Post

“Everyone
will be given
the chance
to shine
brightly”
Rushcliffe
Post
December 2016
A Very Festive Rushcliffe
A Christmas lunch, trip to Iceland and Winter Concert - find out more inside!

The Headteacher’s Letter
Christmas and New Year are traditionally times to reflect on the past and look forward to what the
future holds in store.
Perhaps more than ever we look back at a year that has seen an unprecedented change of direction
in our own country and abroad. Pupils have been keen to engage in the world around them.
They are outward looking, realising the decisions we make now affects their future happiness and
prosperity. I am very proud that so many of our pupils want to deepen their understanding of local,
national and global issues and regularly go the extra mile to support not only their friends and
classmates but the wider community in which we all live. The Lord Lieutenant’s Award rightly
acknowledges our pupils outstanding contribution to the wider community.
The education system continues to be under the spotlight with talk of grammar schools, teacher shortages and lack of
school places. It has been my privilege to work in comprehensive education for nearly 30 years and I am delighted that the
governors are fully committed to keeping Rushcliffe a truly comprehensive school. We are indeed very fortunate to be fully
staffed with highly committed and professional teaching and non-teaching staff. Rushcliffe is a great place to work but we
are not immune from the real concern that all schools share, about the recruitment and retention of staff. The rewards of
working with young people are great but so are the demands. We are always grateful for your support and encouragement.
We continue to work towards the expansion of the school in order to create enough places for the children within our community.
After Christmas the leisure centre will close. We will still use some classrooms and the sports hall until we are able
to fully complete our building program. The pool will close. We will continue to share the site with The East Midland Gymnastic
Centre.
In the classroom year 10 pupils have started new GCSE courses which are graded 1-9 as opposed to A*-G. The new grading
system will become very familiar to you over the years as assessment changes throughout the school in order to best
support the new exams. GCSE and A Level exams are now linear and will be sat at the end of year 11 and 13 respectively.
There are no more modular exams.
Whether it is preparing pupils for academic success or supporting them in community works, sport or the arts we will always
make sure that we do all we can to allow our pupils to shine brightly. To quote Aristotle “Excellence is not an act it is a habit”
May I wish you a peaceful and joyful Christmas. We will look forward to the New Year with optimism built on a foundation of
hard work and determination to be the best people we can possibly be.
Steve Lewis
The school is delighted to announce that Year 13 student and Deputy Head boy Payam Soleimani-Nouri has
won the Nottingham Post Student Awards 2016 Science & Engineering Award.
The awards ceremony took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nottingham on Thursday 1 st December and was
organised by the Nottingham Post in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham.
The focus of the awards ceremony was to celebrate the successes of inspirational
young people from both secondary schools and further education colleges in Nottinghamshire
and it is wonderful that Payam has been recognised for his achievements
in and out of the classroom.
Payam, who is studying four A Levels - Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Maths,
was nominated for the award by Head of Science Mr Malloney. Alongside working
hard to achieve his predicted four A* grade A Levels, Payam participates fully in
school and community life as a Physics ambassador supporting the department
and younger pupils, organising astronomy sessions for younger students, tutoring
GCSE pupils on a one to one basis and volunteering as a YOPEY Befriender. The
school is thrilled that Payam has been recognised for all of the above achievements.
We are extremely proud of Payam and would like to wish him every success
as he continues to work towards his plans of studying medicine at university.

Pupils at Rushcliffe School have won the new Lord Lieutenant’s award after participating in 2500 hours of
voluntary service over the last year. A third of our 1500 pupils have been involved in a wide range of projects supporting
national charities and the local community. The voluntary work included:
cooking Christmas dinner for the residents of a local care home each year
supporting a disabled centre, nursery and school in Malawi
going into a local care home to spending time with people with dementia
planning and delivering a series of sports festivals to feeder primary schools
constructing a sensory garden for a local church’s nursery group
organising an annual fundraising festival to support children at The School of Hope in Guatemala
carrying out volunteer work in Ecuador for the local community.
Every year group chooses a charity (Help for Hero’s, Alzheimer’s Research UK and Teenage Cancer Trust have recently
been chosen) to support and organise fundraising activities for.
Vice Lord Lieutenant, Colonel Timothy Richmond, and Deputy Lord Lieutenant Arthur Sandford visited the school to
present the award.
Being a ‘World Class School’ brings many exciting opportunities and in September we were invited to
enter an academic competition challenging our students’ English and Science writing skills.
A range of Year 9 classes were chosen to work on a very special project bringing together curriculum
areas to provoke and inspire young minds. Teachers in the Science and English departments worked
with their classes to research information about the teenage brain and produce a discursive essay for submission to
the annual ‘World Class Schools Quality Mark Essay Writing competition’.
Students were given a masterclass lesson by the Science department in which they learnt
about how to approach scientific research, where to access academic journals and texts
and crucially how to reference their research like a professional. They were then given independent
research time to compile their sources and information based on the areas they
were interested in. Students then came to a masterclass in English on how they might
structure and write their essay, focussing on integrating their research into their work and
exploring their own ideas.
Year Nine students showed impressive skills in exploring the topic and came away with a
range of exciting ideas and understanding about their brains aiming to answer the following
question: "What evidence do we have that teenagers' brains are different from adults'
brains?” The brief then went to ask students to consider why they think teenagers might “need brains which work differently?"
All students demonstrated a mature and insightful approach to the subject matter and an ability to form a
well-argued and evidenced piece of writing.
From all the essays submitted, the two students who were selected to represent the Rushcliffe School in the competition
against other World Class Schools are Annabel Bowles and Molly Palmer both of whom produced engaging,
original and thorough essays on the subject of the teenage brain. Well done girls! Dr Gaskell

