The Kings’ Messenger

Issue no. 101 End of Spring Half Term

February 2012

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

The audience were thrilled to join lucky golden ticket winners Charlie Bucket (Josh Daly), Augustus Gloop (Brandon Wilcox), Violet Beauregarde (Amy Clegg), Veruca Salt (Jess Shiner), and Mike Teavee (Will Jonas) - seen here ready for their fantastical factory adventures - for a tour of Willy Wonka’s (Russell Eccleston) celebrated chocolate factory when he decides to open the doors again...

Guided by Mr Wonka and his team of Oompa-Loompas the five accompanied by their equally charismatic chaperones had a tour of a lifeline into the world of chocolate-making - with some not so delicious dire consequences for some members of the greedy group. This year’s academy dramatisation of Roald Dahl’s family favourite presented some testing technical challenges with an amazing approach to Violet exploding into a blueberry, Augustus falling in a chocolate river, Mike being transported by television and Charlie floating up to the ceiling! Directed by Subject Leader for Drama Mr Shorrock, whether sweet-toothed or otherwise, this fantastic fun top pro-duction was the stuff of dreams... Congratulations to the cast and crew for a wonderfully professional performance!

Chocolate, chuckles and fantastic fun:

Head’s-Up from Mr Richardson

Headteacher, The Kings of Wessex Academy

Dear Parents, The new year 2012 is certainly well and truly

established, and although this Spring Half Term has

been a comparatively short half term, it has nevertheless been

purposeful and productive as you will see in this edition of the Kings’ Messenger newsletter.

As part of their national survey, Ofsted visited us in late January to

undertake an inspection of our Languages Department. The HMI

Inspector observed a number of lessons, looked at students’ work

and also met with myself and our Subject Leader for Languages Frau

Rebello. I am delighted to report that her overall judgement was

Good, which I believe is a tribute to the quality of the curriculum

provided by our staff and also the enthusiasm of our students.

This half term is, of course, an important precursor to the final sum-

mer exams, and students have been completing their Controlled As-

sessments, as well as sitting some January GCSE and ‘A’ Level ex-

ams. Some of our top Mathematicians also pushed themselves that

bit harder when they sat the national Maths Challenge.

As we strive to encourage and work with students, the programme of

mentoring has continued with Sixth Form students who have met

with their Mentors. Year 12 students will also benefit next half term

from some worldly life experience when they undertake their Mock

Interviews. I thank in advance our Mendip Rotarian friends, Gover-

nors and those parents who are coming into school to guide and

share their expertise in what I know to be invaluable practice for stu-

dents in preparation for university or job interviews.

Year 11 students have also been meeting again this half term with

their Mentors to check progress and work towards achieving their

best possible grades. Thank you to our parents for their support

behind the scenes at home in ensuring their children attend the

lunchtime and after school extra sessions. It really can make a differ-

ence to give our young people that extra boost and encouragement

so that they achieve their very best. We are in competitive times, and

I am passionate about Kings’ students being equipped for the 21st

Century. On this note, you will have now received a copy of the

Easter Holidays Revision booklet and I know that you will book in

your child where they will benefit from some extra support. Once again it is a packed programme and I am grateful to staff for giving their time during the holidays.

Thinking about accomplishments, at the time of writing, we are all

on the edge of our sporting seats as four of our hockey teams are

through to the Somerset County Cup final. We will keep you posted!

I would encourage all our Year 9 parents to attend the forthcoming

GCSE option choice information evening next half term on

Wednesday 22 February 2012 at 7pm in the Main Hall. This will be

a useful evening in helping you and your child decide which GCSE

courses to chose for next year and you will also have opportunity to

visit some of the subject areas to find out more.

We have continued our series of careers talks, and I thank local wild-

life writer, broadcaster and television producer Stephen Moss and

Kate Green for their talks about careers in the media and physiother-

apy. The talks are an enlightening insight for students, as well as

inspiring them to follow in great footsteps! I know that we have more

talks scheduled and I thank those parents and friends of Kings for

their time. If you were able to spare half an hour to talk to our

students about your career, please do let me know. Thank you.

