MISUNDERSTOOD

Year 11s were entertained through music and dance this morning by 'Misunderstood' on the important themes of cyberbullying, discrimination and British values. Some great audience participation too!

Key message - be happy in your own skin!

CATERING AT MARLWOOD SCHOOL

CSET are currently undertaking a review of the quality of provision provided by Aspens, our external catering contractors. As part of this, we would be very keen to receive feedback from both parents/carers and students. So can I encourage you and your sons/daughters to use either or both of the links below to complete a survey, which should take no more than 5 mins to complete. Please complete this as soon as possible

Parent Survey 

Parent Survey Link

Student Survey 

Student Survey Link 

DATES FOR THE DIARY ………!

Please be reminded that Marlwood will be closing at 12.20 pm on Friday 15^th December for the Christmas holidays.

Monday 18^th December and Tuesday 2^nd January 2018 are Inset Days and so the school will be closed to students.

PRE-PUBLIC EXAMS

Year 11 and students currently taking a 1 Year GCSE subject will be taking Pre-Public Exams starting on Monday 20^th November through to Friday 24^th November.  Please encourage study at home, links to aid revision are available on the school website and other materials are available from teachers.

BBC CHILDREN IN NEED

As in previous years, Marlwood will be supporting BBC Children in Need on Friday 17^th November 2017.  Students are allowed the privilege of coming to school in casual clothes for a £1 donation to the charity.  There will also be a tuck shop available on the day.

PARENT CONSULTATION 1

Please be reminded that Parent Consultation 1 will be taking place on Thursday, 9^th November.  This is an opportunity for students and parents to discuss progress and achievement with their tutor.  School will close at 11.30 am on this day and buses have been arranged accordingly.

SECURITY AT MARLWOOD SCHOOL

Please note that as Marlwood is an open site, gates have been erected to close some of the access points.  Students are being shown a power point in assembly this week to explain how the new system will work.  Parents can also view the power point via the link below: -

Click here to view the power point 

ATTENDANCE NEWS

Congratulations to Year 7 girls – in the penultimate week of last term, every girl in Year 7 attended every session of every day – giving an attendance record of 100% for the whole week.  This is the first time this has happened – a superb achievement!

Congratulations to the 211 students across Years 7-11 who achieved 100% attendance in Term 1 – an excellent achievement. This constitutes 43% of the school population!

SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING

Please be reminded that Sixth Form Open Evening will be taking place this Thursday, 2^nd November 2017 at the Gloucester Road site.

WELL DONE!

I am pleased to announce that students at Marlwood School earnt 7627 praise points last term

Term 2 is another 7 week term, let’s try and make it at least 8,000!

Well done to all students for earning them and staff for logging them!

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to Term 2, which is already shaping up to be another busy term.

Please keep up with day to day news and events on Twitter.

                                                         @marlwoodschool

GCSE RESULTS 2017

Students at Marlwood School are celebrating the highest results in the school’s history.

We are delighted with the individual performance of a large number of our students. 

With the new grading systems in English and Maths it is difficult to make comparisons to previous years, however it is pleasing to see that 74% of the cohort have achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in these two subjects.  We have also seen students achieving grade 9s which are the very highest level possible in these subjects.  This is the best set of data we have seen at the school and we are absolutely delighted both for the individual students and staff.  Outcomes for students are improving and we are confident that they will continue to do so because of the increasing focus staff and students have on high quality learning.  We look forward to seeing the continuing improvement in grades for further generations of students at Marlwood School.

These results are a reflection of the hard work the students have devoted to their study and the support and dedication of Marlwood School Staff.  We would like to extend our congratulations to them all and the families who have supported them.  

Well Done!

A-LEVEL EXCELLENCE AT CASTLE AND MARLWOOD SIXTH FORM

The students in the joint Sixth Form at Castle and Marlwood schools have enjoyed great success in their A-levels this summer. Almost 80% of the entries achieved at least a C grade, and over 30% of the entries obtained an A or A* grade.

In total, over 40 students obtained A grades in at least 2 of their 3 A-levels2 A grades.