In October, Year 11 geography students embarked on
an exciting educational trip to Iceland where they experienced
the country’s amazing geographical formations
and landforms first hand.
Students put their tectonic hazards knowledge from the
classroom to use when identifying a range of volcanic
features, such as columnar basalt formations, volcanic
plugs and sulphurous hot springs. We observed particularly
dynamic geothermal geysers that captured the
group’s interest by erupting boiling hot water high into
the air every seven minutes! Rushcliffe students were
also able to bridge the gap between two tectonic
plates, the North American and Eurasian plates, whilst
walking across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (a large geological
suture running through the North Atlantic). As part
of the trip students discovered coastal features, from
caves and arches to stacks and stumps, and traced
the impacts of coastal erosion.
In
addition to a trip to the Blue Lagoon (an anthropogenic
geographical feature), we also ventured out – crampons
and ice axes to hand – and trekked over a glacier!
A final highlight of the trip was a visit to the ON Geothermal
power plant where students learnt how Iceland
heats over 90% of houses using geothermal energy,
a renewable source of energy.
The group had a fantastic time and the trip reinforced
many of the key elements of the geography syllabus, if
you would like to see more photos you can catch up
with the trip on Twitter @RushcliffeGeog.

On Thursday 8 th December, Rushcliffe pupils were involved in the annual event of preparing, cooking and serving
a Christmas lunch to 50 local senior citizens at Epperstone Court.
Year 10 Food preparation and nutrition students worked extremely hard on the day both in school and down at
the centre to ensure the residents were given a lunch to remember. The school choir went down earlier in the
morning to sing carols and provide a festive atmosphere in readiness for the main event of traditional Christmas
fayre.
The students were a credit to the school not only in working hard to make sure the food served was hot, well presented
and served professionally but also took time out to talk and socialise with the clients.
Well done Year 10!
Mrs. Lacey
Marsden. Esmie Arzac-Winwood and Summa Betts
also part of the team but not in the photo.
Following on from their huge success last year, the girls
are now in Year 9 and represented
the school in the
Year 9/10 Rushcliffe Handball
Championships. They
were competing against
some girls who were a year
older but it made no difference;
once again our girls
were triumphant and will
now go onto represent
Rushcliffe area at the Nottinghamshire
Winter
Games at the end of February, hopefully taking the
next step to reaching the regional finals.
At the end of November, the Rushcliffe Awards evening
took place at the Becket school. The team were nominated
for the Secondary School team of the Year and
were up against The U16 girls’ netball team from West
Bridgford, who had also reached the National finals last
year. Their illustrious coach from last year Mr McCann,
made the journey over from Northern Ireland to support
the girls to see if they could add more silverware to the
already overflowing trophy cabinet at school. To cap a
fantastic year, the girls emerged victorious once again
and will now be nominated for the same category at the
Nottinghamshire Awards evening that takes place after
Christmas. A wonderful achievement for the girls and
something to be really proud of.
The team is (from L to R): Ella Trott, Mia Barnes, Ellie
Maltby, Kyra Macdonald, Ella Loveridge and Kate Ford-
Following another rigorous selection process with our
Year 7 pupils, the latest members of the Rushcliffe Canoe
Slalom Talent ID programme have been chosen. It
was a tough decision but I would like to take this opportunity
to say well done to Iza Keen, Ben Brown, Edward
McDonald, Greta Fry, Oscar Ayo-Price, Jamey Lineker-
Sareeh, James Rennie, Sebastain Culley, Georgina
Slack, Grace Shardlow and Eden Turner for their inclusion
into the squad.
Previous intakes of the Rushcliffe TID Programme have
continued to progress up the pathway, with a number of
paddlers being selected to squads further up the England
pathway, well done to Ella Redfearn, Sophie Winfield
and Reilly Vernon for being selected to the England
Super Regional Squad and well done to Ethan
Barrett, Zach Pearson, Robert Fernie and Esme Durrant
for their recent inclusion onto the England National
Talent Programme.
A fantastic achievement to all involved and our thanks
to Richard at British Canoeing for his support.

