1) NEWSLETTER MAY - Pershore High School

May 2011
NewsLetter
www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk
RSC Photography
Competition Winner
Pershore Sixth Form Photography
student, Emma Hildesley, has been
selected as one of five winners in
the Royal Shakespeare Company’s
Photography Compeon.
The compeon had five categories
and was open to anyone aged 16‐25
years.
Emma’s winning photograph was
entered in response to ‘Something
wicked this way comes’, Macbeth,
and was taken during a shoot at
Woodchester Mansion in Stroud as
part of her Year 12 coursework.
Year 13 student, Emma, will join the
four other winning photographers at a
Presentaon Evening to be held in July
at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in
Straord‐upon‐Avon where she will
receive her prize. The winning work
will also form part of an exhibion
both online and at the RSC Straord.
Emma has done exceponally well to
win her category and fought off some
tough compeon. To view a selecon
of the entries please follow this link:
hp://www.flickr.com/photos/
thersckey/
Emma is set to receive a whole bundle
of RSC goodies.
Pictured above: Emma Hildesley with
her winning photograph.
Diary Dates
MAY
13th
20th
27th
Year 12 Study Leave
(last day in school)
Year 11 Study Leave
(last day in school)
Year 13 Study Leave
(last day in school)
HALF TERM HOLIDAY: SATURDAY,
28TH MAY TO SUNDAY, 5TH JUNE
JUNE
13th Futures Day
PLEASE NOTE:
CHANGE OF DATE
Year 12 Parents UCAS
Informaon Evening ‐ 6.00pm
14th Futures Day
15th Vercal Tutoring Launch Day
21st Year 8 Reports issued
24th Presentaon Evening ‐
7.00pm
29th Sixth Form Inducon
30th Sixth Form Inducon
JULY
1st
2nd
5th
8th
15th
19th
20th
21ST
Sports Day
Year 11 Prom
Steve Taylor ‐ Musician
in the Main Hall ‐ 7.30‐10.30pm
(more details on page 16)
New Intake Evening for
Tutors and Parents 7.00pm
New Intake Day
Year 10 Reports issued
Year 9 KS3 TA Levels Report
Acvies Day
Acvies Day
LAST DAY OF TERM
EARLY CLOSURE ‐ 1.20PM
SUMMER HOLIDAY: FRIDAY, 22ND
JULY TO MONDAY, 5TH SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
18th AS/A2 Level Results and
Results Clinic
19th AS/A2 Results Clinic
25th GCSE Level Results and
Results Clinic
26th GCSE Results Clinic
SEPTEMBER
5TH PDD ‐ SCHOOL CLOSED TO
STUDENTS
6TH YEAR 8 AND YEAR 12 RETURN
7TH YEARS 9, 10, 11 AND 13
RETURN

STAFF INTERNAL TELEPHONE
Extension Numbers
PA to Headteacher
Mrs. A. Davenport 256
Deputy Headteacher
Mr. P. Hanson 227
Deputy Headteacher
Mr. A. Nockton 224
Assistant Headteachers
Mr. G. Booth 229
Mrs. I. Forbes 325
Heads of Year
Year 8 ‐ Mrs. J. Higginbotham 268
Year 9 ‐ Mrs. Z. Budding 271
Year 10 ‐ Mr. P. Watson 254
Year 11 ‐ Mrs. G. McPherson 235
Head of Sixth Form
Mr. J. Howell 253
Assistant Head of Sixth Form
Miss E. Bliss 329
Sixth Form Support Officer
Mrs. Jo McKenzie 240
Business Manager
Mr. Russell Dalton 265
Aendance Administrator
Mrs. Julie Hyde 323
Student Services
Mrs. Emma Pleciak 330
Recepon
Mrs. Liz Smart 0
Corbe’s Column: 3 Business Studies: 6,7
Comenius: 7 Eco Club: 7 English: 8
Hampton Centre: 8 ICT: 9 Mathemacs: 9
Learn2: 10 Modern Foreign Languages: 11
Music: 11 PESSCO: 12 Science: 13 Sport: 14
The DofE: 15 Year News: 17 Student News: 20,21
Reply Slip: 22
Aachments: Effecve Pracce Newsleer
PHS Newsletter
Due to increasing prinng costs would you please sign up
to receive your copy by email:
www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk
Click on Newsleer link and then click on
Sign up to Newsleer Email Reminders.
CHANGE OF CONTACT DETAILS
It is imperave that parents keep us informed of changes to
contact details and any medical issues affecng their child.
Please contact the school in the event of any changes to
personal circumstances.
Please contact: Data@pershore.worcs.sch.uk
or by telephone 01386 552471 Ext 257.
SCHOOL UNIFORM - INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
We remind parents at this me of year of school uniform requirements, so that expensive mistakes can be avoided when replacing
items for the new term. Full details of correct uniform can be found in the School Prospectus, and in your child's Student Planner.
The following is a reminder only of main points.
Boys' shirts should be tucked in, and es worn smartly.
In response to concerns about availability, please note that from September, black school skirts will be the
acceptable, as well as navy. Girls' skirts however should be of a style and material appropriate for the school
environment. Length should be on or just above the knee. Stretch fashion skirts are not acceptable.
Girls' blouses should fit appropriately. Tightly fied fashion blouses are not acceptable, camisoles or vest tops should not
be visible.
Shoes, which should be black, also need to be sensibly chosen. Fashion shoes, high heels and pointed toes are not
allowed. Trainers or canvas shoes of any kind are not acceptable, but should be kept for sports
acvies only.
Makeup may not be worn in Years 8 and 9; only very discreet makeup is acceptable on senior girls, and students may be
asked to remove any excess.
Jewellery beyond the minimum of a signet ring and single stud earrings may be confiscated.
Fashion belts are not appropriate.
Students are aware that mobile phones and MP3 players should not be seen in school, and school will not be responsible for loss or
damage. If a student uses any of these inappropriately, the item may be confiscated. Persistent defiance will result in the item
being kept securely in school unl a parent can collect.
You should be aware that students who arrive at school in breach of uniform rules will be reported to the Head of Year, and if the
problem persists, you may be asked not to return your child to school unl the uniform is amended.
I trust that we may count on your support in ensuring that your child appreciates our insistence on high
standards in appearance
Isabelle Forbes
Assistant Headteacher
2

