Ambition and hard work bring great rewards - Highcliffe School

Ambition and hard work bring great rewards 

Our Sixth Form continues to go from 

strength to strength and I am delighted 

to report that our students achieved 

record levels of success this summer. 

Thirteen students achieved at least 3 

grade As at AS level (some achieving as 

many as 6 grade As) and fifteen students 

gained 3 or 4 A/A* grades at A level. 

In the first year of the new A* grade at 

A level, 11% of our students achieved 

A* grades, with 31 A* grades overall – 

which is double the figure for Sixth Form 

Colleges and comprehensive schools. 

This is an outstanding achievement for 

our students and Sixth Form and reflects 

the hard work and dedication of our 

students and teachers. 

Our students really excelled themselves 

this summer and I would like to take 

this opportunity to congratulate each 

and every one of them not only for their 

academic achievements but also for 

their amazing contributions to our Sixth 

Form. They have all left their mark on the 

school in their own unique way. 

We are also celebrating excellent levels 

of progression into Higher Education. 

This summer 68% of Year 13 students 

secured places at university. They thoroughly 

deserved this success as they 

worked tirelessly on their applications 

and showed great commitment and 

determination to achieve the necessary 

grades. 

We believe it is of the utmost importance 

to ensure students are supported 

Oxford student Ryan settling in well 

and nurtured on an individual level to 

help them achieve their dreams and 

ambitions. At Highcliffe, we provide 

an intensive programme of one to one 

academic tutorials, mock interviews, 

university trips and conferences, a UCAS 

and Careers Day in partnership with 

Plymouth University and the Connexions 

Service and a comprehensive Oxbridge 

programme of trips, conferences and 

support. 

In September the number of students 

joining us from other schools was three 

times higher than in previous years and 

we were delighted to welcome 22% of 

our year 12 intake to join us at Highcliffe 

for the first time. We provided a variety 

of teambuilding activities at an early 

stage to make sure that our students 

Hi everyone, 

I’ve been here for 3 weeks now which is a lot longer than I thought, time just flies by! So much happened in 

freshers’ week it was like one big blur, but one thing that stood out was the freshers’ dinner. It was a formal 

dinner, where we met our tutors for drinks time beforehand, then went to the hall (everyone was wearing 

suits/dresses and the tutors wearing academic gowns) for a very posh 3 course meal, and a lengthy speech at 

the end by the Master. Our lectures are strangely in the University Museum. I’m doing quite well keeping up 

with the work at the moment, but that will probably change next week when things start to get really difficult. 

We have 10 lectures in a week (2 a day) with 2 classes and 1 tutorial (1 tutor and 3 students). For each 2 

lectures there is 1 problem sheet, so 5 in all, which doesn’t sound like much but when each sheet takes several 

hours to complete (in most cases it’s not even possible to answer all the questions, they are too hard!) each 

day seems to last forever. Quite a few people are up for clubbing on a Wednesday night as a result...but I prefer playing pool in the 

college bar! Apparently the dynamics lecturer plays guitar in week 8, I can’t wait for that! 

By Ryan Flanagan 

A World of Challenge, Inspiration and Achievement 

“I believe in using what you have, instead of mourning for that which you do not. In thirty years time, I 

want to be able to look back at my youth and know that I used my talents fully: that I wasted nothing.” 

A former Highcliffe Sixth Form Student 

Volume 10 Issue 2, November 2010

2 

received a warm welcome and 

soon felt at home at Highcliffe. 

This included an Induction Day 

in June, an Induction Conference 

in September as well as a water 

sports trip and a residential trip to 

Calshot Activities Centre. 

Due to the outstanding levels 

of success this summer, most 

students progressed successfully 

onto their first choice Higher Education 

institution or Career area, 

with many securing places at the 

most prestigious universities. 

Ryan Flanagan (see box on front page) gained a place at 

Oxford to read Maths and Beth Waters achieved a place at 

Oxford to read English. Other students achieving 4 As/A*s 

and heading off to university included Dom Bush-Hipwood 

(studying Maths at Warwick), Dan Davies (Chemistry at Bath) 

and Adam Sloper (Physics at Southampton). 

It is alway a pleasure to hear from former students and we 

are delighted that Sammy Joynson and Lottie Kennedy – last 

H2U, Volume 10 Issue 2, November 2010 

year’s Head Boy and 

Head Girl - are able to 

join us for our Open 

Evening. Lottie is currently 

enjoying a Gap 

Year before heading off 

to university and Sammy 

has just started his first 

year studying History at 

the London School of 

Economics. 

We have recently 

launched our new website 

www.highcliffe6th. 

com and have started an Alumni page to record the experiences 

and achievements of our former students. We 

would love to hear from any former Sixth Form students, 

so if you would like to be featured in H2U or on our website, 

please email us at sixth@highcliffe.dorset.sch.uk 

“Succeeding in the present... securing a better future”. 

Mrs Karanja 

Director of Sixth Form 

Congratulations to the New Sixth Form Student Leaders

a l umni 

Over the next few pages we bring you up to date with the latest news we 

have had from some of Sixth Formers of previous years, news that always 

finds us excited, proud and just a little bit jealous! 

