Vol 6 Issue 1.pub - Highcliffe School

H2U 

...bringing Highcliffe to you... 

Highcliffe School, Parkside, Highcliffe, Christchurch, BH23 4QD newsletter@highcliffe.dorset.sch.uk 

Editorial 

Team 

Looking forward to the new academic year 

Welcome to all our new 

students and parents and 

welcome back everyone 

else to another year of 

hard work, enjoyment 

and, we all 

hope, success at 

Highcliffe School. 

It is heartening 

that we can begin 

this first issue of the year 

with news of major successes 

by the students and 

staff of the school. During 

the summer holidays there 

were two great days in 

school on the results days 

for both GCE and GCSE. It 

is wonderful to see the joy 

on the faces of the students 

who have strived so 

hard to achieve such great 

results. Below are printed 

the school press releases 

in relation to the two days. 

A school is more than simply 

a set of academic results. 

We work hard here 

to produce, in partnership 

with our parent community, 

well-rounded young 

adults able to take their 

place in society at large. 

One sign of our commitment 

to this is our contin- 

ual efforts to develop the 

International Dimension of 

the learning experience at 

the school. It therefore 

gives us great pleasure to 

report that over the summer 

the school was successful 

in its re-bid to the 

British Council for the International 

School Award. 

The award ceremony is on 

October 11 th and we will 

bring you a full report in 

the first issue after the 

event. 

Press Release 

A Level Examinations 

Results Summer 2006 

The expanding Sixth Form 

and new Sixth Form Centre 

at Highcliffe maintains 

standards of excellence 

with this year’s A level results 

in which the vast majority 

of students 

have 

achieved 

better than 

expected 

grades. 

These results represent a 

record high of top grades 

at Highcliffe School – the 

highest ever number of A 

level grades achieved with 

a pass rate of over 98%. 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 

In the community 

Pages 3-7 

Faculty news 

Page 8-14 

14-19@Highcliffe 

Page 14 

International Dimension 

Pages 15-17 

Activities Week 

Page 18-24 

Important Notices 

Pages 25– 27 

Examination Results 2006 

Page 28 

Vol. 6 Issue 1– September 2006 

Contributors : Mr O’Connor, Mr Axton, The Learning Support ’Race for Life’ Team, Miss Berkerley, Mr 

Nicholls, Stephen Hutt, Katie Russell, Anthony Wynn-Hebden, Bevan Davies, Nicola Huggins, Mr Yapp, 

Miss High, Mrs Pearson, Mrs Gabony, Stephanie Doe, Mr Evans, Mr Wilson, Mr Simmons, Mrs Brice, Mr 

Hill, Mrs Finch, Mr Hughes. The Activities Week Newsday Team: Daniel Davies, Megan Jones, Stephen 

Jones, Sammy Joynson, Charlie Salter, Jonathan Shires. Editor : Mr Coughlan 

H2U, Vol 6 Issue 1 - September 2006 Page 1

Headteacher, Judith Potts 

said; “we are absolutely 

delighted with 

these results 

and in the 

knowledge 

that students 

have secured 

their university 

places. Perhaps 

even 

more importantly 

students gained on 

average 1 grade or higher 

than their target grade 

based on their GCSE results” 

Top achieving students 

with straight A grades 

include 

Lucy Emmett in Biology, 

Chemistry, French, Spanish 

(and Mathematics at 

AS Level) 

Bethany Gower in English 

Literature, 

French, Religious 

Studies 

and Spanish 

Sian Owen in 

French, Psychlogy 

and 

Spanish 

Sam Quirke 

in Computing, 

English Literature 

and Photography 

(and Business Studies at 

AS Level) 

Some Statistics 

Overall pass rate is over 

98% for all A level courses 

Nearly 45% of all grades 

are at A or B. 

2/3rds of all results were 

top grades of A, B or C. 

This shows a continuing 

upward trend in results in 

line with a year of improvement 

in the achievement 

of our students. Most 

importantly the vast ma- 

jority of students achieve 

their target grade or 

above. “We are proud of 

our students 

at 

Highcliffe 

and across 

the Christchurch 

Sixth Form 

as a 

whole”, 

says Anna 

Karanja, Director of Sixth 

Form. 

Headteacher, Judith 

Potts and the 

Sixth Form team 

say, “We are absolutely 

delighted 

with these results. 

They confirm 

our position 

as a key provider 

of high quality Sixth Form 

education in the region. 

They are a testimony to 

the excellentstandard 

in the 

Sixth Form 

at Highcliffe 

and build 

on the successfulOfsted 

report 

from 2004. 

Our prestigious 

double specialist 

status in languages and 

science with 

mathematics is 

providing a high 

quality of education 

across all 

subjects in the 

school.” 

“Given the perennial 

debate 

about the value 

of A level grades we must 

not lose sight that students 

give their all to achieve 

their very best. We are 

proud of their ambitions as 

well as their achievements 

as they seek to go on to 

higher education or employment.” 

“All students who are 

seeking university places 

this year as a first choice 

have been successful. This 

is a tribute to the students, 

their parents and the 

teachers who work closely 

in the Sixth Form to bring 

about this level of success. 

This has 

been a 

tremendously 

stressful 

time for 

all students 

and 

we must 

give 

them 

credit for their achievements 

and not shortchange 

them. These results 

reflect a similar success 

story with our partners 

in the Christchurch 

Sixth Form”. 

Nick O’Connor 

Deputy Headteacher 

Press Release 

GCSE Examination Results 

Following on from the 

school’s 

recordbreaking 

KS3 and 

GCE performance 

the GCSE 

results 

day was 

another 

pleasant 

experience for the students 

at Highcliffe. 

The overall pass rate is 

68% for 5 or more A*-C 


grades, with 98% of students 

gaining 5 or more 

A*- G grades (59% of all 

students gained 5 or more 

A*-C including English and 

Maths) 

Two points were especially 

pleasing: the continued 

improvement in the results 

in the core subjects and 

the increase in the number 

of students who achieved a 

clean sweep of 8 or more 

A/A* grades, these being: 

Rowenna Silverwood 

Danielle Trudgeon 

Jamie Pitcher 

Sebastian Bush- 

Hipwood 

Alexia Louveiris 

David Satherley 

Natalie Shilton 

Graeme Morgan 

Victoria Harris 

Felicity Andruszko 

In addition to this, we 

were delighted to learn 

that Sebastian Bush- 

Hipwood scored one of the 

top 5 marks in Mathematics 

nationally. This is a remarkable 

achievement 

considering that there 

were 116497 entries for 

the examination with the 

AQA Examination Board 

Headteacher, Judith Potts 

says, ’GCSE results continue 

to be consistently very good 

at Highcliffe. We have 

achieved very high standards 

in the core subjects of 

English, Mathematics and 

Science. The Science and 

Modern Languages results 

are a particular cause for 

celebration with our specialist 

status in these subject 

areas. We continue to 

be one of only a handful of 

schools nationally and the 

only local school, with specialist 

status in more than 

one subject. These academic 

achievements form 

a part of a much broader 

portfolio of achievement 

for our students here at 

highcliffe. We applaud all 

these achievements today. 

The DfES have already recognized 

the great strides 

forwards that the school is 

making. This is particularly 

pleasing as we are at the 

forefront of their thinking. 

It is good to see that the 

sheer hard work of students, 

parents and staff 

are being recognized both 

locally and nationally’. 

Report by Mr O'Connor 

Deputy Headteacher 

Calling All Parents 

If you have ever thought that 

you might like to serve the 

school community as a parent 

governor perhaps now is the 

time to act. 

If you feel you might be 

interested then turn to p26 of 

this issue and contact Dorset 

County Council on the given 

number for an information pack. 


Remembering Leigh 

The whole Highcliffe School 

community was deeply saddened 

to 

learn of the 

tragic death 

of Leigh 

Mitchelmore 

whilst serving 

with the 

RAF in Afghanistan. 

Leigh is remembered 

as a fine, 

able young 

man who 

was a credit 

to the school 

and his family, 

a particularly 

talented swimmer 

and a keen golfer. 

Having long been associated 

This year, as every year, 

the female staff of the 

school provided a strong 

presence in the Bournemouth 

‘Race for Life’. The 

following is a report by just 

one of the teams from the 

school who took part in the 

event. 