Winter Concert 2016
Every year, at Christmas, Rushcliffe school’s talent comes together to create a festive
concert for all to enjoy. This year was no exception with a range of years and
performances. With the addition on the new singing teacher to the department the
quality of singing was incredible for the age of the students. With renditions of Jingle
Bell Rock, Rocking around the Christmas tree and Christmas Carols the festive
spirit radiated throughout the concert. A self written song by Elijah Pope of Year 10
really proved to us all how much talent we have at the school. The first half was also
a debut performance for many of the Year 7’s singing in the choir, they sang with
cheer and festivity and along with the staff choir created some
beautiful harmonies on some Christmas classics. After Carols
from the Brass group we had an interval where 2 Year 12’s
served refreshments to raise money for their trip to Kenya in
the summer with Camps International. The second half
opened with a new group to Rushcliffe providing an opportunity
for all students to learn a new instrument and perform. The
lower school orchestra performed two songs with a range of
instruments from Clarinets to timpani’s and for 3 weeks rehearsal
their songs were very impressive. Another new group
to the school was the percussion group again open to all students
giving them a chance to learn
something new and show it off. They created
an original composition with many
instruments that hadn’t previously been used in the concert bringing a new
dimension to the concert. With various solos and duets the Concert was
not short of talent and the coming ears are an exciting prospect for the musicians
of Rushcliffe School. A special mention has to go to Ryan, Honor
and Leo who were great compares for the performance and of course to Mr
Pitts, Mr Jones and Mr Barraclough for organising the event.
At the start of this month, Year 8 and 10 French students had a fantastic time on our first
TAG Christmas market trip to Lille. There was something for everyone as we visited Becasuc,
a sweet factory, where the owner explained the process of making jellied as well as
hard boiled sweets. We were all amazed by the process in which he transformed melted
sugar and water into pineapple shaped sweets, all this while commenting in that typical Ch’ti
accent! On our second day Year 8 students learned about Christmas celebrations in France
at a workshop inside the beautiful University of Lille, and the teachers didn’t speak a word of
English! The Year 10 students meanwhile studied the effects of human behaviour on the
environment in preparation for our visit to the NAUSICAA sea life centre on the final day.
Just before embarking the Eurotunnel train we stopped off at our final destination, the P&J chocolate factory where
we learned about how chocolate is made and how they get the fillings inside the pralinés. The best of all was when
we all had the chance to decorate our own bar of chocolate!
On our return journey, we reflected on what made this trip so
special and we unanimously concluded that this was because
we had such a wonderful group of students with us who were
ready to try anything, engage with the French language all
around them and most of all who were so well behaved.
Merci beaucoup à tous!
Miss van der Velden

It has been just over a hundred years since the Battle of the Somme in France
where hundreds of thousands Allied and German troops were killed. The event
is one of the worst day in British military history in terms of those killed and
wounded (approximately 20,000 and 40,000 respectively).
In order to commemorate this, in the Humanities Department, we collectively
coloured and painted wooden WW1 soldiers as part of the ‘Somme En Masse’
art installation project being organised by the
National Memorial Arboretum. With our 100 soldiers we had to decorate both
sides. One side, with an accurate WW1 soldier, and the other with a poem,
pattern or anything that was felt appropriate for remembrance. The soldiers
were then placed with the others from around the country to form a visual remembrance
of those that lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme at the National
Memorial Arboretum.
Thank you to all the students who participated in the project ranging from
Year 7 all the way to Year 13. Also, a huge thanks to Mrs Barraclough who
organised the project with the National Memorial Arboretum on behalf of the school.
In September year 8 geography students took part in the World’s Largest Lesson as part of the Global
Goals campaign (@TheGlobalGoals). The 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development were agreed upon
by world leaders in 2015 and the aim is to meet these goals by 2030.
During this week, students around the world took part in this same lesson to highlight Global Goal #5 –
Gender Equality. Our students participated in lively discussions and debates about gender equality in our
own country and around the world, developing an understanding of how we can all contribute towards a
fair, more equal world. Students discussed the impact other young people have already had on the world
through inventions, innovations and campaigns, including the inspirational work of Malala Yousafzai on education
rights for females, and the ambassador work of Emma Watson for global equality.
Liam Smythe of 8B said,
“”Our lesson on gender equality was very fun because our class had a debate about if there was
gender equality. I was a very strong believer that gender equality doesn’t exist. I had fun learning
about examples of inequality and actions to correct it, making me more aware.”
Subsequently our students carried out a survey in our local area and found that even here in the UK we
face issues relating to gender equality with results showing that males are still predominantly in the highest
positions in work and society. In a follow up lesson students have been discussing and suggesting reasons
for their results and considering why their predictions may have differed.
Ultimately, our students input their survey data into an interactive map for comparison with the results from
thousands of students around the world. If you would like to view these results please go to https://
worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/FromWhereIStand/index.html.
Miss Wilson