Emma Fisher enjoying life at Lady Margaret Hall 

Hello everyone at Highcliffe School! 

It was just before exam week when I was asked to write this article and 

I have since found out that I have passed my first year at Oxford reading 

Medicine which I am incredibly happy about and I think I will be ready 

(fairly soon) to take on the next year. Moving to university has been a 

completely life changing experience for me in many ways and my academic 

and social life are very different from 6 th form life. 

The work is extremely challenging and taught in a very different way. I 

have had to adapt the way I learn, the way I produce work for marking, 

the way I revise and my exam technique. I have enjoyed having more 

time to work independently and being able to manage my time myself 

(a large proportion of which is spent in the library!) The best part of my 

academic life at Oxford has been the tutorials, these are always stimulating 

and interactive and I have loved getting involved! 

Just recently, the most difficult part has probably been the pressure of 

exams which is unrivalled by anything I have ever done before. I cannot 

say that in 6 th Form I ever had to revise an entire subject in one night 

to pass the exam the next day! However in between there have been 

some amazing bops (college parties) and formal halls. In fact, at my first bop I met a lovely biologist with a passion 

for leafcutter ants and dung beetles and we have been together ever since! 

Memories of A-level biology classes and pond-dipping often come back to me in conversations about insects, reminding 

me that the world does not just revolve around the humans I study every day! I have also been supported 

through my first year by my college parents, particularly my college mum, a second year medic who has always 

been there to give advice. 

I love my college and where I live. Oxford is a beautiful city and I think my college is particular stunning. At Christmas 

time my room looked out onto snowmen in the quad and in the summer I spent a lot of my free time in Lady 

Margaret Hall gardens. One of the most memorable nights of my first year was the LMH Arcadia ball on May day. 

LMH gardens were transformed with a Ferris wheel, jazz band and hog roast and I was able to splash out on a new 

dress for the occasion! This week has been the first week I have abandoned work since starting in October and I 

am enjoying the time out from a hard but very rewarding year. 

I have no regrets and I love the new life I have made for myself..... but as you can see, progress on the punting front 

is still slow! 


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4 

Ellen Gibbins, English and Exeter 

On 25 th September I was dropped off into my accommodation by the parents and left in a strange room with strange 

people in a strange place to fend for myself. It was all very strange! I have to say I lucked out in the accommodation department 

though. I have a room with a massive desk, loads of shelves and a decent amount of floor space, and I share 

a bathroom and two toilets with five other people. Cool! Exeter made a big effort to make sure everyone felt happy 

during the first few days; the first night me and my block went out to the pub and mingled with other students, and for 

the whole of Freshers week there was a gang of 2 nd and 3 rd years in green T-shirts showing people round the campus 

and taking us out at night, and generally being lovely to us while we all adjusted to independent life. 

Freshers week turned out to be a daunting prospect to some, and an opportunity for clubbing for others. The second 

night my flat and I went bowling across town and had a very nice time! There was a huge amount of activities to do 

throughout Freshers that ensured you met loads of new people and got to know your way around, including archery, 

Jiu Jitsu, canoeing, diving, Latin American dancing, creative writing, Theatre Company get togethers, gliding, fencing, 

aerobics, ultimate Frisbee and cheer leading to name a few (honestly, that is only a few). If you ever wanted to try 

something new, Freshers is the ideal opportunity to dip your toe into the pool of possibilities. Just be aware not to 

impulsively join 7 societies, some at £100 a pop, only to find you have time to go to two every week. I go to basketball 

and Jiu Jitsu, and with basketball training Thursday and Saturday with a social Wednesday, and Jiu Jitsu training Sunday 

and Wednesday with a social Thursday, I find I am kept very entertained whilst still having free time in amongst my 

work. 

Though the first few weeks aren’t very work-centric as you adjust to Uni, the time does come when you realise you are 

there for a reason other than socialising a lot. As an English student I have minimal contact hours and a lot of time to 

read and consider my feelings on books, which is good (I can go on Facebook more!) and bad (I go on Facebook more), 

but it’s all panning out pretty well at the moment. The lectures I have had so far have ranged from very interesting to 

sleep-inducing, most landing on the side of interesting, and the lecturers are really enthusiastic which is motivational 

and/or funny depending on how eccentric they are. Inevitably some of the stuff you study, regardless of subject, is boring, 

difficult, or both, but this is the university doing you a favour by giving you a bedrock of basic, necessary knowledge 

about your subject from which you can then choose to study the really really interesting stuff. For example, I am 

studying an Approaches to Criticism module at the moment, and Structuralism 

has come up which is annoyingly difficult and mind numbing – Syntagmatic 

and Paradigmatic axes, anyone?! However, in the same module I am soon to be 

studying psycho-analysis as a critical approach (I am extremely excited about 

this) and the things I learn now leave me free to do a module on creative writing 

and the novel next term, which should be really really good. 