Louise Davies, Head of the joint Sixth Form said: -

“We are delighted with these results and the fantastic achievements of all our students. It’s not just about those with the very highest grades – we’re equally delighted for all those who have worked so hard, and met their individual targets at all levels of ability. As a result of this work, there are over 130 young people from our joint Sixth Form now preparing to head off to universities across the UK, and others heading into exciting apprenticeship and training opportunities.

This was the first year of revised national A-levels in some subjects, which were undoubtedly harder and which caused much uncertainty for teachers and students when we didn’t know what the new exams and standards would look like. It’s a testimony to the hard work put in by everyone at Castle and Marlwood that the results have been maintained at their consistently high levels even with these changes.”

We would like to thank all the teachers and parents for their support of these students. We have all enjoyed working with them, and wish them well as they move on to their exciting futures.

Well done

UPDATE FROM PERU – 10^TH AUGUST 2017

Peru 2017

Final blog ………… just on the coach to return to Marlwood. Flight went really smoothly. All still in good spirits after one of the experiences of our lives. Had lots of ups, a few downs and many a funny story to tell.

Mr Richards signing out

PERU 2017 – UPDATE FROM TUESDAY 8^TH AUGUST

We are now enjoying our last few days in Peru. We went sand boarding and dune buggying last night in an oasis which was awesome. Travel to Lima today before we start to head home. The trip has flown by...

Peru 2017 – Update from 28^th July 2017

We have finished our time in the Sacred Valley. We were rewarded with a meal at the Presidents house. Stone cooked lamb and potatoes. Lovely!

Machu Picchu was extraordinary. Got up at 4am to be there for sun rise. Amazing place to go to. Unforgettable!

Chilling back in Cusco before we depart for the Amazon via an overnight bus. We are all  excited for the river boat tour.

Peru 2017 – Update from 30^th July 2017

In Madre de Dios preparing for the trip to the jungle.  Leave tomorrow morning.  Another exciting stage of the journey coming up.

HOUSE CHAMPIONS

The House Championship reached its conclusion this week with the whole school attending a special assembly in the Sports Hall on Thursday, 20th July.

A presentation showed highlights of the multiple games and competitions which were held across the year, and each House cheered as the winners of the individual competitions were recapped.

Finally, when all points from all competitions and achievements had been reckoned up it was time to reveal the winners.

4th place went to Witton, 3rd to Berkeley (last year's winners) and 2nd to Holt which means the winners of the House Championship 2016-17 are KINGSLEY.

Well done to all members of Kingsley House.

All students and tutors in Kingsley House - accompanied by all students with 100% attendance and the top ten students with the highest Praise points - made their way in convoy to Air Hop at Cribbs Causeway before returning to Marlwood for an ice cream, in time for the buses home.

The House Championship trophy accompanied the students for the afternoon and the photo shows House Progress Leader of Kingsley, Miss Bullock, proudly displaying it, with its yellow ribbons, on their return.

The House Championship Assembly is always a special day in the calendar and the atmosphere as the results were made known was spirited and good natured - indeed electric!

Roll of Honour

2016-17: Kingsley

2015-16: Berkeley

2014-15: Kingsley

STAYING SAFE DURING THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS

South Gloucestershire Safeguarding Board have made available to us information with regard to keeping children safe during the summer holidays.  It details an awareness campaign for schools with secondary age children, and for their parents/carers, ahead of the summer holiday.  The last page gives advice for parents/carers on possible signs of CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation).

This information is being shared by House Progress Leaders in end of term assemblies this week via a more student-friendly Powerpoint.

We hope you find this guidance helpful and that it contributes to all members of our school community staying safe during the summer holiday.

Information from South Gloucestershire

Powerpoint used in assemblies this week

UPDATE ON TUTOR INFORMATION

Please follow the links below for a letter outlining the changes to the Tutor Teams for next year and an updated list of tutors: -

Tutor Information Letter

House Group List

END OF TERM LETTER

Please follow the link below for my end of term update:

End of Term HT's Letter

ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL

We cannot emphasise enough how important attendance is for all students.  High Attendance allows them to achieve their full potential.  Please see information via the links below with regard to attendance which has been emailed home today and is also available on the school website.

