heathcote news...heathcote school a leading edge school issue no. 44, spring 2015 heathcote news 1h...

Heathcote School a Leading Edge School Issue No. 44, Spring 2015

HEATHCOTE NEWS

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Inside This Issue!

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Gemma has enrolled on to the Ernst andYoung School Leavers programme. Ernstand Young are one of the ‘Big Four’accountancy firms in the UK. It is a five-year scheme, where Gemma will combineacademic study and paid accountancywork in the fields of audit assurance,taxation and financial consultancy, allgeared towards her accountancyqualification.This ACA (Association of CharteredAccountants) qualification is normallygained through going to university.However, this programme is funded, withno tuition fees, and Gemma will achievethe same qualification and get paid, whilstundergoing on-the-job training. Mr Stephen McClurg, Lead Teacher forEconomics and Accountancy atHeathcote, describes the Ernst andYoung programme as ‘highlycompetitive’. Lots of people apply butmany are disappointed. ‘This is anamazing achievement for Gemma,’ hesays. Gemma had to go through fivestages in the application process,including an interview and personalityassessment. Mr McClurg said Ernst andYoung ‘saw in her the potential and talentthat we have seen at Heathcote’. At theend of the five years, Gemma will be achartered accountant. Mr McClurg saysthe experience will ‘open up so manydoors’ for Gemma.Head Girl, Samantha Vincent applied fora Higher Apprenticeship managementconsultancy programme with PwC(PricewaterhouseCoopers). Initially, this

is a two-year scheme. Samantha will begoing into firms with her ‘team’,analysing management structures andworking out how they could save money.After the apprenticeship period, she willgo on to a graduate training scheme withPwC, ultimately aiming for the fullyfunded PwC Management ConsultancyDiploma.The Ernst and Young programme, inparticular, has been promoted by MrMcClurg’s department for the past fewyears. On the other hand, Samantha wasfirst made aware of her scheme during atrip to a careers fair at Canary Wharfwith Ms Elgie and Mr McCarney. Bothstudents have been coached through theapplication process.Four current year 12 students haveapplied for summer internships withErnst and Young, so it is hoped that thissuccess will be repeated over and overagain. Mr McClurg points out that, in thepast, it has been difficult for students tohave access to these types of opportunity.As an ex-PwC employee himself, he is fullof praise for Gemma and Samantha’ssuccess.Samantha is looking forward to her timewith PwC. She says, ‘I am feeling veryexcited about starting work in such acareer.’ Gemma said her interest in theprogramme was inspired by an Ernst andYoung presentation at the school and asubsequent evening event. Even then, atfirst, she didn’t expect to succeed. ‘I amreally proud of myself,’ she says.

You’re Hired!2 Dates for Your Diary

Safe Drive Stay Alive

3 Year 11 Hit the MarkThe Right Side

of the Law

4 Order! OrderNSPCC Number Day

Flippin’ TastyDeaf Aspirations Day

5 Challenge for All

6 World Book Day

7 Year 10 go toCambridge

Students See the Stars

Norfolk: Fun but Freezing!

8 A Taste of SuccessReaching for the Sky

9 Heathcote Alumni

10 UKMT MathsChallenge

Building for Successat UEL

Jack Petchey Winners

11 Pi Challenge

Helping Hand

12 Design in Drama

Joyeux Noel

13 The Hour of Code

Biology Studentsget in the Spirit

14 & 15 Sports News

16 Remembering Aneesha

Designer of the Year

Two of Heathcote’s year 13accountancy students, GemmaBowers and Samantha Vincent,have gained placements withprestigious firms.

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On Tuesday 27th January, every Year11 student attended the ‘Safe DriveStay Alive’ event at Forest School.The campaign is designed to reachout to students who are approachingthe legal driving age and aims toreduce the likelihood of young peoplebeing involved in accidents.The session was a theatre-in-educationproduction which featured a film, aswell as live talks by not onlyemergency workers but also accidentvictims and members of their families.Ms Powell, Learning Manager for Year11, who accompanied the students

thinks it was ‘very important’ for them tobe exposed to the situations presentedduring the session and described theending as ‘very emotional’. In heropinion, the effect on the students waspotentially ‘life-changing’. As she says: ifthe course persuaded just one person toalways wear their seatbelt (for example),then a life could be saved.

The event began with a quiz on road safety– which showed that the group had quite a bit to learn about the issue – and thenmoved on to stories from members of thepolice, fire and ambulance services. There were then moving testimonies from a father who had witnessed anincident outside a school and a youngdriver who had been involved in anaccident overtaking a bus when late for work.At the end, the students had clearly beendeeply affected by what they had heard:Ms Powell described them as ‘speechless,‘sombre’ and ‘subdued’ as they reflectedon the thought-provoking stories. Shewas very proud of their behaviour andimpressed by their reactions.

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Dates for Your DiaryHere are some of the key dates to helpyou plan ahead. There is also a list in thestudent planner.

2nd April INSET Day

End of Term

20th April Summer Term begins

23rd April Year 7 Parents’ Evening

4th May May Day

7th May Year 11 Presentation Evening

25th-29th May Half Term holiday

1st July Year 6 Transition Day

Year 12 ‘Taster’ Day

22nd July End of Summer Term

We would like to remind you thatHeadteacher’s Surgery runs every Mondayafter school, from 4.30 to 5.30. Please phonereception for an appointment if you would liketo attend.