University is undoubtedly an amazing experience, and though it seems scary 

at first, and change is bad, and all sorts of questions arise like ‘But who will 

wash my clothes?...ME?!’ it’s all good, because the moment you arrive you are 

plunged into a completely new and exciting atmosphere. I was worried about 

that feeling you get when you start a new school, and every moment is stressful 

because you don’t know where you’re going. I didn’t get that feeling at all. As 

long as you have a map, you aren’t afraid to ask people where to go, and you 

remember the cliché is true - everybody is in exactly the same position as you, 

and you can all get lost together - you’re going to have a brilliant, stimulating 

and exciting new life once you get to Uni, and you’ll look back on how worried 

you were and smile knowingly that it was a necessary part of moving away, but 

it was unfounded. 

Going to Uni really is the start of something special, and as long as you are sensible 

on most occasions, ridiculously silly on others and you participate in a little 

bit of everything once, it is absolutely awesome - I promise. 

H2U, Volume 10 Issue 2, November 2010

My name’s Rebecca Woolls - I used to go to Highcliffe School and 

Sixth Form at Highcliffe, leaving about four years ago now. Since 

leaving the school I’ve gone on to study music at Surrey University 

and this year have signed a major record deal with Island Records. 

The school was a huge part of my development as a person and musician; 

particularly A-level music lessons with Mr and Mrs Trevorrow 

and lessons with Mr. Gould in earlier years. These teachers all really 

encouraged me in performance and composition particularly; giving 

me the confidence to go on and major in these subjects at university 

and do what I love for a career. 

I just wanted to show my appreciation to the teachers and school 

really. I think the years you spend at school are incredibly important 

- not only in terms of education, but in building self-confidence and ambition - and I was lucky enough to have teachers 

who were genuinely interested in and excited by what they taught and by the work the students produced...(I’ll never 

forget Mr. Bryden’s absolute love for the English language! 

Those lessons inspired me immeasurably). 

Anyway, I thought I’d keep in touch and share some 

of our music. We’re called Kid Adrift, check us out on 

these Youtube links: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFkhmVvD_4k 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFHK6-hGxZM 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHPnBa4hMbc 

I’d love to come by and say hello sometime! 

Rebecca Woolls - Not Adrift at all 

Kate Howard - Nursing at Southampton University 

After getting my results of AAB in the summer of 2009, and realising that my interest and passion was within the 

medical profession, I worked as a Health Care assistant at Southampton General Hospital for 6 months to decide 

which area I wanted to train in! After working within the inter-professional team and gaining invaluable experience 

in a Hospital setting, nursing was the profession that stood out and appealed to me the most. 

After applying to Southampton University, I was given an unconditional offer for a place on the Nursing Degree. I 

started the course two weeks ago and am already busy studying on a jam packed timetable. From Anatomy and 

Physiology lectures to Clinical skills practical sessions, they are all helping me prepare for my first Clinical placement 

after Christmas which I am really looking forward to! In the future I’m hoping to specialise in Critical care, 

trauma or palliative care, areas I know will enable me to make a big difference to people’s lives. One of my ambitions 

is to work as part of the Medical team onboard emergency air transport, treating and assessing critically ill 

patients on route to Hospital. 


5

6 

Hello everyone! 

Sammy Joynson - London School of Economics 

How are you guys doing? Is Highcliffe still as fun as ever? 

Just writing to say that miraculously (I am actually amazed) I passed the London School of Economics entrance exam 

to take French as part of my degree. And they put me in the third highest group (out of 5!). I showed off my hilariously 

dodgy French accent again and the examiner seemed to somehow understand me. I have been going through all my 

French notes from Year 12 over the last week and it paid off as I got 75% on the reading and listening, along with 72% 

in the speaking! I am delighted! 

For my degree, it appears that a language is important as lots of the future careers lead to diplomacy and international 

relations. I was talking to my tutor and I think I am going to aim for an internship in the foreign office over my second 

year summer and ultimately a position in the UN/foreign office/even MI6 (which is apparently very common for LSE 

historians/international relations!) 

LSE is great and I am really enjoying it but it’s very very difficult. There is lots of work and lots of the words in English 

are very long and complicated. I need to expand my English and French vocabulary! However, overall, the social stuff 

is great and everyone here is so friendly, whilst being devilishly political and argumentative. This is definitely the right 

university for me! 

Also my debating at LSE is going excellently and I am really enjoying it! I have been running an election campaign all 

week to be nominated as the 1st year rep onto the LSE Debate Club Leadership Council and I WON! The debate club 

here is amazing; there are about 600 members and the committee is made up of just 10 people so I am really really 

lucky to have got in. We have alumni here including JFK, Clement Attlee, Mervyn King etc so it is a very prestigious club 

and I am SO happy/proud that I won. It was all the skills that you taught me over the years! 

In terms of the actual debating, I have got into the final trials for an international tournament in York in two week’s 

time and I have to do a final trial debate on Thursday so I am looking forward to that.... but it’s tough, really really 

tough and everyone seems to be VERY good. Lots of the people going for tournaments are postgrads and PHD students 

so the standard is pretty high ... I certainly do not expect to get in but I am giving it a good go! There are tournaments 

every week so if I can get into one of them by next year I will be delighted.... so fingers crossed! 

I found the debating transition quite tough as they only debate in a style called ‘British Parliamentary’ and it seems 

to be far more complicated and far higher pressure, as you don’t know the motion until 15mins before you start and 

you can’t look up any information online 

or anything - its a test of general knowledge 

as much as anything else! Coming 

up with a 5 minute speech this evening 

on ‘Rwanda should be expelled from 

the Commonwealth’ was not easy but I 

bluffed my way through! 

