Summer Newsletter 2013 (pdf) - Bishop Fox's School

Newsletter SUMMER_Layout 1 10/07/2013 11:38 Page 1 

NEWSletter 

Dear Parents/Guardians 

The final Newsletter of this year follows our recent Ofsted 

visit and the overall judgement of “GOOD”. 

The two day inspection was probably less gruelling than 

previous ones for all manner of reasons. 

In the four categories the school was judged to be 

“Good”, though Team discussions over the two days 

indicated that the school was very close to the 

“Outstanding” category in both behaviour and leadership 

and management. 

Teaching and learning, to the credit of staff, was judged 

“good” with 76% of lessons falling into this or the 

outstanding benchmark. Pleasingly no lessons were 

judged inadequate. 

Particular note must be made of students who were 

“magnificent” with only one or two exceptions. It is very 

comforting as Head of the school to know that students 

will respond positively in support of their school. 

The Governors participation in the inspection was judged 

very favourably also and my thanks go to all members of 

the school community for their individual contributions 

to an inspection framework which is judging many 

schools very harshly indeed. 

The Year 6 numbers are currently at 190 with a number 

of appeals having proved successful. This number is of 

course higher than our admission number and reflects 

the growing popularity of the school. 

STAFFING 

We are fully staffed for September and the staffing profile 

is reducing in age. The proportion of staff costs in the 

budget has fallen to below 77% and we have six NQTs 

starting with us in September. 

Additional staffing in LSA’s and teaching staff in English, 

Maths and Science have been secured from the Pupil 

Premium funding. 

Staff leaving us at the end of the year include – Miss 

Pitman (Drama), Mrs Finney, Miss Parker, Mrs Johnson, 

Mrs Naum, Mr Parker and the ever youthful Mr Kirk who 

will be retiring after 27 years of teaching at Bishop Fox’s. 

We wish them all well and every happiness in the future. 

On the support staff, we also say a fond farewell to Miss 

Lithgow, Miss Kelland and Miss Siddiqui. 

This is the healthiest budget we have had in my time at 

Fox’s. Responsibility for this healthy resourcing lies with 

the additional Academies monies, the growth in student 

numbers and the scope of our Pupil Premium funding. 

Although I regarded the Academy development as 

politically naive, as Mrs Robertson our Business 

Manager, pointed out recently it was “the best decision 

we ever made”. She speaks clearly from the position of 

guardian of the purse! 

The Astroturf is now a financial reality at the present time 

and we are hoping to start the building process in the 

coming academic year. The future looks to be a positive 

one for the next phase of the schools’ development. 

Fingers crossed!!!!! 

I wish you all a very long and happy summer break. 

Paul Scutt, Headteacher 

High Standards & High Expectations


DIGITAL LEADERS 

This year saw a new initiative launched within Bishop Fox’s - A 

Student Digital Leaders programme. Its main objective is to 

ensure that the most effective education technology is being 

embedded into all areas of school life, helping students to 

achieve their full potential and equipping them with skills for a 

21st Century and a global workspace. An application process 

was established and a number of students applied to become 

the schools’ first set of Student Digital Leaders. The quality 

within the applications was huge and we are now proud to have 

8 Student Digital Leaders (SDLs). 

Since starting their role the SDLs have enthusiastically begun 

a number of projects. They visited the Apple Store in Exeter to 

work with some Apple experts to produce a trailer to showcase 

their services to the school. The students thoroughly enjoyed 

this opportunity and produced some fabulous trailers. The 

SDLs have also carried out staff training sessions on the iPads 

and one SDL has even begun to develop an App for the school. 

Exciting times ahead! 

You can keep up to date with their work by following them on 

Twitter @FoxsDigiLeaders or subscribe to their channel on 

YouTube – Foxs DigiLeaders. 

Mr Ayres, Digital Leader Co-ordinator 

Duke of Edinburgh 

Students at Bishop Fox's have just completed their Duke of 

Edinburgh Bronze award, Students have been working on the 

scheme for 9 months, during this time they have undertaken 4 

challenges. Students have had to develop a personal skill, 

undertaken voluntary work in the community, participated 

and developed skills in a new sport or physical activity and taken 

part and planned an expedition. They have also had a 

practice expedition in the Blackdown hills, with the 

assessed expedition on Exmoor. Mr Summerill, Assistant Head, 

said 'School should provide more than just the prescribed 

curriculum, we believe students should be given a wider range 

of challenges and have the opportunity to give something back 

to the community, our D of E programme does just that'. Students 

complete the Bronze in Year 10 and the Silver award in Year 11. 



Bishop Fox Cycle for charity 

15 students and 2 members of staff took part in the 50/50 Rotary 

cycle ride on Sunday 9th June. The aim of the event was to have 

fun cycling but also to raise money for Rotary charities and the 

school charity of Macmillan cancer care. The students 

completed between 30 and 70 miles on the day, the event was 

split into 3 different routes which, if all cycled accounted for 57 

miles, some students made a few extra detours. The majority of 

students completed over 45 miles with 6 students completing 

all 3 routes. Miss Smith took part but unfortunately crashed 

during her ride, but still got back on and completed!! 

Mr Summerill also took part, he said 'It is great to see so many 

students participating, we will aim for 25 students next year!!'. 

