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Robert Barclay Academy, Hoddesdon, Herts, EN11 8JY. Tel: 01992 410 800 Fax: 01992 410 801 Email: admin@robertbarclayacademy.co.uk @RBAcad

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Issue 25 Friday, 21st April 2017

School Timetable

Week Commencing :

Monday, 24th April

WEEK 2

22nd/23rd April

Duke of Edinburgh—Practice 1 : Introduction to Camp Craft

24th April 6.00pm Year 11 Parents Information Evening (Hall)

25th April 9.00-1.20pm Year 11 Science Pre G’s

26th April 9.00-1.20pm Year 11 Science Pre G’s

27th April 30 Year 11 students to Maths Pixl High Five Conference Trip

1st May Bank Holiday

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SPORTING FIXTURES

25th April Year 10 Boys’ 6 a side Tournament

Editor: Emma Jones

Robert Barclay Academy ReviewEducation for a changing world

Dear all, I hope that you all had a good Easter holiday and enjoyed the fantastic weather; long may it continue. Over the Easter break, the school was busy as normal. We had various revision sessions and coursework catch up sessions for Year 11 and Sixth Form students. We also had students out on trips. For example, we had several Sixth Formers on the World Expedition trip to the Himalayas and in addition to this we had a number of students out on the Sports Tour to Spain. I would like to thank all those staff who gave up their time over the Easter holiday to support our students. Over the two week break, the school made massive improvements to its ICT infrastructure. With support from the Sir John Lawes Trust, we were able to purchase 116 brand new PCs. This has meant that every PC suite has been upgraded with a new and faster machine. Besides this, we have also upgraded the layout of one of the ICT suites so that it is more conducive to learning. Hopefully, the students who have used the new computers this week have noticed the difference and have fed this back to you!

On the subject of improvements to our Premises, we received further excellent news over Easter. We have been told that we have been awarded £1 million by the DfE to complete the renovation of all the school’s windows and roofs! As parents will know, the Local Authority last summer helped to fund some of the renovation work (£1.5 million), however, some of the buildings and classrooms still retain the original windows and roofs. This means they are susceptible to leaks and drafts. The work on replacing these is likely to start over the summer holiday so disruption to lessons and exams will be minimised.

We now firmly move into the GCSE exam season and indeed this week the Year 11 students sat their GCSE Art and Photography exam. With all the new exams and with so much to understand and get to grips with, we have arranged for a short parental information evening on Monday, 24th April at 6.00pm for all parents of current Year 11 students.

Finally, as part of a Trust, we have set our calendar dates in line with the other Secondary Schools. Below is a link to our website which shows the calendar dates for next year. This is important for those parents who are looking to book holidays and so you can avoid the term dates.

https://robertbarclayacademy.co.uk/information/term-dates

Have a good weekend and good luck to any of those parents running in the London

Marathon.

“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.”

(Unknown)

Ced de la Croix Headteacher

Sixth Formers with Mr Martin and other members on the Hoddesdon to the Himalayas Trip

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Year 7 Georgia Baker Music Tia-Dee Bhadesia Music Mia Blunden Music Esther Clark Music Andreas Constantin Music Ricardo Damoc Music Rhys Davies Music Samuel Donelan Music & RBA Service Katie Donnarumma RBA Service Bethany Duer Music AJ Eaton-Carlisle Music Archie Eccleston Music Daisy Fearn Music Charley Fox Music Mollie Green Music Lilly Griffin Music Tilly Gumble Music Franki Horncastle Music James Hynes Music Daniel Jamela Music Sophie Keys Music Sophie Morgan Music Ruby Oliver Music Sarah Parrott Music Kellan Rawlins Music Teddi Rolfe Music Daisie Ruddle Music Summer Steel Music Ryan Such Music Owen Thatcher Music Nil Turkmen Music & RBA Service Frankie Wade Music Harley White Music Emily Wooden Music Year 8 Ria Arnold Music Matthew Beer Music Hassen Boulemia RBA Service Ruby Brown Music Jake Deaton Music Kye Dixon Music Lucas Ferrandes Music Ella Forster Music Zoe Goodey Music Tobey Gower Music Connor Green Music Samuel Hagger Music Lorena Hagland-Smith Music Alexander Hill Form Tutor Katherine Hindlaugh Music Frankie Irving Music Jemma Johnson Music