A reminder! We return for the second half of the Spring Term on

Monday 20 February 2012

I have got my golden ticket ready for this year’s forth-

coming academy production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” . Every year the students put on a truly professional performance and I know from the

first night at the time of writing that this year’s is going

to be memorable. Talking of performing, our BTEC

Performing Arts students put on a performance earlier

this half term, which I know was enjoyed by all. This

has been complimented by students going on an array

of theatre trips. Amongst a number of trips this half

term some Year 11 students will be enjoying life sur la piste when they head to Austria for the holiday week.

So, lots happening and lots to look forward to...

It only remains now for me to thank you all for your

support this Spring Half

Term and to wish you and

your families an enjoyable

and restful holiday.

Yours sincerely,

CHRIS RICHARDSON

Headteacher

A musical date for your diary:

The Easter Music Concert

On Tuesday 27 March 2012 at 7pm in the Main Hall

Tickets are £3 (£2 concessions) and will be available from the Main Office next half term.

Come and hear our students perform!

Contents

Front page - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1 Head’s Up 2 Special Achievements 3 The Kings’ Art 4-5 Easter Revision Programme 5 Scientific Sessions 6 Entertaining Education in the LRC 6 The Design of Disneyland Paris 7 German Trip of a Lifetime 8-9 Design Technology BOSCH Competition 10 British Computing Society Talk 10 Maths Department YouTube Fame 10 The Kings and Queens’ Sports Score 11-12

BRONZE (5 merits)

Sam Chedzoy 10JPF Thomas Cooksey 10SJW

Jordan Davies 10SBA George Hall 10DE

Lyndsey Hooper 10SJW Owen Marlow 10MH

Benjamin Michiels 10MH Ryan Moss 10SJW

Zach Newsome 10TT Hannah O’Brien 10SJW

Connor Phillips 10DE James Porter Hunt 10MH Stephanie Reeves 10SJW

Molly Thorne 10DE Samuel Vincent 10SJW James Whiston 10SBA

Adam Wood 10JPF William Astill 11LD William Cahill 11SW

SILVER (15 merits)

James Alexander 9JLB Penelope Beresford-Williams 9LJ

Matthew Bush 9TS Jade Carthy 9AH

Louise Denham 9JLB Stanley Disbury 9TS Lewis Duncan 9JLB Bronagh Flood 9LJ Oliver Fortune 9TS Ashley Harper 9AH Ryan Huxtable 9CD Chelsea Jones 9GW

James Jones 9LJ Jamie Kellaway 9JLB Reuben Kouidri 9TS

Eleanor Langford 9JLB Hannah Lovell 9LJ

Isobel Manners 9TS Joe Matthews 9AH

Ellie McQuarrie 9JLB Niquitta Millard 9JLB Dean Shovelton 9AH

Lauren Smart 9LJ Jasmine Squire 9AH

Hannah Stanbury 9JLB Megan Thorowgood 9CD

Kieran Davies 10DE Amy Day 10SBA

Cameron Fraser 10MH Ben Harris 10DE

Daniel Harris 10SBA Daniel Hide 10DR

Emma Kelly 10SJW Victoria Kent 10DE Jack Miller 10SBA

Katherine Prior 10JPF Madeleine Ralph 10SBA

Shannon Souttar Bell 10JPF Kimberley Voit 10DE

Samuel Walters 10SBA Mia Taylor 11LD

GOLD (25 merits) Aleah Aberdeen 9TS

Eloise Ames 9CD George Astill 9JLB Emily Attwood 9KD Haydon Barber 9TS

Katherine Barrett 9GW Lily Barrett 9AH Vicki Bear 9JLB

William Cardno 9TS Aedan Coleman 9CD Jasmine Cornish 9KD Samuel Dalton 9AH

Stephen Disbrey 9CD Murray Donald 9CD Imogen Dyte 9TS

Beau Edwards 9JLB Liam Ellis 9TS

Matthew Farrell 9JLB Eleni Georgiou 9TS

Luke Goodman 9JLB Daisy Griffiths 9CD Selah Harriott 9JLB Matthew Hart 9AH Isaac Heather 9KD