Liam Rabjohns completed all 3 routes and said 'I am really proud 

of myself, I hoped I could complete the 3 routes but really 

pleased that I did'. 

Student Catering Team 

Miss Fraser-Roe has formed a Student Catering Team this term 

with some of her willing Year 10 GCSE Food Technology students. 

They have already successfully helped cater and serve 

refreshments at the Summer Concert and Sports Day, making 100 

cupcakes and cream teas. Next year they hope to continue to 

develop their skills as a team helping support new events on the 

school calender. 

TLP Choir 

Bishop Fox’s has led the development on a Taunton Learning 

Partnership (TLP) choir, consisting of 6 Primary schools and 15 

Bishop Fox's students. The Choir gives the chance for the 

Primary schools to work with Miss Wride and Mr Thomas the 

singing teacher to develop higher level music skills. The choir 

will perform twice this term at Bishop Fox’s leading to a final 

performance at the TLP Awards Evening on the 12th July. 

Miss Wride says " It's lovely to give the students the 

opportunity to perform in a large ensemble to a large audience". 

Mr Summerill says " Bishop Fox’s likes to be a key partner with 

the local primary schools and this is just an example of us 

offering commitment to local primary schools through the TLP". 



STUDENT COUNCIL 

It has been another busy year for the Student Council at Bishop 

Fox’s. The elected representatives from each tutor group have met 

regularly to discuss the important issues of the time. 

Representing the student body, they started the year with a SWOT 

analysis which was taken to the Senior Leadership Team and the 

site team to discuss and inform planning. Also the School Council 

had a ballot and chose the school’s charity for 2012-13 Macmillan 

Cancer Support, Think Amy Campaign & Children’s Hospice 

SouthWest. 

Topics included: the use of the hall at lunchtime, the canteen, 

reception duty, trips, the Equalities Policy, student voice, ICT 

provision and rewards, have been some of the issues that have 

been debated. Miss Tonkin and Mrs Robertson have found that 

the students are very passionate about improving the experience 

at Fox’s and have made sure that their voices have been heard. 

Also the school council reps had a session with a focus on the 

Ofsted experience from the point of view of the students. We were 

very proud of the comments made by the Inspectors from the 

meetings that they had with the student body, including a group 

of school council representatives. 

Well done to all who have been involved this year, speaking up for 

their community and making things happen as a consequence. 

This is politics at work. 

PREFECTS 

This is a very busy half term for Year 10 students – including 

exams, work experience and the Prefect Application process. 

A massive congratulations for the new cohort of prefects who have 

been successfully chosen to be prefects for 2013-14. It is an 

extremely important job that needs to be done and the cohort of 

prefects are positive role models for all students to aspire to. 

There are various roles that the prefects fulfil including helping with 

reading rebels for KS3 students, wake and shake, supporting 

homework club in C1, organising the Careers library, coordinating 

practice interviews with Mrs Dalling, doing lunchtime duties, 

entertaining the masses in the hall, supporting school events, 

guides for parents on Open Evening, meeting and greeting at 

Parents’ Evening amongst many others. It is going to be a busy 

time – but I can’t imagine that there is a better group of students 

to work with! 

We have been very proud of the way that the prefects have 

conducted themselves so far, this includes the prefect training day 

in June. Mr Hudson, a former school governor, used his military 

background to give advice to the teams on how to be more 

assertive. Miss Pitman and Mr Appleby provided activities that 

were fun and helped them work together in teams. 

It was a great day and a lot was learnt in preparation to start duties 

in September. 

NEW HEAD PREFECTS 

The new Head Prefects with their specific areas of responsibility 

are: 

Lucy Gratland (Head Girl and leader of Hall Team) 

Jack Scadden (Head Boy and Duty Team Leader) 

Coryn Howse (Duty Team Leader) 

Will Larkman (Duty Team Leader) 

Adrian Lane (Duty Team Leader) 

Fahad Hossain (Duty Team Leader) 

Lori Barnes (Leader of Careers Team) 

Alicia Gudge (Leader of SEN Team) 

A big congratulations to the new team. It has been particularly 

difficult this year due to the exceptional calibre of the Year 10 

prefects. 

The selection of Head Prefects is a very rigorous process with the 

8 candidates completing a gruelling interview with Mr Scutt and 

Miss Tonkin where the various roles are decided. Prior to this 

selection the prefects have to fill out an application form which 

requires a student sponsor and a staff sponsor to endorse their 

application. All of Year 10 have also had the opportunity to vote 

for those that have showed real leadership potential on the Prefect 

Training Day. Staff have also been given the opportunity to 

comment on the applicant’s personal strengths and leadership 

skills. 

We wish the team the very best for 2013-14; leading a team of 

your peers can have its difficulties but we are confident that you 

all have the attributes to do your job exceptionally well. 



Sports Day 2013 

Most Outstanding Performances 

Sports Leaders 

Megan Baker 

School Record 1500m 

James Slipper 

School Record Shot & Discus 

Most Outstanding Leaders 

Record Breakers 

Henry Dawe and Millie Rossiter 

Will Larkman 

Javelin 

Tim Mckee 

100m and 200m 

Darrian Palfrey 

Triple Jump 

Winning Forms 

Forms with the Highest Participation 

7 JE – 79% 8AM – 81% 9BB – 74% 10JMD – 59% 

10GD 9SK 8AM 7EG 

Congratulations 

To all participants, winners, achievers and supporters for a great event. 