Corbett’s Column
Academy
The formal consultaon process over our possible
conversion to Academy status is nearing its end,
following our applicaon to the Department
for Educaon on 18th March. This process has
already involved three meengs with current
and one with ‘future’ (Year 7) parents, as well
as five opportunies for staff. I have also shared
our plans with Headteachers and some governors
from our partner cluster schools. I am pleased
to report that the Department for Educaon has
approved our applicaon, thus allowing us to
employ a legal team that will explore land and
other contractual issues. The next step is for
members of the full Governing Body to vote
on the issue at a special meeng at 4.30pm
on Thursday, 26th May. If the decision is made
to convert, it is likely that this will be achieved
at some point before the start of the new
academic year. Please refer to the PHS website
www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk
Good Luck
Year 11, 12 and 13 students leave to begin their
external examinaon study leave on 20th, 13th
and 27th May respecvely. We have high hopes
and may I wish them all every success in their
GCSE, AS and A2 examinaons.
Vigilance over use of the internet
Although this will come as no surprise to most
parents, I would like to take this opportunity
to warn once again about the dangers of
unsupervised home computer use. This can
include use of violent or otherwise unsuitable
computer games, not to menon access to
pornographic websites and inappropriate
use of Facebook and other social network sites.
Quite honestly such supervision is very difficult,
but parents can help enormously by having no
computers or televisions in bedrooms or ‘hidden’
places. If you need more informaon and advice
please call us or visit www.ceop.police.uk.
Vertical Tutoring
Plans are well advanced for the introducon of
Vercal Tutoring, something that I am convinced
will further enhance our already excellent
systems of pastoral and academic support for
our students.
The new arrangements will come into force
on Wednesday, 15th June. For further details
please visit www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk.
Students have been issued with their new
Tutor Groups and these are non‐negoable.
House names have been decided following
student consultaon and will be announced to
the students soon.
Presentation Evening
Presentaon Evening is due to take place on
Friday, 24th June at 7.00pm. The guest of
honour is Adrian Chiles and invitaons for the
lucky award winners are due to be sent out in
the next few weeks.
Clive Corbe
Pershore High School
80 th Anniversary Appeal
Pershore High School will be 80 years old
in January 2012.
I would welcome contact from students, staff and friends of all
ages to share their memories, along with any photographs or
memorabilia.
The school will be holding special events and also hopes to
update the booklet which was produced on the school's 70 th
anniversary.
3

UCAS INFORMATION EVENING
5

Business Studies
Visit to Mazak, Worcester
The Year 12 Economics students enjoyed a great visit to Mazak
in Worcester at the end of March. Aer an introducon to the
history of the mulnaonal company, which makes machine tools,
the students were given an insight into how the company is
managed.
It was parcularly interesng to hear how they stay ahead of the
compeon and manufacture to the highest level of quality.
The students were taken around the state‐of‐the‐art Technology
Centre, which show‐cased the machine tools in acon, along with
displays of the huge range of different products that can be made
using Mazak machine tools.
A tour of the factory ended the trip, which was quite an eyeopener
when the scale of producon was on show. The students
were a credit to the school.
Flourishing Fivers
PHS students used their entrepreneurial skills of which members
of Dragons Den would have been proud to raise funds for charity.
Approximately 40 Year 8 students took part in the Flourishing
Fivers project where they were each given £5 to turn into as
much money as possible for St Richard's Hospice.
Some of the brainwaves included: walking dogs, selling cakes,
washing cars, doing household chores, sponsored singing and
plenty more to raise a total of £1,281.
Assistant Head of Year, Julie Taylor, said she was elated with
their efforts. "We were all delighted with the scheme and it was
a very posive experience for all concerned."
Lizzy Brazier, St Richard's fundraising assistant, said they were
very grateful for the school's ongoing support. "Pershore High is
a fantasc supporter of the hospice raising thousands of pounds
over the years to help us connue our care of paents and their
families."
Pictured, from le to right, Rhiannon Cordiner, Mary Goodenough,
Rhiannon Horne, James Coleman, Joshua Dixon, with St Richard’s
community fundraiser Phillippa Jones.
Students set for business contest finals
Pictured: Amreetha Ojalae, Will Hill, Tom Neal, Mike Bluck,
Kae Sexton and Emma Hall.
A group of Year 12 and 13 students recently took me
away from the classroom to take part in a naonal business
compeon. They aended the Herefordshire and
Worcestershire heat of the Business, Accounng and Skills
Educaon (BASE) business game.
The students arrive a Sixways Stadium, the home of Worcester
Warriors Rugby Union Club, where they worked and competed in
teams and took part in several business related acvies and
providing recommendaons on business scenarios in front of a
panel of judges.
The Year 13 team consisted of Emma Hall, Amreetha Ojalae,
Kae Sexton, Tom Neal, Will Hill and Mike Bluck beang 40 other
teams to win the Central Worcestershire category. The team will
compete in the naonal finals of the compeon on 30th June at
the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham. The Year 12 students
who took part included Aneesh Bha, Robert Ireland, Jaeren
Coathup, Oliver Wakefield, Kate Burman and Lucy Taylor.
The students were supported by a business advisor Peter
Hearnshaw from Peter J Hearnshaw & Co, a local accountants.
6