In life outside the debate chambers of 

LSE, life is great! University is great fun 

and it’s so exciting being at an institution 

so emerged in politics, economics and 

debate: I honestly could not have chosen 

anywhere more suited to my interests! 

The work is VERY hard and I already have 

a pretty extreme work load but it really is 

intellectually challenging so I am enjoying 

it. Put it this way, the LSE central 

library has become my second home! 


Joel Nazar in Cape Town 

News from Joel Nazar that he is having 

an exciting time living and working in 

Cape Town as part of the New Frontiers 

scheme. 

We are sure he will be sending us further 

news of his adventures during the year. 


7

8 

Hi Mrs Karanja, 

I don’t know whether you would remember me but I am an ex-student of Highcliffe School and left the 6th Form in 

2007. Since then I have been studying for a French degree in Paris. 

I have recently graduated and have been offered a fantastic internship as a Marketing Assistant with an exciting new 

French company. All I need to do to finalise this is to have an Internship Agreement signed by an educational authority. 

I will be in touch again with news of how it is going. 

Many thanks, 

By Cassie Hearn 

International Cassie 


Recently received from 

Daniel McMillan’s sister, Rosanna. 

McMillan 

‘My mum wrote a letter to Ms Potts maybe a year or so ago, talking about a past student, my brother, who is in training 

for the Olympics and Ms Potts loved to hear this so asked to be kept updated. 

I have some wonderful news. My brother Daniel McMillan who finished Highcliffe School around 12 years ago now is 

still in training for the Olympics playing Handball. He has been featured in a couple of articles from various places and 

about a year ago a big picture was in The Observer over a double page spread. 

We now have some extra news which we thought would interest people at the school. The other day it was announced 

that there will be special range of 50p coins released to commemorate the 2012 Olympics which will be put into circulation 

around 2010-2011. The webpage http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320135/London-2012-Olympics- 

50p-coins-designed-public-mark-Games.html features these coins. They were designed by members of the public, each 

one representing a different sport. 

The handball coin was designed and the women who designed it used the image of Daniel put in front of a handball 

court. This is going to be the 50p put out to represent handball. Daniel is still in shock due to him obviously not knowing 

and finding out much the same as we all have. 

I just feel that this is something that Ms Potts would love to hear as it is another great achievement for one of the 

previous pupils at the school. 

Rosanna McMillan’ 

Daniel’s On the Money 


9

10 

Year 12 Progression 

It has been a busy half term for year 12. 

I am pleased to say that students have 

settled into their studies extremely 

well. The Sixth Form tutors’ role is to 

ensure that all students learn to achieve 

their full potential in a caring and supportive 

environment. This academic 

term is often difficult for students as 

they make their ‘jump’ from GCSE to AS 

Levels. 

In the Sixth Form tutor programme for 

the first half term of Sixth Form, each 

student in year 12 has been supported 

by receiving regular support and advice 

on developing independent learning 

skills. Such skills include; effective time 

management, study skills, revision / 

exam techniques, expectations required 

from an AS level student, effective note 

taking and managing workload. Those 

students who have found it challenging 

settling into Sixth Form life and making 

that ‘jump’ from GCSE to AS Levels have 

been set an ‘Individual Learning Plan’ 

(ILP). The plan will set individual targets 

Sixth Form 

for the student and is reviewed regularly 

either by the Sixth Form tutor team. Advice 

and encouragement is continually offered 

to students on ways to achieve these 

targets and we work closely with Connextions 

careers advice to help support those 

students unsure about future employment 

or university. Students will be placed on 

ILPs during the year depending on when 

and if the need arises. 

May I take this opportunity to thank Sixth 

Form parents for their support during the 

important first few weeks of Sixth Form. 

Please do not hesitate to contact your 

child’s tutor or myself should it be necessary. 

The Sixth Form Tutor Team 

The sixth form tutor team is here to help 

and advise our students on a wide range 

of issues as well as keeping the students 

in touch with how they are progressing. 

If the tutor thinks that a student is not 

doing enough (or too much!) then the 

tutor will speak to that person and will 

offer individual guidance and support. 

Sixth Form Tutor Team: 2010 / 2011 

Year 12 Year 13 

Mr Townshend Mrs Chambers 

Mr Callear Mrs Webber 

Mr Turner Mrs Pearson 

Ms Barrall Mr Nicholls 

Miss Hayman Ms Berkeley 

Ms Ford 

Support Tutor: Mrs Bunnett 


The tutor team has been working 

hard this term on ensuring students 

have settled into their courses and 

that they get the balance of study, 

paid work and friendships right. The 

year 13 tutor team has been busy 

writing UCAS references and checking 

over personal statements. With a 

record number of students applying 

to university this year, they have had 

their work cut out! Our thanks go to 

all the hard work and commitment 

given to the students by the tutors 

and to Mrs White and Mrs Bower in 

the Sixth Form office who deal with 

the day-to-day issues of the students. 

