Summer - Queen Katherine School

Queen Katherine School
NEWSLETTER
The life of French teacher Nathalie Locicero, who was killed in a
road accident last autumn, was commemorated in a ceremony at
School on June 22nd.
The top photo shows Nathalie’s sister, Stéphanie, unveiling the
permanent memorial to Nathalie which is a quiet seating area at the
front of school. The seating is made from oak, and is situated around
an oak tree. Nathalie’s father has a museum of wood in her home
village in Alsace, and a bough from the tree will be taken there in
December of this year. The tree will be known as “Nathalie’s Oak”
and the seating will be available for students, staff and friends of the
School as a quiet area. The other photo shows the Year 10 Catering
students who superbly and professionally catered the celebration of
Nathalie’s life in their new QKS chef’s whites. At the event, Tim
Farron MP, President of Lupus, accepted a cheque for £3,000 for
Lupus, the immune system illness, from which Nathalie suffered.
The Head writes
This is a great time of year to recollect all the successes and some
of the sadness of 2006/7.
We reflect with very great sadness
on the tragic death of Nathalie
Locicero, but balance that by the
tremendous support shown by all
those who knew Nathalie to make
sure something positive resulted.
We maintain a strong link with her
family in France and we continue to
think of their loss. We have raised
£3,000 for the Lupus charity and
installed oak seating around what we have called ‘Nathalie’s
Oak’. Please feel free to use this area at any time for your own
quiet reflections. It is located in front of Lower School.
We say farewell to a number of very long-standing staff and a
few who have been here for a shorter period of time. Angie Biggs,
Sue David, Karen Cooper, Wendy Pontefract, Mary Atkinson,
Louise Benson, Dawn Smith, Ian Whittaker and Sue Reid, some
of who are retiring and others who are moving to pastures new.
We wish them happiness in their retirement or future careers. We
also wish our Year 11 and Year 13 students success in their
various examinations. They have worked hard and deserve to
progress to their chosen place of study or employment.
This year has seen some very impressive developments in the
Every Child Matters and Extended Schools agenda. QKS, as a
pilot extended school, has seen the development of a multiagency
support team to work with students and, where necessary,
parents. We expect even greater developments in this area next
year, with a major investment in a replacement ‘Red Shed’. We
are also delighted with the significant improvements to our
science accommodation and a general uplift to student social
areas, planned improvements to the toilets – will happen over the
summer.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my staff for
their hard work, thank Governors for their support, congratulate
students on so many successes and wish everyone a restful
summer break.
Stephen Wilkinson, Headteacher
Summer 2007
MEMORIAL TO A WELL-LOVED TEACHER
This term’s goodbyes
As you will have seen in “The Head Writes,” we are losing several
highly respected colleagues this term.
Two stalwarts of the English department
over many years are leaving to retire – Sue
David, who has been at QKS since it opened
in 1980, and Angie Biggs, who has been here
since 1992, but who has actually been teaching
since 1968. Mrs Biggs plans to catch up on her
gardening and improve her foreign language
skills, whilst Mrs David plans to do some
extended travelling and brush up her
Sue David
printmaking skills.
Ian Whittaker is
leaving us to take a
promotion as Head of
Geography at Cardinal
Newman 6th Form
College in Preston.
During his time here,
he has been involved in
Angie Biggs
continued on page 2 …
Ian Whittaker

… continued from page 1
trips to Iceland, India and Switzerland, so
doubtless he will stay on the move in his new
job!
Karen Payne is
moving to be Lead
Chemistry teacher
at Heysham High
School. As she is not
too far away, we hope
that we will see her
from time to time. She
leaves after being with
us for 15 years’ service Karen Payne
in the Science department, and is, apparently,
looking forward to supporting Morecambe as
they play for the first time in the Football
League.
Wendy Pontefract
leaves the Maths
department to welldeserved
retirement
after arriving in 2000.
She will have
completed 34 years
teaching, and hopes to
improve her craft
skills in such areas as
Wendy Pontefract
lace making, bag
making, and, believe it not, dry stone walling!