Young Enterprise Company Competition
2011
TEDZ the Young Enterprise Team from Pershore High School were
one of the eight teams selected to take part in Young Enterprise
Company Compeon 2011, South Worcestershire Final on 30 th
March.
The TEDZ Team presented their company fantascally well to
the panel of judges and was successful in securing one of the four
places to go through to the Herefordshire and Worcestershire
finals at County Hall in Worcester.
As an enrichment subject in Sixth Form students opt to take the
subject. They set up in September and come up with a business
idea as a group, appoint people into roles and start trading.
This year they have sold personalized teddy bears in as many
places as possible, such as events taking place at school and at
the Christmas Trade Fair at Worcester Cathedral. They then had
to aend a spring trade fair organized by Young Enterprise and
submit a ten page report on their company including the highs
and lows of the year and their finances, which added to the
scores from the presentaon to take them through to the final.
They will now be fighng it out with the eight teams from
Herefordshire and Worcestershire for the presgious place in the
West Midlands final on 24 th June 2011.
PHS Young Enterprise Team, from le, Millie Boddy, Emma Hall,
Josh Garner, Bethany Mullaly, Stacey Bailey and Rylan Stubbins.
Comenius
Year 8s now have the opportunity to get
involved in the Comenius Project “The
Power of Water”. The year group will be
compleng an extended learning task to
produce an “artefact” that encapsulates
the powerful nature of water. This could
be a sculpture, a poem, a piece of art, a
news report, a mime or a dance. As you
can see this will be a great chance for the
Year group to show their creave side.
The finished projects will be put on the
Project blog along with work from other
schools across the partnership.
This can be found on
comeniuspowerofwater@posterous.com
Good luck and I look forward to reading
your projects.
Mr Kemp
Eco Group
Before Easter I spent a very enjoyable
evening with Bredon Hill Rotary Club
following an invitaon from their
President John Hill and his wife Daphne,
who asked me to speak about the work
of the Eco Group at Pershore High School.
The members were very interested in
the power point I prepared outlining the
work the group have undertaken during
the last two years, both in school and the
wider community, and were keen to ask
quesons and find out about the Group's
future plans.
I was delighted a few days later, not only
to receive a leer of thanks from John on
behalf of the Rotary Club, but also a
cheque for £30 to further the Group's
work. We have used some of this money
to buy mber so that we can make a
number of bat boxes, under the
supervision of Mr Evans, which will then
be erected in the school grounds.
Once again I would like to thank the
Rotary Club for their interest in our work
and their generous donaon towards our
funds.
If anyone would like to find out more
about our work or would like to sponsor
future acvies please contact me at the
school.
Kate Herbert
Eco Co‐ordinator
7

English
Sixth Form Literature
Battlefields Tour 2011
Fieen students studying AS Literature
travelled to Belgium and France at the
end of March in order to enhance their
understanding of the poetry which was
wrien about or during the First World
War.
The tour included visits to key points of
interest during the 1914‐1918 conflict.
Cemeteries, memorials and the landscape
around Ypres and the Somme helped the
students to put into context the wring
they have been studying over the last
year.
Anita Iddon
Head of English
The Balefields Trip can only be
summarised by the word: AMAZING.
It helped greatly to centralise the
influences that shaped World War
One poetry. Seeing the war graves
emphasised the huge loss of life and the
sacrifice that hundreds of thousands of
men made to defend Britain and her
allies; it was incredibly moving to see
hundreds of idencal gravestones ‐
even one of a 15 year old. The whole
experience has been one which has
helped me to understand and digest the
poetry to a greater degree. This is a trip
where the memories will last a lifeme.
James Dodson
It was a very moving few days that
allowed me to make valuable
connecons between poetry that we
had read in class to the place where they
were wrien. The most memorable part
for me was vising Thiepval to see the
names of those who went missing on
the Somme. The amount of names
was overwhelming and allowed me to
understand the war poetry on a beer
level. It was definitely a trip I will never
forget.
Lucy Hanson
‘Peaceful and serene.’ The trip was
so beauful and gave us all me to
remember the poets we have been
studying. It gave us a great perspecve of
the colossal slaughter and was an
extremely touching few days.
Olivia Adams
Overall the whole experience of the trip
was very helpful in terms of my poetry
studies. But some of the visits were more
than educaonal, they broadened my
understanding, as a student and also in
general.
Ieuan Griffiths
The Balefields trip was a real eye opener
for me as a lot of what I know about
World War One was really insignificant to
what I learnt over the weekend vising
sites. The Newfoundlanders site was
incredible, the remains of the trenches
really emphasised how small and dismal
trench warfare condions would have
been. I plan to go back in early 2012.
Chloe Faizey
The Balefields trip was a moving
experience, vising the graves of
famous soldiers we had studied in
English and History. I found our trip
most memorable as we followed the
steps of Wilfred Owen in his final days,
and read the poem "Anthem for
Doomed Youth" over his grave. I have
found the trip to be very useful in my
work and I will never forget the things
we learned and experienced there.
Tom Nickells
The Balefield trip was an extremely
moving experience. Not only did we
learn a lot more about the poetry we
have studied, but it really opened my
eyes to the lives of various people during
the war. I was especially pleased to have
visited the grave of Wilfred Owen. It
was an inspiraon and I would go again
if I could.
Luke Ramsden
Hampton Centre
World Autism Day
PHS staff went to work in pyjamas to raise awareness of World
Ausm Day. They were also raising money for Ausm West
Midlands and the Hand in Hand community in Ghana. Julie
Sanders, Lead Assistant, said: We have twelve students that we
support in the ausm base and they could not wait to see us in
our PJs, especially Mr Hunter who is from Scotland, and who
brought tartan pyjamas especially for the day."
Pictured: Hannah Smson, Jenny Ludlow, Paula Hayden,
Julie Sanders and Lucy Carrington with students, Sam Godber,
Adam Robbins and Jordan Montandon.
8