Attendance Letter

Attendance Matters Information

YEAR 7 MORFA BAY TRIP

Last week Year 7 students went to Morfa Bay in Wales for their 3 day residential trip, the weather was kind and it would seem that a great time was had by all!

Feedback from staff, students and parents has been very positive – one parent emailed the school saying – ‘Thank you so much for giving Year 7 such a fantastic time at Morfa Bay. Our son, enjoyed every minute of it. The activities were brilliant fun, the assault course was 'epic' and he really enjoyed getting to know the Year group better and making some new friends.  Thank you for helping to create some memories which will stay with the children forever’.

Update from Peru 2017 Team below: -

We have Spent a lovely day in Lima. Then travelled to the amazing city of Cusco 3,300 metres above sea level.

Fantastic views from the hostel in Cusco.

Met the project organsiers yesterday. We now know what we are doing and have been thanked for the invaluable help.

The team leaders so far of Jonny Morris, Harry Smale and Alex Stagg have all done an excellent job.

Berry Lewis and Harriet Foulner doing a great job as our Spanish translators.

Ready to Learn Update

As we approach the end of term I thought it appropriate to share some feedback about this development at the school.

We have hosted visits from staff who have similar systems at their schools, carried out student voice work with different groups of students at Marlwood and convened meetings of a staff steering group who have launched and monitored this system.

The main outcomes of the Ready to Learn review are:

·         Numbers referred to the room have steadily declined to single figures on most days

·         Low level disruption is no longer a feature of any lessons observed

·         Staff are consistently implementing Ready to Learn protocols

·         The rules regarding warnings will be slightly adjusted and clarified at the start of Term 1

·         Students welcome the positive impact of Ready to Learn on their progress in the classroom

·         Students referred to the room recognise that the class they have left is better able to work and make progress because they have been taken out.

Additional provision from September:

The Ready to Learn room should have six computers installed and networked plus the facility to offer private coaching to those who are having issues relating to settling to learning in the room.

We remain committed to the work of Ready to Learn and thank staff, students and parents for their support since its introduction.

EXPEDITION TO PERU

On Thursday 13^th July current Year 12, Post-16 students from Marlwood School departed for a month expedition to Peru.

The trip is an opportunity to experience the culture and sights of Peru, undertake volunteering in the Scared Valley, trek in the Amazon rainforest and visit the lost city of Machu Picchu.

The students will develop their own personal skills and each day students will take it in turns to look after the needs for the whole group.

For many their exciting journey started over a year ago raising the funds to finance the trip through, fundraising show, catering at events, car washings and taking part time jobs whilst balancing studying. 

The expedition is an opportunity for the students to discover and experience a different culture.  At Marlwood development isn’t just about learning but developing and preparing students for the wider world.   

ROTARY YOUTH SPEAKERS COMPETITION

It was my pleasure to be asked to join the judging panel for the Rotary Club Primary Pupils Speaking Competition.  The grand final took place on Monday 3^rd July at Olveston Parish Hall.  The finalist had been through a rigorous process of selection – having been through a competition at their primary school in order to secure a position in the final.  It was clear that the standard of speaking was going to be high.  The pupils had selected topics on a wide range of subject.  The audience and judges were informed about the details of each topic which were:-

·         Gymnastics

·         Gloucester Rugby Club

·         Irish Dancing

·         Social Media

·         Porsche

·         Bullying

·         Barcelona

·         Smoking

·         Street Dance

With the standard so high, judging was very close.  Marks were awarded for the structure of the speech, context, confidence, clarity of delivery and engaging evidence.

The overall winner for 2017 was George Peacock from Olveston.  All three judges were in agreement that his was the strongest presentation.  We are deeply delighted at Marlwood as George will be joining us in Year 7 in September.

Many thanks to the Rotary Club for organising this speech event and inviting me along to help with the judging also I would like to thank the ‘inner wheel’ for providing delicious refreshments.

WE WILL ROCK YOU

Marlwood School was alive with rock as it proudly presented ‘We Will Rock You’ by Ben Elton with music from the legendry rock band, Queen, last week.