Race for life 

In The Community 

with Highcliffe School 

both as parent and Governor 

I feel 

confident to 

speak on behalf 

of the 

Headteacher, 

staff and the 

entire school 

community, 

particularly 

the staff and 

students of 

the ‘Class of 

94’, to express 

our 

deepest and 

heartfelt 

sympathy to 

Leigh’s family 

at this time 

Martin Axton 

Chair of Governors 

“It was a bright 

and early start 

for the nine 

members of the 

Learning Support 

team (Mrs 

Coomber, Ms 

Davey, Mrs 

Hassall, Mrs 

Head, Mrs King, Mrs 

Parrett, Ms Picking, Mrs 

Taylor, Ms Williams) 

who entered the ‘Race 

for Life’ along Bournemouth 

seafront. 

When we arrived it was 

almost deserted and 

there was plenty of time 

to get a much-needed hot 

cup of tea and pose for a 

team photo for the Evening 

Echo. The black clouds 

were looming ever closer 

as we stood in anticipation 

of the race start. Suddenly 

the heavens opened and 

everyone ran for cover. 

Shortly after the rain 

started, 2CR FM launched 

into the aerobic warm-up 

and gradually everyone 

came out into the rain and 

joined in a splash in the 

now growing puddles 

around us. 

Before we knew it we were 

off! Inspired by the runners 

and the need to warm 

up in the continuing rain, 

we set off in hot pursuit alternating 

jogging and 

power walking. Soon we 

met the first of the runners 

on the return leg and everyone 

clapped and shouted 

words of encouragement. 

Ms Williams was keen to 

lead the team from the 

start and used the 

‘weaving technique’ to get 

out in front of the rest of 

the team. At the return 

point, Mrs Coomber put a 

quick spurt on to catch up 

with Ms Williams. However, 

a short lapse in concentra- 

H2U, Vol 5 Issue 6, Humanities Special - June 2006 Page 4

tion on the return journey 

allowed Mrs Hassall, Ms 

Picking and Mrs Taylor to 

use the ‘offside trap’ routine 

to sneak up the outside 

of Ms Williams and 

Mrs Coomber and temporarily 

take the lead. 

It wasn’t long before the 

finishing line was in sight 

and the whole team was 

celebrating successfully 

completing the race in under 

an hour. There is already 

much talk of a revisit 

next year with the 

possibility of some of the 

team running the 5kms. 

The Learning Support team 

would like to thank everyone 

for their support in 

raising £700 for Cancer 

Research UK. It was a 

wonderful experience and 

one, which no doubt will be 

repeated by many members 

of the team in years 

to come.’ 

Druitt Gardens 

Druitt Gardens is an underutilised 

space in the 

heart of Christchurch 

town centre. It is overgrown 

and does little to 

encourage the local 

community to make use 

of it. Christchurch Borough 

Council have just 

acquired ownership of 

the space and are seeking 

input on how the 

space could be improved. 

During Activities Week 

a small group of Year 10 

students surveyed, analysed 

and then produced 

alternative designs for how 

the space could be used. 

Fashion Show 

'Travelling Trends', a local 

company, is coming 

into school to 

put on a fashion 

show of High 

Street womens’ 

clothing that 

will be available 

for sale after 

the show at 

massively reduced 

prices. 

Cash, cheques 

and debit cards 

are accepted for 

sales on the 

night. This show 

is available to 

sixth form, parents, 

friends 

and family at 

cost of £5 on 

the 2nd November. 

All proceeds 

go to the 


School Fund. If 

These ideas involved 

thinning out existing 

vegetation, introducing 

water to encourage wildlife 

and upgrading the 

quality of seating and 

lighting within the space. 

They then presented and 

discussed their ideas with 

representatives of the 

you would like tickets, 

please contact the School 

Office on 01425 273381. 

Report by Miss.Berkeley 

Borough Council and Countryside 

Service. 

The Council representatives 

were most impressed 

with the quality of 

work carried out and 

are in the process of 

arranging for the 

work to be displayed 

in the Regents Centre 

Foyer to stimulate 

discussion with local 

residents. 

Well done to all those 

students involved 

with the activity and 

watch this space for 

news of when initial clear 

up work might begin on 

site. 

Report by Mr Nicholls 


On Monday 19 th June, five 

Highcliffe school students 

attended a conference for 

young people. It involved 

most of the local schools 

and it was for students to 

look at features that help 

learning in the classroom. 

We left Highcliffe School at 

0845, travelling by mini 

bus and we arrived at the 

venue (Somerford Children’s 

Centre) shortly after 

this, as it was only a short 

drive. 

We were divided up into 

groups of students with 

ages ranging from the age 

of five to eighteen. The 

day was split up into three 

sections: the classroom, 

the teachers and the lessons. 

For all of these sessions we 

did lists and brainstorms of 

The Bournemouth Poole & 

Dorset East Secondary 

SCITT celebrate its 1 st 

successful year when 

21 trainee teachers 

qualify and graduate 

with Qualified Teacher 

Status and PGCE. 

What is SCITT? It 

stands for School Centred 

Initial Teacher 

Training, with almost 

all training spent in 

schools during the 

academic year. The 

Bournemouth Poole & 

Dorset East SCITT 

evolved after years of 

planning and development. 

The partnership is across 9 

Hear Me Out! 

how we would have the 

chosen topic in a perfect 

world and then we looked 

at things that could realistically 

be done to make the 

school environment better 

for us and for our learning. 

We were treated to breaks 

between sessions and a 

free lunch which one of our 

number took advantage of, 

as he had five helpings. 

You know who you are! 

The day finished with all 

students and staff out in 

the fresh air with the students 

taking part in some 

sports activities, again in 

mixed age groups. 

Overall this day was extremely 

educational and 

we hope to see some further 

work being done on it 

in the not too distant future. 

SCITT—From strength to strength 

schools in the Bournemouth 

Poole and Dorset Local Au- 

thorities. It provides a high 

quality of training in shortage 

subjects, with Highcliffe 

Comments from students 

who went: 

“Interesting to see the different 

schools working together 

so well” 

“Very well organised” 

“The course leader was enthusiastic 

and could teach 

well” 

“Nice to see children interested 

with their education 

from such a young age” 

“Amazing to get all the 

views from all the ages. A 

fantastic idea” 

Report by Stephen Hutt, 

Katie Russell, 

Anthony Wynn-Hebden, 

Bevan Davies, 

Nicola Huggins 

being the Lead School for 

MFL and Maths. The purpose 

of the 

SCITT is to 

train local 

teachers for 

local schools 

and the first 

year of recruitment 

and 

training has 

proved very 

successful. 

Roger Lister, 

the ProgrammeManager 

said 

“Our first year has been 

very positive and trainees 

(Cont’d on p7) 


(from p6) 

are full of enthusiasm and 

commitment. We have 

been delighted that 16 of 

the trainees have so far 

secured teaching posts in 

local schools”. 

Pictured are the successful 

trainees who were placed 

at Highcliffe during the 

year, who have gained 

teaching posts as follows: 

L to R: Elena Nash (Maths) 

to Poole High School; 

Frances Benjamin (Maths); 

Richard Finney (Science) 

to Portchester School; Angela 

Bowran (MFL); Pia 

Zuchhold (MFL) 

If you are reading this and 

are interested in training 

to teach Maths, Science, 

D&T or MFL, please contact 

Mrs S Ryan on 01202 

451992. Although the 

SCITT is fully recruited for 

the 2006 Programme, they 

will be pleased to advise 

on applying for September 

2007 start, and on the 

qualifications you may 

need and the bursaries 

available. 

Supporting Diabetes Uk 

On 5 th July the newly renamed 

S6 (previously 

known as Room 15) was 

buzzing with students 

involved in a fundraising 

day for Diabetes UK. 

It was good to see so 

many representatives from 

Year 7 so keen to become 

involved in this charity 

event. If you were involved 

don’t forget to look 

at your Highcliffe Challenge 

to see if you can be 

signed off for anything… 

HINT, HINT! 

A lot of imagination went 

into the various stalls. 