ICT
Wow ‐ what a franc term it has been so far. Both students and
teachers have been working really hard and on overdrive in order
to meet coursework and examinaon deadlines. I would like to
thank all staff and students for their connued commitment
during this busy me. In the next newsleer we will be showcasing
some of the fantasc works our students have been producing.
Coursework/Revision
Congratulaons to all students across Key Stage 4 and 5 who have
been working really hard to get all of their coursework completed.
Key Stage 4 ‐ There are sll a couple of days le to improve your
marks if needed. Contact your teacher to see what you can do to
improve upon these marks. Also don't forget to use the revision
websites you have been given as these will help you when it
comes to revising for your exams.
Key Stage 5 ‐ Congratulaons everyone on the compleon of
your coursework. You have all worked really hard to get the work
completed by the deadline set. Make sure you know how to use
the lesson me to focus on the skills needed in order to complete
your exam that is fast approaching.
Mathematics
GCSE Revision - Year 10
Year 10 have their next Maths exam on 21st June. Revision
sessions for this take place every Wednesday, both at lunchme
and aer school ‐ students should come to one or the other. This
is a fantasc opportunity for small group teaching and individual
problem solving. Students who have aended in the past have
done really well in their exams. We are running two different
sessions; one for students doing Higher aiming for grades A* to B,
and one for students working towards a grade C.
Year 9
Year 9 students will be sing their first GCSE Maths exam on
8th November 2011. Since Easter, students have been working
towards this GCSE unit in lessons and work covered this term
will form a significant part of the exam. This is a calculator exam
covering Stascs and Number from the AQA 4360 specificaon,
so it is vital that all students own and bring the correct equipment
to every lesson from now onwards. Revision aids are available from
their teacher at reasonable prices.
Year 10 are now working towards the Unit 2 exam on 21st June,
and revision classes will begin again for these students in May.
MyMaths Website
Did you know we subscribe to www.mymaths.co.uk
The school login is 'pershore' and the password is available from
your teacher.
The website has a huge number of interacve resources to help
with revision. You can raise your KS3 level or GCSE grade by using
the online lessons, and then check your progress with an online
homework. It now has an A level secon too for students in the
Sixth Form. If you haven't already started using this website, start
today.
Mathematics Equipment
We expect students to come to Maths lessons properly equipped
and students can be given detenons if they arrive unprepared.
ICT KS3 Club
KS3 Club is up and running again for
those of you who are interested in
aending. We are focusing our
aenon on the topic of graphics
and are currently working on using
our new skills to create "Chav animals".
Come along and have a go in at 1:30 in IT3.
Everyone is welcome.
ICT Competition
The ICT compeon is to produce a movie about how ICT is
used in Pershore High School. Whether this be in lessons or
just during the school day, the choice is up to you.
Your movie must last for at least two minutes and contain a
voice over/music track.
Bring your completed movies to Mrs Loader in IT3 by June 17th
2011. Good luck.
All equipment can be purchased from the Mathemacs
Department as individual items or as a complete 'Maths Kit'
at quite compeve prices.
It is also vital that students own a calculator and bring it to all
lessons so they can learn how the different features work.
There are many different sorts of calculator but students need a
proper scienfic calculator with a facility to write fracons.
Not having this sort of calculator can put a student at a severe
disadvantage in both lessons and exams. Calculators can be
complex and using an unfamiliar calculator in an exam can be
disastrous.
Maths Kits and Calculators are available to order and pay online,
or students can bring the money in to their Maths teacher.
MATHS KIT - £1.50
▪ Clear Plasc Pencil Case
(suitable for examinaons)
▪ 15cm ruler
▪ 180 o protractor
▪ Compass
▪ Pencil
▪ Eraser
▪ Pencil Sharpener
CALCULATORS - £6
We recommend the new version
of the Casio Scienfic Calculator
(fx‐83GTPLUS).
CALCULATOR AND MATHS KIT
- £7.00
Students who buy a calculator and a Maths Kit
together get a 50p discount on the individual costs.
9