In early October the Languages department ran a
very successful trip to Barcelona with 4 teachers accompanying
29 students to one of Spain’s most popular,
culturally rich and busy tourist destinations. It
was a jam-packed trip with a hugely diverse range of
activities: truly a trip with something for everyone.
On arrival, after settling into the hotel, we took a stroll
along the beach, the students played football and
practised ordering drinks in a bar in the evening sunshine:
a far cry from the 2015 rain-drenched trip!
The following day we headed to the Dali Museum in
a town named Figueres, the birthplace of Salvador
Dali, which houses an array of his weird and wonderful
creations. The students were fascinated as they
wandered through the museum, taking photos and
filling in their information booklets as they discovered
facts about this inspirational artist.
The afternoon was spent doing a town trail in which
the students, armed with maps and instructions for
an ‘information treasure hunt’, used their linguistic
knowledge to ask locals for directions and information.
Prizes were presented to the winning team
that evening shortly after our flamenco lesson (the
only time you’ll see students and teachers in a dance
-off!)
The following day we had bright and sunny weather
as we took in some of Antoni Gaudi’s wonders. First
ly Park Güell, where we stopped to enjoy the panoramic
views of the city and secondly La Sagrada Famila,
the famously unfinished cathedral which stands
proudly at the heart of Barcelona. With the help of an
audio-guide the students were directed through the
impressive cathedral
learning about the symbolism
and meaning behind
its imposing yet
beautiful exterior and
interior.
This wonderful day was
finished off perfectly as
we dined in an authentic
Tapas restaurant (and
celebrated Mrs Frost’s
birthday!).
The trip also included visits to the Picasso Museum,
the stadium and museum of Camp Nou (Barcelona
FC’s home ground), Barcelona’s gothic quarter, La
Boquería food market, Las Ramblas (the city’s pedestrianised
central avenue) and the Park of Montjuic.
The best thing about the trip? The students wrote a
diary entry in Spanish every day and so can reminisce
about their adventures in years to come!

Year 8 Paris Maths Trip 2016
A great time has been had by 88 year 8 pupils
travelling to Paris to practice our Maths!
This year we visited Paris with our colleagues from
Farnborough Academy which meant we had two
coaches of eager Year 8 students. Our first day
was mostly spent travelling down to Dover and
across the Channel to Calais and luckily the journey
out was fairly calm.
Into Film Festival
Day two was a hectic day visiting a number of the
famous sites in Paris with the early start being a
shock to a number of our pupils! The Eiffel Tower
was definitely the highlight of this busy day. As
part of our Maths project the pupils interviewed
other tourists to find out where they had travelled
from. This was an opportunity to practice our
French but also interesting opportunity to hear that
some tourists had travelled from as far as Australia!
The height of the tower did get to some of our
group but all were pleased with themselves for
making it at least half way up! This was followed
by a gentle boat ride down the Seine where we
had some lunch while spotting some famous landmarks.
It was excellent to end the day with a reflective
evening visit to the
Arc de Triomphe where we
watched the Eiffel Tower
twinkle.
On day three, we visited
Disneyland where pupils
enjoyed rides and met
some of their favourite characters!
Everyone was worn
out by dashing from ride to
ride with friends so the
coach journey back to our
accommodation was nice
and quiet! It is always spectacular to end our visit
with the evening parade and fireworks and the
show did not disappoint. A long journey home on
the coaches followed with films and Maths to keep
the students busy!
I am always pleased when members of the public
compliment our pupils as they displayed great behaviour.
Fun was had by all, some super Maths
took place and it was particularly great to see students
from both schools getting along together so
well, building friendships to last well past the trip.
Mr Morris
On Wednesday 9 November the KS4 French students took part in the Into Film Festival at Broadway Cinema.
This is a national event which allows students to experience their subjects through the media of film.
We went to Broadway Cinema and watched 'La Famille Bélier', a
comedy about the teenage daughter of deaf parents finding her
singing voice. The lead actress Louane Emera, was awarded the
Prix César for most promising actress and we were very moved to
see her perform Michel Sardou's 'Je vole', a song we then studied
further in the classroom. Our students were a real credit to the
school in the way they conducted themselves both in the cinema
and on the way back to school on the bus. We are very lucky to be
able to take our language learning outside the classroom in this
way and will keep you informed of any upcoming events available!

