Exeter Chiefs. The course was led by Peter Rawling, and featured an admissions tutor at Oxford University, Victoria Sargent. She outlined what students could expect from the application procedure, and flagged up the need to make sure applicants have enough experience to find themselves on the ‘Definite’ or ‘Probable’ piles when it comes to receiving offers from a University, rather than the ‘Possible’ or ‘Reject’ piles.

Students came home to Cardiff with inspiration and appreciation for what’s involved, knowing that there is much competition, but every opportunity for them, as they now have a headstart on other schools, who might not have had the chance to attend. Thanks to Mr Brown, Miss Hollings, Mrs Armstrong and Ms Lloyd.

P£YBACCThe school’s Welsh Baccalaureate Team were commissioned to produce a range of National resources specially created for the WBACC Skills Challenges, using an ‘App’. The revised and more rigorous Welsh Baccalaureate is based on a Skills Challenge Certificate, which will be graded, and supporting qualifications. The emphasis is on applied and purposeful learning and in providing opportunities for assessment in a range of real life situations through three Challenge Briefs and an Individual Project. Overall the skills challenges are designed to complement academic and vocational learning in the modern world.

Paul Morgan, Assistant Head teacher at Whitchurch, stated, “Our success criteria was to develop engaging, challenging and user friendly resources, accessible to all and inclusive to all.” Congratulation to all involved.

WBQ Advanced99.5% A*C

Passes

A Level99.5% A*E

Passes

Whitchurch High School - Ysgol Uwchradd Yr Eglwys NewyddWe’ve done it again! Highest A Level results in the school’s history!

3 Oxbridge students and many other placements at first class universitiesSee website for further details − www.whitchurchhs.com

A Level61% A*B

Grades

A Level84% A*C

Grades

WBQ Advanced75% A*B

Grades

A Level Results


Congratulations!

Summer 2015 saw A level students and GCSE students achieve the highest outcomes in the school’s history; there were great celebrations on Thursday 13th and Thursday 20th August as so many students achieved outstanding results.

The A Level success follows a trend of excellent outcomes: last year the results were the highest in the school’s history, but this year the results rose again. These outcomes mean that students now go on to the next step: for many this is a Russell-group university. Talia Keskin (1 A*, 2 A grades and A* for WBQ), Sam Pinches (4 A* grades and an A for WBQ) and Adam Turner (3 A grades and an A* for WBQ) secured places at Oxbridge.

Other students with excellent results include: Rob Alder (3 A*and an A grade for WBQ; Tara Chick (3 A grades and an A at WBQ); Harriet Diment (3 A*and an A grade for WBQ); Tim Dodd (2 A*and 2 A grades and A* for WBQ); twins, Anna and Sara Hinds who mirrored each other’s 3 A grades and an A for WBQ; Ffion Jones (3 A grades and an A for WBQ); Harry Kel-lam (3 A grades and an A* for WBQ);Tanmay Khanna (2 A*, 2 A grades and an A for WBQ); Jack Mason (3 A* grades and and an A for WBQ); Lena Meister (4 A grades and an A for WBQ); Ewan Oliver (3 A grades); Aniela Pawer (3 A grades and an A for WBQ); Grace Pestic-cio (2 A*, an A grade and an A for WBQ); Delia Thompson (1 A*, 2 A grades and an A* for WBQ); Ella Tumelty (2 A grades and an A^ for WBQ) and Sam Wilson (3 A grades and an A* for WBQ).

The 24 Russell Group Universities:Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh,Exeter, Glasgow, Imperial College London, King's College London, Leeds, Liverpool, London School of Economics & Political Science, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary London, Queen's University Belfast, Sheffield Southampton, University College London, Warwick and York.

TremendousIndividualSuccesses

74.4%5A*C includingMaths & English

340Year 11

Students

26.2%5A*A

Grades

81.5% English A*C80.0% Maths A*C

93.2% Science A*C

Whitchurch High School - Ysgol Uwchradd Yr Eglwys NewyddCongratulations to all! 2015 GCSEs the best in the school’s history!

See website for further details − www.whitchurchhs.com

GCSE Results


GCSE Results were issued on Thursday 20th August and the school saw more celebration with its best ever GCSE outcomes; out of 340 students entered for Level 2 qualification, over 74% achieved 5 grade A*-C passes, including maths and English. 26% of these students achieved 5 A*- A grades.

It is hard to single out individual success, as so many students achieved excellent personal outcomes, but the following students compare extremely well on a national scale:

Jack Barry: 8A*, 3 A;

Adelaide Brennan: 9A*, 3 A;

Tom Clarke: 7A*, 2 A:

Emily Cooper: 9A*, 2 A;

Ailsa Graham: 6A* 5 A;

Eleri Howell: 6A*, 6 A,

Michael Lewis: 10A*, 1 A;

Evan Lloyd: 6A*, 4A;

Catrin McCarthy: 7A*, 3 A;

Jack McCormack: 7A*, 5A;

Randa: Mostafa: 6A*, 4A;

Esmee Nourizadah: 6A*, 4A;

Thomas Pycroft: 7A*, 2A;

Georgia Rundle: 8A*, 4A;

Samuel Wall: 9A*, 4A.

We were also delighted to see that our gender gap has narrowed significantly and this is partly due to the school’s focus on improving extended writing, as well as a range of boy-friendly learning and teaching strategies.

Overall, so many of our students secured excellent results; this is due to hard work and commitment, and we are very proud of them, wishing them well in their next steps.

Llongyfarchiadau!

KS5


NATO summit We were delighted that ten Year 13 students from Whitchurch Sixth Form took part in a Mock NATO summit in Newport, just 2 miles from the real summit at the Celtic Manor Hotel. Ten schools from across England and Wales met in Newport to replicate the debates of NATO's world leaders. During the two days, students were visited by a host of top politicians, diplomats and academics. After watching the military flypast led by the Red Arrows, delegates were welcomed by Julie Lydon, Vice Chancellor of the university and AM Dame Rosemary Butler. The event also gave students the opportunity to debate key issues with speakers such as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Matthew Barzan, the US Ambassador to the UK, and Sir Emyr Jones Parry a former British Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council. The conference provided opportunities to discuss major world events in a realistic setting and by the end of two exhausting days a communique was issued summarising their work. Thank you to Mr Tom Wallace for supporting the students. The Whitchurch group consisted of: Dan Traynor, Tamjid Miah, Sam Wilson, Kate Seary, Sara Hinds, Anna Hinds, Adam Turner, Michael Thomas, Isobel Ashman and Zak Weaver.

Editors post script: It is amazing how the world has moved on over a year.

Oliver Eales Mathematics Star Whitchurch High School was delighted that on Thursday 18th December A level student Oliver Eales, received a prestigious National Award from the WJEC Examination Board. He achieved the maximum number of 600 UMS points for his six modules in Further Mathematics A-level. Oliver has now completed his first year at Trinity College, Cambridge where he is reading Physics. This is an amazing achievement.

Medicine Success Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine are some of the most competitive university degree courses in the UK with an average of 10 applicants for every place available. Yet despite these odds, every student in our sixth form who applied to university for 2015 entry has received an offer to study these incredibly challenging six year degree courses. Our future young doctors, dentists and vets are:

Fraser Mackie (Head Boy) — Medicine, Newcastle University

Sam Pinches — Medicine, University of Cambridge

Harriet Diment — Medicine, University of Bristol

Aniela Pawar — Medicine, University of Birmingham

Harry Kellam — Medicine, Cardiff University

Ella Tumelty — Medicine, University of Birmingham

Anna Hope — Dentistry, King’s College, London

In addition to their academic studies, our students have devoted their time to a variety of extra-curricular pursuits such as work experience in local hospitals and volunteering in care homes, demonstrating commitment to their chosen career. They have also been supported by staff throughout the university application process in a variety of ways, such as providing mock interviews. We are delighted for our students and wish them every success in pursuing their ambitions.


Year 11 Revision SuccessOver the course of the year staff have supported students with countless, targeted and timely revision sessions at break times, lunchtimes, after school and during the holiday periods and attendance has been excellent. Over the Easter and Whitsun breaks English, Maths, Science, Catering, Drama, DT, Geography, Geology, RE students have been in school following often individually designed programmes. A big thank you for the preparation and time given by all teachers involved. We have seen the benefits of these in the excellent results in English, Maths and Science external units and the progress made in controlled assessments.

KS4

Year 11 Work Experience The penultimate week before half term and over three hundred and thirty Year 11 students would take on a week’s challenges in places of work from Cardiff to Swansea, London to Wolverhampton! Thanks to all those staff who visited the placements even if some had to overcome their own anxieties, such as aversion to horses, or on one occasion an over-friendly parrot! Here are a small sample of placement experiences starting with one member of staff’s recollections.

First stop at Little Angels Nursery where Sadie Bennett was facing her own challenges working incredibly hard to pacify a group of very vocal one year olds. Next stop, a visit to the top of Brunel House to visit Drew Hyman working in an office with the most amazing view over Cardiff. Onto St Mary Street, and Ella Grandin, who was making an excellent impression on clients of the CPS Group. Things took a musical turn at Gamlin’s Music Centre to encourage a reluctant Emma Warrington to pose like a rock star for the work experience assembly. On the return trip numerous call ins to the Village where many students were to be located, including Christos Michael surrounded by a plethora of cycles in Damien Harris’ Cycle shop. We had a number of students complete their work experience in school. There were impressive reports about Izzy Paisey working in the SRB; Gabby Duggan reaffirmed her intention to pursue a career in childcare; Kateland Williams had a fantastic week in the Lower School Library; Ethan Hagon made the most amazing salt dough creation in Home Economcis; Max Carpanini had a great time working with MFL; and Alex James and Thomas Heal had a very successful week in DT. As the week progressed, so many great placement reports were received from of our feeder primary schools, local and city centre shops, childcare facilities and businesses.

The WBQ staff team spent the week working with the Year 11 WBQ Admin team comprising of Bethany Flinn, Cael James, Khalis Hill, Kimberley Hansen-Clarke, Nahima Khan, Gareth Watson and Josh Hufton. The student team worked with great enthusiasm and developed many new skills. Nahima Khan discovered a new talent as a librarian but the star of the week was Josh Hufton who displayed an amazing aptitude for fixing things such as blinds, filing cabinets and the list goes on. One of the star moments of the week (sic) was the work experience organised by Mr Coombes that was undertaken by Angus Robertson and Jack Burnett. These boys were incredibly fortunate to get

the opportunity to work with Professor Paul Roche from the University of South Wales. Angus Robertson commented, “Jack Burnett and I were given a very exciting opportunity to represent Whitchurch High School in using the unmanned observatory in space, named Gaia. We utilised our research on Gaia to try and find new supernova in deep space”. Not only did these boys have access to the most current scientific data and resources, they came within a whisker of discovering a new supernova. Unfortunately, they were just beaten to it by the University of Warsaw no less! Both boys are continuing their supernova search with Professor Roche at the university.

Congratulations to all on a very successful week. Thanks to all those who provided placements and who organised the week. We hope that this inspires Year 11 in considering their career choices and their examination successes.