Sadie’s marvellous marble 

game was a real hit with 

the crowds. The cake stall 

was a sight to behold and 

many members of staff 

forgot dieting and came 

along to sample the delicious 

items on offer. Guess 

the weight of the cake involved 

students trying to 

use various scientific/ 

mathematical formulae but 

in the end was won by 

sheer guesswork. Guess 

the name of the dog 

proved popular but was 

slightly outdone by the 

“Guess the number of 

sweets in the jar”, the 

prize here being the jar of 

sweets!! Miss Artym demonstrated 

a previous hidden 

talent which certainly 

did not appear on her CV- 

Balloon modelling. Such 

skills will obviously feature 

on future job descriptions 

for Teaching Assistants. 

Sports Day saw many Year 

7 students attractively in 

Diabetes UK sashes, shaking 

collection boxes and 

raising nearly £50. Following 

the Big Day itself a 

massive £198 was raised. 

A massive thank you to 

everyone who got involved 

either by donating, 

organising or manning 

stalls. The day was 

a great success and 

definitely lots of fun! 

Year 7 should congratulate 

themselves for their 

fantastic efforts…. VERY 

WELL DONE!!! 

Report by Miss High 

Important Notice—Holidays and Maths Modules 

Calling all parents of students in Years 10 and 11. 

Please can you make sure that none of the students take holidays 

over any period that covers the dates of the Mathematics module 

tests. These Dates are published n the school calendar and 

are are: 

Monday 13th November 2006 (Module 1) 

Wednesday 27th June 2007 (Module 3) 


Students at Highcliffe 

School were privileged at 

the end of 

last term to 

have a visit 

from the author 

Steve 

Voake recently. 

Steve, the 

successful 

author of 

‘The Dreamwalker’s 

Child’ and its 

sequel ‘ The 

Web of Fire’, 

gave a series 

of workshops 

to 

Year 7 throughout the day. 

He also took time out of an 

exhausting schedule to 

meet with our in-house 

book club ‘Bookies’. Members 

were delighted to be 

given the opportunity to 

grill a contemporary novelist 

and questions covered a 

huge range from: How 

many words do you write a 

week, to how do you get 

started? Steve’s advice is 

don’t wait to be inspired 

just write! When asked if 

he ever suffered from 

writer's 

block 

and if 

so what 

advice 

could he 

give on 

how to 

overcome 

this, 

Steve 

answered, 

“I do, but it is part 

English 

Faculty News 

of the process. The trick is 

to accept it and keep writing 

anyway - 

it eventually 

disappears!” 

Steve was 

still holding 

down a full 

time teaching 

post 

whilst writing 

the 

novel: "It 

took 18 

months to 

write the 

book. With a 

busy school 

and family 

life, to make the time to 

write, I had to get up at 

half past three and work 

through until 

dawn." He 

aims to write 

approximately 

thirty chapters 

per novel and 

sets the pace 

at 2000 words 

per week. Each 

chapter is written 

to end on a 

cliffhanger ensuring he 

keeps the reader’s attention.Research 

is an 

essential 

part of the 

process as 

readers 

quickly lose 

interest if 

the facts are 

inaccurate. 

Insects 

have always 

fascinated Steve: "But it 

wasn't until I was tracked 

and bitten by a horsefly that 

I got the idea for ‘The 

Dreamwalker's Child.’ ‘The 

Dreamwalker's Child’ is 

about a child who becomes 

lost in a different world following 

an accident and how 

he tries to find his way 

home. Here’s a little taster: 

"Ever since learning to 

crawl, Sam had followed 

woodlice to the cracks in the 

skirting board, knelt by ants 

as they cleaned up spilt 

sugar and watched bumblebees 

bouncing from foxglove 

to forget-menot. 

Where most children 

ran away from wasps, Sam 

ran after them, watching 

them hunt among the long 

grass and listening to the 

faint scrape and scratch of 

their jaws on the wooden 

windowframe 

as 

they 

chewed it 

into a pulp 

for their 

papery 

nests. 

"But just 

recently, 

he had 

noticed something else. 

"At first he had thought that 

it was just his imagination. 

But the more he 

looked around him, the 

more he began to believe 

that it was true. 

"The insects were starting to 

follow him..." 

Steve’s book and the sequel 

are available in all good 

bookshops now. 

For those of you who are 

keen storywriters Steve believes 

the main ingredients 

for a successful and enter- 


taining story are strong 

characters that the reader 

can identify with, exciting 

and interesting situations 

and an element of humour. 

The main criterion is to 

keep at it. If you want to 

develop your writing, keep 

a diary and record your 

thoughts, feelings and descriptions 

of things you 

have seen and experienced. 

Not only will it help 

you to develop your own 

style, but also it will be 

fascinating to look back on 

in later years. 

Don’t forget we produce 

our own anthology of poetry 

and prose at Highcliffe 

and submissions are being 

accepted now! 

Report by Mrs Pearson 

Bookies 

Do you like reading 

and discussing 

the books you 

read? 

Are you in Year 7, 

8 or 9? 

Then come and join 

us for fun and an informal 

chat in the library, 

Wednesdays 

every week A at 

1.45pm 

Find out about exciting 

books to 

read, try different 

authors and, now 

that we are part of 

the Carnegie shadowing 

scheme, 

post your book reviews 

online. 

Calling all budding 

authors and poets! 

Always dreamed of being famous? Fancy 

having your work published? Now’s your 

chance to make those dreams come true. 

Due to the recent success in the Young 

Writers narrative and poetry competitions, 

the English Department have decided to 

create a ‘Highcliffe Anthology’. We need 

YOU! Or, more specifically, any poems or 

stories that you are particularly proud of 

and wish to be considered for publication. 

The anthology aims to reflect some of the 

outstanding talent we have in the school - 

from Year 7 through to Year 13. 

Please submit work electronically to 

hpearson@hs by 28 th February. 

Work submitted must be your own work, 

and no longer than 30 lines for poems and 

500 words for stories. 

We are looking forward to reading your 

work! 

Law 

The Sixth Form Law Students’ 

Visit to Bournemouth 

Crown and County 

Court, Tuesday 27 th June 

2006. 

“On Tuesday 27 th June Mrs 

Moore and three of her 

best AS Law students (!) 

took a trip to Bournemouth 

Crown and County Court. 

The trip involved us dressing 

appropriately in smart 

clothes and learning how 

to behave as the Court re- 

Mrs Gabony 

quires – this is having to 

stand when the Judge enters, 

nodding our heads 

and returning to our seats 

when the Judge was 

seated. As well as this our 

mobile phones had to be 

switched off and we were 

not allowed to talk, write, 

draw or communicate in 

any way with each other 

once the Court was in session. 

Altogether the Court was 

quite daunting, with a very 

formal atmosphere and 

strict rules and traditions 

which had to be followed. 


All the Court officials, including 

the Judge, Barristers 

and Clerks wore wigs 

and gowns, although we 

noticed one Barrister who 

was obviously finding it a 

bit of a tight squeeze to 

get into his gown had it 

elegantly draped across his 

back and elbows!. 

To begin with we met with 

Mrs Chapman,the Courts’ 

Administrator, and we had 

a tour of the whole building, 

including a twenty 

minute chat in one of the 

closed court-rooms. This 

involved seeing the dock – 

where the defendant 

stands during the trial, the 

witness box, where the 

witnesses are called to 

make statements, and the 

Judge’s Bench where the 

Judge sits to hear the 

case. In front of the 

Judge’s Bench is a long table 

where the Clerks of the 

Court sit, with the Recorder, 

who tapes the entire 

trial in case of any 

misinterpretation. In front 

of the Judge is the Counsel’s 

Bench, where the 

Barristers and Solicitors 

sit, who represent either 

the Defence or the Prosecution. 

Behind them sit 

their Juniors, with their 

bundles of papers and evidential 

documents, making 

sure that all the necessary 

information is ready 

to hand for the case. Finally, 

alongside the side of 

the court is the Jury’s 

Bench. Here the 12 Jurors 

listen to the case and 

come up with the decision 

as to the guilt or innocence 

of the defendant when all 

the evidence has been 

heard. 

The building is very modern, 

with many courts, but 

the only down-side was that 

the defendants and plaintiffs, 

and their various witnesses, 

have to share the 

waiting and café facilities, 

which could be a bit unnerving 

for a witness in a case 

involving violence. 

(Barristers and Judges have 

different catering facilities!) 

