HEADTEACHER’S UPDATE

UKMT Maths Challenge P.2 Karting Club P.3

Mrs Humphreys—Team GB P.4 Sporting News P.5-8

BBC Ten Pieces Workshop P.8 Airbus Visit P.9

Movie Night P.10 Sixth Form News P.11

Upcoming Events P.12

this issue

The Thomas Alleyne Academy Issue 17 — July 14th 2017

Welcome to the last edition of our newsletter for the 2016-17 academic year. We have another packed edition full of fantastic student achievements. I have had the pleasure last week of meeting our highly successful maths challenge and Olympiad students to congratulate them on their achievements. I have also met with our Movie Makers Club to celebrate their excellent film night this week. Over the next two weeks students will be given many amazing opportunities thanks to the hard work and commitment of staff at the academy. We have two UK and one overseas residential visits taking place, numerous visitors to the academy, a work-shadowing day for Year 8, and day trips to Thorpe Park and Chessington.

This week our PE department were recognised at the Stevenage Sporting Futures Awards. I was incredibly proud to host this event at Thomas Alleyne and to see Mr Visser collecting the award for ‘Best Secondary School.’ Ms Wellings also received a trophy for ‘Sports Co-ordinator of the Year’ A number of staff and students also received highly commended certificates in a range of categories – you can read more inside the newsletter. We are delighted to welcome Roebuck Academy as the newest member of Hart Schools Trust. We are looking forward to developing the partnership between Thomas Alleyne’s and Roebuck over the coming years. Our approach to curriculum planning and assessment will be significantly enhanced as a result of the close working relationship we will have with primary colleagues at Roebuck. As we reach the end of the academic year we would like to say thank you and give our best wishes to the following colleagues: - Caroline Tyrwhitt, Karen Benoy, Simon Seruwo, Emma Pearce, Adam Kinney, Ricardo Vidal, Charlie Palmer, Tom Liversidge and Rebecca Hyde. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support this year, wish you a happy and healthy summer break, and look forward to continuing to work with you all next year. Mark Lewis—Headteacher

The UKMT Individual Maths Challenges are lively,

intriguing multiple choice question papers, which are

designed to stimulate interest in maths in large

numbers of pupils. The three levels cover the secondary

school range 11-18 and together they attract over

600,000 entries from over 4,000 schools and colleges.

Ten of our Year 7 and 8 students were entered this year

for the Junior Competition and the results are

impressive! The Junior Challenge is entered by the top

250,000 students in the UK and seven out of ten of our

students achieved a certificate, proving they are the top

of the top. A group of Year 9 and 10 students also

entered the Intermediate Challenge which is more

challenging.

Sam Grayson (Y8) and Vishnu Sureshbabu (Y8) achieved

a bronze certificate, putting them in the top 40% of the

top 250,000. Abigail Reed (Y7), Olivia Long (Y7),

Stephanie Birmingham (Y9), Kailani Wilson (Y9) and

Abbie Ellett (Y8) all achieved a silver medal putting

them in the top 20% of the top 250,000. John Madgin

(Y8) and Jago Foord (Y8) both achieved a gold

certificate, meaning they were in the top 6% of the top

250,000 mathematicians in the country. This is a really

impressive achievement.

UKMT Maths Challenge However, John and Jago didn’t stop there with their phenomenal

maths skills, they were actually in the top 3% and so qualified to

enter the next stage of the competition. John qualified for the

Maths Kangaroo in which he achieved a merit, meaning he

scored in the top group of this elite band of mathematicians. Jago

went even further and got a place in the top challenge, the

Mathematical Olympiad. He then succeeded in being awarded a

distinction, meaning he is in the top 25% of the top 3% of the

country’s top mathematicians. An incredible feat!

We are hoping to be able to sign up to the UKMT’s mentoring

programme to further advance the skills of this elite band of

mathematicians.

Well done all, we are phenomenally proud of what you’ve

achieved.