Miss L Swan 

(Deputy Director, Sixth Form) 

Calshot Induction 

Year 12 Induction trip: Calshot Activities 

Centre 

As part of the 6 th Form induction 

programme, year 12 students went 

to Calshot activities centre for a 3 

day outdoor adventure and team 

building trip. The trip was organised 

by Miss Swan and was accompanied 

by Mr Way, Miss Fellingham and Mr 

Prodomo. Upon arrival at Calshot, 

students were thrown in at the deep 

end by testing their kayaking and 

windsurfing skills and conditions 

were perfect! 

Following this, the students were 

allowed the privilege of experiencing 

cycling in a velodrome. There are 

only four velodromes in the country. 

After an hour of instruction, students 

were sent off on a timed lap to see if 

they could beat the personal bests of 

the Olympic athletes..... not an easy 

task!

The second day at Calshot, students 

were learning how to Snowboard. 

There were a few tumbles when trying 

to stand up: this was proving to be a 

difficult activity to grasp. By the end 

of the session, and after a lot of girly 

screams (mainly from the boys...) 

most students were speeding down 

the slope, looking like true boarders! 

Day 3 proved to be the most challenging 

day by undertaking team building tasks 

and attempting climbing and abseiling 

on a variety of climbing walls. High on 

adrenaline from fear, students were a little 

apprehensive at first but by the end of the 

session they were whizzing up and down 

the climbing walls. 

Sixth Form Website 

www.highcliffe6thform.com 

The website has been designed to be used by parents, students and teachers allowing access to a wide 

range of information about Highcliffe Sixth Form. 

Key features include: 

YEAR 11 PROGRESSION: 

On-Line Prospectus 

This can be accessed from the Sixth Form courses page 

Application process and application forms 

• Help and advice on the application process (See admissions menu) 

Course Information 

• This can be accessed from the ‘course information’ menu – information on all of our level 2 and 

level 3 courses including enrichment opportunities. 

Student Life / Gallery 

• Information on student life in the Sixth Form such as social and curriculum trips, student views 

about Highcliffe Sixth form, Gifted and Talented, Student Guidance and support, Oxbridge applications, 

Careers information. 

Financial Support 

• Information on how Highcliffe Sixth Form supports students financially. 


11 

Students were very supportive of one 

another; they encouraged each other 

and behaved like young adults. 

It proved to be a real positive start to 

their Sixth Form career. Thank you 

very much for making this trip a fantastic 

experience for all involved.

12 

• Specialist Status in Languages, Science 

and Mathematics 

• “Outstanding pastoral care, guidance 

and support” (OFSTED Feb 2008) 

• Excellent Higher Education and careers 

support 

• Extensive range of courses 

• High quality learning experience 

• Excellent exam results and progression 

into Higher Education 

• Exceptional preparation for Oxbridge 

and Medical applications, admissions 

tests and interviews 

Why choose Highcliffe 6th Form? 

• Our Sixth Form Centre has excellent facilities including its own cafe, study centre, Art 

studio, fitness suite, two language labs, ICT Suites, state of the art Technology centre 

• Residential trips to Oxford, Cambridge and Plymouth Universities 

• Overseas visits to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, India, USA, Poland, Holland 

and Madagascar 

• Transport: As well as offering travel subsidies, we run two dedicated mini-bus 

services to Highcliffe from Bournemouth and the New Forest 

• Comprehensive programme of enrichment and social events 

The Sixth Form Team 

are “determined to 

provide a high quality 

experience for all.” 

OFSTED 2008. 

“The popularity and 

success of the Sixth 

Form is reflected in 

the increased numbers 

in recent years.” 

OFSTED 2008 

Why 

Choose 

Highcliffe 

6 th Form? 

Wide range 

of courses 

Sports 

Scholarships 

Gifted & 

Talented 

academy 

Dedicated 

personal 

tutor 

Smaller 

Class 

Sizes 

Oxbridge 

Residential 

Trips & 

Support 


Excellent 

academic 

support 

Excellent 

University 

application 

support 

Specialist 

Language 

and Science 

College 

A Wide 

Variety of 

Trips

We were delighted with this summer’s 

Extended Project Qualification 

results and all credit to the fantastic 

group of students who achieved 

grades in August! Well done to Laura 

Fisher for achieving our first A* in the 

EPQ for her amazing art exhibition. 

Praise must also go to all the other 

wonderful students who achieved an 

EPQ: 

• Asya Zuyeva for her 

exceptional musical project 

‘Once Upon a Song’ 

• Adam Howard for his 

production of a menu board 

for an Italian restaurant 

• Emily Keith for her 

lovely ‘mini-me’ doll and 

photographic record of life 

as a new Sixth Former 

• Josh Askew for exploring 

‘drumming is my life’ and 

composing his own piece of 

music 

• Hannah Leary for 

completing a critical 

examination of the 

experiences of young 

Christians in today’s society 

• Sarah Huggens for 

examining the impact 

a choir can make on a 

community 

• Stephen Hutt for exploring 

the pros and cons of 

artificial intelligence 

• Jenna Lloyd for investigating 

how schools provide for 

students’ well-being 

WELL DONE TO ALL OF THEM! 