There is one court which has 

a perspex ‘box’ from floor to 

ceiling for violent or dangerous 

offenders, who can be 

seen by the Judge and Jury 

but not by members of the 

public. Cases can also be 

heard via video links, or 

with screens, to prevent the 

witness or vicitm becoming 

distressed by the sight of 

the defendant. 

It was very interesting seeing 

the functioning of the 

Courts. We saw three 

cases, one involving 

‘ABH’ (actual bodily harm) 

where we saw the start of 

the trial, where the Barristers 

for the Crown and the 

Defence were arguing about 

BA Crest Awards 

You may remember the report 

we brought you last 

term about the Sixth Form 

Physics students who had 

been working with the 

Royal Navy as 

part of the Engineering 

in Education 

scheme, 

Further to that 

article we have 

now received 

news that the 

team: Anthony 

Wynn-Hebden, Matthew 

Allsopp, Omar Al-Sheikhly 

Science 

the admissability of evidence 

before the Jury was 

sworn in. We also saw a 

theft and handling of stolen 

goods case where the 

defendant was sentenced 

to three months in prison, 

but this was very distressing 

for the defendant’s 

family, who were seated in 

front of us in the public 

gallery. 

The third case we saw was 

another minor theft case, 

but the defendant did not 

turn up, so a warrant was 

issued for her arrest. We 

estimated the combined 

cost of Judge, Jury, Barristers, 

Solicitors, Court time 

etc for this shoplifting offence 

was approximately 

£5,000.00 in wasted time. 

All in all we had a brilliant 

visit to Bournemouth 

Crown and County Courts, 

seeing the work of law in 

action! 

Report by Stephanie Doe 

and Teddy Peacop have 

been awarded Gold BA 

CREST Awards, the first 

students from Highcliffe to 

receive this. 

BA (British Association 

for the 

advancement of 

Science) CREST, 

celebrating 

CREativity in 

Science and 

Technology, is a 

project based 

scheme, sponsored by Astra 

Zenica and the Re- 


search Council, for students 

aged 11-19 which 

promotes work-related 

learning and enables students 

to develop key skills 

for the "real world". 

BA CREST is a nationally 

recognized accreditation 

scheme for project work in 

the fields of science and 

technology. Aimed at students 

aged 11-19, BA 

CREST awards encourage 

students to develop their 

scientific curiosity, problem-solving 

and communication 

skills. Through a 

mentoring system it facilitates 

links between schools 

and industry or higher 

education. It enables students 

of all abilities to explore 

real scientific, engineering 

and technological 

problems 

for themselves 

and 

promotes 

workrelated 

learning, 

taking in 

excess of 100 hrs working 

as a team with an attached 

engineer from industry. 

This scheme is endorsed 

by the Royal Academy of 

Engineering, aiming to encourage 

a commitment to 

engineering, science and 

technology as a career and 

engaging bright Year 12 

students with local businesses 

to work on real industrial 

problems. The 

Gold award is the highest 

award possible and is recognised 

by universities as 

an outstanding 

award to 

receive. 

Report by Mr Evans 

S Factor—’What’s going 

on?’ 

Highcliffe School’s Science 

Club, S-Factor, has gone 

from strength to strength 

since it began just over a 

year ago. Students have 

enjoyed the types of activities 

that stimulate their 

scientific awareness while 

having lots of, usually 

quite messy, fun. The 

group have also taken responsibility, 

along with the 

science faculty, for taking 

care of the school pond 

and wildlife area, which is 

now in progress. A group 

of S-Factor students had a 

great day out with Miss 

High visiting the INTECH 

Science & Technology Centre 

in Winchester 

and further 

trips 

are 

planned. 

Activities 

for this 

coming 

half term 

include a 

treasure hunt, making 

rockets, detective work on 

what colours are really in 

those Smarties & Skittles 

and making the ever-sospooky 

slow moving slime 

near Hallowe’en. For a full 

list see below. 

S-Factor is in laboratory 

SC10 every Thursday at 

3.25pm (excluding open 

evening days). Further information 

can be obtained 

from Miss High, Mr. Wilson, 

Mrs. Collins or Ms. 

Guerrini. 

September 

14 th – Flame writing. 

(Send secret messages using 

flammable ink) & flame 

tests. 

21 st – Ecology treasure 

hunt & Minibeasts. (Use a 

pooter & see what lurks 

around the school 

grounds) 

28 th – Flying balloon cars – 

zoooooooom! 

October 

5 th – Out of this world exploding 

vinegar rockets! 

12 th – No S-factor this 

week because of the whole 

school open evening. 

19 th – Sicky stomachs & 

flicker books. (Bring along 

a banana for this one) 

Report by Mr Wilson 

Recycle for a greener 

school 

Every year the average 

family uses 6 trees worth 

of paper 

Every tonne of paper recycled 

saves 15 trees, the 

organisms which live in 

that habitat and their surrounding 

environment. 

The average office worker 

uses 10 000 pieces of paper 

a year, this amount 

would stretch 2000 miles if 

laid out, that’s the distance 

from here to Italy. 

Landfill paper takes 50 

years to decompose. 

Imagine all the paper produced 

by just one school 

littering our country, let 

alone trash from every 

other school in the area! 


Litter looks ugly and does 

no favours to our environment. 

A third of what we throw 

away is paper and can be 

recycled, easily. All we 

need to do is place the paper 

in a recycling bin and 

the rest is done for us. It 

could hardly be easier. 

As well as S-factor we will 

soon be seeking ‘green’ 

students to form an environment 

club. Recycling 

paper is just the start. 

See Miss High or Mr Wilson 

if you want to get involved. 

Report by Mr Wilson 

KS4 Module Examination 

Dates 

It is extra-important to 

avoid student absence on 

these days. 

Please see the 

box below 

Robotics 

Success 

Members of 

the Highcliffe 

Robotics team, 

with some of 

their robots 

and the winning 

trophy 

from the final 

of UK Robotic games. 

It was the first time this 

fledgling group had entered 

a competition. They successfully 

competed against 

other schools, colleges and 

professional Roboteers, 

some of whom were previously 

winners of Robot Wars 

and Technogames. 

KS4 Exam and Coursework Dates 2006/7 

Year 11 Edexcel Double Science Award 

Modules 2 and 11 will be on Wed 8/11/06 



Final Piece of coursework deadline is Fri 19/1/07 

Mock exams during period 5 th -19 th December 2006 

Year 10 OCR Gateway Science 

Unit 1 will be examined on Tues 16/1/07 

Unit 3 will be examined on Wed 20/6/07 

Y10 data tasks will be done in class after 20 June 07 


School 

Science Faculty 

0.0 0.5mm 1.0 

They also took ‘Robbie’ the 

16 servo, cartwheeling, 

dancing mascot who is 

programmable and was 

completed by Year 11 student 

Rory Johnson just in 

time to make the trip. 

This represents a truly excellent 

performance and all 

the students and their 

families should be very 


proud of their efforts, as 

we are. 

Report by Mrs Johnson 

Science Dept. 

Activities week 

Year 8 – 

Mechanical 

Animals 

In a related story – 

the Science Department, 

during Activities 

Week, offered a 

number of Year 8 

students the opportunity 

to do some 

practical work in robotics. 

As you can see from 

the photographs the 

Year 8 robotic group 

Highcliffe School has 

Success at F1 in Schools 

Technology Challenge. 

Team ‘Highcliffe Lightning’ 

travelled to the Blandford 

School on Thursday the 6 th 

of July 2006, to compete 

against 18 teams in the 

Dorset F1 in Schools 

Technology Challenge. 

The team consisting of 

William Fry (Team Manager), 

William Long 

(Manufacturing Engineer), 

Thomas Smith 

(Design Engineer), Graham 

Vey (Resources 

Engineer) with Team 

Coordinators Mr. M. 

Simmons and Mr. S. 

Nicholls, successfully competed 

at the event taking 

away two of the sevenawarded 

trophies. The 

first trophy awarded to 

‘Highcliffe Lightning’ was 

for the ‘Best use of ICT’ 

successfully built a wide 

variety of mechanical animals, 

which they then 

Design & Technology 

within the whole project. 

The second trophy was 

awarded for the ‘Best 

KS3 Presentation’ to the 

judges. All students were 

also given vouchers for 

WHSmith as part of the 

awards. 

