MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2017 | WWW.HTCS.ORG.UK
TEAM TUNSTALL
VISIT REAL MADRID
AND MANCHESTER
UNITED
STEM LEADERS DISCUSS
CAREERS WITH
STUDENTS
LORD
PROFESSOR
WINSTON
DELIVERS
STEM LECTURE

Welcome
WELCOME TO OUR
EXPRESSIONS MAGAZINE
This is were you will find information
about some of the fantastic experiences
our students have had since returning in
September 2016. Following on from our good
GCSE exam performance the students have
taken part in various STEM activities, as
well as visiting the WW1 battlefields, Real
Madrid, Manchester United and top North
East universities. The STEM programme goes
from strength to strength and following Lord
Professor Robert Winston delivering our
2nd Annual STEM lecture, we are pleased to
announce that we have secured Marcus du
Sautoy FRS OBE who is the Simonyi Professor
for the Public Understanding of Science and a
Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Oxford, to deliver the 2017 lecture in October.
I look forward to continuing
the good work together.
Mr M Tilling
Headteacher
HTCS
ALUMNI
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In November 2016 High Tunstall College of Science launched HTCS Alumni network
in partnership with Future First. It has been fantastic to find out what some of our
past students are doing now and show our current students the wide diversity of
opportunities that exist in education, employment and training post 16. Our Alumni
network is continuing to grow from strength to strength and we would like to thank
everyone who has signed up so far and encourage others to also get involved.
Stay in touch with us and help our current students...
1. Go to www.futurefirst.org.uk
2. Go to the ‘Sign Up’ tab
3. Click ‘Former Student’
4. Type in High Tunstall
Scan this code with
your phone or tablet
to be taken to sign
up on our website
An Alumni Community for Every School & College

STUDENTS INSPIRED BY
‘CAPTAINS’ OF INDUSTRY
On January 23rd 2017 High Tunstall students in Years 9, 10 and 11, along with their
parents, met over 40 of the UK’s biggest employers, including Nissan and Hitachi, as
part of an event to inspire their future careers. Also in attendance were 5 of the most
prestigious North east Universities alongside other post 16 educational establishments.
As a specialist Science College it is really important that our students are prepared to enter STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related industries. Employers, Universities and
Colleges are becoming increasingly concerned about the decline in students opting to study STEM
subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and fear the knock on effect this will have on
sectors such as Science and Engineering.
The aim of the event was to educate young people and their families about the growing need
for STEM skills and subjects in the UK and global work places, the qualifications they will need
to achieve in order to embark on a STEM career which are amongst the most highly paid and
also varied careers that a person can embark upon. Without innovative and creative Scientist,
Technologists and Engineers we will be poorly prepared to deal with the future challenges the
world will have, such as energy shortages and climate change.
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EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

Lord Professor Robert Winston
delivers Annual STEM Lecture
On October 5th 2016 High Tunstall
was visited by one of the world’s
leading Scientists, Lord Professor
Robert Winston. Lord Winston is
Professor of Science and Society
and Emeritus Professor of Fertility
Studies at Imperial College London
and is perhaps most famous for
pioneering fertility techniques
such as IVF and Pre-Implantation
diagnosis, which allows scientists to
screen embryos for genetic diseases.
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Lord Winston was given a warm welcome
by our students and they in turn were
enthralled during two question and answer
sessions, during which High Tunstall
students were given the opportunity to
ask Lord Winston questions relating to
STEM, his own career, life choices, role
models and influences. Lord Winston was
given the opportunity to tour STEM lessons
within the school and was particularly
impressed with a mathematics lesson
where students were studying the
mathematics of the DNA helix model.
After spending time with staff and students,
Lord Winston travelled to the Borough hall,
to deliver High Tunstall’s second annual
STEM lecture. This was experienced by
a crowd comprising of 33 educational
establishments from across the Tees
Valley and a raft of industry and business
representatives and local dignitaries.
Lord Winston delivered on areas such
as reproduction, IVF, pre-implantation
diagnosis of genetic disorders, genetic
modifications and cutting edge STEM cell
research. His delivery was peppered with
never before seen clips of images including
ovulation and a genetically modified super
mouse.
Lord Winston was a passionate, engaging and
knowledgeable speaker and his lecture both
energised and inspired all who were fortunate
enough to listen to it.