KS4


Breakfast Peer Mentoring Scheme and the Magic BagelsYear 11 have been following a targeted breakfast one-to–one mentoring scheme over the course of this academic year from October to May. The aim of the programme has been to support borderline C grade students in closing the gap and achieving that vital C grade. The trained volunteer mentors have either been sixth formers or Year 11 and have received Welsh Baccalaureate accreditation for their commitment. Over 60 students in each of the two core subjects have been mentored and the canteen staff have been in early to serve warm bagels, tea cakes and drinks. The English and Maths sessions have run each weekday morning (except Fridays) from 7:30 am to 8:20 am. There has been a real buzz of activity and evaluations demonstrate that mentees value the scheme; external results show that it has made a difference for key students. Governors have also visited and seen the progress students have made. A huge thank you to teaching and non-teaching staff and to our students for this excellent scheme. We also held a thank you tea for all the mentors and governors in recognition of their commitment presented each with a certificate. There is a body of research that demonstrates that peer-to-peer support really does have impact and this initiative is just one of the many ways we have continued to support our students in all their subjects across the curriculum.

Broadhaven Boot camp On Saturday 31 January 44 students and 10 members of staff met at Whitchurch High School at 7am for the annual Broadhaven Bootcamp. Students were put through their paces in a rigourous revision and skills based schedule on the dramatic west coast of Wales. Time was very tight and a huge amount of work was covered; students worked in carousels for English, Maths and Science and also had option sessions. There was an excursion to the beautiful local beach where students competed against the wind, and each other, in cricket. They also created their own natural sculptures to try to capture the mood of the weekend. Student response and attitude to learning were excellent. Staff were also impressed with how the students worked together to support each other.

Six Superstars to the Rescue Six of our Year 11 Duke of Edinburgh boys undertaking their outdoor expedition exam on a Sunday in September in the Gower made two urgent detours to rescue adults in distress. It was a case of six go adventuring on an eight hour trek and end up heroes after calling in paramedics in one incident, an air ambulance in another and giving out precise map reference each time to ensure they could be found. Their first ‘rescue’ was to a man who had fallen and broken his arm in two places. Working together they made a makeshift sling for his arm and then walked with him to a caravan park about half a mile away and then called an ambulance. Three hours later came their second ‘rescue’ when hiking close to Three Cliffs Bay and saw a rider thrown from her horse. This time emergency staff decided to send an air ambulance after being informed by the boys that the tide was in and there was no access to the area. They then set off to finish their six hour trek, arriving at the nearby Gower Heritage Centre at around their expected time despite the double detour. Congratulations to Joel Morgan, Tom Dimech, Josh Hufton, Shahan Hamza, Faizel Merzook and Al Dimech. On Monday 15th September three of our six heroes were interviewed live on BBC Wales’ Eleri Sion show. All gave graphic accounts of how they worked together for the two ‘rescues’. We are proud of their achievements and that thousands of listeners across Wales were able to hear first hand to how young people are really able to make a difference, even in the most difficult of situations.

Learning Pathway Interviews All 350 Year 11 students were individually interviewed by Senior Staff on Friday 16th January to help them in their decision making options process on their options for next year. Discussions ranged from consideration of appropriate "A Levels" at Whitchurch High School's Sixth form, courses with other learning providers (such as other schools or colleges) or consideration of direct employment. All involved found the process very beneficial.


Year 11 PromThe Year 11 Prom saw over 300 Year 11 students pack Cardiff City Football Stadium along with their Head Teacher Mr Huw Jones-Williams, Deputy Head Teachers Mrs Jenny Ford and Mrs Gaynor Bell, Learning Leader Mr Alun Horgan and over 50 teachers and pastoral assistants all celebrating this year group's success at Whitchurch High School. A big thank you to Mr Horgan and Miss Maher for the organisation of the evening, all agreed that it was an excellent night and one that will be remembered forever.

Lower School Homework Club Lower School students have attended homework club every Tuesday evening in the Learning Resource Centre. They were well supported by Sixth Formers and staff.

KS3


KS3 Awards CeremoniesThe annual Key Stage 3 Rewards Ceremonies took place on Monday 6th July, celebrating the achievements of our Year 9 students as they approach the end of the Key Stage. All students received a certificate as acknowledgement of their individual achievements over the course of their KS3 journey. In addition, there were a range of subject, attendance and student leadership awards presented by senior staff. We wish each student the very best as they now embark on their KS4 studies.

Young Evaluators on the Move Again

This is the fifth year that the Young Evaluators (YE) programme has run. The concept of the YE scheme is to allow students to contribute to aspects of learning. This involves thorough investigation on a chosen topic that addresses the thoughts and feelings of a wide variety of students. Outcomes are then presented and discussed with the Senior and Middle Leadership Teams.

The topic this year was, “Would the development of a Whitchurch High School ‘App’ enhance the quality of learning of students?”

The YE carried out detailed research, including the distribution of almost two hundred questionnaires to a range of KS3 students and almost fifty questionnaires to staff. A thorough analysis of the data led to some very important conclusions.

A very professional approach ensured clarity of delivery with the conclusion that the ‘WHS App’ was something the school needed and would be a useful tool for all students and teachers. It would ease communication and could save the school a considerable amount of money in the future; money that might be spent on other learning resources.

Congratulations to these thoughtful, hard working Year 8 students who clearly care deeply about the future of the school. They are: Elis Davies, Hannah Deard, Libby Gibbs, Manon Jones, Divya Joshi, Freya Luscombe, Omar Salman, Kate Shephard, Areen Tawil and Caitlin Williams.

SW Fire Service Launch Arson Awareness VideoCongratulations to Sophie Cheesman, Eve Littlejohns and Niamh Williamson all of Year 9 for featuring in an arson awareness video, ‘Look at me now’, produced by South Wales’ to educate youngsters about the dangers of deliberate fires. This video was integral to the Arson Awareness Week, to highlight the consequences of ‘risk free fun’ among a group of friends and how it can have consequences for all those involved. Dewi Jones, head of Fire Crime at SWFRS, said: “It’s great to be launching our arson awareness campaign with such an impactful video and I believe that it will make the young people we engage with in schools and beyond stand up and pay attention to the consequences of deliberate fire setting.”

GCSE Art Exhibition The work of students studying GCSE Art and Design 2013 to 2015 was displayed at the Art Exhibition Centre, showcasing a wealth of talent evident in the work created. Congratulations to all staff and pupils for an outstanding exhibition.

Art in Paris Year 12 students studying courses in art and photography had a very busy five days in Paris, visiting the Musee D’Orsay, Picasso Museum, The Louvre and the Pompidou Centre. Photography students visited the prestigious and highly acclaimed, international ‘Paris Photo’ exhibition as well as the Pompidou and Picasso Gallery. Hard work in the day was rewarded with visits to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur, the Montmartre district and a cruise along the River Seine. Evenings were spent in lively restaurants soaking up the culture and cuisine of the city.

Art


Three artists top County Hall Congratulations to ‘A’ level artists Bethan Follis, Hannah Ahmed and Josie Rees who will each have one of their pieces selected to be displayed in Paul Orders’, Cardiff Council’s CEO, office in County Hall for this year.

• Bethan’s lively piece portrays the theme of nature through the use of repetitive vibrant patterns and colourful floral designs;

• Hannah’s dual complimentary pieces fuse Indian and Welsh culture using a wide range of materials and techniques resulting in a complex mixed media outcome.

• Josie’s vibrant painting capture the history of Cardiff Bay brought to life by the fluorescent Chinese lanterns.

All four pieces were displayed in the A and A/S Art Exhibition on Thursday 16th July. Each of the artists’ pieces highlights the theme of recognising and celebrating inclusion and diversity and the love of life.

We wish Bethan, Hannah and Josie every future success as they take up their undergraduate studies from September 2015.

A LEVEL Art Exhibition The work of students studying A and A/S Art 2013 to 2015 was displayed in July at the annual exhibition in the Art Exhibition Centre. All of the work was once again of an outstanding standard and a credit to staff and students. Three of the artists had their work selected to be displayed in County Hall.

Drama


Yes Prime Minister!In an election year Alex Harries of Year 8 took to the stage in Everyman Theatre's production of Blackadder III, part of the annual Open Air Festival, held in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (July).

Set in the Regency period of the early 1800s and written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, Alex took on the role of Prime Minister William Pitt The Younger, the scheming politician who plans to bankrupt the Prince Regent. It was also a rare opportunity for student and teacher to perform opposite each other, as the Drama Department's Mr O'Rourke played the part of George, the Prince Regent!

Congratulation to Alex for a leading performance on a 12 night run, demonstrating a professionalism equalling that of the adult performers!

BBC’s Casualty Gert Thomas, a producer working on BBC's "Casualty" programme, took time out of his hectic filming schedule to join a Year 12 Drama lesson, talking to students about his career, work experiences and offering advice. Gert’s visit was a great insight for the students who thoroughly enjoyed hearing from him.

Young Playwrights' FestivalThe Silver Jubilee Young playwrights' Festival (YPF) of 2014 saw more than 500 entries from KS3 students, the most ever. It was very challenging to select just six winning plays, two from each year group. The plays reflected a range of subject matter, a good standard of written work, a clear grasp of dramatic conventions and a large dose of imagination. The winning playwrights were, in order of performance:

• Ben Gasston and Abdul Mahdi of Year 7J - a hilarious play on life after death, "Heaven's Reception";

• Caitlin Williams and Leah Morris of Year 8L - "The Trap, The Traitor and The Triumph" which was a comic take on overthrowing the monarchy;

• Meredith Crossland of Year 9K for "Mission Revolution"- a comedy about the ambitions of a group of felines;

• Jess Bright and Rosa Mayer of Year 7P re-wrote history in their winning play, "Gunpowder, Treason and Plot";

• Mia Griffiths of Year 8C, reworked a much loved classic to create her humorous play "The Wizard of Whitchurch";

• Alex Wall of Year 9M's play "Two Brothers" was a sensitive and mature account of the horrors of WW1 and was a particularly fitting play to end this years' Festival in light of the 100th Anniversary of WW1.

All the plays were worthy winners of the Twenty Fifth 2014 YPF and the winners thoroughly deserve to be congratulated. Thank you to all the large and extremely talented cast, crew, technicians and Year 12 directors.

FACE"No-one ever knows what's around the next corner"

'Face', originally written as a novel and adapted into a play in 2008 by Benjamin Zephaniah, deals with racism, drugs and facial disfigurement. The play follows the story of Martin Turner, a 15 year old teenage boy, who has everything going for him; everything changes, however, one fateful night when he's involved in a car crash, leaving him with severe facial burns and disfigurement. The audience is taken along Martin's journey of rediscovering who he is and what really matters in life.

Over seventy Whitchurch students, ranging from 12 to 18 years old, were involved in the largest cast in the School’s history. 'Face' is also the first production where our students ran the entire show, with a Year 11 Stage Manager, Year 13 Lighting Designer, Year 10 Sound Designer and Year 9 Projection Designer!