As for this year, we have a much 

larger group of students embarking 

on EPQ, 25 at last count. They are 

researching topics ranging from The 

Space Race to Voluntourism; Visual 

Novels to Theatre Production. Other 

topicsinclude ‘terrorism through the 

ages’, ‘are young people apathetic towards 

politics?’ and ‘are hand-made 

products better than manufactured 

EPQ - Raising the bar again! 

ones?’ 

The projects have 

to be completed by 

April and presented 

to an unfamiliar 

audience in March. 

Each project is 

marked out of 50 

for skills in management, 

use of 

resources, project 

development and 

evaluation. As you 

can tell, the process 

is as important as 

the product. This 

is a journey of 

independent study 

and we wish all our 

students well for 

this coming EPQ 

year. 

Report by Mrs 

O’Connor and Mrs 

Powell 

For a couple of years now the 6 th Form 

has had a thriving Debating Society. This 

club is run by the students who organise 

and usually chair the debates. Each 

week two pairs of students take differing 

sides on an argument and present 

their views to other 6 th Form members. 

Debates take place once a week and are 

consistently well attended with about 

20 to 30 at each debate. Each debate is 

formally structured to enable all sides a 

fair hearing. At the end, a vote is taken. 

The Debate Society provides a fantastic 

forum for students to express their views 

in a structured yet nevertheless relaxed 

atmosphere. The range of topics covered 

so far has been huge. They have included 

serious topics such as the existence 

of God, immigration, gender equality 

to issues that are more light-hearted, 

including the merits of Harry Potter and 

Facebook over MySpace. 


Debating Society 

Improving debating skills is 

something that we all need to 

develop. In particular, an ability to 

debate is a highly regarded skill by 

all universities and is particularly 

sought after in candidates applying 

for Oxbridge and the Russell 

Group of universities. However, 

even if you don’t feel confident 

enough to present an argument 

at the Debate Society, it is open 

to anyone who is willing to listen 

to different opinions, challenge 

different points of view – and have 

their own views challenged, too! 

The friendly “rough and tumble” 

of argument in the Debate Society 

is an ideal arena to foster these 

skills – and make yourself better 

prepared for the challenges of 

university and beyond. 

Report by Mr Bryden 

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14 

Curriculum 

s c ien 

ce 

Sixth Form Science at Highcliffe - A world of excitement 

Courses have started well within the 

Science Faculty with record numbers 

signing up for courses at both AS and A2 

level. And 

who could 

blame 

us with 

activities 

such 

as the 

Biology 

Field Trip 

to Leeson 

House, 

Physics at 

Thorpe 

Park, the 

Engineering 

in Education Scheme and many more 

to follow, as well as the fantastic results 

that students received in the summer. 

We also have new additions to the 

department teaching at KS5 as well as 

the old faithfuls. In Psychology we have 

Mrs Chambers and Mrs Sawdon and in 

Biology and Human Biology we welcome 

Mrs Sawdon as well as Miss Swan donning 

her lab coat! 

Courses have started well and students 

have hit the ground running in preparation 

for the January module exams. We 

wish them all well and look forward to a 

hard working, fun year! 

Report by Ms Cullen, Ms Berkeley 

Year 13 Biology Residential Field Trip 

On a beautiful October morning, the 

Year 13 A level Biologists 

piled their luggage 

into the minibus 

and set off to Leeson 

House field study 

centre for 3 days of 

hard work which also 

proved to be great 

fun. The field work 

included Marine and 

Coastal Ecology and 

the techniques needed 

to sample animals 

and plants in their 

natural habitats. 

A section of the A2 syllabus was completed 

with students working hard out in 

the field during the day and carrying on 

after an excellent tea into the evening. 

On the first day, field work techniques 

revised the use 

of quadrats 

and transects 

and the whole 

group then 

went on a 

woodlice hunt, 

capturing, 

marking and 

then releasing 

the woodlice 

which 

were then 


recaptured the following day. This 

allowed an estimation of the woodlice 

population living under the 

circle of logs. Pond dipping allowed 

the group to compare the biodiversity 

of two fresh water ponds and 

work on energy flow concluded the 

day. 

After the work it was relaxation 

time and the group together with 

the Year 12 Geographers played 

pass the parcel which had interesting 

forfeits ranging from answering 

questions on topics such as cells, 

population and endangered animals 

to hopping round the circle, 

describing Mrs Stone’s pop heroes 

and singing a song. Table tennis was 

a hit and so was badminton. 

Thursday was a beautiful day 

weather wise and after a session 

in the Leeson lab, we set off for 

Kimmeridge Bay. After lunch which 

consisted of 

Mr O’Connor’s 

line caught, 

home smoked 

mackerel fillets 

(low on the 

food miles!) 

and locally 

made bread 

cooked over a 

driftwood fire 

on the beach, 

everyone

settled down to an 

afternoon of work. 

We carried out a 

belt transect down 

the beach from 

the splash zone at 

the top to the low 

tide mark. Soon 

the Latin names 

for all the animals 

and plants were tripping off the tongue. 