Frances Hodgson 9JLB Harvey Horsnett-Bowley Rebecca Ingoldsby 9AH

Nathan James 9JLB Nicholas Jamieson 9GW

Jack Kear 9KD Isobel Lloyd 9GW

William Lupton 9LJ Elizabeth Marshall 9LJ Joshua McConville 9TS

Amy Moloney 9TS Maximillian Moore 9JLB

Annabel Nash 9KD

Elliott Nix-Gouldsworthy 9LJ Georgina Offland 9JLB

Rebekah Orriss 9LJ Ellie Orritt 9KD

Tyler Parry 9GW Athina Pavle 9JLB Tegan Phillips 9AH Jordan Podbury 9LJ Isobel Pritchard 9TS Emily Reece 9JLB

Jodie Richards 9TS Kataleana Rooney 9AH

Samantha Salt 9KD Rhiannon Skeen 9TS

Ryan Starr 9CD Matthew Tucker 9LJ

Thomas Vincent 9JLB Ben Voice 9LJ

Judith Wagstaff 9AH Charlotte Walker 9TS Chelsie Webster 9GW Daisy Westbrook 9JLB Courtney Wright 9JLB Kit Benjamin 10JPF Janne Clarke 10MH

Charlie David 10SJW Chloe-Anne Davidson 10JPF

Amy Day 10SBA Jasmine Day 10SJW

Sophie Deakins 10SBA Shannon House 10SBA

Ben Hutton 10DR Scott Jenkins 10SBA Lucy Kelson 10JPF

Harriet Moody 10MH Hannah Richards 10DR

Jade Skyrme 10DR Matthew Slater 10SBA Abbie Snelgrove 10MH Christine Staite 10SBA

Ben Williams 10DE Spencer Williams 10DR

And special

congratulations to

this record number

of students for

achieving their

Platinum!

PLATINUM

(50 merits) Harrison Barber-Bradbeer

9KD Otis Bath 9KD

Verity Bennett 9GW Emily Bolt 9GW Alice Dodd 9CD

Oliver Godwin 9GW Hallam Greene 9CD

Elizabeth Himms 9CD Jessica Hobson 9KD Edward Jones 9CD

Nicole Karanicola 9KD Harriet Lucas 9CD

Joseph Marshall 9KD Alexandra Maynard 9GW

Phoebe Moss 9GW Oliver Nicholls 9AH

Riley Robinson-Rattle 9KD Georgia Scott 9LJ Ella Sibley 9GW

William Wallis 9GW Alex Beretvas 10MH

End of Spring Half Term Roll of Honour Special Achievement Awards: Celebrating our students for good work and duties to the Academy.

Thank you and congratulations!

Well done to all our students !

Bronze and Silver = a certificate

Gold = a certificate, badge and £10 voucher

Platinum = a certificate, badge and £15 voucher

And looking head to the even Double Platinum = a certificate and £25 voucher

Looking ahead to the end of this Spring Term we will be holding an Achievement Assembly when students will be presented with badges and certificates, as well as for these Special Achievements, awards will also be

presented for students’ achievements in all subjects and enrichment activities.

Keep trying your best!

Welcome back and Happy 2012!

We have a very exciting and busy time ahead of us this Spring Term and this is set to be very productive with the completion of Year 11 Controlled Assessments, Year 12 portfolios and Year 13’s handing in their personal investigations. Year 11 made a promising start preparing for their exam in early January. The Sixth Form students opened their exam paper on the 1

February 2012...