Working relentlessly for six months to bring this play to life this year’s production reflected the true commitment and dedication of the cast and everyone involved. It was a production to remember.

100 Chairs ChallengeIn July a small group of Year 7 and 8 students took part in the DT 100 Chairs Challenge. Students were asked to design and make a new chair in one school day using a selection of old, recycled, broken and disused chairs. The challenge is inspired by the designer Martino Gamper who made 100 chairs in 100 days using the same materials: broken, recycled or disused chairs. The event was a resounding success, as you can see. Congratulations to all.

21

D&T

Dysgu gydol Oes mewn cymuned lwyddiannus gynhwysol a llawn gofalLearning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community

Engineering Scheme Wales Congratulations to our Year 12 students who won the prestigious award of the Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) Team of the year. The project was Aeroplane Protection from Lightning Strikes. As a result of that win, the team were invited by the EESW to exhibit their project at the Royal Society of Chemistry's annual Science and Assembly event held at the Senedd on the 19th of May. Kristian Ions was the only student from the team that could attend the event, due to exams being held, and it turned out he was the sole representative for all the schools of Wales. Kristian did an amazing job and presented flawlessly. A big thank you to all involved.

Florence with DT In July 2015 the Design and Technology department took 37 students to Florence, Italy, for the experience of a lifetime! Highlights of an amazing trip were:

The Ducati factory: it was fascinating to see the evolution of these superbikes ranging from 1950 to the present day and how technology has helped Ducati to be one of the best hand built racing bikes in the world.

The Lamborghini museum: A beautiful museum with inspirational design work evident in their cars.

Florence itself: the Mercato Centrale, the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral and many more stunning sights.

The Ferrari Museum, Modena: A breath-taking venue displaying all the heritage of these awe-inspiring cars. The guided tour was very informative and students saw the most expensive road car in the world – the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at a cost of £36million.

The Gucci Museum: Starting from humble beginnings, Gucci has transformed the fashion industry and it was fascinating to see the development of the brand.

The flight home on Friday, passed over the Leaning Tower of Pisa and all agreed that the Florence visit was a complete success. Thanks to all involved.

F1 SuccessIn February Whitchurch High School’s Apollo Bloodhound Team won the ‘Best Engineered’ Award in the prestigious F1 in Schools competition as they beat nine other schools across Wales. Congratulations to the winning team: Sam Portillo, Danny Southgate, Sean McGuire, Dave Totterdell, Louis McCracken, and Josh Williams plus all who supported.

Design ChallengeThis year, displayed alongside the annual DT challenge, was work by A level students Sophie Bird and Will Davies; this was included in the 2014 WJEC Student Innovation award exhibition. Prizes were given on the day for the most innovative structure, the strongest structure and the most creative structure. Further awards were given to: Eric Williams (Systems and Control), Nia Sanders (Graphic products), Chloe Howcroft (Resistant Materials) and Eve Maxwell (Textiles).

22

English


Carnegie ShadowingIn the first week of June 2015, a group of Year 8 & 9 students were selected to take part in the annual Carnegie Shadowing Day. The first day took place at Bishop of Llandaff High School where students were given the task of turning one of the books into a piece of drama. The second day was especially challenging as the day was from 9am to 9pm in the Gate Theatre.

Students from Cathays High School came to watch the afternoon’s performance and everything went according to plan with all of the eight different plays. Once all the performances where finished, it was the job of the panel of judges to decide who would win the best performance. There were talks from the authors Geraldine McCaughrean and Sarah Govett; both were extremely interesting and amusing. Next was the evening performance with parents and teachers in the audience. Once everyone had performed the, now larger selection of judges, left the room to decide the second set of winners. The room went very quiet as it was revealed that Tinder had won and each received a signed copy of 'The Territory’ by Sarah Govett.

Talk the Talk Year 9 were involved at the start of June in a full day of workshops to develop strong speaking skills as well as developing their speech writing skills by learning how to structure speeches using the ‘P.E.E.E.T. technique’.

Position: state your view/opinion Explain: why you hold that view e.g. provide a story? Expand: add a further point or a counter argument Point: Restate your position

The workshops helped prepare students for the new specification GCSE in English Language as well as their Welsh Baccalaureate presentations. The aim of each workshop is to encourage confidence to speak in front of others and instil confident communication for life. The event was well received by both students and staff and it was fantastic to see even greater student confidence demonstrated as the day progressed.

Geology challenge Following our two initial wins in the Schools Geology Challenge, then three wins by Gower College, our students were desperate to win back the trophy and bring pride back to the geology students of Whitchurch High. The task was to beat the three opposing teams, namely Amman Valley Comprehensive, Barry Boys and Coleg Sir Gar at Amman Valley School. Our students were up for it and had prepared well, but would it be enough?

The theme this year was the 'Greatest Geological Discovery', involving producing a poster, making a presentation and then participating in a geological quiz. We chose the Burgess Shale as our greatest geological discovery, a rock formation in western Canada that contains amazing fossils that herald the explosion of life on Earth, an event geologist refer to as the Cambrian explosion.

A large number of Year 12 and 13 students had had an input into the poster, in particular Izzy Robertson (Year 13) and Julie Ostermeyer (Year 12) . We were very pleased with the outcome, in particular that much of it was hand drawn. Our presentation team on the night were Prakriti Timila and Dan Williams (both Year 13). The final section of the evening was the quiz and, as always, the Whitchurch team were outstanding. Richard Evans, George Davies and David Dascombe of Year 13 and Alex Darby of Year 12 did us proud, bringing us home with a two point win.

The win meant we qualified for the national final of the Schools Geology Challenge, held in Burlington House, Piccadilly, the headquarters of The Geological Society. On 30th May we entered these auspicious surroundings. The challenge was against six other teams from the English regions with the same format as our South Wales win.

Our presentation team was again Dan Williams and Prakriti of Year 13, with the same quiz team except for Joe Smith swopping for David (Year 13). The poster was the work of a number of students, with special mention to, Anisa Rahman, Aimee Meredith-Smith, Rhian Ellis, Bethan Healey and Megan Edwards, all of Year 12. Joining Izzy and Julie. It was great to see one of our past students turning up to support, namely Mike Claydon who is in his third year studying Geology at UCL.

On the day our team did us proud, with the outcome being third place, only narrowly behind the first two schools. This was a fantastic achievement given that it is across the whole of England and Wales and that many of the participants were from selective independent or grammar schools and sixth form colleges. Our students can be proud of their achievements and proud of representing Whitchurch High.

The Year 12s can’t wait for the 2016 competition and go to the next level and win. The omens are good, with the South Wales heat returning to its original venue, none other than Whitchurch.

Geography/Geology


Geographers tackle the Cwm NofyddAs part of their AS geography course the Year 12 students are required to study a changing physical environment. Therefore, armed with ranging poles, tape measures, and wellington boots they measured various aspects of the river including the depth, width and velocity. Despite it being a very cold, muddy and wet day the pupils learnt a lot and most importantly enjoyed what they were doing.

Geology Field work It has been a busy geological field work year for KS4 and KS5 geologists as they picked up their hammers, defied the weather and searched out those rocks.

In the Autumn Term Year 12 studied the Taff Gorge and Garth Hill and much was learnt about the folding of the Carboniferous and Devonian rocks and the wealth of features in the landscape that point to great changes in the climate in the most recent geological past. The forty-seven Year 11 students spent two days at Ogmore working out the relationship between the Carboniferous and Triassic rocks. The seventy-six Year 10 students carried out their first field investigation at Lavernock and gained a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the Triassic and Jurassic rocks in the area. Year 13 studied at Southerndown, and were joined by Monmouth School, who wanted to tap into our expertise, gaining an understanding of the structure and sedimentary setting of the Carboniferous and Jurassic rocks of the area.

In the Spring Term the Year 10 geology groups visited the great variety of rock types exposed close to the school on the hills of the Wenallt and Caerphilly Mountain. These outcrops revealed the changing environment of the past, from the desert Rivers of the Devonian, 350 to 380 million years ago, to the tropical seas and deltas of the Carboniferous, 300 to 340 million years ago. Meanwhile, Year 13 had been focused on completing their A-level coursework with a field investigation of the rocks in the Old Harbour at Barry and embarking on a study of either the ancient sedimentary environments of the Carboniferous, Triassic and Jurassic or the tectonic structures resulting from the Variscan Orogeny and Kimmerian earth movements.

The Summer Term saw the Year 10 geologists study the rocks of the Barry and Bendrick Rock areas in June, discovering the ancient remains of vast mountain ranges formed in the Carboniferous and the incredible deserts of the Triassic period. Year 12 scaled the heights of Moel Penderyn in the process of geological mapping across the Neath Fault, a huge tectonic structure running the length of the Neath Valley. Later in the term Year 12 again ventured forth to the Gower Peninsula, an area of outstanding Geology. The rock sequences in the Carboniferous Limestone were investigated in some considerable detail,

noting the subtle changes that took place in this long forgotten tropical sea. In addition, the great diversity of evidence for sea-level changes in the recent past was observed, including beaches now 10 metres above the present ones and sediments resulting from processes taking place in cold glacial environments. Modern sedimentary environments were considered in the beautiful Three Cliffs Bay, while the day culminated with a view of the whole of Gower from the high point of Cefn Bryn and a true appreciation of this geological gem of a place. In the last week of term Year 10 ventured forth to the headwaters of the River Neath between Ystradfellte and Pontneddfechan, developing their understanding of the control of Geology on the landscape. This entailed a study of the Porth-yr-Ogof cave system, the waterfall of Sgwd Clun-Gwyn, the structures at Craig-y-Ddinas and the intriguing silica mines with their link to the industrial history of South Wales. Mr Gareth Daniel said a fond farewell to the students on his final field trips, after 37 years of such events and totalling more than 800 days in the field. He would have walked off into the sunset, but unfortunately it was raining!

Geography/Geology

24

History/Politics

Learning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community

Sixth Form in CourtCardiff Crown Court recently provided an opportunity for thirty A-level Law students to see the practical application of the theory they had been studying. Students were taken on a very interesting tour of the courts, seeing where juries deliberate their verdict, the old (and very small, windowless) cells, and where the judges take their breaks.

The students were afterwards able to see a variety of crown court proceedings and the judges balance aggravating and mitigating factors against the tariffs and outlining the purpose of sentencing hearings. It was quite sobering to see defendants enter the courtroom through the public entrance, but leave the courtroom through a different entrance, to the cells. Some of the cases certainly led to some interesting discussion in the following Law lessons.

Mock Election There was a buzz of excitement around the sixth form on WHS Election Day as students eagerly lined up to cast their votes in the mock election. Voting took place all morning and the result was announced to a packed common room by the acting returning officer, Deputy Head Boy Dan Traynor. The results were as follows:

Congratulation to all the sixth form students who volunteered to give up their time to make the mock election events a success, including those who worked behind the scenes, during what was a very busy time in school.

Disclaimer: "The school does not hold any particular political viewpoint. The Mock Election is held to educate the students in the democratic processes which as adults they will enjoy."