Dear Parent/carer

This year we are introducingthree new online tools toimprove our communicationwith parents. The first is ParentMail and by now passwordsshould have been received. It will help us to

• communicate to parents electronically

• collect and manage parent payments

• provide cashless catering to improve dinner moneycollection

• simplify the parents’ evening booking process

• monitor parental consent

• improve pupil achievement through better parentalengagement.

Our second new online tool, ‘Show My Homework’, will be available next term. Parents will be able to tracktheir children’s homework, download worksheets and seethe homework deadlines.

Our final online programme will be available towards the end of the April. The GO 4 Schools ParentalEngagement module will enable parents to accessinformation about assessment, attendance and behaviour.In addition, they will be able to see their child's timetableand progress reports.

Zoë Cozens

Safe Drive Stay Alive

A Message from the Head


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The Right Side of the LawYear 10 Student EMILY ASHWELL on a trip to the City.

On Thursday, 29th of January, 16 hardworking BusinessStudies students visited the international law firm, Allen andOvery, in Central London.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the receptionists at thefront desk and told to take the lift to the 1st floor. Oncethere, we were directed through several hallways, whosewalls displayed pictures of many different cities associatedwith the company. As we took our seats in the learningroom, we were greeted by Kaleigh, our teacher, andanother participating school – Northumberland Park. Next,we were given a wide range of sandwiches for lunch!Having listened to a talk about the rules we should follow inthe building, we were asked to go to a table and pick outtwo ‘personality cards’ that described our strengths andweaknesses, as we saw them. My strength was that I wasvery good at teamwork and was hard working; however,

I feel I sometimeslack confidence.We used thesecards bydiscussing what wehad selected withanother personwhom we hadnever met before. We then had tostand up in front ofeveryone and talk about our dream jobs. Afterwards, wehad to fill in a sheet describing a moment when we workedas a team. Most people from our school described theOlympic Legacy event that took place in year 9.We were then sorted into small groups of 4 or 5. In thesegroups, we had to speak to people who were enrolled orwere training to be a lawyer in the company. Overall, I reallylearnt from this, gaining experience in how to speak withnew people in a formal situation.Eventually, we played a ‘shares’ game where each grouphad a bank: Deutsche Bank, The Bank of America, UBS,Barclays, and Goldman Sachs. In this game, we had abudget of £20,000 to buy and sell shares from six differentmajor companies. To make matters harder, we had to getour ‘chit’ papers, (which show a certain amount of moneythat had to be bought or sold by the one-minute deadline).Overall, my team, Goldman Sachs, came second in thegame, beating UBS, Barclays and Deutsche Bank; however‘The Bank of America’ came first. This was a very good experience for all of the pupils whovisited and a great learning experience as well. I woulddefinitely visit again and would recommend it to anyonewho wants to learn about the world of business, or who hasambitions to work in a law firm.

Back in January, 60 targeted Year 11 students attended the ‘HitThe Mark’ workshop, accompanied by their learning manager, MsPowell. The course enabled them to develop revision and memoryskills to help them prepare for their exams.

Students were given a booklet which gave tips encompassing all kinds ofpreferred learning styles. Topics covered included ‘Image Chains’, ‘PegWords’ and ‘The Motivation Wheel’’.

The session was engagingly delivered by an actor (‘Darius’). He proved thatyou could easily remember ten completely random ideas simply by creatinga story around them. One somewhat sceptical student asked him todemonstrate that he could remember the key words ‘backwards’ which heproceeded to do with consummate ease!

Students were clearly impressed. Nearly all rated the event as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’. They came away with specific thoughtsabout how they could change their approach to revision in the weeks ahead. Several were planning to change the way theydevised revision schedules, incorporating ideas about time management and making the process ‘fun’. Others realised thatthere are many methods available to help you remember things – not just ‘passive’ reading. The most frequently favouredtechnique was the suggestion that using ‘mind maps’ helped to organise what you revise and made it easier to recall.

So what did the students gain overall from these activities? Ms Powell is quite clear that many came out of the sessionbelieving that they can achieve what they want to achieve. She says, ‘It just needs a bit of dedication and hard work’.

Year 11 Hit the Mark

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Food technology guru Mrs Gabriel loves to celebrate ShroveTuesday every year with a massive pancake session. Sadly, thisyear, February 17 fell during half term. Undaunted, Mrs Gabrieldecided that the flour and eggs must not go to waste.

And so it was, that on the Wednesday before the break, over 40 staff and60 students descended on Cooking Club to make and flip their pancakes.There was even a delivery service for those staff who could not make itdue to after-school commitments. Perhaps pancakes could be the next bigthing on the high street!

This February, the annual Deaf Aspirations Day took place inthe Heathcote Sixth Form Centre.

Deaf students from Heathcote were joined by deaf learners fromEastbury School for a day of interactive workshops. The themesfocused on how to achieve, when following careers in music and the arts.

The highlight of the day was working with professional flautist, Ruth Montgomery, who is profoundly deaf herself. Ruth finished theday by giving a beautiful performance in assembly to a spell-bound Y7 audience!