Belgium Visit - 30th Sept - 2nd October
Written by Aima Kazmi, Jonah Williams, Gabriel Keen & Archie Tomkins
On Friday we visited 3 different places. The first was the ‘Gooses Foot’. It
depicts King Albert, the King of Belgium, and is made entirely of mud and
clay from the trenches. After visiting a trench we went to a Belgian cemetery. Our
guide Neil explained to us about the French and Flemish language differences on
the grave stones and we were able to look around. It was a really good start to the
trip and helped go over some of the causes of WW1.
The next day was very full and was based in Ypres which was commonly known
by the soldiers as ‘Wipers’. We went to an old medical station, the ‘In Flanders
Field’ museum and learned all about the Menin Gate. We came back to the Menin
Gate later on for the Last Post ceremony that takes place every day. When we were in Poperinge in the afternoon
we visited Talbot House where soldiers could enjoy, relax and refresh themselves. In Talbot House there
was one rule that there was no distinction between anybody so a captain would be treated the same as a private.
Sunday we visited a few more places before heading back. The first of which was Canada! A little plot of
land was given to Canada forever during the WW1 for helping to defend the front line during a gas attack. We
also stopped at two very different cemeteries. One of them was Tyne Cot cemetery where thousands of soldiers
were either buried, or their names were on display as their bodies were not found. The other cemetery
was German cemetery. This was very different and even had a mass grave where 25,000 soldiers were buried.
We really enjoyed the trip and it gave us a great insight into how people fought and died in WW1. Our guide
was excellent throughout the trip – thank you Neil. A final thanks goes to the teachers too.
This year Year 9 and 12 students at Rushcliffe School took part in virtual field trips around the world through the
use of technology provided by the Google Expeditions Pioneer Programme.
Students used Google Cardboard viewers, which operate using a smartphone, to view 360˚ panoramas of sites
around the world that are usually impossible or impractical to visit, and were able to identify and understand the
disastrous negative impacts of climate change. The teacher’s used a tablet to direct the students towards points
of interest, with built in annotations and questions aiding student discussions.
Some of the negative impacts of climate change that the students could explore included the bleaching of corals
at the Great Barrier Reef, melting of ice caps on Mount Everest and the Matterhorn, the inevitable submergence
of Venice due to rising sea levels, and the melting of Arctic Sea ice, all of which are current issues of global
importance.
Students were captivated by the immersive experience within the environments we usually study in the classroom,
which ultimately promoted the pupils to question their surroundings and develop a deeper understanding
of the world around them.
Following the virtual reality field trip, students carried out research into the locations they experienced on the
Cardboard viewers and using the information collected will take part in a competition to create a resource to
raise awareness of the devastating effects of climate
change.
Ultimately, Google Expeditions provided students with an
unparalleled opportunity to experience alternative teaching
and learning techniques, and develop a deeper understanding
of current issues facing our society.
N.B. The scenes have been developed by The Wildlife Conservation
Society, PBS, the American Museum of Natural
History, the Planetary Society and the Palace of Versailles.
Miss Wilson

By Year 7
“At Walesby I had the best time. I made new friends from this trip. I had a time there to find a
little part of myself that I had never found before! In the activities we did an assault course, it
was really fun but challenging and some of my new friends were calling my name as I did it.
During the day I was quiet at first but I started to come out of my shell and talk to more friends
and had the opportunity to meet other people in different classes. I would recommend the next
year 7’s to go as I think they would have so much fun!”
Walesby
Awesome for 7C
Long Zip line
Excellent Archery
Super Assault Course
Big Climbing Wall
Yes!
“Walesby was a great day for Year 7 it was full of fun and excitement!
From zip wiring to climbing we did it all and everyone gave it
a go. The trip to Walesby was the perfect opportunity for the form
to work together and understand the importance of supporting
each other. We also took part in a range of fun outdoor activities.”
“Walesby was awesome! Everyone enjoyed the zip wire,
climbing wall, archery and the obstacle course. The climbing
wall was our favourite as everyone got to have two goes if
they wanted! In archery they played games like ‘make a
burger’ – I made a bug-filled salad burger! At lunch time we
made friends with lots of new people who weren’t in our form
and everyone enjoyed themselves.”

For the second year running representatives from Anthony Nolan
held a special assembly for Year 12 students to present the Register &
Be A Lifesaver Education Programme. Following on from this the Anthony
Nolan Team then visited the sixth form on Friday 11th November to hold a recruitment event, aiming to encourage the
students to join the Stem Cell Register. The event proved to be extremely popular, building on the success of last year.
When asked why he had joined the register, Cameron Hefter, (age 17) explained “I have joined the register because if I
was in that position I would like someone to do this for me.”
Keith Sudbury of Anthony Nolan sent the following message to
the school following the recruitment event: “Thank you for letting
us hold the recruitment event today. As a result there are 59
more potential lifesavers on the stem cell register! This is an outstanding
response from your students. Less than 2% of the general
population is on the stem cell register which indicates just
how well Rushcliffe students have done. Please pass on my sincere
thanks to students and staff for their support.”
YOPEY Befriending is a programme where teenagers volunteer in care homes to benefit
both old and young. Schools are linked with dementia care homes in their local
areas with Rushcliffe Sixth Form students currently volunteering at Leawood Manor
Care Home in West Bridgford.
The YOPEY befriender programme has once again proved popular this year with double
the number of student applicants for the available places on the scheme. This
meant the students had to complete applications demonstrating why they believed they should be accepted on the programme.
The 30 chosen year 12 students began their YOPEY journey on Friday 11th November when training sessions
were held at Leawood Manor, prior to them meeting the residents and beginning to build relationships.
YOPEY Befriending has recently won one of the top prizes in the Aviva Community Fund which has drawn the attention of
local MP Ken Clarke. On Friday 4th November, the current year 13 befrienders, who have been befriending residents at
Leawood Manor since October 2015, met Ken Clarke who came to find out more about their voluntary work with the residents.
Year 9 Geography students have taken part in a collaborative online mapping event alongside thousands of Geography
students around the world to coincide with World GIS Day on November 16th.
This year the theme of the event was Climate Change, which linked in with our recent visit from the Google VR team. Students
were tasked with investigating the use of GIS (Geographical Information Systems), a highly valued and sought after
skill in a wide range of future career paths, by following a variety of activities that introduced them to a different kinds of
data presented on a map. This enabled students to analyse
and understand complex patterns and relationships.
Students then used their newly gained knowledge and
understanding of GIS to input data into a Worldwide Climate
Change Survey and analyse the results through
looking at the layers of their input data. The layers show
trends/patterns in Nottingham and students could then
compare their data to the rest of the country and across
the world.
See what the students have been doing here https://
twitter.com/RushcliffeGeog, and even contribute to the
survey yourself at http://themapoff.wixsite.com/mapoff/
participate!