“At this College
you have good
teaching and
students who
want to learn
and ask good
questions.”
Lord Professor
Robert Winston
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EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

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HIGH TUNSTALL STUDENTS
EXPERIENCE THE 'REAL
DEAL' IN MADRID

Students from High Tunstall’s U13, U14
and KS3 girls’ teams flew into Madrid
airport to immerse themselves fully into
the Real Madrid experience during a long
weekend to remember.
As part of the visit, students took a tour of the World
Famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, experiencing
the 60 metre long trophy room, changing rooms and
the students also got to sit in the same dugout as
Zinedine Zidane would be using the following day.
The students also took part in two tour matches per
squad with all three teams securing positive results
with the U14 squad winning both their matches
including a nail biting last minute win against the
Madrid Junior Champions.
The highlight of the trip was the chance to watch
the Galacticos in action during their 5-2 win against
Osasuna in front of 80,000 fans in the Santiago
Bernabeu stadium.
A once in a lifetime experience enjoyed by 45
students that displayed exemplary behaviour
throughout the trip.
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EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

WORLD WAR ONE
BATTLE FIELDS TOUR
During the October half term students from
across both key stages visited the Belgium
battlefields of World War One. As well as
being accompanied by specialist staff from
the College, students’ also had the benefit
of an experienced tour guide with extensive
knowledge of the area and battles fought
there. Consequently the trip was extremely
informative and interesting.
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Throughout the trip all students were impeccably
behaved, listened intently to our tour guide and on many
occasions were visibly moved by what they had learn’t.
With the help of the tour guide some students were able
to find and visit the graves of their relatives who had
died during the conflict. Students found the experience
incredibly thought provoking and emotional, but at
the same time deeply satisfying to be able to pay their
respects. A wreath was laid on behalf of the College by
students during the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin
Gate, Ypres.
However, there were also lighter moments during the
visit! Students got to visit one of Ypres famous chocolate
shops. They all spent a fortune and then gorged
themselves on the goodies. Students enjoyed their
evenings in the hotel, playing table football, great fun but
not very relaxing as some students and staff (Mr Trumper
and Chloe Hardie) are just so competitive! On the last
evening they had karaoke, Mrs Cooper and Cameron
Sharp delighted everyone with their version of ‘Dancing
Queen’ but luckily Evie Lynas was on hand to calm things
down and show everyone what a real singer sounds like.
But then there was Tunny’s very own ‘rapmiester’ Basil
Al-Mashharawi.
The History Department are planning another visit to this
historic site in 2018. This will be the 100th anniversary
of the end of the first world war and a particularly
interesting time to visit.

HTCS Gains Heritage
School Status
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Earlier this year High Tunstall College was
awarded Heritage School status by the
Department of Education. This sought after and
highly prized accolade was given in recognition
of the focus given to local history within the
curriculum. Initially a group of selected students
from the current year 8 were tasked with
independently researching a particular period
from the history of Hartlepool. They then shared
their learning and from this were able to discover
the rich and varied history of their town. The
students demonstrated what they had learned
by creating 3D models of Hartlepool, from its
beginnings as a religious settlement in the 7th
century through to its development as one of the
countries busiest ports in the 19th century, it’s
subsequent decline and the more recent attempts
to regenerate the local economy. Students
enjoyed participating in the project, their
feedback was particularly positive with many of
them feeling a new sense of pride in their local
town, how it developed over time and how these
developments had impacted on the economy
and culture of their town. They recognised that
this is their heritage too and this is something
that we are passionate about within the History
Department at High Tunstall; we actively seek
to encourage students to think of history not as
something that other people made but something
that our own ancestors had a part to play in too.
Throughout the project students were supported by
two outside agencies, Historic England and Northern
Architecture. Both sets of visitors commented on the
positive attitude and behaviour demonstrated by
the students participating in the project as well as
throughout the school as a whole.
EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