Deaf Aspirations Day

NSPCC Number DayHeathcote took part in the NSPCC Number Day on Friday 5thDecember 2014. This is a ‘fun, nationwide maths fundraising event’ forchildren and young people of all ages that helps raise money tosupport the charity.The mathematics departmentregularly runs a competition between the houses to raise money for the NSPCC. Students and teachers were asked to bringin only 5ps. The house with the most5ps was Omega with £82.95. Theschool raised £296.80 altogether.

In February, the Junior Leadership Teamand eight senior prefects visited theultimate centre of leadership – theHouses of Parliament. For JLT supremoMs Hargreaves, this was an opportunityfor the students ‘to see democracy inaction’. Students were given the chanceto find out about the law-making processand how the work of the government isscrutinised. Here, Head Girl, SamanthaVincent, tells us about the outing.

During the JLT trip to the Houses ofParliament, we were taken on an informativehistorical tour including the House of Lords,where the Queen opens Parliament. Theguide discussed political figures from longago, like Charles I, and Oliver Cromwell.While we didn't get to see the House ofCommons, as it was in session, we wereinformed that it is relatively easy to sit in ondiscussions should we wish to do so. Ipersonally felt a sense of awe, having thechance to experience the place where ourleaders make such important decisions aboutthe country, affecting the well-being of all ofus within it. The trip was an inspiringopportunity for me and the members of theJLT who attended.

Order! Order!

Flippin’ Tasty!

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In January, Heathcote staff took part in a wholeday training session called ‘Challenge For All’.The aim of the day was to improve ‘challenge’across the school, especially in KS3.

Sarah Elgie (Lead Teacher for the More Able)organised the event and the training was providedthrough NACE (National Association for Able Childrenin Education). Miss Elgie’s role involves supportingstudents on the school’s ‘More Able’ register inmaintaining their academic progress, but she alsohelps other staff develop ways of helping the targetedstudents reach their goals.

‘Challenge’ might involve asking students to think abouttheir learning in a more academic and scholarly way. Wewant students to push themselves – irrespective of theirbasic ability level. One aim would be to encourage moreindependence in thinking and learning.

Staff chose four out of six workshops so they were ableto tailor the day to suit their own developmental needsor preferences. Each session aimed to give staff newideas and strategies to use in their classrooms. At theend of the day, subject departments reflected on howschemes of work and teaching methodology could befurther adapted and improved.

Staff had the opportunity to choose between sessionson Questioning, Group Learning, Scaffolding (nothingto do with wooden planks and metal poles!),Investigation and Enquiry, Assessment Using Self orPeer Evaluation and Technology to Challenge.

The ‘Investigation and Enquiry’ session helped theschool discuss the use of projects. Some departments– as parents will be aware – use projects for homeworknow, because this approach invites independentlearning and encourages students to manage their timeeffectively. They often involve research tasks asopposed to being ‘spoon-fed’ in class. Attending thissession gave teachers more ideas about how theycould incorporate this kind of ‘discovery learning’ intolessons as well as homework.

The ‘Questioning’ workshop was about facilitatingindependent thinking by students and another sessiontold staff how to assist students in developing self-assessment skills to help them improve their work.

Ms Elgie explained that this was a particularlyappropriate time to organise this training.

‘The curriculum at Key Stages 4 & 5 is changingsignificantly,’ she says. A Levels and GCSEs are allundergoing a major overhaul, and the Governmentwants them to be ‘more robust and challenging’. In addition, students are arriving at Heathcote withquite high ability, knowledge or awareness because ofsimilar developments in primary school at KS2. MsElgie notes that ‘our students are going to have to bemore independent, especially in a linear exam culture’.

Ms Elgie felt that staff had enjoyed having a trainingday which focused specifically on teachingmethodology and feedback was very positive.

‘We are students ourselves,’ she says. ‘Teachers needto learn new things as well.’

Miss Elgie would also like to remind parents seekingto assist in the process of challenging their ownchildren of the following:

• At KS3, students have been asked to read at least 50 books this year (with a reading list in theplanner).

• Pupils can be encouraged to develop their researchskills by following up on news items that interestthem.

• The school has a ‘Super Curriculum’ website,which is in addition to normal lessons andhomework, where each department has suggestedideas and activities to deepen students’ knowledge.

Challenge for AllParents and students may wonder what teachers get up to on those mysterious INSET days whenpupils have a day off school. Here is an account of what happened on one such day earlier this term.

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If you were in school during lesson 3 on ThursdayMarch 5, you will have heard a bell followed by acollective ‘clunk’ as students and staff took part inthe ‘Drop Everything and Read’ activity tocelebrate World Book Day. Nearly everyone gotinvolved – as you can see from the pictures – andfor a solid fifteen minutes children and adults werewhisked away into the world of the written word. The school library, of course, had a big role to play, andtheir special Book Fair was a great success. Studentsbustled along to swap their special World Book Daycoupons for actual texts. The librarians reported a biguptake in orders and borrowing as a result of the event.

WORLD BOOK DAY

Heathcote Literacy Coordinator Ms Jolene Jacobson was veryimpressed with the level ofparticipation after she toured theschool. ‘Everyone seemed to bereally immersed in their books,’ shesaid, ‘and the library was very busy.’