Special mention to the Year 10 Catering Team, the Media Team , Young Enterprisers, 

Year 10 GCSE Dancers, Officials and TA’s for ice lolly sales. 



Sports News 

BISHOP FOX’S WIN THE UNDER 12 AND UNDER 14 DISTRICT CUP ! 

Bishop Fox’s Under 12 Football Team beat Castle in the final 

of the Under 12 District Cup. 

Joe Heybourne, Arthur Rawles, Liam Phillips, Ashton Norie, Ross 

Burnell, Tom Higham, Tayla Woods, Joe Sawyer, Ashley Bennett, 

Laurie Stewart, Will Harvey, Kacper Luszczynski, Ben Mills 

Bishop Fox’s Under 14 Football Team beat Heathfield in the final 

of the Under 14 District Cup. 

Tim Mckee, Joseph Hurd, Harvey Revolledo, Sam Payne, Mark 

Sanders, Josh Sloman, James Ostle, Curtis Clark, Jamie Corrick, 

Keynone Blight, Kye Toogood, Matt Trump, Zak Harriss, Michael Coe 

Cricket 

Year 8 Cricket 

After a slow start to the season our Year 8 team went on to win 6 

out of 7 games and we are still looking to re-arrange the final 

game. If we win the final game, we could finish top of the league. 

It has been another positive season, with a lot more interest and 

more of our players playing for clubs outside of school. All of which 

has meant players have improved and so has the team. Individual 

performances are therefore hard to mention, but some key factors 

in winning certain games include; a 52 and a 65 not out from Harry 

Smith, Liam Winter reaching his retirement total, Joe Nicholls with 

a 3 for and Jack Jackman with a 4 for, to name but a few. It has 

been a real squad development this year with many players getting 

some game time throughout the season. This means we can look 

forward to another successful season next year, hopefully showing 

even more development. 

Most Committed Player: Liam Winter 

Most Improved Player: Jack Jackman 

Most Valuable Player: Harry Smith 


The Year 10 Cricket side have once again proved very 

committed with attendance at training and matches never being 

an issue. Individual progress has been huge in many cases, 

largely due to practice and involvement in club cricket which 

stretches their ability and understanding. A big win against the 

Academy was followed unfortunately with losses to Castle and 

West Somerset due mainly to inadequate batting leaving the 

bowling attack too much to do. 


A solid season this year for the Year 9 team, finishing mid table. 

Overall we had some good performances, even in some of the 

games that we lost. Consistent bowling from Keynone Blight, 

wickets taken by Harvey Revolledo, score card ticked over by 

Callum Lee and Mark Sanders, to name but a few. However, I 

believe with better commitment from some squad players that 

hardly featured this year, it would only help our team’s 

development. Looking forward to competition for places and a 

committed squad to show great improvement next season. 

Special mention to Rosie Brain our teams scorer and the ‘catering 

team’. 

Most Committed Player: Keynone Blight 

Most Improved Player: Alex Jenkins 

Most Valuable Player: Mark Sanders 

Scores of note were returned by Sam Hammond, Connor Noble 

and Tom Bennett whilst the bowling showed more depth with 

Connor Noble, Tom Harris, Ben Henson, Tom Bennett and Millie 

Rossiter contributing. I wish all luck in their cricketing future. 

A final mention to Millie Rossiter who has been an example to 

all for the past 4 years. 

Most Improved: Ben Henson 

Most Committed: George Johnston 

Most Valuable Player: Connor Noble 



Sports News 

The Spring 

term will see 

the arrival of the 

Hockey season, 

all are welcome. 

ATHLETICS 

Area Athletics took place for the Year 7’s & 8’s at Danesfield 

School. Many students competed and many performed 

extremely well, winning performances came from Jack Slipper 

– Year 8 Shot Putt, Charlie Penny – Year 8 Shot Putt, Jacob 

Coxon – Year 8 100m. The Year 8 boys relay team also left the 

other schools running in their tracks as they stormed to a 

celebratory 1st place. 

The Year 9’s & 10’s competed at The Castle School, again many 

exceptional performances. James Slipper won both the shot 

and discus, and Tim McKee and Harvey Revolledo both had 

excellent sprint races. 

A special mention needs to be given to Tim McKee who has 

made great progress this season. Early in June Tim qualified to 

compete at Exeter Arena in the South West Schools; racing in 

both the 100m and 200m and coming top 3 in both races very 

nearly got him through to compete at Nationals. His time was 

just milliseconds off – fingers crossed for next year! 

A team of Year 7 and 8 athletes also competed in the Junior 

Championships in Yeovil. The competitors had to have met 

specific standards in order to perform, so the group were select. 

Having the opportunity to perform on a proper athletics track 

was a first for most of those at the event; all embraced this 

opportunity and gave it their all. Megan Baker succeeded in the 

challenge of breaking the school record for the 1500m – a 

fabulous achievement. 

Training has also paid off for other athletes with school records 

also being broken by Will Larkman (javelin) and James Slipper 

(shot and discus). 

Long distance runners should keep their eye out for information 

on cross country events later in the year. 

ROUNDERS 

Although training began at the start of the term the competitive 

season got off to a slow start due to our fabulous summer 

weather. Many games have still not been played due to having 

been postponed. 