Mrs Wilcock

Maths

Teacher

Woolenwick Arts Day

On Wednesday the 28th June we held an arts day at Woolenwick

Primary School . We all had an amazing time and the Year 6

students produced two large pieces of artwork that they have

displayed in their hall, based on the artist Gustav Klimt’s painting

‘The Abstract Garden’. The students all produced artwork that was

put together as one giant painting as their interpretation of the

artist’s work. Several children commented that they wished they

could do art all day.

Two of our Year 10 students, Clara Scholes and Deena Day, worked

with the students to help them create their art. They came back

into school the next day tired but happy with the work they had

done to help the Year 6 students.

Karting Club Success

30th June, 1st & 2nd July 2017, Thomas Alleyne

Academy Kart Team attended the National Schools

Karting Association’s end of season National

Championship race meeting and Sprint meeting. The

Nationals, as it is referred to, is round 12 of the

championship and is the final round of the season.

The drivers that came to the meeting were Reese

Miller, who races Class 12 (senior Honda), and

Georgia Haslam, who races in Class 15 (Rotax).

Georgia is a remote team member that lives in

Leicestershire; she had a good weekend making nice

progress throughout.

Reese Miller’s weekend started off a difficult one. On

the Friday test day, with his front tyres delaminating

in the first session, his kart was not handling as it

normally would, leaving his mechanic, who is one of

the team leaders, a little baffled, spending the rest of

the day changing gearing and trying different set ups.

At the end of Friday Reese was over half a second per

lap off the pace. That evening Reese took his

mechanic on a track walk to discuss racing lines and

possible overtaking scenarios. It was then realised

that their shoes were sticking to the track, which

meant that there was a massive amount of grip and in

turn meant that Reese’s kart had too much grip.

Overnight a plan was formulated of how to attack

Saturday and Sunday’s races.

Saturday, day one of the racing, Reese’s grid positions

were 4th, 5th and 7th. In all three races Reese battled

hard with other drivers and won all three, but in heat

two he received a five place penalty for gaining an

unfair advantage. This was argued with the meeting

officials as it was claimed that Reese had either driven

off the circuit or forced another kart out of the way to

gain an advantage. This was something that was

debated for some time and we were not happy with

the penalty but you have to take the rough with the

smooth and focus on the next race, which he did

coming through from seventh to win. The handle

issues of the previous day were sorted and Reese was spot

on the pace. That evening it was noticed his kart chassis was

damaged, the front left corner being bent upwards by some

5mm. After some adjustment using a set of lasers and a long

bar the kart was ready for Sunday.

Sunday, day two of the racing, saw Reese’s grid positions

being 4th, 1st (pole position) and 3rd. To be honest there is not

much to say about Sunday other than what we saw was

Reese giving a master class in driving, so smooth and

controlled, winning all three races in the process. Reese’s

Mum who was at home watching the last race via FaceTime,

saw Reese cross the line as Class 12 National Champion and

the Sprint meeting winner.

Reese, this season has won 11 out of 12 meetings, coming

second in the other. The team has driven over 4000 miles to

and from circuits from Wales to Rye House in Hoddesdon

and has been away from home for 12 weekends.

Also, Archie Crosier from Thomas Alleyne Academy who

races with an independent team TCR, came sixth overall in

Class 7 (TKM), a real good showing from Archie in what is

one of the biggest classes that Natska run.

Well done to all of our Thomas Alleyne Academy Kart Team

drivers. This season you have done yourselves and us proud,

keep up the good work and a final congratulations to Reese

Miller, Class 12 National Champion and Class 12 Sprint

Champion.

Mrs Humphrey goes to Canada!

On the 21st June Mrs Humphrey travelled to Vancouver, Canada, to participate in the Women's World Championship American Football. After months of preparation the GB team travelled to the town of Langley to compete for the first time, setting a path in history for British American Football. The first game was against European Championship rivals Finland, and after 2 years of hurt where the GB Lions came runners up, Finland were beaten by 27-21. Due to the result this meant that Team GB went on to play world seed #2 Canada, and despite playing possibly the best game they have ever played, they lost 35-0. The final game for the team was for Bronze medal against the fast and fearless Mexico, and again they could not contend, losing 8-19. Mrs Humphrey appeared in her 10th cap as a member of the GB Lions during the final game, and couldn't be more proud of the growth of the game and the team. She feels it an honour to wear her GB #12 jersey and represent her country again. The Sainsburys' School Games has now enrolled American Football in to it’s programme and with the success of national teams such as this, as well as the NFL games in London increasing popularity, the sport may

have finally dug its teeth in to the country. The GB Lions are now ranked 4th in the world and the best team outside of North America. Mrs Humphrey would like to thank the academy, staff and students for all their support during the training and tournament. They have helped during sponsorship events, allowed her to travel, and given endless words of encouragement and praise. The games can be viewed on demand via https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tfsetv/