Candidate

Joshua Lewis

Adam Turner

Zak Weaver

Robert Alder

Rachel Nurse

Hannah Grainger

Party

Labour

Plaid Cymru

UKIP

Green

Conservative

Liberal Democrat

Number of votes

83

54

45

28

15

6

% Votes Cast

35.9%

23.3%

19.4%

12.1%

6.4%

2.5%

Position

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

Total votes – 231 Turn out: 56.8 %

Radio 5 Live As part of their immediate prior general election coverage, BBC Radio 5 Live visited twenty key marginal seats to find out the key issues concerning voters. Whitchurch was delighted when presenter Nicky Campbell and his 5 Live Breakfast team chose to visit our sixth form in order to hear about the issues that are important to young first time voters.

The BBC 5 Live team were particularly impressed with our students and were keen to discuss with Mr Darryn Havard and Mrs Kirsty Davies why and how our large city comprehensive produces leaders in both sporting and academic fields. Nicky Campbell then met a group of Year 12 and Year 13 students who were taking part in the school’s mock election and related political events.

Many of the Year 13 students were first time voters and spoke eloquently and enthusiastically about the political issues that concern them, such as devolution, education, the economy, lowering the voting age and the growing influence of social media in politics. As ever, our students were a credit to themselves and the school, impressing the BBC 5 Live team with their knowledge and levels of engagement with current affairs. Many listeners phoned into the school to say how much they had enjoyed listening the school on the R5L Breakfast Show on Tuesday 21st April 2015!

Rotary Young Chef At the end of January four Year 10 Food students competed in the Young Chef competition required to prepare a three course meal for two for less than £15, within a two hour time limit. Daniel Coles, Harriette Folland, Emma Sidaway and Katie Paskell were all up for the challenge, designing exciting menus to impress the judges. First up were the starters, with the soup and the stuffed mushrooms particular favourites; then the main course, where the flavours in the curry and the Bolognese impressed the judges. Judges were excited by at least one dish from each competitor with the result obviously going to be very tight. Nick Murison (Head chef), Bethan Evans (chef de partie and former WHS student) both from Whitchurch Golf Club, and Mary Davies from the Rotary Club all enjoyed watching the students as they worked on their meals. The winner who had impressed the most with her organisation, flavours and excellent presentation was Katie Paskell.

25

Home Economics

Dysgu gydol Oes mewn cymuned lwyddiannus gynhwysol a llawn gofalLearning for Life in a successful, inclusive and caring community

The Worms

The lower school wormery has been in operation since Autumn half term. Students are fully embracing the idea of feeding the worms any leftover fresh produce. It has always been a concern in Home Economics lessons that food waste has to be thrown out and much as students are encouraged to take any leftover food home there are always waste peelings and small pieces of food.

Following a healthy schools conference, we purchased a wormery to allow food waste to be used as compost and liquid fertilizer; both products can be used by the SRB for their gardening projects. It will be interesting to see how quickly the worms start to produce the compost from the food and this will provide a different learning experience for students in understanding how waste food can be recycled at home as well as in school.

Winning Cakes and Bread Baking is currently very popular and three top bakers went head to head to win the title of Whitchurch High’s Best Baker. The competition was organised by Sweet café and bakery on Merthyr Road as part of the yearly Whitchurch Festival. All students were challenged to produce a chocolate cake with any flavour added and to decorate as imaginatively as they could.

Two cakes were chosen to go head to head in the tasting session: Lucy Parry from 7F produced one of the cakes, with the other being made by Grace Taylor and Kym Harries both from 8P. The cakes drew a lot of complimentary attention from Sweet café customers. After careful consideration Grace and Kym took the title. However, it was a very close call.

The Spring term saw another selection of excellent practical work from students in Year 7 to 10. The Eisteddfod competition had some excellent entries, with the theme being a cake or cakes to celebrate St David’s Day. Some of these were outstanding. Year 8 bread lessons have seen some wonderful shapes produced that would certainly not look out of place in a cookery book or television programme e.g. ducks, rabbits, an octopus and a crocodile.

After the success of the inaugural geobakeoff in April, we weren’t sure if such baking heights could ever be reached again. But we need not have feared. Individuals, class teams and even some teachers stepped up to the mark, to produce an array of baked geological delights. Ellie Comer, Emma Warrington, Elysia Crowley, Sophie Moore, Tina Gillespy and Nia Jones, Year 11, Whitchurch High School, Cardiff excelled. The Whitchurch School team describe their volcano cake as ‘a layered red velvet and madeira cake, which represents ancient lava flows and ash layers.’ It also involves Nutella, strawberry jelly and red buttercream. Judging involved a litany of geolsoc blog-worthy punning; ‘Could you call us great bakers and geologists? Of quartz you could! Our cake ain’t no schist, but if you find anything wrong with it, just blame Saint Andreas – it’s all his fault.’

Home Economics


Hospitality and Catering at De Courceys ManorMrs Davies’ Year 10 Catering group enjoyed their visit to De Courceys Manor in early February. They were introduced to the chef who gave them a task of arranging a choice of two desserts, Eton Mess or Chocolate brownie. Students had a range of decorative ingredients to experiment with including fruit, home-made fruit pastilles, cream, and icing sugar. The Chef then chose a winner and demonstrated how to create dishes to keep up with the current trends of food presentation. The students were then allowed to taste the dishes and toured the venue including the bridal apartment, function rooms, cellar and the kitchen.

Healthy TreatsAimee Thomas-Paskell and Divya Joshi (Year 8 ) focused looking at breakfast options for Lower School. The girls carried out questionnaires to gain other students’ views. Their first task, however, was to promote the granola pots that are currently available in the canteen. They prepared a batch of samples, one flavour being forest fruits, the other a fruit salad variety. All who tasted the samples, thoroughly enjoyed them and said that they would be looking for them in the canteen. The granola pots are available break times in the canteen and are a healthy breakfast choice.

Breakfast ClubBreakfast can be a busy time but some pupils at Whitchurch High School are working hard to make sure breakfast really is the most important part of the time. Students from Year 7, 8 and 9 are invited to share a healthy breakfast (the cakes shown are a special Easter treat!) and take the time to talk through the school day ahead. Mrs Smith organises this provision and it really encourages pupils to start the day well, ensuring that all books and equipment have been organised so we maximise learning. Students enjoy meeting and enjoy the routines of breakfast, including the washing up!

SNAG ConferenceThe SWAG (School Wellbeing Action Group) has continued to go from strength to strength; in February we attended a conference in County Hall with other SNAG groups from across Cardiff. We took part in activities focusing on a healthy, well balanced diet. Also we looked at ideas to incorporate wellbeing into the school day; these include:

• Raising awareness of mental health and ways to speak out on this subject;

• Improving lunchtimes so there is more time to enjoy food and participate in clubs;

• Greater opportunities to carry out taster sessions;

• Creating an information area within the Dutch Barn;

• Informing pupils of weekly menu options and promoting the meal of the day

It was a fun day that all of us enjoyed; from making granola, fruit and yogurt pots to trying the street food lunch options…we learnt a lot!

Mia Griffiths Year 8


It all adds up at University!The University of South Wales was twice hosts to our Year 13 (and Tom Pycroft in Year 11) in October and our Year 11 in November. Both times students took part in Mathematics competitions. The first saw the teams compete against hundreds of sixth formers from across Wales answering some very challenging questions. The winning team managed to answer fifteen of the sixteen questions correctly. Our best team answered a very respectable fourteen, they also went on to win a tie break question. The second again saw a massive entry with one of our teams coming 1st scoring 15/16. They were Sam Thomas, Jasper Williams, Tom Pycroft, Jacob Jones and Tom Hopkins; a fantastic achievement. Another of our teams came in 4th place scoring 11/16. They were Molly Williams, Nia Jones, Louise McCann, Ben Rees and Gwen Lawson.

Have-a-go at these yourself:

• A 1 cm diameter coin is thrown in the air and lands on an 8 by 8 chessboard, with each square having a side length of 2 cm. The coin fully lies within the boundary of the chessboard. What is the chance of it landing completely on a black square?

• What time is it to the nearest second, the first time the minute and hour hands of a 12 hour analogue clock make equal angles with the horizontal after 3pm?

Intermediate and Junior UK Maths challenge The school has once again really enjoyed participation in the UK Math Challenge. At Intermediate level, in early February, 33 students from Years 9, 10 and 11 took up the challenge of stretching their mathematical brains, attempting extremely hard questions set by the UK Mathematics Trust. Later in the year 140 students from Years 7 and 8 took part in the UKMT Junior challenge set by the UK Mathematics Trust. Well done to everyone who took part.

Digital Leader Day Whitchurch High School held its first Digital Leader event joining forces with three of our partner primary schools Birchgrove, Rhiwbeina and Whitchurch. Digital Leaders are students who have a drive to shape the vision and strategy around the use of technology. They take on and develop leadership roles providing advice and guidance on the effectiveness of technology, ensuring that peers and teachers have the skills to use those technologies effectively. The event was held in our Mac Suite where twelve Whitchurch High School Digital Leaders and twenty-six Year 5 and Year 6 Digital Leaders had a master class in green screening using iMovie, creating a virtual tour of our school being chased by dinosaurs. Each student went away with their created movie to show at their respective schools and thoroughly enjoyed their day.

ICT

Maths

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Maths

MFL


UK Maths OlympiadThomas Pycroft, Year 11, has achieved one of the highest mathematical accolades that can be achieved by a student in the UK. This is due to his incredible achievements in recent competitions; in February 2015 he sat the UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge and achieved full marks in this, which then qualified him for the ‘next round’, the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad Maclaurin paper. Only around 500 students are invited to sit this paper, and Tom was ranked 12th overall.

Following this success, Tom has received an invitation to attend the UK Mathematics Trust Olympiad Initial Training Camp which takes place this August in Oxford. The main purpose of this camp is to offer a week’s intensive training in mathematics outside the conventional syllabuses to a few of the most able young mathematicians in the country. It will also be used to identify potential members of a squad of students who will continue training throughout the year with a view to representing the UK in one of the future International Mathematical Olympiads. The course is designed to encourage students in the field of mathematical problem-solving, to introduce them to new ideas, and to stimulate them by giving them the opportunity to meet and work with others who have similar interests and exceptional abilities. There will only be 22 pupils on this camp.

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country. The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania, with 7 countries participating. It has gradually expanded to over 100 countries from 5 continents. Teams of up to 6 participants are selected to represent a country at the IMO.

Although we in the mathematics department are delighted with this, it hasn’t come as a great shock since Tom has amazed us with his mathematical ability since he joined the school in Year 7. Peter Woodyatt, Year 11 Mathematics teacher, said “I first taught Thomas in Year 8 and it was immediately obvious that he was a gifted mathematician. Whilst his peers were grappling with the basics of algebra Thomas was displaying talents way beyond his years. He was always hungry to learn more and even at that young age he was challenging himself with advanced mathematical concepts. Throughout Year 8 and 9 Thomas regularly took part in mathematics competitions and he always excelled. By the end of Year 9 Thomas was more than ready to take his GCSE Mathematics, however, due to a clash with the final of the UK Mathematics Trust Team Maths Challenge, he decided to postpone the exams until the November of Year 10. On comfortably securing his A* grade in GCSE mathematics Thomas started to study for his A levels and has recently sat his first batch of exams. I am confident that he will achieve the top grade. Throughout Years 10 and 11 Thomas has continued to enter various competitions and has always shone. His recent achievement in the UKMT competition is another in a long line of prestigious awards.”