Year 7 are still yet to play their first match – this has 

unfortunately meant that we have lost some players throughout 

the term. However there is still a solid team who show full 

commitment at training and who will compete over the final 

weeks of term. They have also had some good practice by 

training with the older years. 

Years 8, 9 and 10 have had many more successes than defeats. 

Year 8 have developed into a very strong team, with excellent 

cooperation and teamwork. Fielding skills have been much 

improved through communication and improved knowledge 

and understanding of the game. 

Year 9 have had training interrupted due to many having other 

commitments within school and therefore being unable to 

attend all training sessions – unfortunately this has had a 

detrimental effect on their teamwork and therefore game play. 

Year 10 work superbly well together and can resist pressure of 

other schools when necessary. They excelled in their most 

recent game against Heathfield – the pressure from Fox’s made 

the opposition crumble before the first innings were over. 

Hopefully a similar situation occurs in their next match against 

Castle. 

Player of the Season 

Year 7 - Abigail Bailey 

Year 9 - Min Riggs 

Most Committed 

Year 7 - Oceanna Bond 

Year 9 - Chelsy Dingle 

Most Improved 

Year 7 - Ruth Northcote-Brewer 

Year 9 - Sadie Fear 

Year 8 - Maisie Pring 

Year 10 - Chloe Mayhew 

Year 8 - Carys Wills 

Year 10 - Emily Herbert 

Year 8 - Fahamina Hossian 

Year 10 - Freya Bryant 

AND FINALLY... 

A huge thank you to all the hard work that the Sports Leaders 

put into the support for Sports Day. They ensured the day ran 

smoothly and were invaluable with their contributions. They 

demonstrated on the day the skills that have made them 

excellent Leaders throughout the Year. 

They have been involved in a series of Primary Festivals 

throughout the summer term and we have had some fabulous 

comments from the visiting Primary Teachers, who have said 

they have always enjoyed coming to Fox's and how 

professional the Leaders have been. A huge thank you to all for 

the hard work they have put in this year. 

Mr Davies 



Poetry Day 

Year 7 students at Bishop Fox’s School recently had a very 

entertaining day with Poet, Paul Cookson, poet in residence to the 

National Football Museum. 

Following an initial presentation, during which students were 

entertained with readings of Paul’s highly comical poems and 

anecdotes, groups visited master classes where they were given 

the opportunity to ask Paul questions about his career and writing 

poetry. They also wrote comical group poems with Paul, learning 

about structure and rhythm. 

All of the students had enjoyed the day enormously - with many 

comments that poetry was more fun than they could ever have 

imagined! 

Fab Art Club 

Visit to Sheppy’s Cider Farm 

The Art Club went on a visit to Sheppy’s Cider Farm in May to 

get inspired for this year’s Community Arts Project. The theme 

is ‘Orchard’ which we worked on and provided an exhibition. 

During the visit the students saw chickens, ducks and other farm 

animals. We looked around the museum and saw some vintage 

farm and cider production machinery. We also posed for 

photographs for the Gazette to promote the “Flag for Somerset 

Competition”. Students had a great time; the sun was shining 

and the orchards were beautiful with the trees all covered in pink 

blossom. We tasted some lovely apple juice and enjoyed ice 

creams. 

Special thanks to: Mr Summerill & Mrs Sloman 

Mrs Thomas 

OFTSED REPORT 

“A GOOD SCHOOL WITH MANY OUTSTANDING FEATURES” 

Once again Bishop Fox’s School has been rated “Good” with 

many outstanding features by Ofsted. 

The Inspection Team visited the school on the 18 and 19 April 

2013. 

The school secured a judgement of “Good” in all four categories 

including “achievement”, teaching and learning, leadership and 

management and behaviour and safety. 

Photo: Libby, Yaz, Anita, Elisabeth and Charlotte 

Headteacher, Paul Scutt commented that: 

“we are delighted with the outcome of the inspection particularly 

given the framework which is so much more demanding than 

previous ones. 

A great many schools have suffered under this new framework. 

We had the opportunity to attend the regular review meetings of 

the team during the inspection and it was heart-warming to know 

that we were within a whisker of the outstanding judgement in two 

of the four categories. 

Highlights in the report include the comments that: 

“students make good progress throughout the school because 

teaching is good” 

“students behave well and feel very safe” 

“leaders at all levels, including the Governing Body, are ambitious 

and have high expectations of students”. 

High Standards & High Expectations 

76% of all lessons were judged to be good or outstanding and 

none inadequate. 

This is the third recent inspection where the school has been highly 

regarded despite the change in the framework and the raising of 

the bar. 

My staff and students are the jewels in our crown and I am 

delighted for them that the school continues to be highly respected 

by the system”

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SUMMER CONCERT 2013 

This year’s concert was held on June 20th. Students 

had worked for months and months to produce an 

outstanding performance on the evening. 

Music 

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This concert showcased what the students have 

achieved this term in the Music Department with the 

majority of soloists being from Year 11 and 

showcasing their GCSE music solo and ensembles 

pieces. The staff choir once again made an 

appearance as did the show choir. 

After the evening drinks were held in the courtyard 

with some summer themed cupcakes made by the 

schools new student catering team! Thank you to 

those who supported the evening. 

ROADIES 

Thank you to all of the music roadies for all of their 

help and support this year in the music department. 

INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS 

Anyone wishing to start a new musical 

instrument/singing lessons in September must see 

Miss Wride to get the NEW paperwork. 

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High Standards & High Expectations 

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Maths Excellence Awards 

UK Junior Maths Challenge 

Congratulations to 

George Hogben, Siyu Huang, Elizabeth Jewell, 

Emily Robinson and Alex Wagner 

on achieving the Half Excellence Award 

Congratulations to 

Gabrielle Joslin, Chris Grabham, Adrian Lane, 

Will Larkman and Millie Rossiter 

on achieving the Full Excellence Award 

In April a number of Year 7 and 8 students took part in this 

particularly demanding national competition. Well done to all who 

participated and particular congratulations to the following for 

being awarded certificates. 

Bronze: 

Year 7 

Year 8 

Silver: 

Year 7 

Year 8 

Benjamin Mills, Nick Denslow, 

Wojciech Toczydlowski, Samuel Cunningham, 

Joseph Uff 

Lucas Swaine, Fahamina Hossain, Elliot Joslin, 

Emilie Gunn, Jessica Wells 

George Hogben, Emily Robinson, Alex Wagner, 

Siyu Huang 

Elizabeth Jewell, Charlie Penny 

Gold and Best in School: 

Matthew Kingdom 

Pi Challenge Update! 

As reported in the Easter newsletter, KS4 teacher Liz Harvey ran a number of activities 

on International Pi Day (Thursday 14th March) to raise awareness of the magical 

mathematical number Pi. One of the challenges was to see who could memorise the 

greatest number of digits of Pi. Winners are now confirmed as Liam Cannings 9BB 

and Ciaran Nicholls 10PC, who memorised 50 and 100 digits respectively. The overall 

champion was Rosie Brain 9SK who memorised a staggering 120 digits! All winners 

received a Pi badge, certificate, and, of course, some ‘Pie!’ 

Well done to all! 

Accelerated Reader 

Accelerated Reader is here at Bishop Fox’s. We have 

purchased a new, innovative and 

interactive reading programme, 

designed to engage all students 

in reading for pleasure, improve 

their reading skills and thereby 

improve their literacy abilities in 

all areas of the curriculum. 

All Year 7 and 8 students have now taken a ‘bench mark’ 

reading comprehension test. The results of which have 

provided us with a range of data on each student’s reading 

ability, including a Reading Comprehension Age score, a 

National Curriculum score and a ZPD score ( Zone of Proximal 

Development or Book Level). It is the ZPD score that students 

will use to select a book at the appropriate level and then (within 

24 hours of completing the book) take an online quiz on that 

book. 

Students are encouraged to read at least 25 minutes per day 

and record their reading on a reading log. They should select 

books in the first instance at the lower end of their ZPD in order 

to gain some early successes on the quizzes. They can then 

move up through their ZPD so long as they are hitting their 

minimum target of 85%. 

Certificates, prizes and awards will be presented to students 

who read the most words – The Millionaires Club, and those 

who consistently achieve 100% on the quizzes – The 100% 

Club, each half term. 

The school Reading Champions have also been trained in how 

Accelerated Reader works and can help with any questions, 

students or parents may have about the programme, selection 

of books, help with quizzes and reading skills. 

Well done for the commitment and enthusiasm these students 

have shown in helping set up the Programme: A big thank you 

goes to: 

Annabel Cook 

Izi Dunn 

Sadie Fear 

Rebecca Woodgate 

Rosie Brain 

Harvey Revolledo 

Santos Ganga 

Talia Williams-Altun 

Kimberley Puxty Jakub Kozuch 

Samadhi Alagoda Matt Trump 

Tim McKee 

Michael Coe 

If you would like to know more about how Accelerated Reader 

works – go to www.renlearn.co.uk 

Mrs Bell, Lead Teacher for Literacy 



10 go to Oxford University 

In the depths of December I made an application in the hope that 

some students would be able to get on to the Oxford pathways 

programme. The New Year dawned with good news but tinged 

with a sting. The application was successful but there would only 

be provision for 10 students. To win the places, just like applying 

for a real place at Oxford, our high achieving students had to 

submit a 150 word personal statement, have data from the school 

showing that they were on course for achieving A / A* in all their 

subjects and to be received by a deadline, midday 28 February 

2013. 

An early morning email on 4 March and the names of the 

successful students arrived from the city of dreaming spires. We 

would be off to St John’s College, Oxford on Wednesday 12 June 

2013 

To get to Oxford for the 10:15 start the school minibus, safely and 

ably driven by Mr Barnett-Jones, whisked the bleary eyed 10 off 

just before 7:00am. Note – how to have a minibus full of students 

quiet; get them out of bed around about 6am!! 

The day itself unwound at pace. A quick cup of coffee and 

biscuits, then, into the auditorium of St John’s to meet with the 

other 7 school parties. We thought we had travelled far but one 

had travelled down from Leeds while another school had come 

from Sussex. We quickly learnt about the University and found 

out that Tony Blair went to St John’s as well as Boris Johnson! A 

sense of political balance 

Soon we were off in the company of a second year biochemistry 

student who gave us a whistle stop tour of the main University 

sites. We even got to go into the science park, not normally open 

to the public, where all the labs are located. This is all high rise 

modern steel and glass buildings that would not look out of place 

in Canary Wharf. 