More information about getting involved in British American Football can also be found at http://www.britishamericanfootball.org/

Photos by GW-photography

Sporting News

Stevenage Sport Awards

On the 3rd July 2017, The Thomas Alleyne Academy hosted the inaugural Stevenage Sporting Futures Team Sports Awards. These awards celebrate the success of the students, teachers, volunteers and sports teams within all the Stevenage Primary and Secondary Schools. The evening was run by the Stevenage Sporting Futures Team and attended by the Mayor of Stevenage as well as a number of Primary and Secondary schools. Alleynes won the following awards: Secondary School of the Year Sports Co-ordinator of the Year: Ms Wellings We also received highly commended certificates in the following categories: Sports Co-ordinator of the Year: Mr Visser, Mr Luchies and Miss Kwiatkowski Team of the Year: The Year 9/10 girls rugby team KS4 Sports Leader: Lottie Burtenshaw

Cricket

The Year 10 cricket boys finished undefeated at the of top of Division 1 after beating St Chris, Highfield, JHN and Nobel. This meant they qualified for the North Herts District final which they played on Thursday 29th June at Stevenage CC. The boys took on the league runners up St Chris in the final but sadly a batting collapse saw them slump to 55 all out. A determined innings of 16 not out by wicket keeper/ batsman Sid Vale provided the boys something to defend. Alleynes bowled and fielded exceptionally well and managed to slow the St Chris progress by taking 6 wickets. With 3 overs remaining in the innings though the St Chris batsmen managed to get over the line. The Year 8 cricket boys finished top of Division 1 in their league too after beating Highfield, HBS,

Nobel and Greneway as well as a friendly against Division 2 side Barclay. This meant they also qualified for the North Herts District final which they played on Tuesday 3rd July at Stevenage CC. Their fantastic run to the final included bowling HBS out for 15 runs and also Ethan Baker taking a record 6 wickets against Greneway. The boys took on the league runners up Greneway in the final but the innings got off to a rocky start when one of the Alleynes opening batsmen was dismissed off of the first ball of the game. His opening partner followed in the third over but Danny Hay (13 runs) and Freddie Brooke (18 runs) helped guide the team to 85 for 9 wickets off of the 20 overs. Alleynes then bowled well to restrict Greneway to 55 for 8 wickets in their 20 overs meaning Alleynes were crowned District Champs! Ethan Baker again took 3 wickets for only 1 run in 2 overs.

Fun Run

The Fun Run this year was an incredibly hot day but the PE department would like to say a big well done to the following students for coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their year group for their house (tables on page 7 and 8):

We also had 31 students join the Sub 30 club this year

by running the race in under 30 minutes. We had 6 girls

in the Sub 30 club last year but sadly none made it this

year. Well done to Chloe Gajic (Year 8) who was the

fastest girl and Charlie Grayson (Year 9) who was the

fastest boy and overall winner on the day!

Also a huge thank you to all the students who took the

time to find sponsors. The form that raised the most

money was form 7N11 and the house that raised the

most money was Newton.