European Day of Languages As part of Whitchurch High School’s ESDGC curriculum all Year 7 students participated in a European Day of Languages, September 2014. This involved collapsing their usual schedule of lessons, and instead every lesson was designed to contain a European Languages theme. The day allowed students to explore a range of languages and customs from many different countries and cultures, not always possible to convey in their day to day lessons. With 24 different languages spoken by our Year 7 students, it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate culture and diversity.

The Modern Foreign Languages department students put their ICT skills to the test by locating the word for ‘Hello’ in different languages to form A-Z of the alphabet. In Drama students explored traditional clothing and costume from 6 different European regions. Science however, travelled through time to look at the origins of the language of Science in Latin, and students attempted to make their own new scientific terms. All in all, the day was a great success; thanks to Mr. J Grieve (ESDGC Coordinator) for organising and everyone who took part.

German Christmas Markets in Cologne On the 18th December we set off on a 16 hour long expedition to Cologne, Germany. Our first stop was Phantasia Land, the theme park with thrilling rides and decadent food stalls. That same evening, we visited Cologne German Market, tasting authentic German food and returning with beautiful local gifts purchased using our German language skills. The next day, we went to the Lindt Schokoladenmuseum; chocolate heaven! Our last destination was Monschau Christmas Markets; smaller and more traditional. At the end of the evening, we dined in luxury in a traditional German restaurant. It was a real treat for us auslanders! A great time was had by all.


R.E. Trip in New YorkThe 2015 R.E trip was another successful trip with many exciting memories. Our intrepid explorers navigated many landmarks in temperatures of minus 18; these included Liberty Island with lots of pictures taken in the frozen air, ice skating in Central Park; the Sky Ride at the Empire State Building with a virtual reality tour around the city before climbing to the top, rewarded with magnificent view of New York at night. A tour of famous T.V and film locations by bus proved to be one of the most popular excursions, especially when the flat used in ‘Friends’ was seen! Grand Central Station was an education in architecture and the bright lights of Times Square dazzled us most nights; our final night together in the ‘Hard Rock Café’ was great fun.

It was, however, Ground Zero and St Paul’s chapel which were the most reflective places visited. We were all moved by the tributes witnessed.

PSHE

RE

Road Traffic Collision Reduction Activity The school is very grateful to Whitchurch Fire Station for a session, ‘The Domino Effect’ with the aim of reducing an individual’s risk of being involved in a Road Traffic Collision (RTC). Year 11 were identified as a target group for these presentations due to the likelihood of them driving in the near future. One person, and one collision, can affect the lives of so many people. The presentation covered speeding, not wearing seatbelts, using mobile phones, lack of concentration and a range of other factors. It incorporated a number of video clips, highlighting the consequences of poor actions whilst driving. Although this was a very emotive and hard-hitting presentation, the value of it cannot be understated. Thanks to Whitchurch Fire Station and all the students who participated.

Smoking ASSIST Smoking Prevention ProgrammeYear 8 students took part in a Public Health Wales smoking prevention programme called ASSIST. Developed by Cardiff and Bristol Universities, it identifies influential students in Year 8 who then take part in a two-day training course facilitated by an experienced team of smoking prevention trainers. The students are taught how to become peer supporters and are made aware of the health impact of smoking and the tobacco industry’s approach to recruiting potential smokers. The aim of the programme is to motivate, empower and enable young people to discuss the risks of smoking in informal and supportive environments amongst their peers. The programme also contributes towards a whole-school approach to promoting health and wellbeing.

Music


Carol Service The 53rd Annual Carol Service was held on Thursday 18th December 2014 in the magnificent Llandaff Cathedral. All of the school community came together with families and friends and were treated to a magnificent service, capturing once again the meaning and spirit of Christmas. Congratulations to all who took part.

Richard Fice Concert The annual Richard Fice memorial concert features some of the school’s long standing ensembles such as the Upper School orchestra, Upper School Choir, Boys’ vocal group; these were interspersed with solo items and smaller groups.

As has become tradition at this concert, music staff used this evening to reward Year 13 students who have shown so much support to the department during their time at WHS. The leavers this year were Sam Pinches, Kate Seary, Talia Keskin, Aemelia Claydon, Emma Twomlow and Elizabeth Sydenham.

This year the highly commended award was won by Elizabeth Sydenham. Elizabeth has actually been involved with the music department since she was in Year 5 attending the Junior Orchestral course as a young violinist. Elizabeth continued her support for the orchestra throughout school and went on to lead the Lower school orchestra when she was in Year 9. Elizabeth has maintained her commitment to the violin and is now a member of the Cardiff County and Vale of Glamorgan Youth Orchestra.

The Richard Fice award was shared this year by Emma Twomlow and Aemelia Claydon. Both have made an outstanding contribution to the music department and were very gracious in receiving their award from Mrs Fice, who was accompanied by Mr Fice. Mr Phillips (Departmental Leader for of Music), stated "that these two were impossible to separate both on and off the stage and it was only fair that they were both recognised for the contribution that they have made". Both Emma and Aemelia have been members of all the vocal groups throughout their time at WHS. The two have featured as soloists in many concerts and performed their own compositions as well as many well-known works from the classical repertoire. This evening they performed César Franck's, Panis Angelicus, demonstrating that they were true winners of the Richard Fice award.

The music department would like to wish students the best of luck for their exams and wish them all the very best for the future.


Chris Sharp Memorial Concert Congratualtions to Leila Navabi 11R for winning the Chris Sharp Memorial Award at the outstanding Music Department concert on the 13th November 2014.

Junior Orchestra Course Our annual Junior Orchestral Course took place in July. An astonishing 130 pupils from our partner Primary Schools and Whitchurch High School worked together across the two day course, culminating in a fantastic concert. This included performances from the 7F Brass Band, and soloists Michael Triggs on Cornet and Heather Holt on Flute. Thanks to all the staff and students who helped and supported and congratulations to all the musicians.

Open Mic Winner Tom Auton Double Number One Congratulations to Tom Auton of Year 11 who entered the United Kingdom Future Music Songwriting competition in London on Saturday 21st June 2015. Tom was the overall winner out of the 3,000 who entered. The comment to Tom on his wining song ‘Take me Back’ were, “It’s a great pop track with good hooks and a nice structure.”

This is Tom’s second award in less than twelve months having won the Open Mic competition at the NEC in February 2015 earlier this year. As one observer wrote, “ The young singer-songwriter should fill out a deed poll and change his name to, ‘The Alchemist’, given that evidently everything he touches turns to gold having won two national songwriter awards in the space of twelve months.“

Ceri Griffin crowned Melingriffith Brass Band’s player of the yearThe City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) Brass Band is based in Tongwynlais, near Cardiff. The organisation now boasts five bands, with the newly formed Community Brass adding to the line-up of M1, M2, M3 Youth band, and M4 Beginners. Ceri has been playing the euphonium for just over a year, after her teacher suggested that she made the move from Tenor Horn to a larger instrument. Ceri was delighted that her achievement has been recognised.

Celebration of LifeOn Thursday 16 April the annual ''Celebration of Life' concert was held in the Dutch Barn, organised by Mrs. Anthea Parker to raise funds for Tenovus UK. The packed audience was entertained by the Cardiff Tenovus Choir, Voicemale, Women in Harmony, WHS Boys Choir, Supremacy, guest soloists Aemilia Claydon, Emma Twomlow, Cat Southall and the world famous Cory Band. The evening was a huge success, raising over £4,000.

Science


A Partial EclipseWHS GCSE Astronomy club had been planning for this event for months. Safe viewing of the eclipse was of great importance. Collecting data for their coursework was carried out using a variety of techniques. These included pin-hole cameras, projection methods (including a colander!), solar observing glasses and digital photographs from a solar observing telescope.

To our great relief the cloud cover was minimal. Equipment had been set up since 7am and everyone was ready to observe. Everyone was excited and full of anticipation. A quick cheer, as we celebrated first point of contact, 8:23 GMT. The meticulous recording of measurements and observations started. As the event continued we were joined by many more students and staff. At maximum coverage, 9:28GMT, it was quite a party atmosphere with lots of people watching in awe. The drop in temperature was really noticeable. The astronomers kept recording their data and observations whilst answering questions from the crowds. The eclipse passed and last point of contact happened, 10:38 GMT. March 20th 2015 will be a morning that we will all hold in our memories for a long time. The GCSE solar eclipse data and observations will be displayed on the school’s Astronomy website. We will now be looking forward to a total lunar eclipse on 28th September 2015. Unfortunately, the maximum happens at 3:37 am GMT!

University links As part of the Biology department’s commitment to challenge our more able scientists we held our first University Links Day. The primary activity involved a study of the cardio-vascular system, followed by a medical challenge, ‘Have you caught the bug?’

We also invited two former WHS biology students to give presentations to our Year 10 students relating to their own fields of study in ecology and behaviour. Tom Bishop is currently studying for a PhD in Ant Community Ecology at the University of Liverpool after completing a MRes in Entomology at Imperial College, London and a degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford. Sian Crowley has just graduated with a Masters in Marine Biology from University of Southampton. Both young scientists spoke passionately and eloquently about their studies. During the rest of the day WHS students carried out a number of practical activities, performing a dissection of a pig’s or lamb’s heart, making an own blood smear slide and finally extracting DNA from their own cheek cells and sealing it to make their own DNA pendant necklace!

The aim of the University Links Day was to provide challenge for our talented scientists and ensure an appreciation of the many different disciplines and occupations that exist within science. Thanks to Tom, Sian and all for their input into making such an enjoyable and informative day.

Lovejoy Comet spottedComet Lovejoy was seen by the naked eye but needed a reasonably dark sky. We used the bright stars in Orion and Taurus to guide our binoculars then our eyes to the comet. Picking a couple bright stars like Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, extending a line from each to form a triangle saw Lovejoy at one of the corners. If you then point binoculars at that spot in the sky, the comet should really pop out. We have managed to get a photograph of the comet using the school telescope with a DSLR attached. The exposure time is about 2 seconds on ISO 1600. The comet moves significantly when compared to how little the stars appear to move. There are no star trails visible.

Science Trail blazersFor February half term high achieving Year 11 science students asked their teachers for extra time in order to achieve extra GCSE triple science qualifications. As usual the day was engaging, beginning with chemical flame testing and moving on to iconic equations. This was then followed by some "hands - on” learning about electrical generators and motors. Students and teachers worked hard. A big thank you to the science teachers and technicians who are generous with their time in supporting students.