Finally, we shall also be saying goodbye to
Mary Atkinson, who
has acted as School
Nurse and advisor to
many students on
personal problems.
Her kind advice,
common sense and
approachability will
be missed by many.
Mary Atkinson
Design and
Technology update
QKS now has two Arkwright scholars in Jonathan Cook and Josh Murphy (pictured top left below).
The Arkwright scholarship is a bursary to
support students’ “A” level studies, and is
presented in London. In
addition, as you may have seen
WORK RELATED LEARNING
Year 10 Mock Interviews were held on 15th May within school during which approximately half
of the year group participated in a mock interview with a real business person.
The comments that the students received
from the employers were very positive and the
students found the experience valuable. The
employers commented that the standard was
very high and they were very impressed with
the QKS students.
Accomplice Competition – QKS students
have been successful in gaining a place in the
final of a Business & Enterprise
Challenge. Four Year 10
involved – five
students (Emma Matthew, Roz
teams from the
Townley, Jonathan Wright and
Bolton & Bury
Jonty Willis) attended the
area plus Queen
residential final from 8th to
Katherine and
13th July at Bolton University
Kirkbie Kendal
in which seven teams are
from the South
Lakes area.
Each team is working on a live business
problem, The QKS brief is involving the
Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Project,
looking at commercial opportunities with
wildlife. The results of the final were
announced at a formal dinner on the evening
of Thurs 12th July, so look out for that in the
next newsletter!
Employment Legislation – how it
The positive benefits of part-time work are recognised by young people themselves,
employers, parents and teachers.
A few obvious ones are:
• Extra money
• Experience of different jobs
• The opportunity to work alongside
adults as part of a team
• A reference when moving on
from school.
in the Westmorland Gazette, QKS student
Michael Hanlon has redesigned graphics for
the Spot the Dog
feature, and a Year 9
company is now
producing Spot the Dog
merchandise, including
mouse mats, mugs,
coasters and badges.
However in order to give young people
who are still of compulsory school age* some
protection in the workplace, there are rules
and restrictions in place and it is important
that everyone is aware of these. Whilst a job
can be a very positive experience, it is
essential that working does not harm a young
person’s potential academic achievement. It
is generally accepted by experts in the field
that working up to 10 hours a week can
enhance academic results, whereas anything
in excess of that is likely to harm those
results.
Young people may only start part-time
work when they are 13 years old and are
restricted to certain types of jobs. However,
at 14 there are more opportunities always
with the proviso that the job is safe and age
appropriate.
The hours that young people are allowed
to work vary according to their age – but in
any case this must never be before 7.00am or
after 7.00pm. At 13/14 the permitted hours
are 2 for a term time weekday and up to 5 on
Saturday; similarly the weekday allowance
during school holidays is up to 5 per day. The
maximum number of hours allowed per week
is 12 during term time and 25 during school
holidays. At 15/16 the permitted hours are 2
for a term time weekday and up to 8 on
Saturday; similarly the weekday allowance

Where are they now?
A look at some achievements by ex-QKS students, and varied and exciting they are!
Daniel Burton has been named history teacher
of the Year by the BBC “History” magazine. Daniel
left QKS in the early 90s, and now teaches at the
Cooper School Bicester. The judges described him
as “a worthy winner” and “an inspirational
teacher” and his Head teacher said of him, “He is
unrelenting in his efforts to provide stimulating,
engaging and active lessons.”
Rose Buckler, who has just completed her course
at St Andrew’s University, was awarded a Rotary
Club Graham Low award to assist her teaching in
Tanzania before joining Deloitte Touche. Lauren Rowlinson, who is leaving this summer, also
received a Graham Low award. She is going to teach English in North Vietnam before reading
English at university.
Year 7 student
goes to Blue Peter
Victoria Hevey, of Year 7, enjoyed an all
expenses paid day of movie making in
Edinburgh courtesy of the popular
children’s programme Blue Peter.