The Highcliffe Lightning 

team have also been well 

supported by their sponsor, 

Mr. C. Walker at 

Keith Motors Ltd. (Ford), 

who was able to give the 

went on to race. 

Report by Mrs Johnson 

team, including the staff 

coordinating the Highcliffe 

effort, team shirts with appropriate 

team and Ford 

logos. 

Keith Motors Ltd. also 

helped paint the cars professionally 

and donated 

a mode of transport for 

the day, when the team 

found they had no 

school transport available 

to take them to the 

competition. Keith Motors 

Ltd. managed to 

loan the team the recently 

released S-Max 

titanium MPV to take 

the team of six to the 

competition as part of a 

coordinated effort to get 

the vehicle noticed out and 

about. 

It was an excellent day for 

the ‘Highcliffe Lightning’ 

team, at The Blandford 

School based competition. 


Support was also given 

on the day by Highcliffe 

Headteacher Ms. J. Potts, 

who took 

time out to 

visit the 

team and 

lend some 

muchneeded 

verbal support. 

The 

team were a credit to 

their school showing good 

manners, a positive attitude 

and a general presence 

that was exemplary. 

The team are now hoping 

to be even more success- 

ful at the forthcoming 

Southwest Regional Finals 

in November. 

Report by M. 

Simmons 

F1 Project 

Coordinator 

BRITISH 

FOOD FORT- 

NIGHT 

British Food Fortnight is 23 

Sept-8 October. Highcliffe 

School Food department 

will be taking part in 

this: 

Y7 will do work on Fruit 

14—19 At Highcliffe 

Year 13 Leavers’ BBQ 

At the end of term the 

Sixth Form tutor team 

paid a fond farewell to the 

Year 13 students with a 

BBQ in the Quad (see photographs) 

The weather was 

excellent, the conversation 

was good and all were confident 

that the GCE results 

would turn out to be excellent, 

as indeed they proved 

to be. (See report on the 

front page). 

Enrichment 

This year the 

enrichment 

programme 

has been much 

expanded in 

line with the 

expansion of 

the numbers in 

the Sixth 

Form. 

Amongst the 

activities on 

offer are netball 

and football 

teams, 

martial arts, 

yoga, trampolining, 

aerobics 

and rounders. 

and Vegetables and make 

a soup using local vegetables 

wherever possible in 

their Back to Basics module. 

Y8 will make traditional 

cakes and biscuits as part 

of the Ready, Steady, 

Cook! Module. 

Y9 will make Toad in the 

Hole and/or Shepherds Pie 

as part of their Foreign 

Flavours for All module. 

Report by Mrs Brice 


All Abroad! 

On Wednesday 19 th July 

Year 7 arrived at the 

school en masse at the unearthly 

hour of 05.00 to 

get on a fleet of five 

coaches and head off for 

France for the day. 

We had been enduring exceptionally 

high temperatures 

and uniform requirements 

were relaxed for the 

day to enable students to 

keep cool. The executive 

coaches’ air-conditioning 

was workingovertime 

and 

large 

amounts of 

water was 

provided 

for the students 

to 

augment 

their own 

supplies. 

After a quick stop at Clackett’s 

Lane on the M25 it 

was down to Dover, resplendent 

in the bright 

sunshine. After persuading 

Mr Hill to sing “There’ll be 

bluebirds over the White 

The 

International 

Dimension 

Europe here we come! 

Cliffs of Dover” a second 

time (that’s right - they 

couldn’t believe it the first 

time!) the students went 

up onto the giant P& O 

ferry to find the group assembly 

point and then explore. 

In France there was a carousel 

of activities to ensure 

that all five 

coaches didn’t 

appear at the 

same venue at 

the same time: 

At Romain Magnier’s 

traditional 

bakery hidden in 

the sleepy village 

of Wierre-Effroy 

the students learnt how 

bread is still prepared in a 

wood heated oven. They 

were able to experiment in 

the art of 

croissant 

making and 

some even 

had time for a 

game of 

boules. 

A hypermarket 

stop ( either 

the 

enormous Cité Europe at 

Calais or Auchan at Boulogne) 

enabled comparisons 

between English and 

French prices and then the 

frantic purchase of some 

must–have items. 

To complete the trio of vis- 

The school sees its responsibilities as a Language College 

as going beyond the teaching of languages. It is about 

giving our young people a true sense of the world at large 

as well as their responsibilities and their opportunities 

within it. A vital component of this is the development of 

links with our partner schools whether via electronic 

technology or by the use of personal experience. 

its there was the town trail 

in the lovely old walled 

town of Boulogne. Here 

students were able to soak 

up the atmosphere of a 

French town and buy one 

or two souvenirs or simply 

enjoy an ice cream at a 

pavement café. 

The earlier start enabled 

us to 

get 

back to 


at 

the reasonable 

hour of 

22.30 

and 

there 

baguettes and croissants 

were issued before students 

headed off sleepily 

with their parents. In view 

of the exciting but tiring 

day the students were allowed 

to “faire la grasse 

matinée” the next day (to 

have a lie in) and come in 

at break. 

For some this had been either 

their first trip abroad, 

their first trip to France or 


their first time on a crosschannel 

ferry. For most of 

them it was their initiation 

into the delights of a Highcliffe 

Language College international 

visit and we 

hope it will be the first of 

many! 

Report by Mr Hill 

Cholet Exchange 2006 

On 19 th June 18 Year 9 

students set off with Mr 

Hill and Miss Jose (now 

Mrs Day!) on the annual 

French exchange. 

As in previous years we 

travelled on the Eurostar 

from Waterloo to Paris, 

where we spent just under 

24 hours packing in 

as many sights as possible! 

On the first evening 

the group managed to 

get to the top of the Eiffel 

Tower early enough 

to afford superb views as 

the sun set over the 

capital followed by lights 

coming on all over the 

magical city. The boat 

trip down the Seine with 

Bateaux Parisiens to see 

the illuminated sights 

was a real highlight of 

this evening. The following 

day saw us take an 

early breakfast and take 

the métro to Montmartre 

to visit the Sacré Coeur 

and the artists in the Place 

du Tertre. On our return 

via Notre Dame there was 

just time to visit the extraordinary 

Centre Pompidou 

and photograph the 

comical coloured mechanical 

fountains designed by 

Tingueley. 

Then it was onto the TGV 

for a really comfortable 

and rapid journey over to 

Cholet where our penfriends 

and their families 

were waiting in the Collège 

Trémolières. 

The following day allowed us 

a tour of the collège and a 

bicycle ride down to the 

lovely Lac de Ribou for a 

picnic with the French students. 

Futuroscope is billed as the 

intelligent theme park - giant 

Imax screens, 3-D. 360° 

cinema, crystal clear images 

and the latest computer 

simulations gave us a 

memorable day out with our 

penfriends. The amazing 

new ride this year was certainly 

not for the faint 

hearted – giant robotic arms 

took two passengers in turn 

on the “danse avec les robots”. 

The collège has a tradition 

of allowing us to join in its 

fun sports day. Here our 

students could compete in 

Frisby throwing, mountain 

bike challenge, badminton, 

football and relay. They 

loved the fact that everyone 

decorated a plain 

white T-shirt with bright 

slogans advertising their 

teams and the excellent 

spirit was really contagious. 

Le Puy du Fou is a historical 

theme park which contains 

everything from a 

Roman amphitheatre capable 

of hosting chariot races 

to representations of 

French villages from 

various stages of history. 

Here there was 

also a new attraction 

on a gigantic indoor 

stage: “Mousquetaire 

de Richelieu”. 

After an actionpacked 

week with 

new friends there 

were a lot of tears on 

departure day but 

there was some consolation- 

the French 

partners will return 

on 28 th September 

for a week at Highcliffe. 

They will visit 

Portsmouth with their 

partners, travel to 

Beaulieu and London 

and spend the weekend 

“en famille”. 

Report by Mr Hill 

Mr Hill meets the Ambassador 

“The Ambassador of the 

Federal Republic of Germany, 

Wolfgang Ischinger, 

requests the pleasure of 

the company of Mr Phil Hill 

to celebrate the teaching 

of German in the UK.” 

What an honour this was – 

a chance not to be missed. 