Darwin Boys Year 7 Darwin Girls Year 7

HICKMAN, Jamie Y7D11 28.16 1ST NICOLAS-BILES, Molly Y7D11 42.00 1ST

SCHOLES, Luke Y7D11 29.20 2ND DAVEY, Jessica Y7D11 45.40

2ND

BETTLES, Mason Y7D11 29.40 3RD NOTT, Lucy Rose Y7D11 46.15

3RD

Darwin Boys Year 8 Darwin Girls Year 8

WRIGHT, Darnel Y8D9 29.11 1ST LUHMAN, Abbie Y8D7 35.21 1ST

HAMPSHIRE, Jack Y8D9 29.17 2ND CRAMER, Lily Y8D7 36.50

2ND

NIELI, Joseph Y8D9 29.20 3RD BAYNES, Harley-Anne Y8D9 41.14

3RD

Darwin Boys Year 9 Darwin Girls Year 9

WEEKES, Theo Y9D6 28.18 1ST WELLS, Hannah Y9D5 32.15 1ST

COWEN, Brandon Y9D5 28.52 2ND ADAMAH, Everina Y9D5 34.38

2ND

KNELL, Jonah Y9D5 28.55 3RD DOWNES, Louise Y9D5 50.43

3RD

Darwin Boys Year 10 Darwin Girls Year 10

WOODS, Tj Y10D4 28.41 1ST GODDEN, Amy Y10D3 36.32 1ST

BAKER, Paul Y10D3 29.23 2ND TAYLOR, Natasha Y10D3 36.42

2ND

WILSON Alexander Y10D4 30.09 3RD ADU, Victoria Y10D3 38.56

3RD

Newton Boys Year 7 Newton Girls Year 7

MORRIS, Luke Y7N10 29.30 1ST FINLAYSON, Jessica 7N10 34.32 1ST

HEAPS, Alfie Y7N11 32.00 2ND YENDELL, Erin 7N11 39.46

2ND

TRAILL, William Y7N11 43.18 3RD APPERLEY, Anna 7N10 43.09

3RD

Newton Boys Year 8 Newton Girls Year 8

HUMPHREYS, Adam Y8N8 29.09 1ST GAJIC, Chloe 8N8 30.11 1ST

CARTER, Kieran Y8N8 30.20 2ND MUTCH, Olivia 8N9 31.02

2ND

HALEY, Harry Y8N9 31.08 3RD SIMPSON, Jenny 8N9 31.20

3RD

Newton Boys Year 9 Newton Girls Year 9

JEFFRIES, Tom Y9N6 26.28 1ST CROSS, Courtney 9N7 34.50 1ST

MCAREE, Adam Y9N6 28.15 2ND TYLER, Sophie 9N6 51.33

2ND

CARDINES, Luca Y9N6 29.45 3RD MERCER, Ella 9N7 52.37

3RD

Newton Boys Year 10 Newton Girls Year 10

HUMPHREYS, Ryan Y10N4 26.40 1ST COOK, Danielle 10N5 31.33 1ST

HUDSON, Josh Y10N4 27.43 2ND YAMOAH, Grace 10N5 39.50

2ND

DUNFORD, Tom Y10N5 30.09 3RD BIBI, Rania 10N3 45.13

3RD

Sporting News Continued

Franklin Boys Year 7 Franklin Girls Year 7

ROXAS, Justin Y7F12 29.20 1ST SARANGETA, Alexis Y7F12 32.30 1ST

BROOKS, Freddie Y7F11 29.20 2ND BAUGHN, Evie Y7F12 40.32

2ND

GENTRY, Callum Y7F12 29.42 3RD MOROSCO, Maisie 7F12 45.52

3RD

Franklin Boys Year 8 Franklin Girls Year 8

VERSCHOYLE, James Y8F9 26.40 1ST BILLINGS, Annie Y8F9 34.24 1ST

ALDERTON, Travis Y8F8 26.51 2ND CANT, Eleanor Y8F9 34.30

2ND

GRAYSON, Sam Y8F9 34.07 3RD DAVIDSON, Sophie Y8F9 41.40

3RD

Franklin Boys Year 9 Franklin Girls Year 9

GRAYSON, Charlie Y9F7 21.21 1ST WALLACE, Briony Y9F6 42.49 1ST

HABIB, Mina Y9F7 27.40 2ND CARROLL, Ruby Y9F6 42.49 1ST

GREEN, Jamie Y9F7 27.57 3RD BROWNE, Rael Y9F6 43.05

2ND

HOUGHTON, Ella Y9F6 46.15 3RD

Franklin Boys Year 10 Franklin Girls Year 10

CARR, Tyler Y10F3 22.38 1ST GODDEN, Louise Y10F5 33.56 1ST

KINSELLA, Freddie Y10F5 23.35 2ND TIMMS, Kayleigh Y10F5 48.33

2ND

FARROW, Jamie Y10F5 24.25 3RD KEANE, Victoria Y10F4 51.26

3RD

Ridlins District Athletics

On Wednesday 28th June the best of the Thomas

Alleyne track and field athletes took part in the

North Herts District Athletics held at Ridlins. In

total 15 schools took part in the day with

Alleynes finishing a very respectable 7th position

in the final overall standings. On a day filled with

excellent individual and team performances, we

had 4 new academy records set. The morning