Our next port of call was Worcester College. The entrance looks 

quite insignificant and unassuming from the busy main road but 

step through the medieval solid oak door and we were surrounded 

by architectural magnificence, quiet and the most pristinely cut 

lawn that would give Wimbledon a run for its money. A more 

sedately paced tour of Worcester revealed their libraries - £250 pa 

grant for books for each student; students cramming for their final 

exams; a garden bigger than Vivary Park complete with its own 

beautiful lake leading down to the College’s own cricket and rugby 

pitches and on to the boathouse. 

The student accommodation is stunning – it makes Holiday Inn 

look down at heel! A communal kitchen for 4 students to share 

looking as though it had come out of the Ikea catalogue was 

shown off. We were even allowed to step in to a student’s room 

to see what it was like – tidy!! No wonder they have a “scout” who 

tidies the room each day and cleans once a week. I could feel our 

group wanting this arrangement for their everyday living now. Free 

fast unlimited broadband in every room topped off the envy. 

Lunch in the ornate dining room was a bit of a let-down as we 

thought we would have something sumptuous. A plate of home 

produced pizza and chips with salad was more little chef than 

master chef. 

The afternoon slot was given over to a style of lecture based on 

the Oxbridge tutorial system derived from the Socratic system of 

the Greeks. With the school from Leeds we were involved in a 

tutorial with the Director of the political science programme who 

lead us on an exploration of the notion of democracy. His style of 

questioning certainly flummoxed many of the students especially 

when having posed a question to a student he patiently waited for 

the student to try to formulate an answer. The long silences 

became a form of psychological torture with nowhere to hide. Our 

champion within this session was James Lovelock who produced 

some well -argued points 

The day finished with a plenary session at St John’s with advice 

on how to apply to Oxford, what grades they needed to be thinking 

about at GCSE and what type of courses to study at A level for 

entry. We rounded the time off with a number of photo 

opportunities before escaping back into the minibus. The long 

day ended back where we started but at 7:00pm, tired but having 

had the chance to view a possible future for our students. 

What did our students think of the experience To paraphrase 

they all want to go to university, they were amazed by the whole 

experience, astounded by the possibility of being able to study 

over 5,000 subjects but also the reality of needing to study hard 

now as 7 A* are required at GCSE if you want to be considered for 

medicine let alone the A*AA minimum at A level. 

Would they go again An overwhelming, yes. So if you will be in 

Year 10 in 2014 are working hard then look out, the Oxford trip 

may be coming your way. 

The students: Sasha Blackmore, Ellie Causley, Ope Howard, Gabbi 

Joslin, Caitlin Law, Millie Rossiter, Adrian Lane, Will Larkman, 

James Lovelock, Fin Shanley-Hayes 

G Nuttall-Owen 

G&T Coordinator & Head of Computing / IT 

4 Win University Place 

Four talented Year 9 students won a 4 day Railway Engineering 

course at the University of Bath. Ben Prouse, Sadie Fear, 

Phoebe Causley and Lucas Williams will be provided with the 

opportunity to work with professional engineers on design and 

make projects and learn basic engineering skills. 

All students participated in a STEM day at Bishop Fox’s and 

were identified as showing talent in this area and subsequently 

provided good reasons why they should be involved. 



RBishop Fox’s Awards 

Form Awards 

TUTOR GROUP GIRL BOY 

7HFR Holly Ward Joshua Chivers 

7CAM Rachael Bailey Samuel Cunningham 

7LKH Devin Budge Tom Higham 

7JE Siyu Huang Ashley Harris 

7JS Megan Dyke Jordan Richards 

7EG Megan Baker Arthur Rawles 

8SD Emy Ikelle Ryan Smith-Thomas 

8AM Charlotte Colvin Vinny Gordon 

8PB Elisabeth Willis Harry Smith 

8SB Laura Herbert Giles Cosgrove 

8MJT Samantha Holding Joshua Woolgar 

8RLS Ellie Sharkey Mitchell Stratford 

9SK Phoebe Causley Kai Awon 

9LS Katy Gardner Jacob Matthews 

9KAS Théa Lumley Dominic Cleverdon 

9SL Katie Wide Oliver Rawles 

9BB Annabel Cook Matthew Trump 

9RWA Megan Wilkins Sam Neal 

10PC Bethany-Rose Howe Adrian Lane 

10KLH Edna Filipa Dias Da Silva Jack Scadden 

10KP Jessica Walding Fahad Hossain 

10GD Siobhan Ellett Mark Ovens 

10JMD Alicia Gudge Alexi Gunn 

10ER Jennifer Horsey Caleb Reeve 

Excellence Awards 

Massive congratulations to all students who have recently been 

awarded a half award (recognised with a certificate and badge) 

or full award (recognised with a certificate and tie) in a full range 

of different academic subject areas. 

There has been a big push this year to recognise students who 

have excelled in their best subject areas; rather than only 

performing arts, sport, and enterprise which have previously 

awarded half and full colours. 

Areas of Experience 

Mathematics 

Language 

Science 

Performing Arts 

Physical Education 

Humanities 

Design 

Enterprise 

Subjects included 

Maths 

English, MFL 

Science 

Music, Dance, Drama 

P.E (known as “Colours”) 

History, Geography, RE 

DT, ART 

Business, HSC, Media and ICT 

Excellence Awards have been introduced to motivate students 

to aspire for excellence in all areas of the curriculum. These 

awards are to recognise excellent standards of achievement and 

a sustained period of making a positive contribution in a 

curriculum area. 