After the student successes for those involved in the Scholars Programme delivered by the Brilliant Club in
2015 and 2016 planning has begun for 12 High Tunstall students to be involved in 2017. In 2015 the focus was
Mathematics and morality: fact or fiction? Last year we moved to a Science focus of Pleistocene Park: will we
ever clone a mammoth? For the last two years the students involved have been under the age of 14 and as a
college we have been impressed to see 50% of both groups awarded the highest grading for their equivalent
A Level standard assignment submission. An assignment with a focus from the Arts and Humanities has been
selected for 2017. Again a PHd tutor will work with the 12 students who are successfully accepted for The
Brilliant Club over a series of university style tutorials. The tutorials support their thinking for their assignment
submission and the programme culminates in a graduation event from Durham University. The launch event
also involves a visit to Durham University and this will take place on Friday 24th February 2017.
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Ri Master
Class
Success!
In the autumn of 2016, 5 of our finest
STEM students embarked upon a series
of Ri (Royal Institution) Engineering
Master classes. This series is an annual
event and the classes are interactive
extracurricular sessions, led by top
experts from academia and industry for
keen and talented young people from all
around the UK.
The classes themselves were held at
Hartlepool Power station and Hart
Biologicals and the focus of the classes
involved construction, robotics, biochemical
engineering and energy transmission and
generation. A common thread throughout
each session was the development of the so
called ‘soft skills’ that large corporations and
industry prize so highly and that are often
underdeveloped in young people entering
the workplace.
The master classes were a huge success and
will be repeated in the summer term.

CENTRE FOR LIFE
SCIENCE TRIP
On December 7th 2016 72 Year 10 and 11 triple science students made
their way to the Centre for Life Newcastle.
On the day they took part in a Rat dissection Masterclass, visited the animals
inside out exhibition, watched a planetarium show, got involved in the
interactive displays and finally they had the chance to ice skate.
Students really enjoyed the day, they were a credit to themselves and the college.
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EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

TUNNY’S STILL
GOT TALENT
On Wednesday 14th December, High Tunstall hosted
our very own talent show. This was a long time coming
after students went through the first round at the
beginning of November where they had 2 minutes to
showcase their talent; some students even had to go
through call backs.
We had a variety of talent from acro- gymnastics to tap…from
musical theatre to emotional heart felt songs.
An evening like this doesn’t just get put together in a day,
there’s many hours of organisation and a whole host of
students that supported backstage and running the sound
and lighting desks, which make the atmosphere of the evening
incredible.
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We started the evening with Lucy Reed, her debut performance
here at High Tunstall…and what a start, performing a musical
theatre number from Matilda. She demanded the audience’s
attention and clearly set the standard for the night. In the first
act we had many heart felt renditions of well-known songs.
There were a few technical errors that Holly Mincher handled
perfectly making the audience laugh and creating a friendly
atmosphere within the room. Following on from this we had
Faith Green and Amy Dunn doing a quick running order change,
which they handled with true professionalism.
After the interval we started with four year 8 girls who had
worked tirelessly on creating a 4 piece harmony that was
performed near perfection. We had many dancers, some
doing acrobatic moves and to quote Mr Thompson “98% of the
population would end up in hospital doing those tricks”. Kirsty
Rae made the audience gasp in astonishment with her opening
line performing Michael Jackson’s ‘Whose loving you?’.
Whilst the judges were excused to make their decision on the
winner, our very own Mrs Pinchen took to the stage and shared
with us a song she had written herself, the audience were in
awe and many have questioned, why does she teach art?
All students took to the stage for a final round of applause,
whilst the final three contestants were announced. Marisa
Wyatt, Mia Robertson, Lucy Burgess and Millie Gallagher were
awarded 3rd place. Ella Bolton with her rendition of ‘Don’t
rain on my parade’ came 2nd which left the incredible Hollie
Shackleton and Emily Simpson being announced as the winners.
When Hollie and Emily took to the stage to perform their
winning tap/modern routine once more the auditorium erupted
with cheers, with some members dancing and singing along
celebrating the girls triumph.
A great evening had by all and a massive well done to all of the
finalists.

EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017
13

Geography Field Trip
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On the 15th and 16th September the Year 11
Geographers visited Whitby to collect data
for their GCSE Geography Investigation. This
year’s focus is on the economic impacts of
tourism in the area. The students will submit
their completed controlled assessment
folders in the New Year and the work is
worth 25% of the final GCSE grade. Despite
the poor weather, the students worked hard
throughout the day and enjoyed some fish
and chips, along with a few ice creams.