Ecology Field TripOn Friday 3rd July, over eighty Year 9 students all opting to study Triple Science at GCSE, had their first experience of ecology fieldwork. The students spent the day at Newton beach, Porthcawl, exploring the ecology of sand-dune and rocky shore ecosystems. The day included carrying out anatomical studies of the adaptations of marram grass to desert-like conditions, using a transect line to record succession away from the sea and mapping the zonation of seaweeds on the shoreline as well as rock-pooling.


Winning Ways in Biology Life Science ChallengeCongratulations to our team of KS4 students who won the final of the Life Sciences Challenge for the second year running, following impressive wins in the increasingly challenging preliminary rounds against The Cathedral School, Bishop of Llandaff and Ysgol Y Preseli. In the final, they had to make medical judgements based on the results of a number of drugs trials. The team were presented with a trophy, school and individual prizes by Professor Julie Williams (Chief Scientific Officer for Wales) and Dr James Matthews (Senior Lecturer in Infection and Immunology at the University of Cardiff). The members of the winning team were Ieuan Edwards, Jacob Jones, Thomas Pycroft, and Jasper Williams. However, these were supported by reserves Morgan Haigh and Tomos Wiley who played superbly in the initial rounds, allowing Whitchurch to progress to the final.

Other opportunities were presented for KS3. This year, the first round was a timed computer-based quiz, which allowed about thirty schools from across South Wales to compete. Whitchurch entered two teams, both of which were placed in the top eight, achieving exactly the same score! Team 1 comprised: Joseph Bontempo, Ellie Mcdonald, Joe Taylor and Elinor Thomas Team 2 comprised: Sarosh Adenwalla, Katherine Burt, Eleri Gibbs and Jenny Rich. Unfortunately, only one team per school is allowed to go on to the next round, so our two teams had to compete against each other to determine who would compete in the quarter final.

On 23rd June our team and supporters travelled to Bryn Celynnog School for the quarter final. It was a tense competition with Bryn Celynnog being quick on the buzzer and taking an early lead. Fortunately our team’s knowledge of the Periodic Table allowed them to make a come-back and the teams were fairly evenly matched in their knowledge of science. Towards the latter part of the quiz, Whitchurch pulled away with their ability to interpret experimental data, knowledge of famous scientists and ability to solve anagrams. The final score was Whitchurch 41 Bryn Celynnog 29 .

On Friday 17th July, our team competed in the semi-final of the Life Sciences Challenge against Dyffryn Taf School from Carmarthenshire. The questions were of an extremely high standard, covering aspects of chemistry, geography, biology and the history of scientific discoveries.

The Dyffryn Taf team took an early lead with their speed on the buzzer and knowledge of chemistry. Whitchurch put up a very good fight in the history and data analysis rounds, but Dyffryn Taf extended their lead again in the Pointless round.

Whitchurch were quicker in the medical knowledge round but were unable to claw back the points lost earlier. The final score was Whitchurch 32 – Dyffryn Taf 61.

Congratulations to Dyffryn Taf on an excellent win and to our team for putting up a very good fight.

Have you got the bug?A team from University Hospital Wales took time out of their busy schedules to pilot a Science Communication event with Year 10 students. The team consisted of three biomedical scientists from biochemistry, haematology and microbiology, two nursing staff and three doctors. After a brief welcome and introduction the students were presented with a real life medical case. They toured a virtual hospital, collecting information on their case and trying to make a diagnosis.

The students visited six stations that consisted of three laboratories (biochemistry, microbiology and haematology), a patient history station, a nursing station and a doctor station. At each station the students collected information relevant to their case. Blood test results from biochemistry and haematology including a high CRP, high white cell count, high platelet count and low albumin. A positive blood culture from microbiology. A history from their patient; a story of fever, weight loss, night sweats and symptoms of heart failure. At the nursing station the students reviewed the patient’s charts that demonstrated a high fever, tachycardia, low blood pressure and carried out a urine dipstick that demonstrated haematuria. The students also got to talk to one of the patient’s doctors and to learn about the positive examination findings; Roth spots, splinter haemorrhages, a Janeway lesion and a heart murmur, and to see the results of some tests e.g. echocardiogram. Once the students had visited all of the areas in the hospital they were brought together to share their findings and make a diagnosis.

This was a pilot event designed to test out the concept of a virtual hospital with a medical case as a way of communicating the importance of Pathology, the science behind the cure. The successful event was designed to open up the students’ eyes to the many different disciplines and occupations that exist within a hospital. The students were engaged and enthusiastic from the beginning to the end. Thanks to UHW staff and well done to all those who took part.

Cross Country 2015This year’s competition was one of the best we have had at the school with almost a thousand students taking part in all 6 races on the Lower School site. Great effort and determination was shown with many bettering their previous year’s performance. Thanks to all staff who helped marshal the course and for their encouragement. It was tremendous to see how the older pupils supported and encouraged some of the pupils who were finding the run challenging. Additional congratulations to the GCSE PE students and Key Stage 3 helpers that came down to help for the morning, their encouragement for the pupils was fantastic and the fact many ran the course up to three times with young pupils who needed encouragement was a joy to watch.

Year 7

Number of boys’ runners – 190 Number of girls runners – 151

Form Winners Boys – 7L 1ST / 7F 2ND / 7 G 3RD

Form Winners Girls – 7J 1ST / 7P 2ND / 7H 3RD

Year 8


Form Winners Boys – 8R 1ST / 8M 2ND / 8P 3RD

Form Winners Girls – 8M 1ST / 8N 2ND / 8K 3RD

Year 9


Form Winners Boys – 9J 1ST / 9P 2ND / 9L 3RD

Form Winners Girls – 9P 1ST / 9R 2ND / 9H 3RD

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

Year 7

Year 7 Boys – 1st James Micallef 7G / 2nd Jack Masrani 7B / 3rd Thomas Gould 7R

Year 7 Girls – 1st Martha Barry 7M / 2nd Maleehah Smith 7K / 3rd Megan Friedli 7G

Year 8

Year 8 Boys – 1st Joe Mcarthy 8M / 2nd John Gibson 8R / 3rd Chris Thompson 8B

Year 8 Girls – 1st Emily McPhee / 2nd Eleri Holmes / 3rd Rachel Bartley

Year 9

Year 9 Boys – 1st Josh Kloet 8L / 2nd Harry Gidman 9P / 3rd Dan Greaves 9C

Year 9 Girls – 1st Amy Eggington / 2nd Heather Holt / 3rd Izzabel Lawson


Junior Team of the Year – Whitchurch High School under 16 rugby teamWhitchurch High School’s 2014 U/16 rugby team was honoured to have been selected in October as one of the three teams for junior team of the year at the October awards evening. The side produced a fantastic display in the millennium stadium to beat Ebbw Fawr in the final of last year’s final and the games beforehand. The evening included such athletes are Geraint Thomas , Gareth Bale, Natalie Cook , Frankie Jones and the awards were split into several categories such as Sportsman / Woman of the year, Community coach of the year, Junior sports personality of the year just to name a few. In the programme for the evening the citation to encapsulate the team’s performance was. ..” a side that was resilient, determined and they never took a backward step.” It was with great pride that Kiran Carlson and Kristian Ions collected the trophy on behalf of the team to be crowned European Capital of Sport Junior team of the year. Congratulations to the players and coaches.

Tom Nesham Triathlon winner On Sunday 28th June, 2015, Cardiff hosted its first ever triathlon. Over 1,200 triathletes swam the legendary-waters of Cardiff Bay for the first time ever, cycled beautiful closed roads around Cardiff and ran on a picturesque route out to the Cardiff Bay Barrage. In the mens’ sprint race, consisting of a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run, there were almost 300 triathletes. Over 4,000 spectators and local community members packed into Cardiff Bay to support the event All of which was broadcast live to an audience around the globe.

Congratulations to Tom Nesham of Whitchurch High School’s Year 10 who was the overall winner of the inaugural 2015 Cardiff Mens’ Sprint Triathlon. This is an incredible achievement for someone so talented but young. Tom is a student who already has a history of high level individual cycling success and has recently switched to biathlons and triathlons.

Sport


Individual successesCricketCongratulations to Prem Sisodiya a pupil in Year 11 (2014) who has made a giant step towards professional cricket by being picked for the Glamorgan Cricket Academy Development Programme. The Development Programme is based at the National Cricket Centre in the SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff and aims to identify, select and confirm the next generation of Glamorgan stars. Prem is one of the 12 best players, aged 14 to 18 in Wales and trains regularly with Glamorgan 1st Team.

RugbyCongratulations to Harri Lang who scored a hat trick of tries at full back for Cardiff Blues last January in a thrilling 42-29 a 43-29 comeback victory over RGC 1404 at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. The U/18 regional team went on to top the table.

RowingCongratulations to Fox Pettersen who secured a Bright Futures project grant for a week's intensive rowing course at Llandaff Rowing Club, which runs courses for juniors and adults. This led to him becoming a full junior member of the club, joining other youngsters in the squad, which trains regularly on the River Taff. Fox has already won medals in indoor competitions using machines and hopes to further his success on the water.

Year 8 and 9 Cardiff Cup Finals Well done to both our Year 8 and Year 9 rugby teams for winning the 'Cardiff Schools Cup Final' playing at the Cardiff Arms Park, Friday 13th February 2015. Year 8 beat Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr 17-12 and Year 9 beat Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf 22-12.

Vase Success

Whitchurch High School met Olchfa Comprehensive School at Parc y Scarlets to contest this year's Welsh Schools Rugby Union VASE final. Whitchurch started the game very strongly and scored 4 tries within 20 minutes but Olchfa came out strong in the second half and pushed us all the way, the game ending a nail biting 23-21 victory for Whitchurch. Congratulation to the squad and coaches Messrs Steve Williams and Dai Williams.

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Sport


Kukri Fylde National Schools & Colleges 7sCongratulations to the Senior Rugby Squad for winning the Plate Final 17-0 against Austin Friars School at the Fylde Rugby 7s Tournament in March 2015.

Super Sherman DancersThe Sherman Dance theme for this year was 'Dance revolution' and we were extremely lucky to have the following talented girls participate: Kathyrn Totterdell (Year 12), Ellen Hughes, Rebecca Micallef, Imogen Isaac, Chloe Hembury, Georgia Cape and Alla Abdelgadir (all Year 10). The girls composed a four minute piece to Hozier's , ‘Take me to Church’ matching the tone of the song with a mixture of contemporary dance and ballet. Kathyrn took on the lead choreography role and the girls performed over two nights. The final night would have definitely earned them four '10's' on Strictly! Thanks to Mrs McIntyre for her support and encouragement and well done to our super dancers.

Inclusive Zone Basketball (IZB)IZB is a programme developed specifically for schools to aid students with lower limb impairments to get involved in Basketball alongside others. A small WHS group had a taster session and then a National Tournament at the Welsh Institute of Sport; and of the twelve schools that entered, came a credible 5th position. Jack, a wheelchair user commented that, “I had a great day out at my first basketball tournament in Sophia Gardens last week. It was good to meet other players from different parts of Wales and for my friends to have a chance to play wheelchair basketball! It was funny watching them trying to manoeuvre the chair and still hold onto the ball. They all took turns using the wheelchair. We all had a great day out and I hope we can do it again soon!”. Congratulations to all who took part and Mr Neil Potter for organising.