Over 100 musicians, singers, actors, dancers, designers and technicians from all year groups worked tirelessly to bring this fantastic show to life. Matinee performances were enjoyed by local primary schools and New Siblands Secondary School.  Evening audiences from the community and families loved singing along to all their favourite Queen hits.

It was a joy to watch the Marlwood community coming together to put on this toe-tapping extravaganza!’

I would personally like to thank students and staff involved – putting on a show to this high standard takes a lot of hard work.

Well done!

THORNBURY CARNIVAL

Marlwood Samba Band joined the procession for Thornbury Carnival on Saturday, and although I was unable to attend myself, I have heard several comments on how brilliant they were.

Well Done!

Marlwood School is proud to present ‘We Will Rock You’ by Ben Elton with music from the legendry rock band, Queen.

If you love the music of Queen, you will love this! This fun, futuristic musical will have your toes tapping and your hands clapping. Our amazing musicians, singers, actors, dancers, designers and technicians from all years have been working tirelessly to bring this fantastic show to life! Don’t miss out on a real treat. Come in your favourite rock and roll gear! Bring your friends and families!

Performances will be taking place on Wednesday July 5^th and Thursday July 6th at 7pm in The Drama Hall.

• Tickets: £6 or £3 concessions -on sale from Wednesday June 28^th each lunch time, the Drama Hall

• Cheques made payable to Marlwood School with child’s name on the back, in an envelope clearly marked with child’s name, show choice and quantity of tickets needed.

We look forward to seeing you there!

PRAISE AT MARLWOOD SCHOOL

As part of the Readiness to Learn programme we are looking to enhance our Praise system. The School Council will be sending out a questionnaire to all students next week to look at ways which our students would like to receive praise. This might be through a series of graded certificates, using Praise points as ‘currency’ to purchase items from a stationery shop or events such as a celebratory tea with the Head…

Meanwhile we continue to monitor Praise and are delighted that our categories P1, P2, P3 are P4 well represented by all groups of students. An example of this is that our Special Needs students, who represent 13% of the school population, received 22% of the share of P3 awards. P3 is particularly valued because it represents excellence in learning – either a consistent effort over time or a piece of work which has equalled or surpassed a target grade.

On average staff are awarding over 800 Praise points per week and a letter to appear on the school website shortly will outline the way these are shared with students and yourselves. This week Mr Reed has written personally to a number of students to reflect on Caught Being Kind in Term 5 and excellence in lessons over the past week.

All Praise points will be totalled and fed into the House Championship score at the end of term.

READY TO LEARN

Readiness to Learn is now settled and embedded in the school procedure.  We have carried out surveys with students, about how they think RtL is impacting on their learning and the response is overwhelming positive with comments such as “the people who mainly disturb the lessons have been sent out leaving the people who actually want to learn to be able to try their hardest” and “while the teacher is teaching nobody interrupts anymore”.

Responses from the students and data collected from incident logging by staff is showing a drastic drop in poor behaviour in the school.  Data shows that this has dropped by almost 50% which is very reassuring and underpins the visible signs around the school that behaviour has and is improving

READINESS TO LEARN

Wow, what a week!

Our students have responded in the most incredible way to our raised and higher expectations for learning in our classrooms.  Walking around Marlwood School has always been a pleasure and over the past 2 years we have seen an increased focus from our students.  However, Readiness to learn has elevated the learning behaviour of our students even further.  Students have used the practice days from last week to familiarise themselves with the new raised expectations and the numbers of students referred to our Readiness To Learn room has fallen sharply.  The small number who have found themselves in the room have followed instructions well and have completed work, they have been fairly unanimous in agreeing that they don’t want to miss anymore lessons and will therefore be ‘Ready To Learn’ in lessons from now on.  The atmosphere and learning culture in our classrooms is now of a very high standard.  Teachers are already reporting that students are getting through more work to a greater depth.  Students are saying the same thing!

We have also been delighted with the positive responses and feedback we have received from parents.  We will of course be requesting feedback from you; please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss any aspect of ‘Readiness to Learn’.