Modern Foreign Languages
«Merci beaucoup!
On s’est bien amusé à Pershore!»
37 youngsters and their four teachers from the Collège St‐Ouen in
Plouay have just enjoyed a lovely week in Pershore as part of the
first leg of the school’s flourishing French Exchange.
Our Breton visitors were hosted by students, their families and
staff from the High School and the week’s inerary included a
hike and picnic up the Malvern Hills, a full day parcipang in our
lessons at school, trips to Warwick Castle, Drayton Manor Park
and Cadbury’s World, a treasure hunt in Worcester and a farewell
party and disco at ‘BowlXtreme’.
The week proved to be an excellent opportunity for PHS students
to improve their foreign language skills and make lots of new
friends. Thanks go to the MFL Department for arranging the
programme and to our host families for their typically warm
Worcestershire hospitality. Everyone is looking forward to the
return visit to Briany in October.
Music
Mozart's Requiem -
Worcester Cathedral
Forty members of Pershore High School
had the most amazing experience on
Saturday, April 9th. We took part in a
concert in Worcester Cathedral of
Mozart's 'Requiem' and Bob Chilco's
'Jubilate' as part of a project organised by
'SingUK'. We sang in a choir of over 200
people with six other schools from the
area and had the English Symphony
Orchestra play with us! It was amazing.
We had been preparing for this all term
with three rehearsals a week and Mrs
Witherick taking us through all the music.
It was difficult for some members of the
choir to fit rehearsal in with extra lessons
and study sessions, but they did.
It was great to have staff sing as well.
Our conductor, Malcolm Goldring,
rehearsed us all day on the day of the
concert. He was very demanding, we
had to sing it right. In the aernoon the
orchestra joined us and the music
took on a new dimension. Singing with a
professional orchestra and professional
soloists is quite something. The concert
itself was fantasc. It was the most
amazing experience.
One other pupil said:
I just wanted to say thank you for all the
hard work that you put in to enable us to
take part in the Requiem. I had an
amazing me and though it was quite
difficult fing the rehearsals in it was
totally worth it in the end. The concert
was brilliant and Mum, Dad, my Aunty and
my Uncle were in the audience, and all of
them were prey blown away by the
whole thing. I hope I will be able to do it
next year too. Thank you :)
Another said:
I woke up on Sunday with Mozart in my
head and was humming it all day.
From the conductor:
What a concert! What a choir! What
fantasc singing! What a response from
the audience! What fantasc youngsters ‐
and what fantasc teachers!
I was absolutely thrilled with the outcome
of the project. Rarely have I
worked with a choir of such quality, and
one which rose to the demands that
were made on them over the weeks.
The Chilco provided a wonderfully
warm opening to the concert ‐ yet there
were some splendid blasts too, with ght
rhythms and boppy syncopaons. As for
the Requiem ... this was an uerly
knock‐out performance. Two separate
audience members told me aerwards
that they had heard many Mozart
Requiems but this was the finest.
We are all now looking forward to
seeing what it is in the pipeline for next
year....watch this space.
11

PESSCO
South Worcestershire
School Sports Partnership
PHS Sports Leaders 2010-2011
As many PHS Sports Leaders will shortly be going on study leave in preparation for their exams
I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those who have supported
and taken part in leadership roles and responsibilities across a variety of festivals,
events and conferences this year
Your efforts have certainly not gone unnoticed.
I hope you will value these experiences and draw upon them in the future.
For those who are willing to be part of various events which will take place following your exams
this summer please, please keep checking your emails.
Miss Christian
PE and School Sports Coordinator
PHS Family Street Dance Clubs
The South Worcestershire School Sports Partnership runs
both gymnascs and street dance aer school clubs on a
rotaonal programme each term around all the first schools
in the partnership, acng as satellite clubs for the surrounding
schools and their students. Collecvely these clubs have
facilitated the development of over 550 pupils through street
dance and gymnascs.
Following a successful Autumn Term of gymnascs, street
dance has now made a return to the PHS family first schools.
Street dance is currently being delivered for the PHS family
by accredited dance coach, Rayna Grinnell from Mezzo Dance
Company.
The sessions for the St. Nicholas Middle School Cluster first
schools are taking place on Tuesdays at Pershore High School
from 4pm‐5pm. Furthermore, sessions for the Abbey Park
Middle School Cluster and the St. Barnabas Middle School
Cluster are taking place on Thursdays, 3.45pm‐4.45pm at
St. Barnabas First/Middle School.
There has been a high demand for the Thursday session;
however, there are sll places available for the Tuesday club
at Pershore High School. If you would like further informaon
about these clubs please do not hesitate to contact me on
PEC@pershore.worcs.sch.uk
Polly Chrisan
PE and School Sports Coordinator
12

Science
ATTENTION:
YEAR 10 &11
GCSE SCIENCE
REVISION GUIDES
The Science Department will be selling GCSE revision
guides at the reduced price of £2.75, there are two books
available, one for Core Science and one for Addional
Science or three books if you are studying separate
sciences.
Simply give the correct amount of money or a cheque,
made payable to ‘Worcestershire County Council’, to
Mrs Schaathun in S11 or Mrs Tarring in S10. (In a sealed
envelope with your name and tutor group on the outside
please.)
Buy early before stocks run out.
Echelon Cycles
122-124 High Street
Pershore
Tel : 01386 550606
E-mail : tim@echeloncycles.co.uk
Sponsors of the
PHS staff team
participating in the
‘Snowdonia Charity
Cycle Challenge’ on
Saturday 2 nd July
13

Sport
On your bike !!!!!!!!!!
Pupils go the extra 300 miles for charity.
Pupils at Pershore High School, have been
on their bikes to raise money for charity
and support their teachers.
In a bid to inspire their teachers to do
some training for their Snowdonia
Challenge Triathlon, pupils were set the
challenge to cycle the equivalent of a 300
mile round trip from Pershore to Snowdon
and back in a recent house compeons.
Each house was given 10 days to complete
the challenge, whilst raising sponsorship
money for every mile that they cycle, along
the journey. Money raised through the
challenge will be split between the Zambia
Appeal and Regain.
It was close compeon right up to the final few miles. The final day
had DeMonort panicking a lile, fearing that they might be caught
by Fielding, however they dug in deep and with Tom Ward, Jordan
White and Edward Surman compleng the final 40 miles between
them, DeMonort held off the compeon to win the challenge.
The final standings were:
1 st DeMonort 2 nd Fielding 3 rd Chaucer 4 th Shakespeare
Extra special praise should go to the following pupils for compleng
significant distances:
The Yellow Jersey Prize was awarded to the pupil who cycled the
furthest distance, and this went to Ashley Biggam took the spirit of
the contest to extreme levels cycling 108km on his own over the 10
day period.
DeMonort
Tom Ward 70km
Jordan White 64km
Ed Surman 31km
Oliver Farrell 31km
Chaucer
Will Ballard 50km
Ellio Dean 21km
Fielding
Amy Stobbart 33km
Will Hulbert 32km
Kiah Smith 25km
Shannon Murphy 22km
Sarah Papworth 21km
Shakespeare
Jacob Woodward 3
Staff Triathalon
With the pupils seng such a good example it is now down to the
staff to dig deep and increase the training regimes ready for the
Snowdonia Challenge on 2 nd July.
The challenge starts in the heart of Snowdonia in Llanberis where
teams set off on the first leg of a 40‐mile circular cycling route around
Mount Snowdon. Along the way teams must summit Snowdon itself
and canoe a course on Llyn (Lake) Gwynant before returning to the
start/finish point in Llanberis.
The biggest challenge is to raise £4000 for Regain Charity – the only
charitable organisaon dedicated solely to supporng men and
women who become tetraplegic (severely paralysed) as the result of
a sporng accident. The pupil’s cyclathon sponsorship will go some
way towards achieving this total.
If you would like to sponsor us please send cheques made payable to
Pershore High School in an envelope labelled 'Snowdonia Challenge'
to student services or you can sponsor the teams online at
hp://www.justgiving.com/Pershore‐High‐School‐
Snowdonia‐Challenge
We would like to thank Pete Head at Pershore Leisure
Centre, for the loan of the exercise bikes.
14