Let’s hope students (and staff)continue in the reading habit at home!

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Year 10 go toCambridge Lead teacher for the More Able Sarah Elgie tells usabout a trip designed to challenge students’expectations of themselves.

Ten year 10s had the opportunity to visit CambridgeUniversity to have a taste of what it would be like to study atthis world-famous institution. We were told all about theuniversity process and had a lively debate with fellow year10s over whether or not students should be allowed to attenduniversity if they don’t intend to pursue their subject as acareer. These academic discussions were followed by twolectures: one on how to use shapes to prove mathematicaltheories, the second explaining the way in which the BritishEmpire law was organised and how it still affects the courtsin several countries.

Lunch was spent in one of the many beautiful halls ofEmmanuel College and we were also given a tour of thefacilities at this prestigious university. The day certainlywould have inspired our students to work on their grades andthink about the future - at a university.

Speaking of which, if you have any questions about GCSEs, A-

level choices and university options, see Ms. Elgie in the 6th

form, or go on the UCAS website

(http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/coursesearch/) for

information on the courses you need to take and the grades

you need to achieve.

Norfolk: Fun but Freezing!Year 12 student Jamie Luesley tells us about an enjoyable field trip.On a bleak wintery morning, the AS Geography class and their teachersheaded off to Norfolk. The aim of the week was to complete detailedfieldwork which is examined in the summer. Despite the freezingtemperatures and blinding rain, we measured coastal erosion, flooddefences - and people’s perceptions of Norwich. After lessons, the centreput on lots of activities including fencing and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’. (Who knewMr Stephenson and Miss Dudley were such good rock-climbers?) Overall, the week was excellent. We learnt a great detail about Geographyfieldwork and had lots of fun too.

Last December, Mr Bailey and Mr Thompson took theY13 A2 Physics students to the Royal Observatory inGreenwich. Students visited the Planetarium to see a showon Astrophysics and Cosmology. They then toured the buildingto see the galley displaying the entries for the AstronomyPhotographer of the Year 2014, the historical exhibits, and theGreat Equatorial Telescope in the large dome. (The objectivelens is 28 inches in diameter – the largest of its kind in the UK.)

Students also participated in some bespoke workshops withsome of the Observatory’s astronomers, learning techniquesemployed when studying stars and galaxies. Using his mobilesatnav, Mr Bailey also demonstrated how the ‘Meridian’ is nolonger passing through the observatory!

All the students had a great day.

Students See the Stars

In March, 26 Computing and ICTstudents from Years 12 and 13visited the Sky Academy inOsterley, near Twickenham. Theacademy offers multimedia courseswhich can lead to employmentopportunities for students.

Upon arrival, having been given anipad, the students were told to create amind map of their own employability –something they would return to at theend of the day. They were then placedin three groups to perform competitiveteam-building activities. (For instance,they had to organise a set of cards atspeed and then review their approach.)

A guided tour followed including a visit toSky Sports News and La Liga, (passingSoccer AM star ‘Tubes’ along the way)before hearing a fascinating talk from themanager of Production andDevelopment. His key messages were totry hard, take risks and go to university.

More teamwork followed - this time a

programming task – with each persongiven a specific role such as ‘analyst’,‘tester’, ‘programmer’ and(mysteriously) ‘scrum leader’. They all had to design a web page forthe F1 section of the Sky Sportswebsite and a group of experts thengave them feedback.

Head of Heathcote ICT Mr Henry, whoorganised the trip, stated that byparticipating in the event, the studentshad given themselves a fair chance ofgaining an apprenticeship. He said:’It has been an inspirational day in thecorporate world.’

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Reaching for the Sky

Year 10 student Emily Ashwellwrites about the Rotary Chef cooking event

On Wednesday January 22nd, I was oneof two students (the other beingGeorge Cadogan-Watts) representingHeathcote at the Rotary Young Chefcompetition at Redbridge College. Thiswas the Area Final.

Upon arrival, we had to sort out ourequipment and listen to a talk about therules. Then we were shown to our‘stations’ and given a set amount of timeto sort out our ingredients and makethe necessary preparations. Having met the judges, we were finally ready to cook.

One rule was that the ingredients mustnot cost more than £7. For my maindish, I cooked a chicken and spinachtart with roasted vine tomatoes and a

super food salad with oil and balsamicvinegar dressing. A potential difficultywas that we were using industrialcookers so the ovens and hobs wereunusually powerful.

One of the scariest parts was when werealised that the judges were watchingus on television screens outside thekitchens. They then appeared frombehind the scenes and interviewed uswhile we continued to cook.

I was very pleased to be awarded thirdplace overall. For this, I received twocertificates, a cook book, a set ofprofessional scales, a work experiencecourse at an Indian restaurant and aone-day visit to Redbridge College. I was also asked to do a cooking courseover half term.

Well done to both Emily and George!

A Taste of Success

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Heathcote Alumni

PHARELLASinger-songwriter Pharella studied at the famous BRITSchool for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon –but prior to that she was a student at Heathcote, leavingafter gaining success in her GCSEs in 2011.

Formerly known as Raphaella Aristocleous, Pharella alwaysdreamed of a musical career and, at school, wasdetermined to take the opportunities school afforded her,prioritising events such as school concerts and after-schoolmusic activities even above the natural desire to hangaround with her friends. She says: ‘I even used to sing inother lessons – although I wouldn’t advise this!’