Art Department Exam Dates Art /Textiles GCSE from Tuesday 20 March – Friday 30 March 2012 Photography GCSE from Tuesday 20 March - Friday 30 March 2012 Art /Textiles AS Level from Monday 30 April – Friday 4 May 2012 Photography AS Level from Monday 30 April – Friday 4 May 2012 Art/Textiles A2 Level from Tuesday 8 May – Friday 18 May 2012 Photography A2 Level from Tuesday 8 May – Friday 18 May 2012

The Clothes Show Live at The NEC, Birmingham (www.clothesshowlive.com) At the end of last term GCSE and ‘A’ Level Textile, Art and Photography stu-

dents set out for a trip to The Clothes Show Live in Birmingham. Students were able to observe at first hand a catwalk show, degree work, Haute Couture and bespoke garments, and asked questions about degree courses, talked to designers, took some stunning photos for their coursework and gathered ideas for their own pro-jects. “Inspirational” was the word of the day!

Art Trip to Liverpool We are looking forward to a three-day residential trip to Liverpool from 12 July to 14 July 2012 in the Summer Term. The trip is offered to our current Year 10 Art students as an amazing opportunity to extend their skills as they will be visiting

The Tate Liverpool, The Walker Gallery (the National Gallery of the North), FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and artists’ studios. Liverpool has a rich history and is a vibrant and crea-tive city where students will be building on their skills through observational drawings and photography to add to their portfolio and continuing development at GCSE. We will be scheduling a parent and students’ information evening (date to be confirmed.)

Here’s a scene from the catwalk and our very own fashionistas!

And also some example degree work for further inspiration.

Ceramics Work - Our Year 9 students have been working very hard on their ceramics this term and have produced some incredible work. Here are a few African masks now for you to see and enjoy:

By Courtney Dunne By Ellie Langford By Sam Dalton By Gabby Thompson

Art Competitions - an opportunity for our young artists to test their talents!

Rotary Club of Mendip Young Artists 2012 Competition: Deadline: for entries - 30 March 2012

Two age groups: Intermediate (13-15 year olds) and Senior (16-18 year olds)

The theme this year is ‘composition’ and the judges will be looking for skill, technique and a striking arrangement of elements. The artwork can be a subject or scene of the student’s choice, but it must have a local or Somerset connection and have a title.

Category 1: Art Drawing and Painting Artwork should be on either paper or canvas sized A4 or A3 and be signed. Consider an interesting viewpoint. You can use pencil, water colour, chalk, oil pastel or acrylic paint. Students can work from real objects or a photograph. Category 2: Photography Photographs should be printed on A4 or A3 photographic paper. You can use digital, black and white or SLR film. Consider the ‘golden mean’, depth of field, symmetry and perspective. Category 3.: Textiles Textile pieces should be A4 and A3. You can use a combination of techniques for example embroidery, heat transfer and machine stitch. Consider pattern, texture and the use of colour.

Students are welcome to work at home or attend art club during Wednesday lunchtime, and may also enter a piece of current work cre-ated in school. If you have any questions, please see Subject Leader for Art Ms Weaving in A2.

Easter Revision Programme: Have you booked your place?!

As we continue to focus on this year’s forthcoming exams, we strongly encourage our Year students to book for the free Easter Revision sessions where they need a little extra help in order to maximise their potential.

A total of 54.5 revision days are planned for Years 10, 11 and Sixth Form stu-dents with sessions in nearly all subjects at GCSE, as well as many subjects at AS/A2 Level.

Year 11 will have now received your booklet at home and Sixth Form students will have received theirs from their Tutors. All students need to complete the booking form at the back of the booklet to hand in at the Main Office.

Places are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis so it is important that you complete the booking form and return it asap.

Separate letters are being sent to Year 10 students with details of Easter Revision for Geography, R.E. and Music. In addition, those Year 10 Design Technology students who have missed Controlled Assessment time will have opportunity to catch-up.

It’s your future— make sure you maximise your opportunities for success!