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
YOU DID IT!
Well done to everybody out on Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. The
weather was kind to us on the first day and the storm was quite
spectacular. Yes mistakes were made, some of you realised that
actually you did not need to bring all of that make‐ up or teddy.
Here is to the Cotswolds and
good weather.
We are hoping to start route
planning for the final expedion
shortly. This will be of a lunch me
and your co‐operaon will be needed
to get this sorted as soon as possible.
Congratulaons to George Croy who
has gained his Bronze Award.
Mrs Watson
Farmers had kindly blocked footpaths and there were quite a few
encounters with angry mothers with their calves, but you all rose
above it and made it to your desnaons, with smiles on your
faces and many stories to be told.
15

Year News
Year 8 News
Over the last few months Mrs. Taylor and
myself have been kept very busy in the
Year 8 office, signing off your merits and
awards. It is wonderful to see so many of
you doing brilliantly in lessons and geng
involved in so many out of school
acvies. So far 96% of Year 8 have
received at least 10 merits. 70% of you
have achieved your Bronze Award,
38% have Silver and 22% have Gold.
That is fabulous. Well done everybody.
In addion 52% of you have received at
least one Gold Referral and parcularly
noteworthy are those students who have
been awarded larger numbers of Gold
Referrals. Angus Jones and Bethan
Fletcher each have five; Billy Amor,
Sarah Parker and Danielle Ruddock have
six apiece; Georgia Simpson has seven
and Rachel Day has an astonishing
thirteen Gold Referrals. Congratulaons
to you all.
Well done to all those
students who signed
up for the Learning
Ambassadors
Programme.
Mr Nockton has been
telling me how well you have been
doing and we are both very impressed.
Keep up the good work.
Mrs Higginbotham
Year 9 News
It has been all change in tutor me for
Year 9s over the last few weeks.
Students have been taking part in a
carousel of acvies one day a week
where they have been trying out new
acvies with different tutors, such as
quizzes and computer animaons.
Year 9 have
seled down
aer making
opons choices
and working well
towards internal
exams being
held in lessons
during the
second half of this term. Dates of
the exams and tests will be given to
students by their class teachers.
These results may well go towards
seng for next year, so work hard and
do the very best you can, Year 9.
Zoe Budding
Year 10 News
Congratulaons to
all those students
who completed
the Mathemacal
Challenge and
received a Bronze
or Silver Award.
Special recognion goes to Sam White
who was the only person to obtain the
Gold Award. Well done.
It is oen easy to
envy people with
good examinaon
results, or famous
sportsmen and
women, or famous
and successful
actors and actresses, but remember that
what oen looks like effortless success is
in fact the result of a tremendous amount
of effort and commitment.
Whatever your ambions are, whether
they be great or small, they are only
likely to be realised if you make the
appropriate effort toward them.
By the me you read this we will be
well into the final term of Year 10 and
you will hopefully be thinking about
those summer examinaons and working
hard to ensure that you achieve what you
are capable of.
Finally, please remember your
responsibilies as role models for
the younger students. The way you
conduct yourselves in and around
the school has an influence on those
who look up to you as well as those
around you.
Good punctuality, appearance and work
ethic from you will not only help to
ensure that standards are kept high
throughout the school, they will also
contribute significantly to your own
progress and image within school.
Paul Watson
Year 11 News
I begin by extending out congratulaons
to 11Fs tutor Corinna Durrant and her
husband David on the safe all be it
earlier than expected arrival of
Benjamin Thomas.
Arrangements for Study Leave
The last full day at school for Year 11 is
Friday, 20th May. On that day there will
be a Leavers' Assembly, when students
will be presented with their Record of
Achievement.
During Study Leave, if students are in
school taking exams, aending revision
sessions or working independently they
must be in full school uniform at all
mes. There will be a supervised study
room available at all mes, and students
must use this facility if they are in school
and not in an exam, rather than
wandering around on their own.
If students walk to school, or have lis
arranged, they can just come in for the
exam and leave straight aerwards. However
students will not be allowed to leave
the premises if they rely on normal
school transport arrangements.
On behalf of Mrs Cookson, the Year 11
tutors and myself, I wish our Year 11
students all the very best of luck
for the exams.
I look forward to seeing them all on 25 th
August for their results where hopefully
all that effort and hard work has paid
off.
Miss McPherson & Mrs Cookson
17