HIGH TUNSTALL WIN IN
THE HARTLEPOOL VS
DONCASTER VARSITY!
On Thursday 10th November 2016 five teams
from High Tunstall travelled to Doncaster in
order to compete in a Varsity competition,
with the winner of the most fixtures taking
home the trophy. The teams travelling from
Hartlepool were the year 7 boys rugby, year
10 boys rugby, year 9 boys football and the
year 7 and 9 girls netball. Students left the
college ahead of the 2 hours journey in good
spirits and were confident of securing a
victory over their Doncaster counter parts.
Upon arrival students were straight into their warm ups
in preparation for the respective fixtures, whilst parents
and staff eagerly awaited updates via social media. The
first result to come in was the year 7 girls netball which
saw High Tunstall claim the first points of the Varsity with
an overwhelming 11-1 for Miss Taylor’s side. This result
was swiftly followed by another High Tunstall win in the
Year 9 girls netball with another convincing 11-7 win for
Miss Proud’s team.
15
Momentum was starting to build and this was
followed up with another High Tunstall win for
Mr Blythe’s year 7 boys rugby team, dominating
their match and running out 45-5 winners. Hall
Cross were starting to find some answers to the
High Tunstall rampage and got their first points
of the competition, scraping a 1-1 draw against
Mr Holden’s year 9 boys football team who
were in control of the match for large parts but
struggled to find the net.
Finally a strong Hall Cross year 10 rugby
team secured their first victory of the
competition, inflicting High Tunstall’s only
defeat in the competition with a solid 34-
17 win capitalising on a slow start from Mr
Stewart’s side. High Tunstall were rewarded
with their efforts with a trip to Meadowhall
Shopping Centre on their way back to
Hartlepool for food and a quick shopping trip
ahead of the Christmas period.
This was an excellent victory for Team Tunstall
over a very competitive Hall Cross team, which
hosted the first event in this Varsity superbly.
The College is looking to forward hosting the
return fixture at High Tunstall later in the year
and will be hoping to keep hold of the trophy.
EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

YEAR 7 VISIT TO
NORTHUMBRIA
UNIVERSITY
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Thursday 3rd November 2016 saw the new
crop of Year 7 students attend Northumbria
University for a sports taster session allowing
them to experience world class facilities at
Sport Central in Newcastle City Centre within
a number of different sporting activities. The
aim of this session was to inspire students to
consider a career in sport and what courses and
facilities would be available at the University.
Students left the college before the start of school
allowing them plenty of time to explore the City Campus
within the centre of Newcastle prior to the start of the
days activities. The students then gathered outside Sport
Central and were split into the three teams they would
be working in during the day. They were led into the main
sports hall at Sport Central, home to the Newcastle Eagles
Basketball Team to find out what was in store for them.
The activities would work on carousel throughout
the day with the first two taking place before lunch.
Students throughout the day took part in taster sessions
for boxing involving a variety of circuits around fitness
and developing into students looking at the technique
required for the different punches available.
The second activity the students completed was rock
climbing. This session took part within the indoor climbing
wall within Sport Central and the students were able
to challenge themselves on different walls, each with
varying levels of difficulty. They were also required to
belay for the their partner, helping to keep each other safe
and then get them down once they had reached the top.
The final activity was a strength and conditioning session
with a Northumbria University coach. The students learnt
various methods of developing their own fitness whilst
also learning how to perform each of these skills with the
correct technique. The coach incorporated a number of
different games to keep the session competitive.
Finally the students received a talk from a current
Northumbria University athlete who currently plays for
the Scotland National Hockey Team. The athlete talked
to the students about her journey as a sportswomen
but also talked to the students about her academic
achievements and how they helped her become the
person she is today. Finally she spoke about the kinds
of courses available at Northumbria University and the
support each student receives.
Following the last session at Northumbria University the
students were allowed to go to the Metro Centre as a
reward for their fantastic start to the year. Students were
able to go for food and head to the shops for a spot of
Christmas shopping ahead of the festive period.
Overall the students had a fantastic day and the College
would like to thank Northumbria University for hosting an
excellent day.