started well with the Relay heats and two

academy records broken; first with the Year 9

boys’ team of Luca Cardines, Bradleigh Baker,

Reece Elliot and Jaresse Daniel, who surpassed

the 53.1s relay time set back in 2014 by running

an impressive 52.6s. This was then quickly

followed by the Year 10 girls’ relay team of Abbie

Hay, Zain Kwabi-Gibson, Victoria Adu and Lauren

Finlayson, who sliced off the smallest of margins to

beat the 57.90s time set only the previous year, with a

brilliant 57.80s time.

The final two academy record breakers came from the

Yr 10 Girls team with Lottie Burtenshaw in Shot Put and

Victoria Adu in Long Jump. The previous Shot Put

record, like the girls’ relay, had only been set the

previous year in the summer term of 2016 with a

distance of 8.29 metres. Lottie Burtenshaw produced

an excellent Shot Put performance on the day to

achieve a best distance out of three attempts of 8.31

metres. Victoria Adu put in an impressive jump of 4.59

metres to win her event but also to beat the previous

academy record, the old Year 10 long jump record.

The high level of quality at the event is testament to

how well a number of our athletes have done by

finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd. In all we had 15 athletes finish

within the top 3 of their events, achieving well

deserved medals, but with a further 12 athletes

finishing in the agonising position of 4th place and

another 10 athletes finishing in 5th out of 15 schools, it

goes to show how well the Alleynes’ students

performed on the day.

1st Place (Gold):

Hannah Wells – Yr 9 Girls’ 100m

Zain Kwabi-Gibson – Yr 10 Girls’ 200m

Victoria Adu – Yr 10 Girls’ Long Jump

Tyler Carr – Yr 10 Boys’ 1500m

2nd Place (Silver)

Jack French – Yr 8 Boys’ 100m

Sivaprased Sureshbabu – Yr 8 Boys’ Long Jump

Charlie Grayson – Yr 9 Boys’ 1500m

TJ Woods – Yr 10 Boys’ Javelin

3rd Place (Bronze):

Amelia Felstead – Yr 8 Girls 200m

Danny Hay – Yr 8 Boys’ Discus

Jayden Ingham – Yr 8 Boys’ 200m

Lottie Burthenshaw – Yr 10 Girls Shot Put

Victoria Adu – Yr 10 Girls’ 100m

Zain Kwabi-Gibson – Yr 10 Girls Triple Jump

Adam Wright – Yr 10 Boys’ 100m

It has been a fantastic athletics season by all of the

students at Alleynes with the academy finishing in 3rd

place overall out of all of the 15 schools in the league.

Well done to all students who have taken part during

the season.

BBC Ten Pieces Workshop

audience of teachers and Herts Music Service staff . On the way home our musicians were exhausted from having played their instruments all day but buzzing with excitement, inspired by the experience of having played in a large orchestra with professional musicians. George, a Year 8 cornet player, commented on how much more confident he now feels having taken part in the day. Other students agreed, saying they had enjoyed the opportunity to hear lots of different instruments playing together and to be part of such a big ensemble. We are very grateful to Hertfordshire Music Service for organising this amazing experience free of charge to schools, and to Mr Visser and Ms Wellings for driving us there and back in the mini buses. Ms Merser Head of Music