After this unexpected invitation 

dropped through the 

letterbox, Mr. Hill made his 


way to the German Embassy 

in Belgrave Square 

on Wednesday 5 th July for 

the presentation of the 

German 

Teacher Awards 

2006. This was 

to be a 

“Sommerfest,” 

a summer 

party. 

The assembled 

company were 

teachers who 

were in line for 

awards and others who 

had been nominated to attend 

this event after involvement 

in activities promoting 

the teaching of 

German in conjunction 

with the British Council, 

the Voyage and the Goethe 

Institut. 

Guests were invited into 

the imposing lobby and 

took refreshments whilst 

music by famous German 

composers was played on 

grand piano and cello. An 

extraordinary touch: a table 

football decorated to 

celebrate Germany’s past 

3 wins in the World Cup 

was in the centre of one of 

the reception rooms. Unfortunately 

a fourth win 

was not to be – they had 

been knocked out by Italy 

the night before and celebrations 

were somewhat 

muted. 

The German Ambassador, 

Herr Ischinger, 

congratulated the assembled 

German 

teachers and thanked 

them for their efforts 

in promoting the subject 

throughout the 

country. Despite Germany 

losing in the 

semi-final he hoped 

that the world had seen 

that Germany was a vibrant, 

welcoming and attractive 

country which had 

ably hosted an excellent 

event. 

He appealed 

to us to 

build on 

this 

positive 

image 

by continuing 

to encourage 

the take up and study of 

German. Prizes were 

awarded to five teachers 

across all key stages including 

Monica Suarez from a 

London secondary school 

whose students had piloted 

the Arsenal Double Club 

German, later to be adopted 

by Highcliffe and reported in 

earlier editions of H2U. 

Mr Hill was introduced to 

Herr Ischinger after his inspirational 

speech and then 

joined others for the buffet 

in the impressive embassy 

reception rooms and on the 

sunny patio. 

Just to whet your appetite – 

here is the menu in German! 

Bratwurst vom Grill 

Warmer Leberkäse 

Kartoffelsalat 

Maultaschen 

Minibrötchen mit Schinken 

und Käse 

Frische Laugenbretzen undstangen 

Bayerisches Bier vom Faß 

Rotwein, Weißwein 

Mineralwasser, Apfelsaft 

Ms Potts, Mr Campbell and Mr 

Coughlan would like to take this 

opportunity to thank all the staff, 

students and parents whose hard 

work contributed to the school’s 

successful re-bid for the British 

Council International School 

Award. 

Look out for some exciting projects 

coming up with our partner 

schools and communities 

around the world. 


This year’s Activities Week 

took place from Monday 

17 th to Friday 19 th July. 

The whole week was dedicated 

to offering students 

experiences and opportunities 

different to their regular 

curriculum. 

Highlights of a very busy 

week included: 

· The Coastguard 

helicopter landing 

on the school field 

as part of the Year 

7 Emergency Services 

Safety Day. 

· 150 Year 10 students 

climbing the 

High Ropes at 

Brenksome. 

· Year 8 & 9 students 

building rafts and 

kayaking at 

Hengistbury Head 

Outdoor Centre. 

· The whole of Year 7 

going on a day trip 

to France. 

· Year 10 students 

creating designs for 

Druitt Gardens & 

presenting them to 

Christchurch Council 

members. 


experiencing army 

life at Wallisdown 

TA Centre. 


making their own 


‘football skills’ video 

around school. 

· Year 12 paintballing. 

· 750 students taking 

part in the whole 

school sponsored 

walk in the New Forest. 

As the photos and 

reports show, this 

hectic week was enjoyed 

by all! 

Report by Mr Yapp 

Year 7 Activities 

week 

Alternative ‘Take 

your child to work’ 

day. 

The small group of 

Year 7’s who were 

unable to go to work 

with a parent or carer had 

the pleasure of doing career-based 

activities with Mr 

Jobbins and Mrs Finch in the 

LRC. We started by 

thinking about ideal 

jobs – what students 

would like to do if 

there were no restrictions 

regarding age, 

background, qualifications 

or experience. It 

is always good to have 

ambition, even if there 

is only a slim chance 

of realising your 

dreams – having 

a focus in your 

life about what 

you want to do 

in the future is 

very important. 

We next looked 

at all the jobs in 

and around our 

school. Once we 

made it clear 

that it wasn’t 

just a case of listing all the 

different subject teachers 

and focused on the different 

responsibilities, we 

came up with a list of 20 

different types of jobs. 

Ranging from Ms Potts as 

Headteacher, to Mrs Bagshaw 

in Reprographics, 

and Mrs 

Rosina in 

Examinations 

and 

Data. We 

noted that 

each role 

was important 

in the 

efficient 

running of 

the school. 

The next 

activity was 

based around job adverts 

and what made a good advert. 

We had samples of 

job vacancies from the local 

papers and discovered 

different jobs for work that 

many of us did not know 

even existed, like a phlebotomist 

(someone who 

takes blood tests), and a 

tissue bank technician 

(working in cell laboratory). 

There seemed to be 

a new advert code to 

learn – like ‘p.a.’ (per an- 


num = a year) and ‘pro 

rata’. We learned that a 

good advert should contain 

the following: 

· job title 

· salary/wage details 

· description of 

duties 

· working 

hours 

· benefits of 

employment, 

eg. pension/ 

company car 

· qualifications 

/ experience 

· contact details 

· closing date 

The Year 7 students then 

had the task to produce 

their own realistic job advert. 

After break we started 

talking careers. Using the 

careers resources available 

in the LRC we looked at 

different areas of interest, 

for example ‘sport and recreation’, 

‘working with animals’, 

or ‘working with 

young children’. We discovered 

that like all the 

different jobs within one 

school, that there are 

many jobs that are to related 

to one interest or 

area. Their task was to 

create an information 

sheet for just one specific 

job to give young people 

some information about 

what the job entailed and 

what you needed to get the 

job. The students used the 

computers very efficiently 

and produced some quality 

careers information sheets. 

Having spent 4 hours working 

hard in the LRC, it was 

decided to learn about 

‘being a PE teacher’ with Mr 

Jobbins and we played a 

game of indoor softball in 

the gym to end a very productive 

day. Many thanks 

to all who worked so hard. 

Report by Mrs Finch 

Activities Week – Year 8 

The Real Game 

The whole year took part in 

this day-long event in the 

sweltering heat. Each tutor 

group was split into 3 or 4 

teams – each with an original 

name. All were kept in 

suspense in the Hall by Mr 

Garner, wondering what the 

Real Game was going to entail 

and how much of a 

‘game’ it was going to be. 

For those of you who don’t 

know anything about the 

Real Game, it is an activity 

that takes you through 

some real-life decisions and 

challenges you to make 

choices about what lifestyle 

you can lead depending 

on what job you end up 

with. 

The game starts with a 

quiz where each team has 

a chance to win points by 

answering general careers 

questions. This was the 

point when shy Mrs Finch 

was let loose with a microphone 

and pretended she 

was a TV gameshow host! 

After each team had a 

question, the tutor groups 

went back to their bases to 

put down their ‘dream’ lifestyle 

regarding what type 

of homes they would like 

to live in – what cars, 

boats, holidays they would 

have if money was no object. 

The second round of 

the game was when each 

person was given a job 

and a salary that occupation 

would earn. This suddenly 

altered many peoples’ 

lifestyle choices – no 

longer being able to afford 

all their luxuries. 

Jobs were compared 

round the groups to see 

who earned what and 

what each could afford. 

The dream lifestyle set 

down at the beginning 

then had to be modified 

according to what could 

be afforded and many 

4-wheel drives and yachts 

had to be returned – along 

with the holiday home in 

the Bahamas. 

The real purpose of the 


game was to show that in 

most circumstances you 

have to work hard to realise 

certain lifestyle dreams 

and ambitions. That to 

have the much desired 

luxuries in life you have to 

work to get a well paid job. 

It hopefully gave the Year 

8’s food for thought about 

future choices they will be 

making in Year 9, when 

they take the first step towards 

thinking 

about their future 

career by 

choosing their 

GCSE subjects. 

Well done to 

the team who 

won the quiz. 

Year 9 Activities 

week – Alternative 

to Job Shadowing. 