Chess Club
Have you made the right
move
There are a lot of winners in the Chess
Club. And roughly the same number
of losers. The Chess Club helps students
sharpen their strategies and think ahead.
Chess Club is on Monday and Friday
lunchtimes in room 39. Draughts and
other games are available. There is
also maths homework help.
If you wish to join, just come along.
Everyone is welcome.
Mr Segar
OFF ROAD
DRIVING
Where
When
The School Car Park
Every Saturday and Sunday
morning as required, from
9.30am - 2pm
Who If you are 15 or 16.
No licence needed.
How much
£10 for 30 minutes
Be one jump ahead of your mates when you get to
17. Free advice regarding obtaining your driving
licence, booking your theory and practical test. All
training slots must be pre-booked.
Telephone: Malcolm Dalley
on 07977 140336 or 01386 554245
Email: malcolmdalley1@hotmail.com
18

52 miles walked in a day
– a 19.5 hour journey
On Saturday, May 7th Richard Wood lined
up with around 70 other athletes at the
start of the second ever Malvern Hills
ultra running event. All the other
competors were running either the 83
mile opon or the 52 mile event while
Richard was the only walker ‐ a sensible
move as he was twice everyone else's
age. His plan was to complete the walk
along the tracks, lanes and footpaths of
Worcestershire in the same day as he
started and the first leg from Holt Castle
down along the river to checkpoint 1 at
the new Diglis footbridge was completed
easily enough.
The first rain shower of the day came and
went as the village of Kempsey came into
sight from the charismac Severn Way
footpath and aer 4 hours 40 minutes
check point 2 at the Rose and Crown,
Severn Stoke was reached with 16 miles
logged. Leg three through Upton and
the beauful countryside of South
Worcestershire was mainly along lanes
and made for flat walking but the
daunng Malvern Hills were imminent.
There were rain clouds masking the tops
of the hills as Richard began the climb up
from Castlemorton Common to Swinyard
Hill and then along to the next check point
and the half way mark at the Malvern Hills
Hotel with 26 miles completed. It was
1.30pm and the next seven miles were all
along ridges and peaks, up to and
including the Worcestershire Beacon at
1400, with mandatory "punch points" on
each summit ensuring every competor
climbed each incline to the very top.
Some of the relay teams who were running
a separate leg each were making good
me but would oen stop for a chat and
ask for direcons; in his preparaons
Richard had covered every step of the way
on pracse events so at least he knew
where he was going. Some of the 83 mile
runners had already gone down to
Tewksbury and Cheltenham but they were
catching him up as the check points at the
New Inn, Storridge 36 miles and the Crown
at Martley 45 miles were reached. These
last two legs had seen very steep climbs up
hills at Birchwood, Suckley and Ankerdine
and by now the showers had turned into a
full rainstorm which was making the
surfaces very slippery indeed. In addion,
the gloomy evening had now become a
dark night as the last seven miles from
Martley through Ockeridge and Monk
Woods were completed in pouring rain
and it was now becoming a real challenge
to get back to the starng point at Holt.
Richard was most
grateful to his wife
Karen who brought
fresh footwear,
drinks and TLC to
differing rendezvous
points and also to
Mick Donovan from the University of
Worcester who walked the last six hours
with him.
The bright lights of Holt Castle, and
welcoming hot drinks, were reached at
half past midnight so one of the aims in
finishing in the same day was not met but
Richard said that he was well pleased to
have completed the challenge. "It was
the most difficult physical thing I have
ever done in my fiy something years but
I do have a sense of great achievement.
My admiraon however of those who ran
the full course of either 52 miles or the
incredible 83 miles is great. Next year’s
date, already announced, is not in my
diary.”
Anyone who wishes to donate to one of
three causes Richard was walking for –
St Richard's Hospice; Worcestershire
Young Cricketers or the new Worcester
Arena can do so by going to
www.justgiving.com/rjwood
Higher Level Teaching Assistant
Congratulaons to Angela Kilmister, a member of the Hampton
Centre staff, who has achieved Higher Level Teaching Assistant
status.
Crowle 10K Run
Members of PHS staff who recently took part in the Crowle
Run included: Nanee Christopher, Sandie Roskelly, Lorraine
Dyer, Caroline Tarring, Chris Burrows, Jon Knight, John Linck,
Luke Edney, Liz Durnall and David Reid. Russell Dalton,
pictured below, also took part carrying a bergan (rucksack)
weighing 30lbs and completed the course in just over an hour
to help raise money for the charity ‘Help for Heroes’.
It was a great atmosphere and everyone did very well.
19

Student News
Zambia Exchange 2011
On Friday 1 st April, five students, Abi,
Emma, Laura, Josh and Luke and two
staff, David Brookes and Jo McKenzie
set off for Zambia on the first leg of this
year’s Zambia Student Exchange.
This year’s visit will include a number
of educaonal workshops led by our
students and their Zambian partners,
involving Art, Maths, Science, Sport and
Music. This event will bring together
over 80 students of all ages, for a day’s
acvies at Lubuto High School.
The students will also hold a sports day
at Ulalo Community School, one of the
poorest schools in Ndola. The fun
acvies will include three legged, sack,
egg and spoon races and much more.
Students and staff form Pershore High
School and Lubuto High School will also
be involved in a project the Ndola Central
Hospital. The hospital has a Day Care
Centre which provides educaon for
students with serious learning difficules
and disabilies.
These students are normally marginalized
in Zambia, so when we visited the centre
last year we were deeply touched by the
huge amount of work, care and support
carried out by the teachers and staff, with
very lile resources.
Our project will involve decorang one
of the main class rooms and providing
learning aids, music and painng
equipment. We hope to make a
difference for the students, with a
wide range of learning difficules.
We are looking forward to the opportunity
to connue to support the community
in Ndola with various resources we
have gained and look forward to the
rewarding challenges ahead.
Thank you again for all for the help and
support given over the past few months.
On 20 th June 2011 a Sporng Dinner is
being held at Pershore High School to
raise money for future projects, both at
Lubuto High School and the Day Care
Centre. The aer dinner speakers are the
ex‐Welsh Rugby Captain Sco Quinnell
and the first million pound footballer
Steve Daley (Wolves and Manchester
City). This promises to be a fantasc
evening that will hopefully enable us to
connue to support the most vulnerable
people in the Ndola community. If you
would like further informaon or to offer
sponsorship for the event, please contact
David Brookes or Jo McKenzie at
Pershore High School.
20