Victoria made a two-minute movie on
her favourite hobby swimming as part of a
competition run by Blue Peter. She was
picked to attend the one-day workshop
along with 119 other hopefuls from around
the country. The day involved running
through the processes used in film making
and then conceiving, shooting and editing
her own short film by the end of the day.
The entire day’s events were filmed and
were shown as part of the Blue Peter “My
Movie” programmes scheduled to be
broadcast on BBC One between the 12th
and 21st June.
may affect you!
during school holidays is up to 8 per day. The
maximum number of hours allowed is 12
during term time and 35 during school
holidays. Whether aged 13, 14, 15 or 16
working hours on Sundays are restricted to a
maximum of 2.
Some jobs that are commonly undertaken
by young people around the county are
newspaper delivery, shop work and
restaurant/hotel work however there are
many other opportunities and possibilities.
Certain jobs are prohibited, generally for
safety reasons.
If you are employed you must apply for a
work permit to Cumbria County Council. This
is an easy, cost free process and without a
permit the young employee will not be
covered by insurance.
*Young people are of compulsory school age
until the last Friday in June in the school year in
which they reach 16 years of age (the end of Year
11) and NOT on their 16th birthday or when
they receive their National Insurance Card.
For further information please visit
Cumbria County Council’s website using the
following link:
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/childrensservices/
welfare/studentinfo.asp
Or contact:-
Janet Poultney – Tel: 01946 595346
Mary Johnson – Tel: 01768 242073
Child Employment Officers, Education
Welfare Service, Childrens Services
Most spectacularly of all, Gary
Thompson became the first ex-QKS
student (or member of staff, for that
matter) to score at Wembley when he
scored Morecambe’s first goal in their
victory over Exeter City to secure his team’s
league status for the first time. The photos
show Gary running towards Morecambe fans
after his goal and celebrating the result with
teammate Craig Stanley. Photos courtesy of
The Visitor, Morecambe www.thevisitor.co.uk
The “Visitor” also provided us with a photo of
a member of staff shortly to be leaving QKS
and her family being interviewed by Granada
TV before the game!
QKS student meets Charlie Dimmock
In May, Charlie Dimmock presented a
certificate for completion of the Countryside
Skills Course run by BTCV to QKS ACE
student Terry Braithwaite in Manchester.
Terry is one of 6 boys who have been doing
the Countryside Skills Course to be invited
to meet Charlie Dimmock. The course has
consisted of learning such skills as coppicing,
bench construction, fence construction, path
and step building and scrub clearance. The
presentation formed part of BBCTV’s
“Spring into Action” event.
Leavers’ concert
The annual leavers’ concert was held on
Sunday 13th May at the Parish Church.
The programme included John Rutter’s
Sprig of Thyme, performed by the Chamber
Choir and orchestra, the première of Peter
Crompton’s Fanfare and Chorale for brass and
organ, works for the orchestra, including
Gabriel’s’ Oboe, by Enrico Morricone and jazz
standards performed by the Senior Choir.
There were also several solos showcasing the
talent of the leavers of 2007.
Languages in
primary schools
Head of the QKS Languages department,
Clayton Hughes, has been busy this term
visiting and also hosting primary schools
students to give them a taste of language
learning at QKS.
Lessons have been organised in French,
Spanish and Japanese, and have run very
successfully.

Drama visit to
Stratford upon Avon
On March 29th, a trip organised by Mrs Barber went to
Stratford on Avon.
Vicky Loader in Year 13 took part. Here is an slightly
abridged version of her account of the 2 days:
The first visit was a backstage tour of the Royal
Shakespeare Theatre, where we would see
“Coriolanus” that evening. We were told about how
they created such bloody and gory effects, how the
weapons and props were made, and we got a glimpse of
some of the costumes. In the afternoon, it was time for
“Shakesperience,” where we learnt a little about
Shakespeare’s life and watched some short clips of
some of his plays. The session also made us realise how
many everyday phrases and little English sayings and
can be traced back to Shakespeare’s works.