It was a really great piece of work which 

resulted in the group working hard in the 

evening producing some amazing kite 

diagrams of their data. Year 13 are now 

well aware of the differences between 

Patella vulgata and Littorina neritoides 

(which is the ‘ultimate’ periwinkle as it 

can survive 46 degrees of heat, has a gill 

modified into a lung and can withstand 

direct hits by the uric acid of seagull poo 

– and it is only 3 mm long!). 

Fact 1; Nucella lapillus, the dog whelk is 

a raging carnivore! 

Fact 2; The common limpet, Patella vulgata, 

can fight off an advancing starfish, 

Asterias rubens, by mushrooming and 

stomping behaviour to cuts its arms off. 

Ask Year 13 students to demonstrate this 

particularly offensive behaviour! 

On the Friday, in the autumn sunshine, 

the group completed a piece of A2 

coursework at Studland. They worked on 

individual transects and were able to use 

all the techniques they had learnt in the 

previous days. It made a great change 

to be writing up a piece of examination 

work in a sand dune rather than in the 

examination hall at school! 

The trip finished with a ferry journey 

across Poole 

Harbour to 

Sandbanks 

before arriving 

back at Highcliffe 

on the Friday 

before half 

term for a well 

earned rest. 

Year 11 studentsinterested 

in Biology and Human Biology A level 

should talk with the Year 13 students 

to find out more, especially if Ecology, 

Marine Biology, Oceanography 

or any aspect of outdoor 

Biology is of interest. The work 

undertaken is also really useful 

when it comes to University 

applications and interviews for 

places on any science based 

degree course. 

Report by the A2 Biologists, 

Mrs Stone and Mr O’Connor. 

HeadStart Engineering Update 

I just wanted to give you an update on 

my brilliant week at Liverpool University 

in July. I enjoyed all aspects of the 

Aerospace Engineering taster course and 

had a great time making some amazing 

new friends and 

seeing what life 

would be like in 

Halls of Residence 

(not luxury!). There 

were 40 students 

on the course and 

we worked together 

in teams of five 

- our main task was 

to improve a Grob 

Tutor RAF aircraft 

into an aerobatic ‘Red Bull’ racer which 

was a great challenge and was assessed 

by a Red Bull aerobatic race pilot. 

As anticipated, one of the highlights 

was to fly in the flight simulators – my 

favourite was definitely the helicopter 

mode which was great fun! I also 

enjoyed teaching younger local students 

about the basics of Engineering on the 

extra Dragonfly day for girls, sponsored 

by the RAF. 

As an added bonus, the 

course counted towards 

my Duke of Edinburgh’s 

Gold Award. 

It was a fantastic opportunity 

and has really 

confirmed my choice of 

Engineering at University 

and I will definitely be 

applying to Liverpool as a 

result of my experience. 

Not only does the University 

have brilliant Engineering facilities 

but the City Centre location is ‘fab’. All 


I have to do now is 

work hard to get the 

grades I need. 

I would recommend the HeadStart 

scheme to anyone interested in a 

science based career and hope you 

have as much fun as I did. If you are 

interested, go and see Miss Berkeley 

in Sc1! 

Thorpe Park Trip 

15 

By Natalie Martin 

At a dull start of 7.30am on Tuesday 

19 th October, students were gradually 

arriving, still half asleep but nonetheless 

sitting in anticipation, planning 

rides and waiting for 

the coach to arrive. 

We filed onto the 

coach and after a 

fairly quick and uneventful 

2 hours we 

pulled into a virtually 

empty car park at 

Thorpe Park. After 

being given our work 

booklets and tickets 

we split up into 

groups and headed into the park. 

It was a good day for an outdoor trip 

as we made our way towards Stealth 

and Saw with the clear blue sky above 

us and sun on our faces whilst Miss 

Berkeley became more and more 

nervous (never been on Saw!) and 

Mr Evans became more and more 

excited. We got on quickly and as the 

countdown started we held on tight 

and braced ourselves for the acceleration 

from 0 to 80 mph in 2.5 seconds 

and quickly shot 205 feet towards the 

clear blue sky above us. Our ears were 

filled with the screams of many members 

of our group which were only 

exceeded when we then sent Miss 

Berkeley back onto the ride, this time 

sitting at the very front of the train! 

The queues were reasonably short 

so we quickly made our way towards 

Nemesis Inferno, a coaster on which 

you hang under the track. This was 

another thrilling ride and we quickly 

headed to Colossus to finish off the 

three largest coasters in the park before 

11am and before Saw. Mr Evans,

16 

predictably came 

off as if it was all a walk in the park. We 

continued our tour of the park doing a 

number of other rides in quick succession 

and somehow managing to avoid 

any sickness, unlike some less fortunate 

members of the trip. We felt forces of 

many different types and quick changes 

of energy from gravitational potential to 

kinetic and back again in only a matter 

of seconds in some cases. We got our fix 

of water rides by going on the log flume 

however as we rounded the corner to 

get off of the ride, already soaked, we 

were then shot at by the water guns as 

people stood waiting for us to come into 

range with a fixed water gun for visitors 

to use to shoot anyone they felt wasn’t 

wet enough already! At the end of the 

day we met back and shared photos and 

stories and fought to see who had ridden 

the most rides in the shortest time. 