“Excellence” may be awarded in each of the following 

curriculum areas: 

Students receiving Excellence in more than three curriculum 

areas are awarded an Academic Excellence tie for outstanding 

all round performance. This is the highest academic honour that 

can be achieved at Bishop Fox’s. 

There are currently only 5 students who have been awarded 

Academic Excellence, so congratulations to: 

Rosie Brain, Will Larkman, Millie Rossiter, Adrian Lane and Olivia 

Hooper. 




Individual Subject Awards 

SUBJECT KS3 Boy KS3 Girl KS4 Boy KS4 Girl 

Art Lawrence Ward Maddi Phillips Conner Deverill Jennifer Horsey 

BTEC Science Steven Hookway Tabi Bower 

BTEC Sport Karl Acosta Jasmine Forgham 

Business Studies Jakub Kozuch Olivia Maxey Adrian Lane Lauren Underhill 

Dance 

Wojciech 

Toczydlowski 

Fahamina Hossain 

Gabrielle Joslin 

Drama Harry Smith Jessica Wade Sam Hammond Chloe Mayhew 

Electronics Adam Turner Loretta Lashbrook 

English Ben Prouse Rosie Wright Drew Kilpatrick- Eleanor Williams 

Thomas 

FLC Award Brandon Reeve Rebekka Young Liam Rabjohns Skye Body 

Food Technology James Ostle Abbey Hawkins Harry Howe Kiera Wilkins 

Foundation Learning Harley Butcher Lee Anne Hailes 

Geography Curtis Clark Sadie Fear Henry Dawe Jennifer Horsey 

Graphic Products Paul Vickery Jade Viney Arvin Ariola Ope Howard 

Health & Social 

Laura Grinter 

Care 

History Jamie Janas Talia Williams-Altun Will Larkman Laura-Jane Parker 

ICT Adam Turner Samadhi Alagoda Jack Donaldson Sophie George 

Latin Jakub Kozuch Fahamina Hossain 

Mathematics Adam Turner Rosie Brain Christopher 

Grabham 

Gabrielle Joslin 

Media Harrison Evens Sarah Cooke Callum Perrin Chloe Worth 

French Timothy McKee Sadie Fear Alexi Gunn Chloe Adams 

Music Samuel Payne Lily Smith Christopher 

Grabham 

PBL Samuel Cunningham Natasha Carter 

Lucy Gratland 

Physical Education Harvey Revolledo Imogen Miller Will Larkman Millie Rossiter 

Religious Education Timothy McKee Issy Dunn James Lovelock Laura-Jane Parker 

Resistant Materials Denisi Murataj Katy Gardner Will Larkman Lily Horne 

Science Jakub Kozuch Rosie Brain Adrian Lane Hattie Colwell 

Spanish Jacob Matthews Katy Gardner Diogo Santos Ganga Sasha Blackmore 

Textiles Fynn Aykroyd Megan Wilkins 

Vocational NVQ: 

Const 

Hair & Beauty 

Harry Howe 

Chloe Igglesden 




Individual Awards 

KS 3 & 4 - OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AND ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

(This award is made to the outstanding student in each year group in terms of academic performance and commitment to work) 

Awarded to: 

Yr 7: Emily Robinson and George Hogben Yr 8: Elisabeth Willis and Giles Cosgrove 

Yr 9: Rosie Brain and Adam Turner Yr 10: Caitlin Crocker and Adrian Lane 

KS 3 & 4 – EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

(This award is made to the student in each year group who has shown academic excellence combined with a positive and 

committed approach to work) 

Awarded to: 

Yr 7: Millie Moore and Ben Mills Yr 8: Emilie Gunn and Jack Jackman 

Yr 9: Maddi Phillips and Timothy McKee Yr 10: Lucy Gratland and Szymon Goscik 

MILLENNIUM CUP 

(This cup is awarded for sustained commitment to an extra-curricular project) 

Awarded to Christopher Grabham 

The Delia de Val Award 

(Awarded in recognition of strength of character and determination to succeed) 

Awarded to Shannie Hills 

KS 3 & 4 - ROTARY SHIELD 

(This award is given to the students who have made the greatest contribution for the school to the community) 

Awarded to: Emilie Gunn and Fahamina Hossain 

STUDENT COUNCIL CUP 

(For outstanding contribution to Student Council) 

Awarded to: Alice Vernon and Alyssia Chilcott 

THE FREDA STOCK PRIZE 

(For Creative Writing) 

Awarded to Laura-Jane Parker 

THE BRADLEY BISHOP AWARD 

(For overcoming difficulties) 

Awarded to Megan Littlejohns 

AMY ROSE HOFMEISTER CUP 

(Cup of Friendship Award) 

Awarded to: Tom Higham, Joseph Sawyer, Tayla Woods, Amy Hodge and Chloe Cross-Henley 

DUKE OF EDINBURGH 

Awarded to: Lori Barnes, Sophie Crowley, Caitlyn Dennehy, Siobhan Ellett, Gabrielle Joslin, Adrian Lane, 

Will Larkman, Finlay Shanley-Hayes, Kiera Wilkins and Eleanor Williams 



B & E Update 

Bishop Fox B & E Masterclass 

Bishop Fox’s ran a B & E Masterclass for 5 local primary schools. 