TAA Orchestra members took part in an all day music workshop with the BBC Concert Orchestra on Tuesday 27th June. As we arrived at Mid Herts Music Centre in Hatfield, our musicians were feeling excited but slightly nervous, not knowing quite what to expect of the day ahead. After registering and setting up instruments we took our seats in the George Wenham Hall, joined by students from six other Hertfordshire secondary schools. Sarah Freestone led the day, conducting the orchestra as we worked through Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Greig's ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’ and ‘Mars’ from Holst's Planets Suite. After an hour of playing and a break for biscuits and squash, the orchestra split into separate string, brass and woodwind groups for sectional rehearsals , each led by an expert from the BBC Concert Orchestra. Following lunch the orchestra joined back together again to work on the finer details of putting expression into the music through dynamics, articulation etc. The day ended with a performance to a small

Airbus Visit

The Thomas Alleyne Academy journeyed into

space when Year 9 students visited local employer

Airbus. The students got an exciting insight to the

world of Airbus, spanning telecommunication sys-

tems, space exploration, earth observation and

Military Aircraft services.

From workshop floor to observation decks, stu-

dents impressed Mathew with a variety of ques-

tions covering What do you earn as an a Mechani-

cal Engineer? to How many gyros are there in a

satellite? Inspired by his career journey, which we

learned began with a childhood dream of becom-

ing an astronaut, we discovered that he studied A

Level Physics, Maths and History and gained a de-

gree in Physics at University.

Students related their GCSE choices Design Tech-

nology and Triple Science to Engineering as well

as core subjects English and Maths and they em-

braced entering Year 10.

Amongst the hardware, tools and cranes, Year 9

discovered the science behind thermal products

and wrapping and entered a domain of craft preci-

sion, communication and exemplary team em-

ployability skills required for working in Defence

and Space. Wearing factory overalls highlights the

importance of health and safety in the workplace

and we learnt the importance of risk assessment

as Mathew emphasised how satellites must be

protected from any dust or dirt particles.

The tour came to a smooth end when students

were given a glossy hot-off-the-press issue of Air-

buzz, the first edition of the new in-house maga-

zine for Airbus. Motivated and enthused students

thanked Airbus for a fantastic morning in space

and with a toolkit brimming with employability

and career planning skills, they are aiming for the

stars!

Emma Bumpus

Personal Adviser

Robot Rumble

Congratulations to our Year 7 students that took part in the launch event of this years Robotic Rumble Competi-tion on Friday the 16th of June 2017. Twelve schools from the county were represented at this initial event. Although we fielded the smallest team of three, Alissa Crew, Lucas Lewis Price and Oliver Kemp, yet our acade-

my went through the design process to create the first functioning robotic vehicle. They were able to test drive their product and got ready for the launch. Each student took part in driving the vehicle which got better and faster at each run. The team were good am-bassadors at the event. All the students enjoyed the day and we are now in the process of preparing for the in-termediate competitive event that is coming up in November 2017, and the Final event in January 2018. The club will welcome any Year 7 and 8 student who is interested and wants to learn more about robotics and Lego activities during our meeting times on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3.15 p.m. in D6.

Congratulations to

Giovanna Newbery who has

been appointed an

Apprenticeship Champion for

TAA and in the letter she

received from the DfES her

Champion profile will appear on

the Apprenticeships

website: www.amazingapprentic

eships-com/apprenticeship-

champions. Giovanna will

receive an electronic badge for

the TAA website as well to

demonstrate dedication.

After weeks of after school clubs and a whole day in half term, students who were part of Film Club saw the result of their efforts at a Red Carpet Film Premiere on Wednesday 5th June. We were fortunate that the Mayor of Stevenage, Councillor Pam Stuart, her con-sort, Mr Tony Turner and Chair of Governors Jonathan Ellam joined students who had par-ticipated in the club, their parents, and staff for the evening.

Guests were by invitation only, asked to dress to impress , were photographed on arrival by Mr Bagshaw paparazzi style as they came up the red carpet, welcomed by Mrs Hayman and greeted by freshly made popcorn provid-ed by TASA. The evening was opened with two songs from The Thomas Alleyne Academy Choir, and then a solo from Sandra Webb un-der direction of Ms Merser before a short film introducing the Film Club members. Filmed on green screen, the students found themselves transported to some exotic places, such as Hollywood, and outer space. After a break to enjoy a delicious buffet provided by Year 10 students under the direction of Mrs McDowall and Chef Tibbert, and to discover who were the lucky winners of the raffle, trailers made in Film Club under supervision of Mrs Hayman and Ms Levett were shown before the main film, ‘Dream Wars’.