READINESS TO LEARN

Yesterday was the first day of trials of the new Readiness to Learn programme starting at Marlwood.  We are very pleased to let you know that this was embraced positively by both students and staff and an air of calm was felt around the school.  The programme will come off trial and be implemented fully on Wednesday, 3^rd May. 

Information has been emailed home regularly to parents and is also available on the school website.  Mr Reed, Deputy Headteacher will be holding an information meeting for parents who were unable to attend the last one on Tuesday 2^nd May in the school Learning Resource Centre (Library) from 5.30 – 6.30 pm.

AFTER YEAR 11

Many of our Year 11 students have decided on the route they wish to take at the end of Year 11; whether that is staying on at school, going to college or taking an apprenticeship.   SGS College automatically sends out a prospectus at this time of the year to all Year 11 students so those who may still be undecided can look at other options.  You will receive this from them shortly if you are in Year 11.

THORNBURY YOUTH SHOWCASE AWARDS

Hundreds packed the Armstrong Hall in Thornbury for the Youth Showcase Awards.  Many organisations attending including Krunch, Jigsaw and the Army, Navy and Sea Cadets to promote groups available in the local area for young people.

Entertainment was provided by the street dance group BALPA and the Northavon Youth Theatre Show.

Well done to the 7 students from Marlwood who won awards

TALENT AT MARLWOOD

Abigail Crew is set to take the stage next month in the latest production from the English Youth Ballet.

Marlwood Student Abigail Crew, who has trained at the Sharon Phillips School of Dancing since she was two and a half years old, was casted for the double bill of Nutcracker Suite and Ballet Etudes, having proven herself over more than 150 other hopefuls in a series of auditions.

Having shown herself in what the company directors have said was an ‘electric’ series of auditions, Abigail, has joined the rest of the company at Bishop Wadsworth School for the first weekend of 10 days of intensive rehearsals to make sure the performance is perfect.

The shows themselves, a matinee and two evening shows, will take place at Salisbury City Hall on April 21^st and 22^nd.

We have also been told today that Abigail has been unconditionally accepted at Scotland Ballet West.

Well done Abigail – we are very proud of you!

NEWSLETTER

Please follow the link below for the end of Term 4 Newsletter

Term 4 Newsletter

BRECON BEACONS 24/03/17-26/03/17

Last weekend, the Peru team visited the Brecon Beacons for a training weekend in preparation for their overseas expedition in the summer. 

After arriving at Newcourt Farm campsite, they began learning the many skills involved which including putting up tents and planning the routes for the next day. Saturday included a 25km trek around the peaks and countryside of Wales whilst practicing navigating, carrying heavy loads and working together as a team to achieve our goals.

Sunday they trekked only a couple of hours carrying our bigger rucksacks up some steep gradients whilst finishing in the beautiful sunny weather of Brecon.

During the treks they got the chance to practice walking over a variety of terrains including rivers, boggy mud, forests, fields and mountains.

On reflection, the group felt that they all worked well as a team sharing out jobs evenly which included cooking, washing up and dealing with tents. Furthermore, they encouraged team members with group positivity and overcame all our obstacles whilst always keeping up morale.

Well done to all involved

Join Marlwood Music Students at The Fleece!

Monday 3rd April - Doors open 7pm

>>> The Gobos feat. Richard Sawyer <<<

>>> No Backstory <<<

Tickets £5 - available from Marlwood Music Dept. 

ST HELEN’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

The 2015/2016 Academic Year marks the 50^th Anniversary of St Helen’s Primary School, being located on its current site in Alveston.  To celebrate this occasion, the whole school community is concentrating its efforts on raising funds to build a brand new Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on the site of a redundant outdoor swimming pool.  The aim is to mark this special year by transforming an area of the school site and leaving something for future generations of children in Alveston to enjoy.

To achieve this, £70,000 needs to be raised.  They are hoping to reach this target through a mixture of grant funding, school PTA and individual donations.

They are going to create a paved pathway leading up to the new Multi-Use Games Area and are inviting people to purchase their very own limited edition brick, professionally engraved with your name or special message. This will become a permanent legacy to St Helen’s 50^th Anniversary project.  The pathway will be made from high quality paving bricks.  You can choose from a single paver (£50) or a double paver (£75) and then work out what message you would like to be engraved on your brick!