Year 5 students from North Town, Blackbrook, St James, Thurlbear 

and St Georges participated in a range of activities designed to 

develop their enterprise skills. Year 7 students from Bishop 

Fox's supported the students in a series of activities which led to 

the students making a presentation to parents and invited guests. 

Chris Freer, General Manager of the Holiday Inn (who was a judge) 

said 'the standard of the presentations was very high, all students 

should be congratulated'. 

Steve Summerill, Assistant Headteacher who organised the day 

added ' as a B and E school we like to offer this type of experience 

to our local schools, we had a fantastic day'. 

Pictured Students from all 6 schools 

Taunton Chamber of Commerce Awards 

2 Bishop Fox students gained Taunton Chamber of Commerce 

award for their efforts and achievement in Business. Bishop Fox 

were the only school to have 2 students to gain awards. Jessica 

Walding in Year 10 achieved her award for consistent effort and 

achievement in GCSE Business. Alex Clements in Year 11 also 

achieved an award for achieving excellence in business through 

mock and controlled grades. Mr Summerill said “I am so proud of 

our students especially as they been recognised by Our local 

chamber of commerce who base their criteria on students who 

have the skills to be business leaders of the future.” 

Interschool Challenge Day 

Bishop Fox's as a Business and Enterprise school organised 

an inter school B and E challenge for all schools in 

Somerset. The event was organised in conjunction with 

Summerfield developments and young enterprise. The event 

was held at Victoria house and a total of 9 schools took part. 

Each team were given a real plot of land owned by 

Summerfield with the task of designing a housing 

development suitable to the area which is green and 

sustainable. Teams also had to market their development. 

The event was competitive, our Bishop Fox's team had a 

fantastic day and came runners up overall. Mr Summerill 

said 'a fantastic day and result for our students, I was very 

happy to arrange an event for our local schools as a 

Business and Enterprise school it is important to spread the 

word about B and E and to give our gifted and talented 

students an opportunity to compete against our local 

schools' 

Bishop Fox's Science Day 

Bishop Fox's school ran a Year 5 gifted and talented Science day on behalf of the Taunton Learning Partnership, a collaborative 

partnership of all primary and secondary schools in Taunton. Pupils from 18 different primary schools took part with each school 

identifying their Gifted Science students. The students undertook a range of Science experiments in a CSI type day to find clues to 

solve a murder!! Steve Summerill, Chair of the TLP and Assistant Headteacher at Bishop Fox's said 'we feel it is important that all 

schools in Taunton work together to widen the opportunities of all students regardless of their backgrounds.' Jenny Mortlock, 

Science teacher at Bishop Fox's who organised the day added 'We were delighted to be asked to run a day for the gifted Science 

students in the primary schools, we can offer opportunities not available in these schools, we also invited our gifted Year 9 Science 

students to act as team leaders which was a useful experience for them' 



Taunton Canoe Club 

Taunton Canoe Club offers a wide variety of Canoeing and Kayaking activities 

Open Canoe 

White Water 

Kayaking 

Marathon racing 

Kayak Polo 

Sea Kayaking 

Kayak Surfing 

If you are interested in trying out Canoeing or Kayaking why not come along to our 

Open Sessions on the River Tone in Taunton 

Thursday nights throughout the summer months – Starting June 6 th 2013, 6.30pm – 8.00 pm. 

Ages 8 and above. Only £5 per session- All kit and qualified coaching provided. 

For more information visit www .Tauntoncanoeclub.org.uk or contact Gary Williams on 07917 627 841 

The Boat House Priory Bridge Road TAUNTON TA1 1QA 

Priory Bridge car park, opposite the cricket club, behind the new Viridor development 

FROM THE 

SCHOOL OFFICE 

If a student is not in school for 

morning registration, the school will 

contact parents through out text 

messaging system. Therefore please 

ensure you contact the school if your 

child is sick or unable to be in school 

on a particular day and each day they 

are off. 

Attendance Line No: 

01823 255019 

(24/7 voicemail) 

Attendance Email: 

bfoxattendance@educ.somerset.gov.uk 

Green Fox’s 

Green Fox’s is a club set up to encourage our school to act in 

a more environmentally friendly way. Representatives from the 

club are working towards gaining Bishop Fox's an Eco School 

award by reducing the environmental impact that the school 

community has. The dedicated eight members of the Green 

Fox's team have recently carried out an Environmental Audit, 

surveying the human impact that the school currently has. They 

were then responsible for deciding to focus on reducing the 

waste, energy and litter produced by the school and improving 

recycling systems. 

Over the next few months Green Fox’s will be working together 

to establish ways they can promote a more energy efficient, 

green school. 

Waste watch out! We are coming to get you! 

Galmington Dragons U12's Taunton Youth League Cup 

Winners are looking to recruit new players for the coming 2013/14 

season. Therefore, if you are interested in joining a successful FA 

Chartered Development Club, with Level 2 and UEFA B level 

coaches, please contact Manager Carmela Tucker on 07967 

193077 for more information.

Summer Newsletter 2013 (pdf) - Bishop Fox's School

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