FootballCongratulations to the Year 8 football team who have been crowned Cardiff and Vale Schools Football Champions after beating St Telios in the cup final. The game finished 0-0 after full time, Whitchurch then went on to hold their nerve, winning on penalties. Harry Johnston made three excellent saves and Jo McCarthy scoring the decisive penalty. This result was great reward for what has been a fantastic season for the team who have only lost once all year. The only team they lost to were the team that they beat in the final, St Teilos who are Welsh Champions! Congratulations to all on a great finale to the season.


Sports DayThis was one of the best sports days held at Whitchurch with the students from Year 7/8 and 9 all representing their forms with pride. There was excellent organisation by Messrs Tim Henson, Neil Potter and McIntyre ensuring all the events ran smoothly and were accurately recorded, despite the poorer weather on Monday and Tuesday. The qualifiers from the 100m / 200m / 300m / 800m and relays heats all competed on finals day in front of the Lower School pupils and the atmosphere and standard of competition was excellent.

There were some outstanding individual performances as well as two school records being broken by Harriet Moore who jumped 8.77m in the Triple Jump in the Year 9 championship (the old record was 8.51m set in 2011 by Fran Pawar in 2014) and Emma Martin who ran 12.05s sec for the hurdles Year 8 girls championship (the old record was 12.08 sec held by R Voyce in 2008).

The day was made even more special with Jean-Baptist coming back to say hello in the morning and agreeing to come along to present the medals during the afternoon finals session. JB now plays professional rugby with Worcester Warriors and played in both games against Bristol when they qualified through to the Aviva English Premiership next year by the score of 59-58! Good luck next season.

Also Dawn Higgins, again a past pupil and full Welsh international athlete who still hold two school records for the 800m 1988 and long jump 1989 presented the overall winners with their Victory Shields. Thanks to both for giving up their time to support the event and motivate the next generation of male and female athletes.

The wining forms were;

Year 7

1st Place 7G – 271

2nd 7J – 262

3rd 7H – 259

4th 7K – 242

5th 7B – 236

Year 8

1st Place 8C – 260

2nd 8P – 256

3rd 8N – 246

Joint 4th – 8L and R - 237

Year 9

1st Place 9N – 302

2nd 9P – 264

3rd 9L – 214

4th 9M – 212

5th – 9C – 209

Finally thanks to the staff for all their hard work in making sports day such an important event and to the ground staff for yet again producing a fantastic track and throws venue.

Senior Sports DinnerThis year was one of the best senior sports dinner evenings we have had, again being held at Whitchurch Rugby Club, with a record eighty five students and staff attending. Even more would have come along but for exams the next day! Thanks to Craig and his staff at Whitchurch RFC on such excellent food and the venue.

The Warburton Twins were outstanding as they conducted an inspiring question and answer session. Ben is currently one of the elite Physiotherapists in Wales working with the Cardiff Blues regional team and Sam is currently the most capped Welsh rugby captain of all time and the youngest British and Irish Lions captain who beat Australia 2:1 in the last series.

It was a privilege to hear from two former WHS students as they spoke about the importance of education, setting goals, aiming high and dedication. This was an evening with so many different but vitally important messages for our young male and female athletes to take forward into their own lives. Excellent speeches were made by all our senior captains and afterwards the award were presented by Ben and Sam:

Individual Sports Award

Netball – Zoe Peckham-Smith

Hockey – Izzy Robertson – voice captain

Rugby – Harri Lang

Football – Evan Oliver

Players Player awards

Senior Rugby – Richard Evans

Senior Hockey – Vicky Smith

Senior Netball – Zoe Peckham-Smith

Senior Football – Alex Smith

International Honours Awards

Olivia Evan – Athletics

Noami Davies – Cricket

Kate Seary – Athletics

Kiran Carlson – Cricket

Adelaide Brennan – Cricket

Alex Smith – Football

Team Awards

Wales under 16 Rugby European Capital of Sport award for 2014 and Welsh Champions 2014.

Welsh under 18 Vase Senior Rugby Champions 2015 (Harri Lang collected as captain).

Special Commendations

Beth Nesham on her outstanding award of being a Platinum.

Ambassador for the Welsh Youth Sports Trust.

Tina Gillespie for being reaching the final welsh volleyball trails.

I would like to thank all the pupils and coaching and support staff for all their hard work over the year and the support from the school senior management. Finally the department would like to thank the pupils for their kind words during the evening and for the gifts that were presented.

Mr Morris Head of Physical Education Department


Sport


In Partnership with

Rugby Academy Whitchurch Rugby Academy identifies and develops talented young athletes from the ages of 15 to 19 and engages them in an elite, high-performance development programme.

The main aim of our academy is to develop individual players in an enjoyable and challenging environment where we play regular high performance fixtures between September and May including 15 a side and seven. These will include home base fixtures against schools and the elite Welsh college sides. Cross border fixtures to include the prestigious St. Josephs Rugby Festival Ipswich, Colston’s Rugby Festival, Millfield School, Blundell’s School as well as 7 a side visits to Fylde National Schools & Colleges Competition and Rosslyn Park National Schools Competition.

Whitchurch Rugby Academy continues to provide an opportunity for elite rugby players to develop and uncover their potential. In close tandem with this pathway it is our desire to encourage and enhance an enjoyment and passion for the game of rugby union.

Our Academy is in partnership with Cardiff Blues Rugby Football Club in what is one of several key stages of player development in the Welsh Rugby Union World Class Performance Plan.

The primary and central purpose is to develop better Welsh players by developing the potential of identified elite rugby players and their opportunities to have playing careers in rugby.

Many of our players have achieved the accolade of representing players at Under 16, Under 18 level and at National Level.

As a school we are proud of our players past and present and have helped in the development of players like Sam Warburton (Welsh Rugby Captain, Cardiff Blues), Elliot Kear (Bradford Bulls) and Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) just to name a few.

New YorkWith excitement at its peak once again, the 46 Drama and Music students and staff gathered for a 2am departure and set off for another adventure to the Big Apple. An early start led to an early arrival in New York with bright blue sunny skies above and temperatures well above those back home, perfect for a visit to the Empire State Building for a gorgeous sunset, with selfies out in force. Then it was on to our first BIG meal at the Hard Rock Café on Times Square, before bedtime. Day 2 saw us up bright and early, with a 7am breakfast of gigantic muffins, pancakes and syrup, and eggs that lasted for hours. Then a 3 hour walking tour of Mid-Manhattan brought us to Fifth Avenue, Grand Central Terminal and Central Park, with amazing views of the city. The highlight of the day however was our VIP entry to see WICKED at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Day 3 saw us rocketed up the Rockerfeller Centre to the 'Top of the Rock' for more panoramic pictures followed by a brisk stroll to Dardo Galletta Studios. Some essential shopping at Macy's with a birthday surprise for Paige and Mary at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. later that night, to Times Square for our final night's meal, soaking up the city’s neon lights. We woke up to bright sunshine and 20˚c on our last action-packed day in Manhattan. Catching the subway downtown to visit the 9/11 memorial, the whole group took a moment to stop and reflect, before we headed down through Wall Street to set sail on the Staten Island ferry and see the Statue of Liberty. With a short walk to the Brooklyn bridge for our amazing group photo and some last-minute shopping, it was time to leave the Big Apple behind and head for home… until next time.

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Trips


AustriaPupils of Key Stage 3 travelled to Austria during the Whitsun half term to stay in the picturesque resort of Klopeiner See in the province of Carinthia staying at Pension Unterburg. Throughout the week the pupils visited the many attractions of the area, Sommerrodelbahn Eberndorf a dry toboggan run that runs for over 1km, Walderlebniswelt a tree top adventure park and were lucky enough to travel down into Italy to visit the famous city of Venice. An excellent time was had by all.

Andorra Ski Trip The annual Andorra ski trip of 2015 was, as always, a memorable experience. The journeys out and back are long but worth it. Upon arrival, the first thing any of us noticed was how this ski resort felt more like a summer trip to Barbados. The sun never failed to show, even on the slopes, but happily the runs are high enough to ski on. Sant Gothard Hotel, being a 4 star, was clean, comfortable, had excellent food, and comes with a range of facilities including a games room, spa, wifi, a football/basketball pitch, and a rather refreshingly cool basement in which we had our film night. The rooms themselves are very spacious and easy to keep looking tidy. The Pal/Arinsal ski area is definitely big enough to maintain interest throughout as the pistes offer a wide range of runs to accommodate any level of expertise, from beginner to expert, and the instructors are friendly. The adjacent resort of Arcalis offers a fresh new range of runs at a slightly more challenging level, but by the time we visit there, they are fully achievable by anyone on the trip. Off the slopes, the Caldea spa is a definite highlight, and the duty-free in Andorra city centre is a must for shopaholics. Thanks to all the staff for taking us and we cannot wait for next year!


Welsh

LlangrannogAeth 15 o ddisgyblion lwcus blwyddyn 7 ar daith i ymweld â Gwersyll Yr Urdd yn Llangrannog. Ar ol i ni gyrraedd a chael cinio sydyn, dechreuodd y llu o weithgareddau. Roedd gan bawb siawns i geisio pethau newydd sef merlota, gwibgartio, sgïo, saethyddiaeth a dringo. Ar ol te, roedd cyfle i ni gael hwyl wrth ymarfer siarad Cymraeg yn y gwersi iaith gyda Mrs Williams. Ar ol cael swper, roedd gemau a chystadleuthau yn y gampfa. Mwynheuodd bawb chwarae gêm i amddiffyn yr wy . Enw ein grwp ni oedd “Legitimate Egginators” a “Billy Stinks” oedd enw’r tîm o Ysgol Y Bontfaen! Roedd dewis gan bawb i ddewis eu hoff gweithgaredd ar ddiwedd yr wythnos. Cynhaliwyd barti yn y pwll nofio a disgo ar y noson olaf. Yn anffodus, roedd yr wythnos wedi hedfan ac yn amser i bacio a thacluso ein ystafelloedd. Roedd Mrs Williams yn gwneud arolwg manwl cyn i ni adael! Bu’r daith adre yn dawel iawn gan bo pawb wedi blino’n lan ar ol wythnos llawn hwyl a sbri. Baswn yn argymell ymweliad i Langrannog i holl ddisgyblion newydd Blwyddyn 7 heb os nac oni bai.

A group of Year 7s went for a week’s stay at the Urdd camp at Llangranog. On the Monday we got to the centre just in time for lunch. We had two activities in the afternoon then had tea and supper. The next day we did our activities then we had a Welsh lesson where we learned different foods and how to ask for them. On the Wednesday night we had a competition on who could keep an egg from cracking. From Whitchurch it was the “Legitimate Egginators” and from Cowbridge School it was a team called “Billy Stinks”! On the Thursday we got to choose two activities of our choice that we had enjoyed the most in the week and in the evening we were lucky to have a pool party/disco. The nest day returned home after breakfast. We were all exhausted after a fun packed week and had learnt much.