Pharella spent two years at the Brit School – whose ownfamous ‘alumni’ include Leona Lewis, Jessie J and Adele.Pharella describes her experience there as ‘amazing’.During her time there, she gained a number of contacts andperforming opportunities. One of her favourites was thechance to sing at the Crystal Palace Football Charity Ball.

After the BRIT School, Pharella worked with musicindustry professionals ‘to start building a music portfolio’,creating music videos to accompany her songs. She touredschools around the UK, to build a ‘fan base’ and was askedto perform at The Chinese International Shopping Festivalin Guangzhou. On her return, she entered a competition at

Kiss FM, winning thechance to appear at oneof their events. She saysshe has enjoyed travellingto places she would neverhave dreamed of visiting.

For Pharella, her mostmemorable moment sofar was winning the ‘Be aStar’ competition atCapital Radio, which ledto her standing in front of 32,000 people over two nights atthe O2 stadium. She says: ’I love performing in front ofbig crowds!’

So what advice would she give to people hoping to followa career in the music business? First and foremost, shethinks it is necessary to build up your skills. ‘I havealways made sure I got the best training’, she says.However, going to established music schools is not theonly way. Pharella started up her own YouTube channel,encouraged her friends to share videos, thus creating a‘buzz’ around her name. She says using social media isimportant. ‘It’s not like the 1980s where you could rock upto a music label, drop off your CD and get signed up.’

Pharella also says that, at school, it is important that youtry to work hard in all your subjects, not just the ones inwhich you wish to specialise. She says she ‘didn’t find ithard to juggle school and music’, because she managedher time well. Having said that, she believes it isimportant to pursue your dream. She feels that buildingup a Plan B might mean that you do not really commit toPlan A – the one you actually want to happen.

You can follow Pharella’s progress at:

www.soundcloud.com/pharellaofficialwww.twitter.com/pharellamusic

www.instagram.com/pharellaofficial andwww.pharellaofficial.com.

We like to hear about ex-students who are doing something interesting or gainingsuccess. This issue features Pharella who is pursuing a career in music.

Is someone you know achieving success – in anyfield – since leaving the school? Or maybe you aredoing something interesting yourself? Please let usknow so we can use the experiences of previousstudents to inspire those still at Heathcote.

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UKMT Maths ChallengeOn Thursday 5th February, 90 Heathcotestudents took part in the UKMT MathsChallenge. United Kingdom Mathematics Trust is a registeredcharity whose aim is to advance the education ofchildren and young people in mathematics. This eventis aimed at Year 11 students and below. UKMT wasestablished in 1996 and last academic year over600,000 pupils took part in the three individualchallenges.

The event involves answering 25 multiple choicequestions in one hour and is sat in school undernormal exam conditions. The questions testreasoning and logic, and are designed to make pupilsthink without being overly technical. The questionsare set so that all participating pupils should be able todo the first 15 of them, while the remaining 10 aremore difficult. The top 40% of students nationally receive a gold,silver or bronze certificate. Around 500 of the highestscorers in each school year are invited to take part inthe Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad papers. 120 Year 7 and year 8 students will be taking theJunior UKMT challenge in April. Session organiserMs Jamieson commented: "The challenges boostconfidence in maths skills and make the subjectmore fun”.

Jack Petchey WinnersHere are this term’s Jack Petchey Achievement Award successes

January: Jordana Gowan 12.1

The outstanding achievement award for the month of

January goes to Jordana Gowan, nominated by Mrs

Gabriel. This is what she had to say: ‘Jordana hassupported both Learning to Learn and Food lessons. In

LtoL lessons, Jordana has helped less able students

overcome difficulties in both numeracy and literacy. In

Food lessons, every week, Jordana has supported a year

7 class since October. With no technician in the lesson,

Jordana has adopted a real hands-on approach, going

well beyond the call of duty – preparing food, supporting

students and clearing away at the end of the lesson.’

October: Rachel Lott 7.2The outstanding achiever for the month of Februarygoes to Rachel Lott; nominated by Pippa Davies of 7.2and supported by a group of students. This is whatPippa had to say: ‘Rachel is a kind person and alwaysputs others before herself. I can see that she always worksher hardest in lessons and always contributes as well.She is an amazing, friendly person and deserves to begiven a Jack Petchey award’.

Successful students receive a certificate and a badge inassembly time. Well done to Rachel and Jordana!

Building for Success at UELYear 12 Product Design students recently visited theUniversity of East London where they were given theopportunity to see what life would be like studying aDT-related course, as well as participating in apractical workshop.

The students listened carefully to the course information andput a lot of effort into completing the activity, working insmall teams to build a structure that could hold their weightusing compliant materials.We hope that thisexperience was enjoyed byall who attended and feelconfident that our studentswould be able to thrive in anenvironment such as this intheir future education.Charlie Truscott and SirajChoudhry were the winnersof the practical challengewith a functional andsustainable design solution!

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Year 8 student Michael Stanway, one of the two winners of the ‘Pi Challenge’ , tells us how he did it, plus afew facts about Pi.