Much of ‘Dream Wars’ was also filmed on green screen, made magical and amusing by Mr Parkers’ technological skills. Students in-volved in the clubs could not believe their eyes! A great time was had by all.

Mrs Hayman

Movie Night Red Carpet Event

Welcome to the fortnightly Sixth Form News. Here you

will find everything that has been going on in our fantastic

Sixth Form Department and any upcoming events/dates

that you may need to know about.

Year 13

Our students have revised thoroughly and performed their absolute best during all the examinations and deserve good results in August. Some are taking a summer break but most have part-time jobs and are saving for university. Mrs Newbery and Ms Pearce organised a wonderful Year 13 Leavers’ Brunch and there were many emotional hugs as we said our ‘goodbyes’ and ‘good luck’ to all the lovely students. The two years of A Level fly by and we wished all the students well as they begin the next phase of their tertiary education and apprenticeships. All students received a ‘goodie bag’ with writing pads, gift stationery and a Leavers’ Booklet containing photographs and memories of the many wonderful enrichment trips, events, awards and achievements. It has been a delight and a pleasure to be part of their educational experiences. We have received many good wishes from parents too thanking staff for all their hard work, dedication and commitment above and beyond their teaching requirements. Thank you everyone.

The Year 13 Leavers’ Ball at The Holiday Inn was a wonderful evening on Friday 30th June where teachers and students shared an amazing time together and celebrated student success.

Year 12

Year 12 students are now preparing for progression to higher education, apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships and sponsored degrees. All students have been issued with an individual booklet explaining the options available to them post A level and preparation required over the summer holidays for university and beyond. Students not intending to access higher education have several options open to them all explained in the booklet. Several of our Year

SIXTH FORM NEWS

13 students spoke to our Year 12 students about their own experiences and how they choose their university courses, student finance and top tips to ask at Open Days. (Please ensure students book and register for Open Day Events – www.opendays.com ) Students have been requested to attend Open Days at universities during the summer holidays as most universities hold these at the weekend. All UCAS applications are submitted before mid-December 2017 for the 2018 Application Cycle. This will minimise impact on their very important final year as they will not miss any lessons. Several of our Year 13 have applied for apprenticeships (and been successful in gaining degree apprenticeships) and advised Year 12 of the processes involved, which are comprehensive. The interview process takes several forms and after submission of a CV most companies will conduct a telephone or virtual interview (video) plus a group/team assessment and final personal interview where the candidate has to deliver a presentation. Places for degree apprenticeships are extremely competitive; usually 300-400 applicants apply for up to five places.

Please see websites below for university comparison sites, league tables, student finance, UCAS, studying abroad, apprenticeships and higher and sponsored degrees.

Thursday 17th August 2017 A Level Results Day – Study

Suite

Thursday 24th August 2017 GCSE Results Day – Dining

Hall

Friday 25th August 2017 Year 12 Enrolment Day

Wednesday 6th September 2017

Year 12 New Term Starts

ISSUE 17 JULY 2017

The Thomas Alleyne Academy

1 High Street

Stevenage

Hertfordshire

SG1 3BE

01438 344 344 ph

www.tas.herts.sch.uk

Upcoming Events and Notices

Help us to restore our pond!

We desperately need parents or friends who are willing to

come in or loan us their chainsaws/shredders. We need

help to dispose of all the trees inside the pond. If you can

spare a day or a couple of hours to help and support

the school community, please contact

Wellingsa@tas.herts.sch.uk.

Thorpe Park and Chessington Trip

Wednesday 19th July 2017

Last day of term

Thursday 20th July 2017

Polite Reminders

Students are not allowed on site before

07:30am.

If you have lost property, please collect

before the end of term as unclaimed

items will be disposed of.

As of September, there will a £2 charge

for lost or damaged smart cards.