Team Tunstall go
to ‘THE THEATRE
OF DREAMS’
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Wednesday 30th November saw the Sport
Science faculty host another trip, this time
heading over to Manchester to watch the
Red Devils in action against West Ham
United in the Quarter Finals of the EFL Cup.
The students left school at the end of the school day
ahead of a late evening stopping off for some food
on the way. Disappointment spread on the bus as
the teams were announced and both Paul Pogba and
Jose Mourinho were suspended leaving Mourinho
to watch from the stands. Upon arrival the students
headed through the busy crowds towards their seats
stopping off at some of Manchester United's famous
monuments such as the Sir Alex Ferguson statue.
Before kick off Old Trafford completed a minute
silence for the Chapecoense plane disaster which was
beautifully upheld by High Tunstall Students and the
whole of Old Trafford.
Team Tunstall were sat in some excellent seats within
the top tier of the Sir Alex Ferguson stand and had a
prime view for Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first goal within
2 minutes of kick off get on the end of a fantastic
back heel by Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Despite a period of
United dominance West Ham equalised with former
United man Ashley Fletcher scoring after 35 minutes.
Half time came and students were looking forward
to the prospect of a penalty shootout however
this was short lived with Anthony Martial scoring 3
minutes after the restart, which was backed up by
another Martial goal after 62 minutes. Team Tunstall
were been treated to a goal fest and also saw the
return a legendary midfielder Bastian Schweinseiger
who received a tremendous reception from the Old
Trafford faithful. The performance was topped off by
another Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal in stoppage time
and Team Tunstall made their way to the bus for the
long journey back to Hartlepool.
It was a great night for Manchester United who
progressed to the Semi Finals of the EFL Cup and the
occasion was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended
the trip.
EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

ANNUAL
AWARDS
EVENING
The 22nd Annual Awards Evening was
held on Thursday 17th November 2016
at the Borough hall and was attended
by more than 500 parents/carers. The
evening was a resounding success and
recognised over 200 students (290
individual awards) who have excelled
in different subject areas or for their
service to the College during the
2015/16 academic year.
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There were perfomances on the stage
from the Colleges Creative Arts Academy,
perfoming a song from the musical
Annie, which is to be the College show later
in the year. There was also perfomances
from the College choir and the College vocal
group. Students from the college managed
the sound and lighting systems to enable
them to gain experience in a theatre setting.
The evening also raised over £300 pounds for
the 'Save A Hart' fund, which has been set up
for Georgia Hart, who is an ex student who
suffers from Friedreich's Ataxia. The funding
is to go towards assisting in extending the
trial treatment to aid Georgia, but at the
moment is not available on the NHS.

Hub News
The Hub has been
very busy this term,
welcoming the new
Year 7students.
Enthusiastically,
they choose their
books to either take
home or read during
form time and one
English lesson per
week. They seem to
have settled in well
and we are quickly
getting to know them
when they access the
Hub for homework or
after school clubs.
Maths and English intervention is
continuing with all students eager to
access this additional opportunity to
progress.
For Children’s Book Week, the Hub ran
a competition to design bookmarks
for the school. Our student librarians
thought it made sense to produce our
own rather than buy them and the
standard of the entries were fabulous.
After much deliberation the winners
were chosen: Beth Anderson 8C1, and
James Vasey 8T2 with Caitlyn Pinder
8T1 and Emma Harrington 7S2 as the
runners up. These have been printed
and are available for both students and
staff to use.
As you can see, the designs are lovely.
Well done!
To say a massive “Thank you” to the
Student Librarians for all the hard work
they do every day, we held a Christmas
“back-to-basics” party. The students
had fabulous fun playing Musical
Chairs, Hot Potato and Pin the Tail on
the Donkey, with the overall winners in
the face of stiff competition being the
Friday Librarians. Congratulations, you
were worthy winners!
Lastly, the popular quiz on Wednesday’s
had a surprise “beat- the Teacher”
week with perhaps an over confident
Mr Trumper turning up in the lead role.
He did however manage to achieve
a respectable third place against
seasoned quizzers and was leading at
one stage. He was a great sport and the
students loved it.
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EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