My Maths teacher, Mrs Cook, set us the monumental task of learning as many Pi digits as I could fit into my brain. (I triedto use the smallest font possible!) Instead of learning just enough to say I had done my homework, I decided to treat it as acompetition. So that is why I decided on a target of fifty.

Pi, represented by the symbol π is used to work out the areas and circumferences of circles and spheres. It has an infinitenumber of digits and never settles into any kind of recurring pattern. This has made it a popular choice for memorychallenges. The world record was set by Choa Lu, in China, who memorised 67,890 digits – just a few more than my fifty!

When trying to memorise my ‘piece of Pi’, I found that making each set of five digits into a tune aided the process. So, inthe end, even when I wasn’t learning it, I was singing the digits quietly, earning a few weird looks from the people around me. Sometimes that repetitive tune rattled round my head all night long, and in the morning, my head would sink into my cereal bowl through sheer exhaustion.

I suppose I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t come first. I really thought fifty digits would be enough – but, in the end, this assumption proved to be mydownfall! At least I got a title: one of the two Heathcote Pi Champions.

If you want to match Michael’s feat of memory, the number he remembered is

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510.

‘Pi Day’ is on March 14 each year. (3/14 – you see what they did there?) However, you can learn it anytime.

Pi Challenge

No, the title is not a misprint about a cooking competition. This is the‘Pi’ you would find in a Maths classroom.

Maths teacher Marian Cook likes to stretch her top set year 8 students andregularly sets them extra tasks designed to keep their brains active. Whendiscussing ‘Pi’ with her class, she informed them that a boy in China hadremembered Pi to the 500th decimal place. She asked the class how far each ofthem could go.

Now, if, like me, you have trouble remembering 11-digit telephone numbers, thistask would seem positively Herculean. Nevertheless, two of her young studentsmet the challenge spectacularly well. Michael Stanway remembered up to the50th decimal place and Moriah Sanusi did even better, staggeringly being able torecall the number to the 82nd decimal place! (Mrs Cook herself confesses sheonly knows it up to four.)

One of the winners tells us more ....

Helping HandThe Deaf Support department was celebrating theachievement of two of the deaf students who becameJack Petchey achievers recently. Selena Pinnock(11.4) received the award for her commitment tosupporting younger deaf pupils and for service to theschool community. You can see Selena teachingBritish Sign Language (BSL) at the popular year 7lunchtime club. This club is open to any Year 7s, sothey are invited to come along to Room 207 at 1.45on Thursday lunchtimes. Rebekah Lemonius (8.1)received her award at her local swimming group.

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Design in DramaThe drama department arranged a February trip to the Victoria andAlbert Museum in Kensington. The visit aimed to give students a moredetailed view of the range of design concepts and approaches they canadopt for set, costume, make up and mask. It links in with the final unit ofthe Drama G.C.S.E. course where students can opt to perform, write ascript or design. The drama group are taken through a period ofexploration from all three perspectives, before they make a final decisionabout their specific focus.

The V&A trip was successful in helping the students develop a moredetailed approach to their design work, as well as an understanding ofthe range of materials they can incorporate into their creative work.

Below, Year 11 student Beth Loader gives her view of the trip

On Monday I attended a school trip to the V&A museum, to look at somedesign ideas for my final GCSE piece. Whilst at the museum, we got tolook at the costume and mask section, which really helped me think aboutwhat I actually wanted to do for my final piece and how I could improve theidea I already had. When I was there I had to draw up a few design ideaswhich really helped me to actually produce something and then see what itwould look like instead of it just being in my imagination. As I may want tobe a make-up artist in the future, it was a very useful event, and thesedesigns ideas could really help me get into a college of my choice.

Joyeux Noël It may be a bit late to celebrate Christmas, but it is never too late tocelebrate student enthusiasm. Here, MFL teacher Miss Shewell tellsus about an activity that inspired her pupils.

Over the Christmas period, our Year 7s were as busy as Santa’s elves,designing and writing Christmas cards to exchange with their new Frenchpen-pals overseas, complete with personal messages in French telling theirnew acquaintances about themselves and their typical English Christmastraditions.

We were delighted to see that the students showed such excitement and enthusiasm for Languages, putting their new French skills, acquired inthe classroom, into real-life scenarios to communicate with others abroad.

We are now excited to see what the future will bring for both Heathcote pupils and their French counterparts, as we moveforward in our partnership and start our next project.

A belated Bonné Année à tous!

Here is what some of the children had to say:

Keren-Grace Adjei (7.2)

I really enjoyed making a Christmas card for my

pen-pal in France because I learnt more about their

culture. Also, I was very excited to receive a small

note back from my pen-pal. The activity was very

exciting and I learnt a lot of new words in French.

Oliver Ashwell (7.2) Everyone made very detailed cards with things onthem. On mine, I put a snowman, snowflakes fallingand a pure white carpet of snow. Inside, everybodywrote about Christmas traditions in our country, likeopening stockings and eating Christmas dinner.

Jinisha Patel (7.2)

I really enjoyed making the Christmas cards

and I learnt what the Christmas traditions are

in France. I enjoy French a lot because I learn

a lot of new words and phrases.

Jack Ashwell (7.1) I really loved the Christmas card topic because wegot to learn about the Christmas traditions ofpeople in our class, wrote a French letter to ourpen-pals and also had lots and lots of fun!