For more information click the link below:

MUGA LINK

TRIP TO ITALY

For the fourth time, the Humanities Faculty took 45 students on a fantastic tour of the Bay of Naples, Italy to experience first-hand things that they had studied in class, or to enhance their cultural and historical awareness. Visits to Mount Vesuvius and Solfatara gave Geography students a rare glimpse into a volcano, along with the sights; very powerful smells (Sulphur) gave them a sensory overload. They had very enjoyable visits to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Capri which gave them insights to how the famous eruption of 79AD affected the Roman world.

A guide who accompanied the trip wrote to me stating  - “I wanted to send a quick email just to applaud their behaviour and attitude to their studies during the trip, they were a real credit to Marlwood School and to Mr Helliker and the staff team, you should feel really proud of them.”

Well done to staff and students – it sounds like you had an excellent learning experience!

BRAIN TUMOUR SUPPORT

Well done to students and staff at Marlwood School who raised £197.50 for Brain Tumour Support.  A special thank you goes to Ellie Clark who organised this event.

POST-16 VISIT

A group of students from our joint Post-16 provision with The Castle School enjoyed a day out at Oxford University to give them an insight into life at university to help them make future choices.

OSCAR AND BAFTA WINNING SCRIPTWRITER BOB BAKER

Both students and staff alike were delighted to meet Oscar and BAFTA winning scriptwriter Bob Baker last Friday.

Mr Baker, who co-authored the Wallace and Gromit films and has written for Doctor Who, spent the day talking to students about life in the film industry.

Starting the morning talking to sixth formers studying creative and media courses before working with children from other years, Mr Baker shared some of his past experiences and answered questions as well as playing some of his work, including a short film he made when he was 16-years-old.

As well as copies of the Flora’s World books, he brought a range of his works and memorabilia to show the students, including a model of one of his creations, Doctor Who character K9, and two eye-catching BAFTA awards.

ROTARY YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER AWARDS

We were delighted to welcome Richard Hiscock and Richard Craddy from the Rotary Club into school on Thursday 2^nd March to present to certificates and cheques to six of our students who had recently been successful in the Rotary Club Competition.

The winners were:-

Senior Competition

Georgina Lewis

Oscar Knowles

Intermediate Competition

Simon Kitson

Megan Handover

Pippa Sumner

These students entries were then put through to the District 1100 Competition, which Freya Bigwood went on to win the Senior Age Category.

Well done to you all!

GO BANDANAS!

On Friday 3^rd March we welcomed a team in from Brain Tumor Support formerly known as Hammer Out into school to sell bandanas to raise money for families affected by brain tumors.  This is a local charity who we have supported for a number of years on their ‘Go Bandanas Day’

FAIR FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS

You may have seen in the national and local press articles related to the increasingly difficult funding situation faced by schools.  This is a national issue and schools across the country are faced with very difficult decisions.

It has been hoped schools such as Marlwood, that a government pledge to introduce a ‘National Fair Funding’ formula would alleviate the difficult financial situation we are facing.  Sadly this has proved to not be the case.

We each expect the best education for our children, quite rightly so, however all schools are faced with decisions around their expenditure as a result of the current funding that will require us to reduce the services we offer.  It is always difficult telling people that there is no longer enough money to provide the services that have been taken for granted for a long time but we have reached crisis point along with most other schools in South Gloucestershire and many across the country.  We will manage these decisions with the full intention of maintaining the quality of learning experience of our young people.

We ask for your support:

1)    Your understanding that the way our schools are run may need to change

2)     With our petition at Click here for the link

3)   By writing to your local MP asking them to voice our concerns in parliament.  If you feel so inclined I have placed a sample letter here and your MP will be either:

Jack Lopresti MP

29 The Courtyard

Woodland

Bradley Stoke

South Gloucesershire

BS32 4NQ

E-mail: jack.lopresti.mp@parliament.uk

or

Luke Hall MP
26 The High Street 
Chipping Sodbury
South Gloucestershire 
BS37 6AH
E-mail: Luke.hall.mp@parliament.uk

We hope that you feel able to support our campaign, and I thank you in advance.