Scientific Sessions

At the start of this Spring Term, a group of talented

Year 9 students attended a STEM Day organised by

EDF Energy. We learned about sustainability and

natural resources. Later we had to create a vehicle

that could be shot across a room, survive and hold an egg! The egg was not allowed to break or the team

would be disqualified. The day was very enjoyable

and we all came away with a further understanding of

what EDF Energy do and sustainability.

By Thomas Postin 9GW

As a result of our students’ hard work and enthusiasm,

I’m delighted to announce that all those who attended

the day will soon be receiving a Bronze Crest Award

from the British Science Association. This award is not only endorsed by UCAS, but held in very high regard.

I am also pleased to inform you that a number of these students

have now applied to attend a four day residential course with

EDF Energy at the University of Exeter, where they will work to-

wards achieving a Silver Crest Award.

More recently, our Year 11 BTEC students

were treated to a presentation by Andy

Manns, a real life CSI from the Avon and

Somerset Police. His informative talk gave

our scientists a fascinating insight into life as a CSI as well as explanations of meth-

ods involved in the collection, preservation

and analysis of crime scene evidence.

By Mrs L Meldon, Science Enrichment Leader

In between study time, there is also

opportunity for students to test

some other skills in the LRC.

Here are some Sixth Form now

who tried to get the tallest Jenga tower, but eventually failed

at 32 levels!

Could you get it any higher????

Or there is always a game of Scrabble, Monopoly, Hungry Frog, or even Ker

Plunk.

See shortly a few LRC love book

recommendations for St Valentine’s

Day...

By Mrs B Knutson, LRC Manager

Entertaining Education in the Learning Resource Centre

The Design of Disneyland Paris

The Year 9 students had a wonderful opportunity in January to enjoy an insight into the world of design when they visited Disneyland Paris and learned how the

rides and attractions are programmed. Their visit included firsthand experience in seminars of how the attrac-tions in the parks are designed, created and tested with opportunity to apply some of the concepts they had studied in ICT, Design Technology, Science and Maths lessons.

Concepts included how to calculate the velocity and Laws of Motion, how to use algebra to calculate the theo-retical hourly ride capacity and how to use the skills in Maths to formulate queue line calculations

From the ICT and Design Technology perspective students were able to look behind the scene at the Space Mountain Mission 2 design, and learned about mechanical properties of materials, scale of production, testing and how the theme park programmes the lighting, sensors and animated robots add additional effects to the make the rides so exciting.

Students also enjoyed the opportunity to see how Computer Aided Design assists in design stunt cars and pa-rade floats. In the final seminar students had the opportunity to learn how the theme park was planned and developed. They were able to see how the natural environment was taken into consideration and sculpted to fit the needs of the park.

And of course, whilst there— they also met Disney favourites Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Buzzlight Year, Tigger, Eeyore, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio, Monster Inc, Jasmine and Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Donald Duck, Toy Story characters and even Mary Poppins. By Val Quaye, Teacher of ICT

With St Valentine’s Day in half term, why not chose a romantic book to read over the holidays from the LRC (and this selection here by Mrs Knutson might not be quite what you’d expect...!)

“Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Tracey Chevalier “Let it Snow” by John Green “Noughts and Crosses” by Malorie Blackman “Reckless” by Cornelia Funke

German Language Lesson of a Lifetime Whilst other fellow schoolmates enjoyed the high jinks of Charities Week at the end of last term, 27 Years 10 and 11 German students visited Cologne.

On a cold night the young linguists boarded the coach to ship them across four coun-tries on a language lesson of a lifetime. The coach arrived at the Köln-Deutz Hostel in the German city of Cologne the following morning as they prepared for five days of visits to the Bayer industries' education Centre, the home ground of prestigious football team, Bayer Leverkusen in Bayarena, the Lindt chocolate museum – with opportunities aplenty to practise their Ger-man language skills. Students with a head for heights climbed over 500 steps to reach the top of the iconic Cologne Cathedral enjoying the views of the city. As part of their cultural visit they also made a special journey to Bonn, the one-time capital of West Germany, where they learned the history of Germany after the devastating Second World War. Students also left with light pockets after seven visits to Germany's Christmas markets.