Max Granville Year 7

EisteddfodAr ddydd Gwener, Mawrth 4ydd, bu ein disgyblion blwyddyn 7 yn dathlu ein Eisteddfod flynyddol. Gwelwyd cystadlu brwd gan Coch, Gwyn a Gwyrdd mewn amrywiaeth o gystadleuthau yn cynnwys canu unigol, dawnsio, drama, adrodd ac offerynol. Diolch yn fawr i’n cyn hathrawon Mr Grizelle a Mrs Craddock am eu beirniadu trylwyr yn ystod y dydd.. Cawsom safon uchel iawn a pherffomiadau anghofiadwy. Hefyd, cymrodd un deg pedwar o adrannau ran yn y cystadlaethau oddi ar y llwyfan, ac yma hefyd, cynhyrchwyd gwaith gwych. Yn ogystal a phlant blwyddyn 7, cafwyd perfformiadau cerddorol penigamp gan cyn a hen ddisgyblion. Gwelsom Liberty Welsh yn canu’r delyn, Michael Lewis ar y piano, caneuon gan Emma Twomlow, Amelia Claydon a Kate Sheppard a perfformiad rap unigryw gan Mark Thomas. Gwnaeth y tri ty eu gorau glas yn ystod y dydd gyda Mitra Hakimi 7M, Coch, yn ennill cadair yr Eisteddfod am eu hymroddiad ardderchog, 7B Gwyn yn ennill y dosbarth gorau a Gwyrdd oedd yn fuddudgol ar derfyn yr Eisteddfod. Rhaid rhoi diolch arbennig i Lydia Harris a Olivia Martin am dynnu lluniau a chymryd fideo o’r diwrnod.

Our Year 7 students celebrated our annual Eisteddfod on Friday 4th March, representing the three houses; Coch, Gwyn a Gwyrdd, took part in a wide variety of stage competitions from solo singing, dancing and drama to recitation and instrumentals. Thanks to former colleagues Mr Grizzelle and Mrs Cradoock who returned as judges. There was a high standard throughout the day with some unforgettable performances. In addition, fourteen departments took part in off stage competitions with some outstanding work produced. As well as our Year 7 performances we were treated to exceptional musical performances from older and past pupils. Liberty Welsh played the harp, songs from Emma Twomlow, Amelia Claydon and Kate Shepherd, Michael Lewis played the piano and the pupils were treated to a performance by past pupil rapper Mark Thomas. All three houses did well with Mitra Hakimi 7M of Coch, winning the Eisteddfod chair for her overall participation, 7B of Gwyn winning the best form and Gwyrdd the overall winners. A special thank you to Lydia Harris and Olivia Martin for photographing and videoing the entire event.

Staff JoiningWe welcome those thirteen teachers and nineteen non-teaching staff staff joining the school at the start of the academic year and wish them, and all those staff taking on new responsibilities, whether on a permanent or temporary basis every enjoyment and success.

Janet Davies, Faye Wallace, Celyn Barry and Heidi Jones (English); Carey Coombes, Sophie Jones, Alison Grennan and Tom Workman (Maths); Rhiannon Beveridge (Maths and Science); Lucy Vickers (Geography); Fianna O’Donaghue-Carson (Vocational); Bethan Rees (MFL); and Tammy Laugharne (Business studies); Matt Davies and Kim Gunstone (Cover assistants); Ryan Smith (Cleaning supervisor), Joseph Marks (Science technician); Gillian Horrigan (US librarian); James Burnett, Jane Clarke, Lynne Emmitt, Catherine Gerrard, Sophie Hopkins, Peter Morgan, Darren Patterson, Lisa Price, Gareth Rees, Olivia Spence, Melanie Timothy, Ashleigh Warren, Bryony Wood and Lucy Woods (TAs).

We congratulate and wish good luck to our four SLT secondees for this academic year: Darryn Havard, Claire Hollings, Alun Horgan and Noreen Linforth;

and covering Department Leaders, Julian Williams (English), Bev Cousins (MFL), Mike Williams (DT) and Anne Davies (Biology).

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Staff Joiners



Chris HarrisTeacher, Cricketer, Friend, Legend. Chris Harris arrived at Whitchurch High School in 1994 as Head of Design and Technology, (after being a pupil here many years ago!). Since that time he has totally revolutionised the department. He has made learning fun, exciting and interesting with the innovative projects introduced. He has been essential to GCSE and A level pupils being nominated and winning WJEC and EESW (Engineering Education Scheme Wales) awards. He introduced the successful DT Challenge day for Year 9 pupils and was a key figure in initiating the "Dragons Den" enterprise days, giving pupils an insight in to design and business in the real world. When the time comes for the schools amazing Drama productions, Chris is the man who gives up his weekends to make the awe inspiring sets. Chris leaves behind a legacy that we will endeavour to continue. Thank you Chris. Thank you for everything.

Mike Williams

Staff Leaving We are always sorry to see staff leave and thank those leaving for all their contributions to School life both inside and outside of the classroom and wish them well. Nia Gale, Sarah Hendry, Harleigh Hobbs and Jennifer Ross (1 year, TAs), Eleni Kostarigka (1 year, Social Sciences), Beth Woods (2 year, TA), Angela Honey (5 years, TA), Sarah Simpson (5 years: librarian), Demelza Nesbitt-Rees (6 years’ Cover assistant), Martyn Lewis (6 years: Maths), Abbie Roberts (9 years: Art).

We recognise and thank all those colleagues below for their long standing service and enormous contributions to the school which are impossible to capture in a few lines. Some of these colleagues have held a number of posts in their time at the school.

Jackie Allen (14 years) who has been our Behaviour Support Manager, supporting students and staff.

Frank Bramhill (17 years) who was our long standing Department Leader for Social Sciences.

Stephen Clark (17 years) who was Assistant Headteacher ‘Staff Achievement’ and former Department Leader for English.

Hilary Bryon (18 years) who as a TA was well known for her support in the classroom to many students over the years.

Julia Kingdon (18 years) who has taught a number of subjects including Health and Social Care and PSE.

Anthea Thomas (20 years) who taught textiles and taught in the Technology Department.

Chris Harris (21 years) who was our long standing Department Leader for Technology.

Sue Carey (22 years) who as Office Manager ran both offices and was based in lower school.

Mary Slade (22 years) who taught Welsh and championed the school eisteddfod.

We particularly recognize those colleagues who have given over twenty five years or more service to the school.

Pauline Wlodarczyk (25 years) who taught Art and was a former assistant head of year.

Julia Robinson (26 years) who taught Maths.

Gareth Daniel (37 years) who was Assistant Head teacher ‘Teaching and Learning’ and former Department Leader for Geography and Geology.

Staff Leavers

Anthea ThomasAnthea Thomas a long standing and well respected colleague and dedicated member of staff, a teacher of Textiles, is sadly leaving for pastures new. We would like to wish her all the best as we know she will tackle any new venture with the same passion and dedication that has been displayed throughout her time at Whitchurch. Anthea has done so much for this school in teaching Textiles, and A’ level Product Design, her skill and creativity resulting in consistent outstanding results, and as a form tutor, supporting many pupils, through the years. She will be remembered for being one of the most hardworking people you could meet, having organised and taken part in numerous school trips to the clothes show, Aberystwyth, Oakwood, and the bay, also helping to raise money for charity and so much more.

Petra McLeod

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Sue CareySue Carey recently retired after 22 years of service to Whitchurch High School. She worked in a number of administrative roles across the school, her final role being that of Lower School Office Manager. Sue was incredibly popular amongst teaching and non-teaching staff, parents and pupils. She will be sorely missed by all who worked with her. I am sure we all wish Sue well and hope she now has the opportunity to spend time with her family and much loved grandchildren.

Steve Hodnett

Mary SladeKnown by the pupils as the teacher with the whacky hair and high heeled rainbow shoes. Mary has taught for 40 years and seen numerous changes in the teaching profession but one thing has remained - Mary’s love of teaching and the pupils. It’s a credit to Mary that she got as much of a kick out of teaching at the end of her career as she did at the start. The department certainly won’t be the same without her – she will be sorely missed but we will keep in touch as I’m sure many of you will. We wish Mary a long, happy and healthy retirement. Pob Lwc am ddyfodol hir, iach a hapus.

Bethan Batten

Julia RobinsonIt was a sad day when we heard that Julia Robinson was going to be leaving the Mathematics department in Whitchurch after 26 years, for a job in Cardiff Sixth Form College. Julia has been an excellent teacher, versatile and capable of teaching all ages and abilities. She has a good relationship with the students and always can be relied upon to give extra time to them if they need it, above and beyond the call of duty. Julia was one of the invaluable team in the year 11 Breakfast Club, regularly taught after school and holiday revision sessions, the team has a hole in it that is hard to fill. Julia had a similar work ethic with colleagues as a hardworking and committed member of the Maths team, and made huge contributions to department. And so in the words of Simon and Garfunkel, "Here’s to you Mrs Robinson, Whitchurch (and we) will miss you more than you will know."

Fiona Harding

Gareth DanielAfter 37 incredibly committed years the time has come to say farewell to one of the cornerstones of Whitchurch High school. Gareth has served the school and wider community in a variety of roles helping to shape the future of countless learners over the years. From classroom teacher to head of department and finally assistant head within the school, he has also worked closely with the WJEC and Geological society. He has a real passion for teaching and has been eager to ensure that he teaches across all year groups within the school. The range of learning experiences provided have been second to none and his enthusiasm for his subject is clear for all to see. Some of the comments from pupils past and present upon his retirement have been humbling for Gareth to say the least and certainly demonstrate the gratitude they feel for the inspiration provided, with many shaping successful careers for themselves within the Geological field. He will now have the time to develop his other passions outside of school, with walking, family time and golf being at the forefront. I doubt that he will inspire quite so many in the latter of the passions however! On behalf of all colleagues and pupils past and present we would like to thank Gareth for all that he has done over the years for everyone connected to our school. A true professional in every sense of the word has been lost, but his legacy remains.

Nick John

Staff Leavers

Pauline WlodarczykPauline Wlodarczyk came to Cardiff to study ceramics in 1974, she had already been teaching for 11 years when she joined Whitchurch in 1990. Pauline worked in the Art department at Whitchurch for 25 years but was also Year Tutor and Assistant Year Tutor for many year groups. Pauline found much enjoyment in working with pupils in the SRB unit. Pauline’s pupil centred approach enabled her to develop excellent relationships with her pupils, motivating and supporting her students to create some fantastic art work. As well as teaching GCSE and A’ Level art Pauline also set up the A level Art textiles course which won county recognition. Pauline has always been totally committed to her role as teacher and year tutor. She is the most passionate and compassionate person. Always positive, professional and reliable, she has inspired several generations of pupils. On behalf of all of the thousands of pupils’ lives she has touched, we say ‘thank you’ and we wish her the best of luck in her ‘early’ retirement.

Ellen Heeney

DON’T FORGET TO SEND ARTICLES TO:

Kath Jones Whitchurch High School, Penlline Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2XJEmail: [email protected]

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WHITCHURCH HIGH SCHOOL - whitchurchhs.wales

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