FOOD BANK
& CHRISTMAS
JUMPER INITIATIVES
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Throughout December HTCS staff and students have been collecting nonperishable
items for the Hartlepool Foodbank to help support families in
need within our local communities. Over 750 items have been donated so
far with more items being collected daily before being delivered to the
Foodbank in time for distribution before Christmas. The Foodbank initiative
ended with the celebration of Christmas Jumper Day to support the Save
the Children charity, all staff and students were encouraged to wear a
Christmas jumper for the day and make a £1 donation to the charity. So
far donations are totalling over £300 which will go towards working with
children in need around the world.
Mr Turner who has coordinated both initiatives said, “It is important that our college
can raise awareness of the Foodbank initiative within Hartlepool and the fantastic
service they provide during difficult times for many families across the town and
within our local communities. The response from both HTCS staff
and students has been phenomenal. Students from across all
houses within the college have been involved and donated items
which will be a big help to the local foodbank over the Christmas
period. We are proud as a college to support local schemes within
Hartlepool. It was also great to see so many staff and students
wearing Christmas jumpers in support of Save the Children. I am
delighted with the amount of money we have raised so far and
that we can contribute to such a worthwhile charity. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank all of those who have been involved,
well done Team Tunstall!”
Over 750 items have been collected for donation to the local
Hartlepool Foodbank. Mr Turner and Miss Harding, pictured
above, have been collecting and organising the items.

TUNSTALL TO REPRESENT
NORTH OF ENGLAND
Following recent years successes of County Cup triumphs the newest
recruits to TEAM Tunstall will represent the North of England in the last
16 of their national competition.
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HARROGATE GRAMMAR SCHOOL 0-2 HIGH TUNSTALL
On a heavy, sticky North Yorkshire field, High Tunstall took on a strong HGS team in the U12
National Open Schools Cup Last 32.
A tough opening period saw both teams battling to claim the ascendency with Kamil Mohammed starting
well on the right side of the back 3. Tunstall were also indebted to a superb all-round display from Matty
‘Sweeper Keeper’ Pattison who cleared numerous balls with aplomb as well as clattering the Harrogate striker
into next week.
Midway through the first half, Tunstall produced a scintillating phase of play to take the lead. Oscar Wake
played in Owen Stephenson who expertly flicked the ball into the path of Luke Woolston who finished
clinically.
A tense 10 minutes followed and the visitors were thankful to Joey Ryder for a number of determined tackles
and blocks to get the boys into half time in the lead.
The second half began with excellent work from Travis Lyth and Ellis Trimble keeping a clean sheet in tact.
The lead was then doubled as Kamil fed in Luke Woolston down the right hand side and the outcome was 2-0
to Tunny.
From this point on the game was controlled with telling contributions from Jack Dixon, Alex Smith, Luke
Swales and James Hogan and High Tunstall are now the last team in the North of England in the competition.
Awesome effort, Proud Teachers as ever.
EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

STEM – MR TURNER’S WONDERFUL
WORLD OF VEX ROBOTICS!
VEX ROBOTICS CLAWBOT CHALLENGE WINNERS 2016
On the 14th December 2016 our VEX Robotic team travelled to Park View
Secondary School in Chester Le Street to take part in the Durham and Tees Valley
VEX Robotics Clawbot Challenge, a competition designed to test the building,
programming and driver control robotics skills of students within the region. After
a tough day competing against seven other schools I am delighted to announce
that the team from HTCS won the main overall prize for
progress made throughout the day and development of
this year’s competition robot. A massive well done to our
team and no doubt this will carry us forward into this
year’s competition. The VEX EDR team have now started to prepare for the North East regional
qualifier which will take place at Nissan on the 27th January 2017, I am sure you will join me in
wishing them luck and hoping that they can qualify for the national qualifier later in the year.
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The picture to the left shows Elliot Fox receiving our recent award from Mr M Nelson who is
the North East VEX Robotics co-ordinator. The top right picture shows our VEX Robotics Team
of (Left to right) Daniel Spires Y10; Ashley Kerry Y10; Elliott Fox Y10; and Emma Kerry Y11.
The bottom right picture is our new robot which has been built for the
upcoming qualifier which is yet to be named!
VEX EDR WITHIN THE
YEAR 9 TECHNOLOGY &
ENTERPRISE CURRICULUM
Do you think you have
what it takes to be part of
a HTCS VEX team? I will be
looking for new students
across Y7-Y9 to form
new VEX IQ & EDR teams
for the next academic
year in 2017-2018. I will
need students who can
display our T20 skills
including Communication,
Leadership, Resilience, lead
a team, build a robot and
write programming code. If
you are interested please
come and see me in B10, be
prepared to sell your skills!
I am delighted to announce that the VEX
curriculum programme is now up and
running with Year 9 students who have
opted to study Product Design/Engineering
within the Technology and Enterprise
faculty. The students have started to
assemble their VEX Robot kits and will spend
the next 14 weeks learning and developing
their STEM skills, including designing,
building and programming VEX equipment,
whilst using Tunstall Twenty skills to embed
their learning within curriculum studies.
Keep an eye out for future developments
across more year groups and curriculum
subjects as we are hoping to increase VEX
use around the college in the near future!
The pictures on the left show current year
9 students engaged within the new VEX
Robotic curriculum course ran as part of an
option with the Technology & Enterprise
faculty.