But after the 16-hour bus journey home to Somerset the group all agreed that their visit has been an educational, enriching and entertaining language-learning opportunity.

Report by Alastair Bevan Campbell, The Kings and Queens News

Here are a few more

student snapshots:

I thought the German trip to Köln was the best I have been on! The 15-hour coach journey was surprisingly short as we slept for most of the time. I really liked the fact that we had time to wonder around the fantastic Christmas markets. I also really enjoyed our trip to Baykomm, where we had a great tour of the fascinating Bayer Education Centre. By Jack Hughes

The trip was really interesting and helped my German language skills and taught me about the culture. I especially enjoyed going around the Christmas Market in Köln – the smells and the tastes were delightful (although the musical entertainment was a bit annoy-ing!). I also enjoyed the Chocolate Museum for obvious reasons...! By Ben Michiels

My favourite part of the trip had to be the Christmas markets as there was a brilliant atmosphere and so much to see. I learnt a lot of new words and it helped improve my confidence in speaking the language to different people. By Ben Williams

The day trip to Bayer was the most enjoyable part. We gained a valuable insight into the current world of science and learned about GM crops and smart plastics. There was also a driving simulator, which allowed me to show off my reputable driving skills! By Spencer Williams

I found the trip great fun and a different experience to learning German in the classroom. I liked our free time to go shopping and go around the local Christ-mas market in front of the towering Cathedra, where I used phrases like “Ich möchte….” and “Wasl kostet das?” I also really enjoyed the chocolate mu-seum where we looked at the process of making Lindt chocolate and ate lots of chocolate. But I think my favourite part was the Sports Museum because it was really inter-esting to learn about the Olympics and we even played football on the roof top. I had a really great time! By Sam Chedzoy

I thought that the trip was excellent. It really helped my pronunciation because I had to use the language every day at the markets. We really got to experience the culture and see all the beautiful handcrafted deco-rations and gifts. I also liked the atmosphere in the Italian restaurant on our last night when we had money to order our own food and organise the pay-ment and receipt. The food was really good and there was a really nice relaxed atmosphere. I loved it! By Rachel Perry

Design Technology BOSCH Competition

Fancy winning up to £700 in cash!?

Over the next month all students studying the Product Design course will be entering the BOSCH Technology Horizons competition. For homework, students will be asked to write a 500 word essay on one of the following questions:

In 2012, London will host the Olympic Games. Describe how engineering, technology and in-novative systems have helped develop the infrastructure re-quired to host this historic event.

Or:

The introduction of environ-mental technology has changed the way we live in the last dec-ade. Using examples, describe how it has affected human behaviour.

The deadline for all entries to be uploaded to the Bosch competition website www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons is 20 April 2012.

Prizes include: 1st prize £700 cash and 2nd prize £300 and all entries will receive a certificate. We encourage all our budding Engineers and Scientists to take part! Good Luck everyone! By Mrs G Chapman, Enrichment Leader for Design Technology

British Computing Society Talk

Derek Newman, a member of the British Computer

Society with 40 years experience in computing indus-

try recently visited to talk to a group of our Year 12

Computing students about career and university opportunities in the Computing sector.

Derek is a chartered member of the BCS as well as working full time as an Information Security Officer

and Forensic Examiner for EDF Energy; and gave an informative insight into working in the computing/IT

field and the types of jobs available to students. He shared interesting stories on nuclear IT security, which

students thoroughly enjoyed. Derek also explained what IT/Computing Degree courses involve as he is cur-

rently a Graduate mentor, and gave an opportunity for students to ask questions. Report by Mrs Chapman, Teacher of ICT

Our Maths Department recently celebrated a new-age milestone when their YouTube channel Maths520 reached over a quarter of a million hits. The channel was set up by Teacher of Maths Mr White in