Libby Mardell-Lines Music Harvey Okuwa Form Tutor Abbie Ottley Music Andrew Parkinson Music James Pink Science Emily Pykett Music Aston Steel Music Mia Taylor Music Frankie Thorp Music Shorty Warren Music Harriet Waterlow Music Alfie Webb Music Jake Whitaker Music Year 9 Ben Warby English Year 10 Justin Ball-Greenwood RBA Service Flynn Conyard Geography Ellie Dines RBA Service Kasey Groves RBA Service Andrei Lungu RBA Service Henry McCanna RBA Service Lilli Reid Geography Freddie Smith Geography Michael Wan Geography Year 12 Tom Culley RBA Service Adam El-Shafi RBA Service Paloma Mairone RBA Service Jennifer Painter RBA Service Year 13 Nancy Meadwell RBA Service

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GCSE RE Easter School ran over the Easter Holidays and had excellent attendance for GCSE RE revision. The session covered a whistle stop tour through both exams incorporating a variety of practical revision strategies. I am glad that Year 10 really appreciated the session and with the exam only 4 weeks away it was excellent preparation.

Mark Stuttle Head of Religious Education and Citizenship

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Open Day at Broxbourne Tennis Club

Saturday 29th April 10am – Free coaching for children and adults – all ages and standards welcome 2pm – Opening of grass courts – join us for an afternoon of social doubles Come and see our plans for the exciting new developments at the club Free entry – all equipment provided. Sign up on the day for discounted membership and a free racket. Broxbourne Sports Club, Mill Lane Close, Broxbourne EN10 7BA For further information visit www.broxbournesportsclub/tennis

What’s New? New ‘Tom Gates’ book will be released next month! In the next hilarious illustrated instalment of Tom Gates, Mr Fullerman has a class assignment: a family tree! Tom's ready to learn all about the Gates family, his friends and a furry creature (or two!). But just what is that squeaking sound coming from Tom's shoes?

RBA library loves Tom Gates and his adventures, keep an eye open for the arrival of the new book in May!

David Walliams new book ‘The World’s Worst Children 2’ is also out in May. This gorgeous hardback collection of ten stories from the master himself, David Walliams, will make you snort with laughter and thank your lucky stars that you don’t know anyone like Gruesome Griselda or Fussy Frankie in real life.

With 14.1 million sales around the globe, David Walliams is now a very big player in the world of children’s writers and a favourite of RBA Library!

Don’t forget to keep reading and continue to

complete your Readathon booklet to

be sponsored for such a worthwhile charity.

Prizes to be awarded in June after you

have given in your sponsorship money with your

booklet!

Deborah Wallace-Martin Library Manager

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The Hoddesdon 2 Himalayas project changed nine students lives forever. Five students from RBA and four students from The John Warner School travelled to Nepal with the Hoddesdon Rotary Club to complete community projects and trek to Everest Base Camp. We were all challenged more than we ever thought possible and had some very emotional experiences volunteering and donating to a school and orphanage in Kathmandu. Each and every student motivated each other to reach base camp and all benefitted from a real sense of achievement once we got there. From sleeping in teahouses to the opening of presents at the orphanage we were all so honoured to have been a part of this project and will continue to support the great things we can do for the community and the work of the Hoddesdon Rotary Club. We would also like to thank all those who donated to us to make the project become a reality, to both schools for offering the opportunity and to all of our friends and family who have supported us throughout this journey. THANK YOU!

Tom Culley - Year 12 RBA Junior Leadership Team Representative

Chairman -Broxbourne Youth Council

Some photos taken from the amazing Hoddesdon 2 Himalayas trip

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Exam Invigilators

Required as soon as possible Rate of Pay - £7.50 per hour We are currently expanding our team of invigilators to assist with the smooth running and security of examinations. We have opportunities for responsible and reliable people with excellent communication and organisational skills to work for either whole or

part day sessions as and when required. You will be required to be punctual, have a flexible attitude to work and possess good communication skills. Duties to include laying out stationery, observation, checking attendance, collecting scripts and liaising with candidates and examinations staff to resolve queries. Previous experience of similar duties would be an advantage, but is not essential as training will be given. You may be asked to act as a reader or a scribe, for which extra training will be provided. Morning exams require 8:15-8:30 am start times, and afternoon sessions start from 1pm to set up the exam room and can last until 4:30pm or later depending on the length of the exams. You would be joining an existing team of friendly, approachable invigilators who you will shadow at first as part of your training. Parents of students in Years 7-10 are particularly welcome to apply, but the opportunities for parents of students taking external exams are limited as it is our policy that parents do not invigilate their own child’s exams. For further information and details of how to apply, please contact our exams officer, Ms Janet Broadhurst – janet.broadhurst@robertbarclayacademy.co.uk