After this, we went upstairs to the actors’ workshop.
After some fun games to wake us up, we worked on
some skills, polished our Stanislavski techniques and
some of us enjoyed experimenting with improvisations
for the group.
We had been eagerly awaiting the evening, when we
were to see the RSC’s production of Coriolanus,
starring William Houston, Timothy West and Janet
Suzman. Apart from some translation difficulties, it
seemed that everyone enjoyed the production. Many of
us were really impressed with the set, and we felt very
lucky to have seen the last play in that theatre, as it was
going to be closed down for renovation until 2010.
The Friday morning started with an open top bus
tour, with a head phone guide that told us all about the
places of Shakespearian importance in Stratford (which
seemed to be most of it!) We saw where he was born,
where he went to school, where he was buried and
finally we had a tour of Anne Hathaway’s house. Inside,
we had a fascinating talk about Shakespeare’s life as a
man, rather than a playwright, and we were quite
surprised by how much he achieved in his life, as he died
aged only 52.
We had a couple of hours free in the afternoon,
before boarding the coach home. The trip was a great
experience, and we hope that it can take place on a
regular basis for drama students in the future. Thanks
go to Mrs Barber for organising the trip!
German Exchange
A group of 22 year 9, 10 and 12 students went
to Neckargemünd in March.
The exchange with the Realschule was
established in 1988 and we are very happy
that it has lasted so long. Claire Patterson and
Julie Scattergood accompanied the group.
Claire participated in the same exchange
when she was a student in year 10 at QKS!
Two Year 12 students were also returning for
a second visit.
SWITZERLAND TRIP
The Geography department has undertaken a field study trip for Year 10 to Leysin,
near Geneva in Switzerland to make a case study on glaciation and tourism.
As you can see, the scenery was spectacular, and a lot was learnt.
Visit to Lucy Cooks
4 Year 10 Food Technology students and 4 Year 10 Catering students applied to do
the Junior Chef course at Kendal College.
This course lasted for 10 weeks at the end of which the students were awarded a
variety of prizes for different categories:
• Molly Fairclough got best improved
student
• Daniel Ireland won best dish from
the Mystery Hamper
• The next four won prizes for 100%
attendance: Amy Crossland, Amy
Graham, Rebecca Took and
Adam Jamieson.
• Roisin Houghton and Chesney
Miller got prizes for consistency.
As a result of their attending the
above, their tutor Simon Hansen managed to secure tickets for the students to
attend Lucy Cooks in Staveley to be part of the audience for the filming of Peoples
Cookbook presented by Antony Worrall Thompson and Paul Rankin. The two
celebrities kindly met the students at the end of the filming and allowed us to have
our photo taken with them.
The school is still housed in temporary
accommodation after the fire there 4 years
ago, although rebuilding has now begun. In
spite of this we were made very welcome.
Students went to lessons with their partners
and joined in with activities at home. As
usual, the early start was not the most
enjoyable part of the trip! We walked up to a
local castle, visited Heidelberg and Speyer
and had a civic reception at the town hall.
One of the German families invited the whole
group to their house for an evening so that all
the students could get together. The students
enjoyed staying with their host families and
and we looked forward to seeing the German
group here in July.
The above is the staff perspective from Ms
Scattergood. Here are some quotes from the
student angle, from those who took part in
the exchange:
“I had a really great week in Germany and
really enjoyed every bit of it.”
“All in all we had a fun week. Can’t wait for
them to come to England.”
“I have decided that I like Germany a lot
more than I like England and it has been a rich
and fulfilling week.”
“The classrooms were just boxes, white boxes.
I felt really sad that that was what they were
learning in compared to what we have in
England.”
“I will never, ever, ever forget that memorable
week in Germany. It was AWESOME”
“It was a great trip and I would strongly
recommend it.”

ARTS EVENING
The Queen Katherine School’s Annual Arts Evening, a
celebration of the work that students of the school undertake
in the Arts, took place on Sunday 11th March at The Brewery
Arts Centre, Kendal.