Maths Problem Solving
at Durham University
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On Wednesday 7th December, twenty-four year
9s and 10s joined with forty pupils from two other
schools in Durham Cathedral for a day exploring the
mathematics of the north east as well as their own
problem solving experience. They received a lecture
from the chairman of the Mathematical Association,
Peter Ransom, and a guided tour of the cathedral
before moving to lunch in St Chad's college. There
they were introduced to staff and students of the
college where they had a chance to ask questions
about life as a university student. Thereafter the
pupils were given practical mathematical problems
set by students of the university at the Science Site.
Under the mentoring of Chris Goy, these students
showed our pupils strange mathematical puzzles
to reveal the simplistic joy in solving them. The
pupils handled the puzzles well and showed a great
deal of enthusiasm as well as lateral thinking. The
event was described by another teacher as being
"something more than simply a day for mathematics
but a cultural and inspirational day. It has given
pupils the chance to grow in their aspirations for
maths and life after school".
The event was organised by David Myers, a Mathematics
teacher at High Tunstall, in conjunction with the Cathedral
and University. It is hoped that next year we can double our
numbers thereby doubling the number of aspirational students
and their excitement for studying the art of Mathematics.
EXPRESSION MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2017

CREATIVE ARTS
ACADEMY GOES FROM
STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
The CAA has had a fantastic first term with many
new and exciting opportunities for our talented
students.
Students are put forward from their Creativity teachers to be
placed onto the CAA and have the whole of Year 7 to showcase
and prove that they deserve to be on the programme. The
current Year 8 students have proven themselves to be a very
creative year as 17 students were added onto the course.
These students have had to prove themselves in the following
areas; Art, Photography, Music, Singing, Drama and Dance.
We started the year with the students who have already been
on the CAA for the year, where they spent the day with Miss
Smith working hard creating their portfolios, showcasing all the
excellent opportunities they were given last year in developing
their skills further. This portfolio will be submitted to Arts
Award in the Summer and these students will then be awarded
their Bronze level.
Students have attended clay sculpting workshops with Mrs
Pinchen, experienced the musical technology at Hartlepool
Sixth Form College, and participated in a Billy Elliot workshop
delivered by a working West End actor.
Upcoming, we have workshops from our very own CAA students
to develop the younger years skills, to gain their bronze level, they
are to lead their own workshops that showcase that skills they
have learnt. These workshops will be opened up to Year 7 students
who have shown the potential to be on the CAA next year.
We also have another 4 workshops coming up at Hartlepool
Sixth Form, focusing on Performing Arts, Media & design work.
Alongside, this Mrs Pinchen and High Tunstall’s own artists will
be developing the art work for a national child development
campaign, and Dan Reily is set to return in the summer term
to offer another West End workshop.
The CAA is going from strength and strength.
High Tunstall College of Science
Elwick Road, West Park, Hartlepool, TS26 0LQ
T: 01429 261446 E: htadmin@hightunstall.hartlepool.sch.uk www.htcs.org.uk
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