Book Club meets every Wednesday Lunchtime in the LRC. We welcome keen readers in Years 7, 8 and 9.
Come along to make new friends and join in with quizzes, games, book awards and much more.
The ‘Brilliant Book Award’ (BBA) is an annual award voted for by students in Years 7, 8 and 9 in schools across
Nottinghamshire, Nottingham City and Derbyshire. On Thursday 1 st December Book Club members attended a
special event at Mansfield Library to celebrate the 10 th Anniversary of the BBA where they enjoyed meeting meet
Kim Slater, author of the 2016 winning book Smart, as well as previous winner Paula Rawsthorne. The 2017
shortlist was announced and pupils received a bookmark created by Josie Harrison-Paul of Rushcliffe School
winner of the BBA 10 th Anniversary Bookmark Design Competition.
“It was really cool meeting the authors and finding out about the shortlisted books. I love
‘Longbow Girl’ and I hope it will go far.” Izabella Keen 7D
“I really liked meeting Kim Slater and Paula Rawsthorne. I also love the shortlist and I’m
really looking forward to reading them all.” Mai Drury 7D
“I absolutely loved meeting the authors who are both amazing and inspiring. I am also
excited to see that there are really good books on the shortlist for 2017.”
Phoebe Brodrip 7E
“I really enjoyed it yesterday as it was fun meeting the authors and finding out how they
got their ideas!” Xenia Smith 9B
“I really liked the trip because now I know more about the authors and what inspires
them.”
Ana Rodrigues 9A
Book Club members are now busy reading the 6 shortlisted books. The award will culminate in an event with
other local schools when the students will get to vote for their favorite book and take part in a variety of activities.
The overall winner will be announced on 20th March 2017.
For more information about the BBA go to https://bba.inspireculture.org.uk
Year 7 pupils have now received their own free book chosen from a range of titles suitable for
11 year olds and selected by a panel of experts.
Bookbuzz is organised by Booktrust, an independent charity which supports schools to encourage reading for
pleasure, independent choice and to develop a whole school reading culture
Thanks to the support of children's publishers, schools are able to purchase the Bookbuzz programme at a
greatly subsidised cost.
For more information go to http://www.bookbuzz.org.uk.

The club started this term with an exclusive Year 7 membership. The first members of the
Gardening Club are:
Jack Sharpe, Jacob Newton, Laila Younis, Eleanor Tompkins, Lucy Carter, Barnaby
Richmond, Mai Drury Grace Shardlow, Rosie Lane, Cara Abasspour, Ava Tucker, Poppy
Keeble, Amelie Grant, Katie Faulkner and Erin Cummings.
Projects worked on so far:
First of all the members tidied up all the weeds in
the raised beds and the other beds. They then moved the strawberry
plants into a designated fruit section and planted spring bulbs in one of
the raised beds and in another section of the garden. They also planted
onion sets, garlic cloves and broad beans in the other raised bed.
The members have also started to create an herb garden, wildflower
corner and a wildlife conservation area.
On a wet day they created information posters which are now displayed
around the Garden.
They are extremely enthusiastic gardeners.
Future projects include:
Planting trees around the school, creating colourful hanging baskets and
container displays, growing seasonal vegetables and soft fruit.
Planting more seasonal flowers in the flower beds.
The members will also continue to maintain the garden keeping down the weeds and watering the plants on a
daily rota. from the spring term onwards.
Mr Holding
The Great Rushcliffe Bake Off
There has been a very high standard of baking
in the competition this year. The judges
were very impressed with the creative and
skilful cake, biscuit and pastry items produced.
Star bakers are: Amelie Grant
(biscuits) Georgia Smith (pastry) and Eden
Turner (cakes). Certainly the best ever results
from our Year 7 and 8 students!
The Rushcliffe Sewing Bee
The ‘Rushcliffe Sewing Bee’ group who attend the Tuesday evening
club have been busy designing and making dresses to send to areas
of poverty around the world for young girls to wear. They have
thoroughly enjoyed completing this activity whilst gaining in confidence
in practising a range of textile techniques.
Well done girls!
Food and Textiles Department