The Art Department mounted an exhibition of GCSE and ‘A’
level work in the Malt Room, which the audience could view
whilst being serenaded by the school’s Stage Band under the
leadership of Paul Froggart.
In the main theatre year 13 student
Heather Longstaff compered an evening of
excellent performances from Dance,
Drama and Music students. The music
programme consisted of a wide variety of
pieces. The first piece of music was
the first movement of Beethoven’s
Fifth Symphony, played as a piano
duet by James and Will Stokes. A
new ’cello group played Bizet and
the Beatles, the Chamber Choir
sang songs by Billy Joel and Leon
Dabinsky, the Junior Choir sang folk
and gospel and we also saw the unusual
Hartley and the Jam Jars – a group
consisting of folk fiddle, jazz bass and
funk guitar. The final musical item was
Roseanna Skikkun singing a Schubert song.
Dancers from all through the School age groups entertained, once
again with a varied programme exploring a wide variety of themes –
Japanese drums, the
weather, the cycle of life
and Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein.
Drama students of all
ages produced extracts
from MacBeth, the Diary
of Adrian Mole and Too
Much Punch for Judy, a piece
exploring the effects of a drink
driving accident on a family,
and a skit on TV reality shows.
The evening finished with an
amusing extract from Mike
Leigh’s Abigail’s Party.
In spite of the wide variety of
entertainment and art on offer,
the standard was consistently
high, and reflects great credit not
only on QKS staff and students,
but also on peripatetic staff and
Helen Moffit and Lucy Everitt
from the Brewery, who prepared dance routines.
The School musical, The King and I was performed at The Brewery
from 11th to 14th July. Review and photos in our next issue!
LRC update
The LRC has a new sign outside the
student entrance designed by 6th
Former Martyn Turner.
The sign is made of metal, and
cleverly incorporates the School colours.
Bastille Day, the
French National day,
was celebrated on 14th
July with
q u i z z e s ,
French story books, and the
serving of hot and cold
French food. This was all
accompanied by a rousing
rendition of the French
national Anthem, the
Marseillaise.
The LRC has acquired
a wonderful new Heinemann system.
Dance: LUDUS
Year 10 Dance GCSE student, Anna Gregg
took part in the Ludus residential, and has
written the following report on the day:
On Tuesday April 24th I was part of a
group of 16 girls from years 7, 8 and 10 who
took part in an intensive day’s Dance
Workshop with Ludus Dance Company.
Ludus are based in Lancaster and are an
internationally renowned Dance and
Education Company, so
it was a brilliant opportunity
for us to work with
professional dancers.
Our workshop leaders
for the day were Anna
and Jonny. We all knew
that it was a special day
as the new dance mat was rolled out
especially for the occasion. From our 9
o’clock start until our 4 o’clock finish, we
were certainly put through our paces, as we
had one day to create a dance that we were
then to perform as a curtain raiser to
Ludus’s own show ‘Trapped’ at The Brewery
Arts Centre on Thursday 26th April.
Throughout the day, we did a mixture of
contemporary dance and theatrical work, as
many of us needed to perfect our angry faces
to coincide with both
‘Trapped’ and our own
dance’s aggressive
theme. Luckily, it all
came together in time,
with a great deal of
hard work, but I think I
speak for all of us when
I say it was pretty
difficult to walk the next day. However, we
pulled it all together to finish our fantastic
experience with a great performance using
Ludus’ professional set and lighting, which
was then put to great use as we watched
Ludus perform their quirky but brilliant
dance piece ‘Trapped’. It was certainly an
unforgettable experience.
The LRC provided an exciting trip to
the Spellbinding Cumbrian Schools
Book Awards at Penrith featuring some
of QKS students’ favourite books –
Framed, Inigo, I Coriander, Secrets of
the Fearless, Snatched and Angel Stone.