On one of the hottest days 

of the year, room 53 became 

the home for the 

next generation of property 

developers and entrepreneurs 

as a group of 

year 9 students took risks 

and made important decisions 

for a whole morning. 

The traditional family favourite 

board game of Monopoly 

was played as an 

exercise to see which students 

in the group were 

risk takers and who were 

more cautious when it 

came to parting with 

money. Two areas were 

set up – those playing a 

standard American version 

and another group playing 

a Simpsons version of the 

game. Monopoly and 

other board games such as 

‘Risk’ and ‘The Game of 

Life’ are great ways of 

finding out about personal 

qualities that may impact 

on the way you make key 

decisions about your future. 

Year 9 have already made 

a big decision – when they 

made their Option choices 

way back in January ’06. 

They made a choice about 

how their Key Stage 4 education 

programme was going 

to be shaped. They 

would have been advised by 

subject teachers, tutors and 

their Year Head about their 

strengths and abilities to 

help guide them make decisions 

that could be the foun- 

dations of a future career 

path. Bearing this in mind, 

during the afternoon (on 

this day in Activities week), 

we took refuge in the airconditioned 

haven of the 

small language lab, to 

browse through the ‘Street 

Ahead’ software package. 

This programme is specifically 

designed for Year 9 

students making option 

choices. It is easy to navigate 

your way round the 

sites, doing personality quizzes 

that will try to match 

and advise you which subjects 

or courses would suit 

you. There is also a huge 

list of KS4 subjects with details 

about what you will 

study, what qualification you 

can get, and what types of 

jobs are related to a certain 

subject. All students can 

access the programme by 

logging on to any school 

computer, going to ‘all programmes’ 

and to the careers 

link. So give it a go! 

Report by Mrs Finch 

The creation has begun! 

Had you wandered around 

the school grounds recently 

then you may have 

come across a new addition 

to our school environment. 

During activities 

week a select few year 8 

students made a fabulous 

start to the planned wildlife 

area close to the Da Vinci 

building. A massive thank 

you and well done to the 

whole group including Alban 

Taylor- 

Cote & Luke 

Taylor, who 

joined forces 

with some 

county council 

employees, 

and put in a 

great effort on 

the very hot 

summers day! 

Watch this space for more 

news and information on 

the Highcliffe wildlife area. 

Report by Miss High 

The Big Walk 2006 

The traditional ‘Activities 

Week’ at the end of the 

Summer term once again 

proved to be a huge success 

with the sponsored 

‘Big Walk’ being the highlight 

of the week. Approximately 

800 staff, students 

and parents took on the 

challenge of a 15K walk in 

the New Forest to raise 

money for Julia’s House, 

Naomi House, The Fortune 

Centre, Coda and The Priory 

Music Fund. 

I would like to express my 

grateful thanks to all who 

took part in our whole 

school community event. It 

was a wonderful experience 

to see so many students 

involved and having 

a great time whilst raising 

money for such worthy 


causes. 

Students are reminded to 

pay in 

their 

sponsor 

money to 

the Finance 

Office as 

soon as 

possible. 

A slide 

show of 

the walk 

produced 

by Year 

10 student 

Daniel Davies can be 

viewed by accessing the 

school website. 

Report by Mr Hughes 


Newsteam 

On the Thursday of Activities 

Week a group of 

students formed to act 

as journalists for the 

day. All of the stories 

and photographs that 

follow are the work of 

this group of students. 


Activities week aims to 

provide a fun and enjoyable 

week for all the students 

but also plays a major 

role in the curriculum . 

Activities such as emergency 

services day aim to 

open students eyes to the 

real world and is a handson 

approach to learning. 

Another major part of activities 

week, includes 

learning about careers and 

the world of work. This is 

something that all year 

groups take part in. Year 7 

go to work with one of 

their parents 

for the day, 

similarly, 

Year 9 go job 

shadowing for 

a day with 

someone 

other than 

their parents. 

Year 8’s 

spend a day 

playing ‘the 

real game’ 

which involves 

a quiz 

about the 

world of work and an exercise 

in which they are 

given their own ‘career’ 

and try to manage their 

own funds etc. Year 10’s 

on the other hand spent 

two weeks previously doing 

work experience. 

There are a number of difficulties 

in organising an 

event such as this. Arrangements 

have to be 

made to get in outside 

speakers and to book activities 

outside of school 

such as water-sports at 

Hengistbury Head. 

Many activities are arranged 

by members of 

staff and much of the planning 

starts in 

January! 

All the 

faculties 

have providedactivities 

for students.Languages 

organized 

a Year 7 

trip to 

France, PE has put on an 

alternative sports day for 

Year 10, English and 

maths have provided activities 

for Year 7’s, Technology 

have organized 

bridge building, textiles, 

Remote control car activities 

among other things, 

Art has put on sculpting 

and flag making, Expressive 

Arts has organized 

dance, drama and music 

days for Year 9 and science 

have put on a trip for 

Year 8’s and robotics 

among other things. 

Report by Dan Davies 

Year 7’s Activities Week 

The Year 7’s first Activities 

Week has been eventful 

and exciting. The year 

group had their first taste 

of the world of work in the 

form of ‘Take your child to 

work day’, followed by a 

day learning about various 

Emergency Services. After 

that was a day trip to Boulogne 

in France, and after 

a later start than usual to 

the day, English and Maths 

activities were scheduled 

for the next day. 

‘Take your child to work 

day’ is a valuable part of 

the school’s careers program, 

giving students their 

first insights to the work- 


ing class. Students went to 

work with parents (or close 

relatives) and observed 

them doing their usual 

jobs. The day is invaluable 

towards career 

decisions 

as it gives the 

students a 

chance to see 

workers in 

their natural 

environment. 

Emergency 

Services Day 

has always 

proved to be 

popular 

amongst the 

students, and 

this year’s 

was no exception. 

With displays from 

the Fire Department, The 

Police, First Aid and the 

Coastguard, there was 

plenty to learn and plenty 

to keep everyone entertained. 

This was also helpful 

for safety precautions 

and the landing of a helicopter 

on the school field 

was the highlight of everyone’s 

day! 

On the Wednesday they 

had the chance to visit a 

French bakery in Boulogne. 

They also visited 

a hypermarket to see 

what a real French hypermarché 

looks like. 

After an early morning 

ferry crossing the students 

arrived in France. 

From there they set out 

for the hypermarket to 

wander round the French 

shops. In France they 

also visited a bakery and 

an old town. Mr. Maurice 

bought 4 sausages, 6 

boxes of peas and 1 

‘Rustique Camenbert’. A 

treat fit for a king! 

“It was good to develop language 

skills, and was a 

great outing for all.” 

“Great Hypermarket!” 

“A fun time” 

All students we asked said 

they loved the bakery, and 

they all had a traditional 

French loaf to take home! 

“It was nice weather and we 

all had a great time,” said 

pea eating Maurice himself. 

Hopefully the Year 7s all had 

a chance to practise their 

French, and had a good 

time. 

The final day of ac- 

tivities before the Sponsored 

Walk was mainly devoted to 

English and Maths activities. 

The Maths students 

were creating various 

shapes using origami. The 

‘limping seagulls’ seemed 

to play a very large 

part in these shapes! 

The English students 

watched a DVD before 

answering questions 

on it. A few students 

also participated 

in the schoolwide 

chess tournament. 

All in all the 

Year 7’s first experience 

of Activities 

Week was enjoyable 

and interesting. 

Hopefully they will 

look forward to next 

year’s Week with enthusiasm! 

Reported by Stephen Jones 

and Megan Jones 

Year 8 Bridge Building 

On the 20 th July 2006, Mr 

Hatton, Mr Simmons and a 

group of Year 8 students 

were following in the footsteps 

of Isambard Kingdom 

Brunel and building 

suspension bridges to support 

large amounts of 

weight. 

The day 

was a 

great success 

and 

the Year 8 

students 

and the 

teachers 

enjoyed 

their day. 

The task 

for the 

students 

was to 

build a 

suspension 

bridge of 600mm span to 

support 50kg out of a lim- 


ited amount of wood. The 

bridge needed to be very 

strong and have good aesthetics 

as it was also 

marked on categories 

other than strength. 