March 2009 with the intention of helping Kings Mathematicians with homework tasks and revision. Since its beginnings how-

ever, the videos have really “gone viral” with huge amounts of hits from other countries and even continents, videos being

noticeably popular in the USA and India. There are currently

well over 300 videos, all with the aim of teaching viewers a topic and as you might imagine they are most popular around

exam time, with over 2000 hits a day. Demonstration videos have been added by Mr Carey, Mr Powell and Mr Baycroft and all are receiving extremely positive feedback and massive thanks must go to everyone involved in the Maths520

video channel project! You can visit the channel at www.youtube.com/maths520. By Harrison Barber-Bradbeer and Henry Parsons The Kings and Queens News Team

http://www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons/14-18/http://www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons/14-18/http://www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons/14-18/http://www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons/14-18/http://www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons/14-18/http://www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons/14-18/

Year 9 Football Wallop Millfield!

On a cold and windswept day both our A and B Teams beat Millfield School’s A and B Team. Our Will Starks scored a hat-trick for the B team in a comprehensive 4-2 win; whilst Ashley Harper scored a brace for the A Team to come from be-hind to win 2-1.

Both our teams played with total commitment and conviction and had a real hunger to win. This was a worthy win against a reputable opponent and all the more so as we were playing their best sides. By S Osgood, Teacher of P.E.

The Kings and Queens’ Sports Scores

Cross Country Champs— set to run for Somerset! Earlier this half term, the P.E. Department took part in the annual Mendip Schools Cross Country Championship at Mill-field School. A team of students from all years competed in some cold and challenging conditions. Our congratulations to Isaac Taschimowitz and Jess Benjamin who won the senior boys and girls events; and Joe Bar-nes, Will Jonas, Scott Jenkins, Liam Hathway and Alice Dodd all qualified and ran for Mendip in the area finals a week later. Isaac, Jess and Joe were again successful at this event and have been selected to represent Somerset at the South West Schools championships...By Mr C Bennett, Subject Leader for P.E.

The Schools Cross Country series is not a new event—it has been running since 1876. The series comprises of four races, where teams are selected to progress to the next stage after each race. On Saturday 4 February 2012 it was the South West Schools run, the third stage, where ten run-ners ran for Somerset in each age group after selection in the Somerset Schools selection. This stage was held at Exeter where there was a tough course, with both hard frozen ground and wet, muddy stages with pieces of floating ice. Joe Barnes made it through to this stage after a fantastic run at Somerset Schools (the second stage) finishing 8th.

In the South West Schools Joe had another terrific run coming in 42nd out of the 59 runners. Joe was running in the competitive intermediate boys age group (for Years 10 and 11).

Isaac Taschimowitz also made it through after finishing 4th at Somerset Schools in the senior boys age group (Years 12 to 13). In South West schools Isaac came into the finish 31st out of the 57 finishers. The next stage is the English Schools which will be held on Somerset this year. At the end of February the Somerset Schools officials will meet to decide in eight runners for each age group to represent the County at the race.

By Isaac Taschimowitz, The Kings and Queens News Team

Sporting Heroes: Ben Attwood 11LD recently travelled

to Walsall to compete in the Midlands open judo competition, which is a national ranking event.

Ben had a wonderful day and won a bronze medal! With his third place in the Commonwealth Games trials and

a recent good performance in the under-20’s trials and also an

international tournament in Hol-land...Ben has hopes for the British

Squad!

We have our hockey sticks crossed for a quadruple win in this year’s Somerset Cup Final! The Year 9 and Senior Boys and Year 9 and 10 Girls’ hockey teams are all through to the final—three of which matches will be played out on the last day of this half term (Seniors to follow next half term)... We wish all four teams success for the coveted top title!

Hockey Teams Quartet in the Somerset County Cup Final!

Here are the Year 9 boys and Year 10 girls now poised to play...

Front page 1Head's Up 2Special Achievements 3Art and Easter Revision 4-5Science and LRC 6Disneyland paris 7German trip 8-9Design Technology, ICT and Maths 10Sport 11-12