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What might Boris Johnson, Bill Gates and SnoopDogg all agree on? Year 8 student CHLOEEDWARDS tells us the answer.

Just before the end of last term, students at HeathcoteSchool participated in a global event called ‘The Hour ofCode’. This is a one-hour introduction to computer science,designed to demystify code and show that anybody canlearn the basics. The grassroots campaign goal was forparticipants to try an ‘hour of code’ during December 8-14,2014, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week.

ICT & Computer Science students at Heathcote, likemillions across the globe, have gone crazy so that they cancomplete the “hour of code”. Even celebrities have takentime out of their busy lives to either send a message/broadcast to attract people or have tried it themselves.President Obama sent a speech out to the world,encouraging people to take part.

The event has inspired me to try Computer Science(coding) as a GCSE. It is a good thing to know for laterlife, as it helps with logical thinking, but is also fun at thesame time. You can create amazing games or even tryones created by other people.

Why not experience the hour of code for yourself and seewhat all the fuss is about? Head over tohttp://www.code.org/ and give it a try!

The Hour of Code

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC5FbmsH4fw

http://www.code.org/ http://csedweek.org/

Science teacher Mr Sean Bailey tells us about astimulating trip with a group of sixth formers.

On Monday 9th March, a group of 35 student studyingAS or A2 Biology visited the Natural History Museumfor an A Level Biology Day. The visit was a perfectopportunity for students to meet and talk to some of thescientists who work behind the scenes at the museum,and to find out more about what they do. Throughoutthe day, students participated in a variety of activitiesincluding:

• a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the SpiritCollection and its 22 million specimens, not normallyopen to the public.

• a talk by a researcher in the Department of EarthSciences, Zerina Johanson, about her research intofossil fish teeth, and more recently into herdiscoveries on the evolution of internal or externalfertilisation in fish.

• a visit to the Wildlife Photographer of the Yearexhibition.

• a walk through other galleries, including Mammalsand the Cocoon.

The students had a great day, and proved to be excellentambassadors for the school in both their conduct andmaturity. I was impressed with how they engaged withthe speakers and other scientists, and how they relatedthe work in Biology A level to what they experienced atthe museum.

Year 7 Football Milly Leveridge, Chanel Munroe, Jazmine Lacrette, Sian Lakes and Paige Bryant took partin a Premier League schools’ tournament at West Ham this half term. The competition wasfor year 8s but our year 7 girls were fantastic! They played the ball around beautifully andwon 3-1. The referees were excited to watch them play and said they had a very brightfuture! We will ‘spur’ them on for their next tournament at Tottenham in March!

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Sports News

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Cross-CountryOn Wednesday 25th FebruaryHeathcote entered our firstcontingent of year 7 and year 8runners into the Essex CrossCountry Championships held at Stubbers Activity Centre inUpminster, Essex. We had some impressive performances and all the runners enjoyed the chance to run against the best in thecounty. In the Year 7 boys’ event, Mason McCorkell came 27th inhis first competitive race - an excellent result from our new teammember. The students in attendance were Kiernan Hodge, AsaphLomena, Mason McCorkell, Joseph Orafu, Renee Davis, PaigeBryant, Milly Leveridge, Ellie Weston, Ellis Benson, MalachiHercules and Albert Purssord.

Tag Rugby On 4th February, a group of year 11/12 rugbyplayers assisted in a Tag Rugby event for localprimary school children. This was a great success,partly due to the enormous help given by ourpupils with scoring and officiating. The boys allbehaved impeccably and showed leadershipqualities throughout. They were integral inensuring that theyoung players werekept busy andoccupied on a freezingwinter’s day. All werethanked by theprimary teachers andchildren inattendance.

Badminton Borough Competition A selection of year 7 - Year 11 students were chosen to takepart in their first badminton tournament, competing againstschools within the borough. Students were involved in bothindividual and double matches in U14 and U16 categories.All students played extremely well, considering badminton isnot their chosen sport for the majority of the students. Pupils learnt and applied the most current rules and keytactics in their game play and were a credit to Heathcote. The girls’ U14 team performed commendably, achieving awell-deserved 2nd place. Well done to all students who tookpart. A particular mention needs to be made to Lucy Dawsonwho wowed staff and students, competing against students inyear 9, and being scouted for her effort and talent. Similarly,a mention needs to be made for Drew Acton who played forthe U16 team and held his own brilliantly, also gaining theattention of the scouts.

Five-a-side Football On Wednesday 11th February, Heathcote entered theWest Ham regional five-a-side football competition atChobham Academy in Stratford City. The boys’ teams from Years 7 and 9both reached the final in theirrespective competitions. This meansthat they are now invited to play inthe further stages of the tournamentat Upton Park - the home of WestHam football club. In the Year 9 final,our boys won the match, beating St.Bonaventures 1-0. Cory Ugbomahscored the winner to secure theresult, but it was a huge team effort.The other team members were SamWells, Nathaniel Orafu, JessiahHercules, Gabriel Dyer, SeanO'Regan, Sam May-Parrott andBayley Clark.