Mr Hatton hoped that the 

project would give educational 

value in maths, 

physics and resistant materials. 

Mr Hatton stated “I 

hope that the students will 

realise that in terms of 

building, suspension is 

stronger than solid and I 

hope they will be able to 

use this fact in later in 

life.” 

The day went exceedingly 

well and the students enjoyed 

themselves. Daniel 

Jones said “I have learnt 

plenty of techniques for 

creating structures and I 

have had a very good day. 

This project has substantially 

helped my resistant 

materials skills as well.” 

After lunch the bridge 

building competition began 

and there was much rivalry 

between the students but 

as bridges 

crumbled 

beneath 

the pressure 

of the 

weights, a 

winning 

team eventuallycollected 

their 

prize. 

The day 

went very 

well and 

everybody 

really enjoyed themselves. 

Music 

Report By 

Sammy Joynson 

Students in the music technology 

room were having a 

laugh in Activities Week personalising 

their own songs 

that famous pop stars or 

bands have sung. The hot 

favourite that nearly everyone 

was having fun with 

was “Where is the love” by 

The Black Eyed Peas. They 

were experimenting with different 

guitar or drumbeats 

to create a new improved 

version of the smash hit. Mr 

Trevorrow told us “It gave 

the students an opportunity 

to be ale to compose their 

own sequence on Cubase 

Software to create what 

they want.” 

Art 

Students had to get their 

thinking cap on in their art 

lesson for ideas to design a 

sculpture to be placed in 

the back of the Da Vinci. 

At the start of the lesson 

students were given some 

items to sketch put on paper 

and then sort of combine 

them together to create 

a final piece. Mr I and 

Mrs Guppy 

were the 

two brains 

behind the 

idea and 

were there 

to help students 

who 

were craving 

for 

ideas. I 

spoke to 

some students 

who 

told me “It 

is a fun and 

enjoyable experience that 

every one will enjoy doing”. 

Drama 

An unexpected guest made 

a spooky appearance in a 

Year 9 drama lesson on 

the Thursday of activities 

week. Well they thought 

there was. Students had to 

perform a ghost story in 

front of a bunch of nervous 

Year 7’s who didn’t know 

what to predict. Good for 

them the lesson didn’t 

cause quite a scream. I 

asked the student what 

they thought of the drama 

lesson was “great, fun and 

amazing” the also said that 

Mr Gould and Mrs McGrath 

were the best teachers and 

no one could be better 

than them. At the end of 

the day the performances 

were shown and in my own 

opinion they didn’t disappoint. 

The audience loved 

them they thought that 

they were good enough to 

be top quality actors and 

actresses. 


Report by Charlie Salter 

Yr 9 Drugs Day 

On Monday the year 9s 

took part in drugs day. It 

was an eventful, interesting 

and eventful day. 

There were lots of outside 

speakers, such as PC Barnes 

and workers from Ladders 

and other drug help 

places. It was kind of them 

to come in and share their 

life experiences with us. 

To start the day we saw a 

production of ‘Gemma’s 

Wardrobe’ by Solomon’s 

Theatre Company. The actors 

were very talented 

and told a realistic story of 

how a young girl’s life was 

shattered by drugs. Students 

thought the performance 

was very professional 

and could relate to real life 

situations. 

“It was a good introduction 

to the subject” A Year 9 student 

There were many talks and 

workshops about drugs and 

there effects. PC Barnes 

talked about what laws 

made drugs illegal, and the 

punishments for dealing and 

taking drugs. He also told us 

some amusing stories from 

his experience as a policeman. 

We also had a talk about 

where to go if you had any 

problem from drink or drugs 

from Stacy, a lady who 

works at Ladders in Christchurch. 

She told us where 

you can go for help in com- 

The Big Walk 2006 

plete confidence. 

Lastly we were told how 

alcohol affects your body 

and what can happen if 

you binge drink. We were 

told the best ways to make 

sure you stay sensible and 

stay in control of your alcohol. 

There was also a drama 

workshop, to create role 

plays on why young people 

take drugs, because of low 

self esteem. 

So on behalf of the Year 

9s, thank you to Solomon’s 

Theatre Company, PC Barnes 

and all our other guest 

speakers for their talks and 

advice on drugs. 

Report by Stephen Jones 

Well done to everyone who took part in the Big Walk 

during Activities Week (see later report). 

Remember that the purpose of the walk is to raise 

money for the school’s 

charity partners. 

Please bring in your collected sponsorship money 

as soon as possible. 


Important Notices 

CARETAKER/DRIVER 

required at Highcliffe School. Full time, 37 hours 

per week, working a three-shift system. A conscientious 

person who is flexible and has a good range of 

knowledge and skills to join an established Site Maintenance 

team. Clean driving license essential. Salary 

Scale 6, starting at £8.00 per hour. For further details 

and an application form please contact: 

Jane Coleman, 

PA to Headteacher, 

Highcliffe School, Parkside, Highcliffe BH23 4QD. 

Tel. 01425 273381 

Email jcoleman@highcliffe.dorset.sch.uk 

LUNCHTIME SUPERVISORS 

Grade 1, point 4 £5.80 per hour 1.00 p.m. – 2.30 p.m. 

We require responsible adults to supervise students during 

lunchtime. These posts involve indoor and outdoor 

supervision. 

Experience of working with students is advantageous 

but not essential. For further details and an application 

form contact: 

Jane Coleman, 

PA to Headteacher, 

Highcliffe School, Parkside, Highcliffe BH23 4QD. 

Tel. 01425-273381. 

Email jcoleman@highcliffe.dorset.sch.uk 



Can we take this opportunity to thank all parents who have taken advantage of the 

these achievement slips to inform us of the activities and successes of our young people. 

As ever we wish to celebrate all the achievements of the students, in and out of 

school. We are unable to do this without your support. 

Achievement to Celebrate 


Please use this slip to inform us of any 

achievement, whether in or out of school, of 

which you are proud and would like celebrated in 

the school newsletter. 


achievement, whether in or out of school, of which 

you are proud and would like celebrated in the 

school newsletter. 

Name of Student : TG: 


Nature of Achievement : 




achievement, whether in or out of school, of 

which you are proud and would like celebrated in 

the school newsletter. 


achievement, whether in or out of school, of which 

you are proud and would like celebrated in the 

school newsletter. 

H2U, Vol 5 Issue 6, Humanities Special - June 2006 Page 27 





Nature of Achievement :

GCSE 

Examination Results 2006—A Summary 

The three tables below are presented to give a snapshot of this year’s examination performance 

at Highcliffe. Figures are also given for last year (2005) for the school and, 

where available, Dorset and/or National figures for comparison. The figures are in percentages 

unless otherwise stated and have been rounded up or down as appropriate. It 

must be stressed that these figures are provisional and may be subject to revision 

as the appeals process works through. 

We would like to congratulate the students, parents and staff whose combined efforts 

have made such a good performance possible across the full key stage range. There is a 

strong correlation between attendance and individual student performance and an 

equally strong link between individual performance and attendance by students at specific 

support sessions and booster lessons 

In respect of the KS3 results we are led to believe that the school’s results this year are 

the best overall results ever recorded by a Dorset LEA school although we await confirmation 

of this from the Local Authority. 

Key Stage 3 

Level 5 (%) Level 6 (%) Level 7 (%) Level 8 (%) Level 5+ (%) 

English 2006 38 43 11 92 

English 2005 51 25 5 81 

National 2005 74 

Maths 2006 20 25 32 16 93 

Maths 2005 15 33 32 6 86 


Science 2006 30 42 19 91 

Science 2005 30 36 10 76 


5+ A*-C (%) 5+ A*-C (incl 

English & 

Maths) (%) 

5+ A*-G (%) 8+ A*-C (%) Average points 

per student 

Highcliffe 2006 68.1 58.6 97.8 43.8 38.4 

Highcliffe 2005 65 58.4 90 47.5 

Dorset 2005 56.3 44.3 89 

National 2005 56.5 90.1 

GCE (A Level) 

C+ (%) B+ (%) Overall Pass Rate 

(%) 

Average Points 

Score per entry 

Highcliffe 2006 66 44 98 80.24 (Equates to 

Grade C) 

Highcliffe 2005 62.7 31.4 97

Vol 6 Issue 1.pub - Highcliffe School

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