school experience.
Rushcliffe School is leading the way in providing a counselling service led by 2 counsellors who
have extensive experience of working with young people. Managed by Helen Carnell, our Pupil
Wellbeing Co-ordinator, the service aims to meet the needs of pupils requiring emotional health
support.
As reported in the press and media, we have seen a significant increase in young people requiring
crisis support due to varied emotional and mental health presentations such as anxiety,
anger, bereavement, abuse, and bullying. We believe in supporting young people at the earliest
opportunity, therefore avoiding the need for more intense intervention later on. In addition, we
believe that caring for the emotional health of our students will enhance their studies and
Here at Rushcliffe, our counselling service works in partnership with the PSU, providing 1-1 young person - centred
counselling 5 days a week. Lucy and Vanessa are members of, and work within the ethical guidelines of, the BACP
(British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists).
In addition to Lucy and Vanessa, Betsy the PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog can often be found in the counselling room.
Employed as Lucy’s PA, Betsy is currently in training to be Lucy’s assistance dog with Dog Aid. Betsy’s remit includes
supporting Lucy’s balance and charming staff and pupils at every opportunity. Lucy Rychwalski-Lindley
'Sexting' describes the use of technology to share sexual and sexually implied
content. This content includes texts, photos of partial nudity and sexual
images or video. This could be shared between partners, peers and
strangers. Individuals may use a range of technology to share the content.
The sharing of naked pictures is not a new thing but the speed with which
you can share and the potential audience size has dramatically changed as a
result of the online world.
What is the law?
If a young person under the age of 18 engages in sexting by creating an explicit photo or video of themselves then
they have potentially created an indecent image of a child. By sending this content on to another person, they have
distributed an indecent image of a child. By receiving content of this kind from another young person, they are then in
possession of an indecent image of a child.
What other risks are there?
Reputation damage: sexting content can be distributed to other users very quickly, so once you have sent sexting
content it is very hard for you to control where the content is posted. Your reputation could be damaged by
this type of content if future employers, universities, colleges or friends see it.
Emotional and psychological damage: the distribution of sexting content to others can cause distress and be
really upsetting for those involved, especially if the content is distributed by someone they trusted. The effects
of others seeing this content can lead to negative comments and bullying, and may result in a loss of confidence
or self-esteem.
It happened….what can I do next?
1. Stay calm, act quickly: if you are worried about an issue of sexting the quicker you act the easier it is to manage
the distribution of the content.
2. Talk to someone: it can be hard asking for help but in a situation like this it is really important. Family, professionals
and friends want to make sure you are safe. In order for them to help you they need to know all of the
facts so be honest and let them know what happened and how you are feeling.
3. Will I get in trouble with the police? As outlined above, the law relating to sexting is there first and foremost
to protect young people. The Association of Chief Police Officers have stated that young people will be treated
as victims and that sexting needs to be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Childnet has information and advice about sexting available on its website: www.childnet.com/young-people/
secondary/hot-topics/sexting
We enjoy celebrating the achievements of the students in this newsletter, and whilst we strive to encourage
and support our students in all of these activities, our highest priority is to keep them safe whilst they enjoy
new experiences. Helen Carnell, Pupil Wellbeing Coordinator

The planning application has been submitted for the new building, and following the statutory consultation
period we expect that the application will be considered at the Rushcliffe Borough Council Development
Control Committee on 16th February. After Christmas, it would be really helpful for as
many parents and friends of the school to write to the planning department in support of this project,
please.
If all goes to plan we anticipate starting building work in the summer of 2017 and opening the building
in September 2018.
I am pleased to announce that we have again increased the number
of students allowed to do their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award due to two new
volunteers becoming supervisors. Mr Richard Mansfield & Mr Dominic
Orchard have already given up weekends as they start their training
courses to become qualified supervisors. Both will join myself and Mrs Karen
Mistry who joined us a couple of years ago giving up her valuable time
to ensure we offer the award to as many students as we can. Good luck to
all three and thank you all for your contribution to the school.
I would also like to thank all of the parents & teachers who have helped out on the expedition weekends
over the last few years. When I have asked for help our parents/teachers have risen to the challenge and
supported each expedition and the students taking part, without them the events would not take place so
once again, thank you.
Last year’s bronze award was very successful with 42 out of the 56 already completed with another 8
nearly complete who are just finishing off their individual sections. They have been very busy helping with
Charities, Clubs, Helping in other Schools, Helping the Elderly and many more volunteering events
around Nottingham whilst once a week attending hourly sessions. These sessions include Football, Gym
Work, Netball, Cricket, Long Distance Running, Karate/Jujitsu and many other physical activities after a
long day at school. Not only the above but they have also been gaining skills in Photography, Speech &
Drama, Cycle Maintenance, Cookery, Playing an Instrument, and many more. I am not finished yet! They
also have to plan and prepare for two expeditions which include two weekends, two days walking per
weekend (minimum 8 miles per day), camping overnight and being total self-sufficient throughout the
weekend. We do not give this award away the students really do earn it! Well done to all of them who
have completed and to those who are nearly there.
This season has started off very well with record numbers which make up 9 groups! All of them are organising
their activities and the expedition training after school has begun. All students should finish at
the end of May.
Our Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is also doing very well with record completion numbers, 31 out of
34 completed the 2014/15 season, so well done to all of the silver students who worked so hard to complete.
The 2015/16 students are all finishing of their activities with the aim to complete by Christmas.
Our Completion rate at the school over the last few years has put us as one of the top schools in Nottinghamshire,
something I am very proud of and something our students have shown with our core values
being met.
Mr Witts - Extracurricular activities & Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator

The Trent Academies Group went to the finals of the Chamber
of Commerce Business Awards in London on the 24 th November and
although we unfortunately didn’t win we are very proud to have been
one of the best eight schools in the country for employability.
The October Careers Fair for students in Years 10 to 13 and their parents was a success giving the students
an opportunity to learn more about different career pathways and speak with industry experts.
There has also been the second Bright Day of this academic year; this time it was a Dragons’ Den activity
for Year 10 which was a very close fought contest with 10 G and 10 H drawing as the winners.
Well done to the students in those two forms. Students also had the chance to learn about finance issues
and use some useful websites to help them make good choice in the future.
The At Lunch speaker programme has begun and our first speaker was a vet and also a Rushcliffe parent
who gave a very interesting talk to the students in Years 9 to 13 who are interested in becoming a
vet. Our next At Lunch event is going to be about careers with the police and the first one after Christmas
is slightly different as this time we are going to visit East Midland Airport on 5 th January to hear
about the range of possible careers there.
Faculty areas continue to develop their working with industry projects and currently the ICT department
is working with Planet Bounce, the Innovation department is working on a graphic design project to design
a cover for a Paul Cookson novel, and Science held a “Creative Conductors” workshop with E.ON.
Apprenticeships are becoming a more attractive option for many students at 16+ and also at
18+. There are more positions becoming available and at 18+ an apprenticeship can lead to a degree
qualification without incurring the costs of going to university. Please look at https://
www.getingofar.gov.uk
Rhonda Smith our Careers Adviser is starting to see Year 11 students. You can contact her directly
rosmith@rushcliffe.notts.sch.uk if you wish.
Job & apprenticeship vacancies can be found on our Careers Facebook page
www.facebook.com/RushcliffeSchoolCareers

Confidential School Nurse Texting Service
A new texting service to enhance the way young people can access health advice has been launched by Nottinghamshire’s
Healthcare’s School Nursing Service.
With more and more children using mobile devices in their daily lives, the ChatHealth text service is an easy way
for young people to confidentially ask for help about a range of services, or make an appointment with the school
nurse. Young people can receive confidential advice on a wide range of issues such as bullying, emotional
health, and wellbeing, sexual health as well as illnesses.
The service is available Mon to Fri 9am-4.30pm excluding bank holidays. Texts will be responded to by the Nottinghamshire’s
School Nursing Team within one working day.
The ChatHealth number is: 07507 329952.
Helen Carnell
Pupil Wellbeing Coordinator
Changing Your Child’s Personal Details
If there are any changes to contact details or any other information we hold
for your child, you can now email these directly to save you from phoning in
or sending a letter to data@rushcliffe.notts.sch.uk.
If information is not sent from an email address we already hold for you,
one of our data team may give you a quick call just to confirm your identity.
Please do keep us informed of changes so that we have the latest information,
particularly in the event of an emergency.
Christmas Holiday
21st December 2016 - 3rd January 2017
Pupils back to School on 4th January
January - February
Diary Dates 2017
4th January
Back To School
5th January
Year 13 Progress Evening
9th - 13th January
Year 13 CERN Trip
21st - 23rd January
Year 10 D of E Practice Walk
24th January
Year 11 Poetry Live
23th - 27th January
Year 13 Mocks
Contact Us
Rushcliffe School
Boundary Road
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 7BW
Tel: (0115) 9744050
Text 07860030625
Email
admin.office@rushcliffe.notts.sch.uk
Visit us on the web at
www.rushcliffe.notts.sch.uk
Follow us on Twitter
@RushcliffeSCH
Extra-Curricular Timetable
Scan the QR code link to the
extra-curricular timetable on
our website, listing all the
clubs and activities available
at lunch-time and afterschool.
Or visit
www.rushcliffe.notts.sch.uk
and you will find it on the
homepage.
26th January
Year 11 Progress Evening
1st - 3rd February
A Level Mock Art Examination
2nd February
Year 11 Intermediate Math's
Challenge
4th - 5th February
Year 10 D of E Practice Walk
6th - 10th February
Work Experience
9th February
Year 8 & 9 Girls’ HPV
Vaccinations
9th February
GCSE Science Live
13th February - 17th February
Half Term