The new extended opening hours of
the LRC seem to be a success. More and
more students are availing themselves of
the longer hours to use the ICRT
facilities, have assistance with their
homework, read quietly or join a range
of activities such as discussion groups
and War Hammer games. The opening
hours of the library are now 8:30 to 6:00
Monday to Thursday and 8:30 to 5:00 on
Friday.
Art and Design
evening
The Art Department held an Open Evening
to celebrate the work of GCSE, A/S and A2
over the year on 26th June.

SPORTS ROUND-UP
As usual, there has been a very full sporting
calendar since the appearance of the last
newsletter, involving a great number of
students in a wide variety of sports – table
tennis, cricket, tennis, track and field
athletics, rounders, hockey, badminton, fit 4
life, swimming and football.
Results for all sporting events are
available at School, as it is obviously impossible
to record them all in a publication such
as this. However, we do need to highlight the
following:
● The girls’ under 15 football team won the
County Cup on Kendal Town’s ground,
having remained unbeaten all season.
They kept their record by beating
Dowdales in the Final 5-0, with goals
from Jenny Addison (2) Sarah
Carruthers, Lauren Downham and Kate
Holland. Special mention should also be
made of Callum Marshall, coach, and
captain Katie Brown.
● Table tennis: In the first ever South Lakes
table tennis competition, 2 very talented
teams were entered in the under 15s and
under 19s. The under 15s (Rob Jones,
Sammy Arthur, Charlie MacKenzie, Cory
Robinson, James McAllister and Alex
Sutherland) finished third whilst the
under 19s, (Roger Pimblett, Oliver
Maberley, Chris Carradice and Sam
Dixon) stormed to victory, finishing the
day unbeaten.
● Anthony Aggidis, in Year 10, represented
the County in
the Regional
10s under 15s
Rugby Competition
at Tynedale
Rugby
Union Football
Club playing
for Cumbria
against County
Durham and
Northumberland
on 11th
April 2007.
● In the South Lakes rounders
tournament, a mixed under 14 team
(Shaun Davies, Mark Weighman, Janet
Holt, Bryoni Knowles, Jake Brewer,
Kevin Bell and Jessica Woof) finished
third, after some excellent batting and
fielding performances, in an event
contested with five other local schools.
● Year 12 have organised sports festivals
for year five children in primary schools
feeding QKS, and Year 10 sports leaders
have been teaching primary school
children at Selside and Grayrigg athletics
and gymnastics.
● Athletes Lisa Nicholson (Javelin,) Jenny
Addison (800m,) Max Obale (200m,) and
Kieran Alderson (1500m and 3000m)
were selected to represent the South
Lakes at the County Championships in
June.
● Sports Day took place this term, and
every student in the School had the
opportunity during their ordinary PE
lessons to qualify for the finals, held on
July 10th.
● Finally, we cannot fail to mention P.E.
teacher Vicki Jones’ outstanding achievement
in captaining the Cumbria Ladies’
hockey team to victory in the National
championships last month.
STOP PRESS
Fiddler Scott Hartley, accompanied on
the guitar by Callum Leech, was
privileged to play support at the Brewery
on 29th June to folk fiddle legend Dave
Swarbrick’s band Lazarus.
The duo played a short set, including
some traditional Lake District tunes,
before the main event, and they went
down a storm.
Simon Platt
QKS sixth former Simon Platt, as has
been reported in the Westmorland
Gazette, has continued his progress in the
demanding field of Nordic (or cross
country) skiing.
Simon has had to fit in rigorous training
schedules with his “A” level studies, with
the additional responsibility of being
athlete’s representative of the British
Nordic Development Squad. Competition
and training have recently taken
him to Poland, Austria and Jaca in Spain,
where Simon was part of the team which
recorded Britain’s best ever result in the
10Km race of the European Youth
Olympic Winter Festival. Simon is now
concentrating his efforts on competing in
the Junior World Ski Championships in
2009. We wish him the best of luck.
© 2007 Queen Katherine School, Kendal • Design & Layout by Indent Limited, Kendal (www.indent.info) • Printed by Kent Valley Colour Printers Ltd., Kendal (Tel. 01539 741344)