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PE Extra-Curricular Activities

Basketball Years 7, 8 & 9 (Gym)

Table Tennis Year 11 (Main Hall)

Football Year 7 (Tennis Courts)

Indoor Athletics (All Staff)

Staff MeetingsIndoor Athletics (All Staff)

Staff Meetings

Basketball Years 7, 8 & 9 (Gym)Table Tennis Year 11 (Main Hall)Football Year 7 (Tennis Courts)

GIRLS Lunch Time BOYS

GIRLS After School BOYSMonday

Basketball Years 10 & 11 (Gym)


Fitness Club All Years (Miss Armitage)

Football Fixtures Years 7 & 8(Miss Mehan)

A Level Revision (Mr Hutchins)

A Level Revision (Mr Hutchins)

Football Fixtures Year 7 (Mr Seymour)

Football Fixtures Year 9 (Mr Prince/Mr Monksfield)

Basketball Years 10 & 11 (Gym)Football Year 8 (Tennis Courts)


GIRLS After School BOYS

Tuesday




Football Fixtures Year 11 (Mr Seymour)

Football Fixtures 6th Form (Mr Hutchins)

Mixed Basketball (Mr Prince)




Wednesday



Girls Football Training All Years(Miss Meehan)

Football Fixtures Year 8 (Mr Prince)

Football Fixtures Year 10 (Mr Chambers)





Thursday




Trampolining Club All Years(Mr Chambers & Miss Meehan)

GCSE Revision(Mr Hutchins, Mr Seymour & Miss Gogar)

Trampolining Club All Years(Mr Chambers & Miss Meehan)

GCSE Revision(Mr Hutchins, Mr Seymour & Miss Gogar)



GIRLS After School BOYSFriday

Girls Netball Training (Miss Lewis)

Mixed Basketball (Mr Prince)

Year 11 BasketballOn 10 February, the Year 11 Basketball team wonthe Division 2 Waltham Forest League by anemphatic margin. The final play-off match was heldat Leytonstone School at 4pm. The boys beat HolyFamily College 51-29, thus ensuring a 100% winrecord for the season. Maxwell Samuda won theMVP award for the game but any one of Heathcote'splayers could have been the recipient. We havebenefited from the addition of two outstanding Year10 players, Michael Puliti and James Lee Hull, whohave made significant contributions throughout theseason. The team consisted of Oliver Tyzack, RobbieBourgaize, Jack Sullivan, Charlie Lawrence, KyleGilchrist, Daniel Fearon, Shamas Ali, MaxwellSamuda, Tyler Kirby, Ricky Brown, James Lee Hulland Michele Puliti.

Deaf Sports Day On Dec 11th, three deaf Year 7 pupils (Fawad Ali, Shania Bryan and AnayaShahzad) took part in a deaf sports day at Barking Sports Centre. The event wasattended by approximately one hundred deaf and disabled young people from allover East London. Over the day, they competed in a range of sporting events,including athletics, wheelchair basketball, fencing, indoor curling and indoor bowls.The team finished as overall winners and they were presented with a silvertrophy by the Mayor of Barking. The pupils said they really enjoyed everythingabout the day: the different events, meeting old and new deaf friends - and beingout of school!

www.heathcoteschool.comThe aim of Heathcote School &Science College is to provide anexcellent education in a safe,supportive learning environment,where people are valued and makepositive contributions to the schoolcommunity and where students goon to become responsible,independent members of society.

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Heathcote School and Science College, Normanton Park, Chingford, E4 6ES. Tel: 020 8498 5110

Designer of the YearDuring the last academic year, the Designand Technology Department have given anaward to the ‘Designer of the Month’ in eachof the four DT disciplines in the rotation:Resistant Materials, Electronics, Textiles andFood Technology. Students are given thisaward based on a wide range of factors, fromthe work they have produced to theimprovement in effort they may have made.

At the end of the year, the department chosea male and female ‘Designer of the Year’,using a voting system to which each teacherin the department contributed. The finaljudgement was that Katie Marsden and DrewActon were our best designers last year,completing five projects with portfolios thataccurately showed their design developmenttowards a working practical outcome.

They have each received a prize andcertificate for their effort and abilitythroughout the last school year and we wouldlike to congratulate and thank both designersregarding their contribution to our lessons.

Remembering Aneesha It is just over one year since the tragicloss of Aneesha Fazarally, aged just 14.Heathcote marked the anniversary with a short ceremony exactly one year to the day after her sad death in Reading. Aneesha has been described as ‘theperson who lit up the room with her smile’, and the event tried to reflect this. Aneesha’s mother andfather attended a special assembly for Year 11, initiated by herfriends, which gave us the chance to reflect on her life bothindividually and collectively.Deputy Head Mr Bookatz highlighted the way students hadsupported one another and her family through that sad time lastyear and he read a poem which asked us to focus on happymemories of Aneesha. Fifteen of her friends were then invited to each collect a purpleballoon from the front, (purple being Aneesha’s favourite colourand fifteen being the age she should have been). Her parents weregiven a white balloon. Over a hundred students then went outsidefor the ceremony. Emma and Judith read another poem,‘Remember Me’, before the balloons were released into the air.The event reminded us that Aneesha was known for her positivity,her zest and her enjoyment of life. She will continue to be ineveryone’s thoughts.

heathcote news...heathcote school a leading edge school issue no. 44, spring 2015 heathcote news 1h...

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