Love Food, Hate Waste
If we did not have a healthy planet, all of
the other issues that we as humans are
facing will become increasingly harder to
solve. Issues like fresh water, food, health
and climate.
All of these issues need to be addressed
for people to survive. We as a community
can do so much more to help the
environment. Most people just think that
all we can do to help is recycle paper and
plasc. There is so much more we can do
to help secure a safe and beauful way of
life.
People don’t realize that it is not just our
local environment we have protected;
there is also a global problem that needs
to be addressed. Because of global
problem animals all around the world are
becoming more and more endangered.
The cause of this is, the temperature of
the world is increasing, this means that
ice caps are melng and the result of this
is that animal habitats are being ruined.
What can we do about this
Well the answer is closer to home than
you might think, Pershore High School
was lucky enough to host Denise
Ditchburn and Chris Holder from
Wychavon District Council. They talked to
use about the ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’
campaign. This does not just save people
money as an individual but it will also save
our planet.
How you may ask It will cut down
transport of food from different counes,
save millions of tons of landfill each year
and cut down on the methane coming
from the otherwise rong foods.
If we all did something to help our local
environment we could eventually start to
make a real difference to the global issues.
If everybody does something lile to help
then it will make a significant impact on
the environment.
So If you don’t want to live in your own
waste, eat it!
Chloe Colbeck
Jazzy Jumper Day
More than £1,000 was raised at a
special non‐uniform day when students
and staff wore their jazziest jumpers to
school for the day.
It was arranged by Eco co‐ordinator,
Ms Kate Herbert, to help raise money
for the Japanese earthquake appeal
and the school's Eco Group.
Mr Corbe said:
"It was great to
see the students
get involved
and to raise
that amount of
money for two
great causes.".
A & S Travel
Tour operators are not usually sympathec to parents who
wish to take a family holiday during school holidays and
invariably charge astronomic prices.
It would appear that parents are penalised for adhering to the
school’s wishes in not taking children on holiday during term
me. So with this in mind we are offering a 5% discount off
any package holiday booked through our company to
encourage parents to holiday at the appropriate mes.
This offer is also extended to all staff.
Helen Abbo and Gina Sco, A & S Travel, Billing House,
Cherry Orchard, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 1EY
Tel: 01386 552274 Email: info@aandstravelonline.co.uk
LITTLE COMBERTON
YOUTH CLUB
at Lile Comberton Village Hall
on Thursday evenings from 6.30‐8.00pm
Ages from 9‐15 years ‐ £1.50 per session
Dates: April 7th April 21st May 12th
Also, if anybody over the age of 16 years would like to
volunteer (perhaps as part of Duke of Edinburgh or just
for fun) we would love to hear from you.
lcyouthclub1@aol.co.uk
21

Important information about term time absence
Changes have been made to the
guidelines provided by
Worcestershire County Council
relang to the authorisaon of term
me absence for holidays.
The naonal regulaons governing
student aendance make it clear
that parents do not have any right
or entlement to take a child out of
school for the purposes of a term‐me
holiday. Holidays during term me
should be seen as an excepon to the
norm and term me absence should
not be authorised unless there are
exceponal circumstances.
The Headteacher will be responsible for
deciding what constutes exceponal
circumstances and each request for term‐
me absence will be considered on an
individual basis.
An exceponal circumstance is likely to be:
a one‐off, unique situaon such as a
parent, grandparent or other close
relave is seriously ill and the holiday
proposed is likely to be the last such
holiday;
there may have been a significant
trauma in the family recently and the
Headteacher might consider that an
immediate holiday might enable the
child concerned to beer deal with
the situaon;
the holiday might be a unique,
one‐off never‐to‐be‐repeated
occasion which can only take place at
the me requested.
The cheaper cost of holidays in term
me will not be accepted as an
exceponal circumstance.
Any queries relang to term me
absence requests should be directed
to Mrs Julie Hyde, Aendance Officer
(ext 323).
School Uniform Vouchers
An allowance may be available for
essenal school uniform. In the most
recent financial year, the essenal
uniform allowance was available only
for a limited range of items.
Grants are considered only for children
from the date they would start school
under the County Council’s standard
admissions policy and later when they
move on to each stage of schooling.
The second part of the acceptance
criteria is that the child/children named
have to be starng or transferring to a
new school. A maximum of two vouchers
per child will be supplied. The value of the
vouchers varies slightly depending on
what the voucher is for and the age of the
child/children concerned. The vouchers
can be exchanged for school uniform in
approved stores. A list of the relevant
names is supplied with the vouchers.
The scheme is subject to revision each
year.
Applicaons for assistance should be
addressed to:
The Educaon Welfare Service,
Worcestershire County Council, County
Buildings, Bewdley Road, Kidderminster,
DY11 6RQ.
For enquiries please contact 01562
757651 \ 757652 \ 757653 and ask for
clothing grants.
May 2011 Newsletter Reply Slip
Parent(s) please sign, as requested, and ensure that this reply slip is returned to Student Services
Recepon not later than Tuesday, 24th May. There is a prize for the first drawn out.
Signed…………………………………………………………………………...………...………………… Parent/Guardian
Student ………………………………………………………..………….……
Tutor Group ………………………………
THE MARCH/APRIL PRIZE DRAW WINNER IS CARRIE BRETT, 8D
22