This is a contest which is normally hard 

fought but which had become ridiculous 

in the fact that we were hardly having 

to queue for most of the rides and by 

the end of the day we had clocked up 

a massive 28 rides each in many cases! 

We completed our work booklets having 

worked out many facts, from forces 

exerted on riders, to acceleration of 

coasters and finally finishing off using 

a complicated formula to work out the 

best ride of the day. This was based on 

a number of factors including how many 

times you rode it, how many riders could 

ride at once, queue length and other 

such variables. Having ridden Rush, 

Stealth, Nemesis Inferno, Colossus and 

Saw five times each, we decided that 

these must have been some of the best 

rides of the day but that the highlight 

was undoubtedly the sight and sound of 

our teachers as Stealth shot out of the 

station and towards the sky. 

Report by Heidi Barnett, 

Natalie Martin 

Engineering in Education Scheme 

launch 

We have now officially started the 2010, 

Engineering in Education Scheme; an 

opportunity for a team of selected year 

12 and 13 students to participate in a 

real life engineering project and to gain 

some hands on experience in the field. 

The scheme involves the designing and 

constructing of a practical solution to 

an industrial based problem; with a 

final result of demonstrating the team’s 

findings to a panel of assessors in the 

form of a presentation and report. If 

the project has been conducted and 

presented well, the team could qualify 

for a BA CREST Gold award; which is a 

nationally credited award presented 

to those who portray high grandeur in 

the subjects of science and technology. 

We are still awaiting an official launch 

date which will go hand in hand with a 

site visit to our engineering company’s 

premises. For the past 5 years, this has 

been with the Navy so fingers crossed! 

On this day, we will be given our project 

and will meet our engineering mentor 

and we will then have until December 

to come up with a practical design for 

the project. We will then go to Southampton 

University for a 3 day period 

to construct our design using the 

facilities available at the university. 

This scheme promises to be filled with 

new experiences and opportunities 

for us to learn some new skills that we 

can then take on and use later in life. 

Wish us luck! 

Report by Sarah Brougham, Jack Field, 

Felix Lazenby, Tom Smith 

Quotes from Y12 Biologists October 2010 

‘My favourite parts of Biology so far this year have been mitosis 

and the heart. I particularly enjoyed looking at the cells divide 

underneath the microscope and being able to see the spindles.’ 

‘I like Biology this year, though it is more challenging than I 

expected.’ 

‘I am enjoying myself in Biology because I find the lessons interesting.’ 

‘I found the heart dissection and other practicals fun.’ 

‘There are loads of new words to learn, but I think sufficient 

revision should help me learn this.’ 

‘.....because I do all 3 Sciences, some of the terminology and 

ideas span over from each Science to the others.’ 

‘All in all a good course that I like very much.’ 

‘ I find the amount of practical work very useful as it helps with 

the understanding of a topic.’ 

‘I like how there are PowerPoints for each lesson, because this 

means that it’s easy to access what we did in the lesson when 

I’m at home.’ 


The following are extracts from new 

child care students on their first day at 

their work placements. The child care 

courses are vocationally based therefore 

students spend time in a variety 

of work placements from baby units to 

primary schools. 

My First Day By Rosanna Bradford 

‘On my first day I had to go to the 

reception area to sign in and give in 

my CRB check. I had to sign in so they 

knew I was in the building. 

In the classroom I had to put my bag 

in the cupboard where the children 

aren’t allowed. The children came in 

with their parents and got straight to 

work on their morning books and tracing 

their names with white board pens. 

They put their faces on the food they 

want for cooked lunch and the pack 

lunches so they can write down who is 

having what. 

They also put their book bags away in 

their trays. They did English and different 

activities before assembly where 

they had to line up quietly and walk 

over to the hall. After that they went 

out for break. 

When break ended, they had a bell and 

they put the year they wanted to go in 

for and when it was year 1’s I had to 

walk over to the classroom door where 

they lined up ready to be let in by the 

teacher. 

The children did different activities and 

just before it was time for lunch they 

did a prayer and then got ready for 

lunch. Those with packed lunches went 

with a dinner lady with their packed 

lunches and those with cooked lunches 

went with the T.A. on the other side, 

they had to go in to wash their hands 

and then straight into the hall to pick 

the right colour for their meal. 

While they were having their lunch I 

followed the T.A to have my lunch in 

the staff room with the other teachers. 

After I ate my lunch I took my bag 

back to the classroom and went out 

to see what the children did at lunch 

play. After lunch the bell rang and they 

lined up and I followed them into the 

classroom where they sat on the carpet 

to get ready for the afternoon lessons. 

Child Development Work Placements 

At a certain time they got to go out and 

have another play time for a few minutes 

then back in for either golden time 

or a story or some activity. Then they 

got ready for their parents and lined 

up by the door. They weren’t allowed 

out until the teacher could see their 

parents and then they were allowed to 

go home. After the children left I got 

my attendance sheet signed off by my 

supervisor and signed out at reception. 

At the beginning of the day I was 

very nervous but as I walked in all the 

teachers were very friendly and helpful 

which made me feel welcome and fit in 

quite quickly. The T.A that was in my 

classroom had just started being a T.A 

in year one and she used to be in year 5 

so it was sort of new for her too so she 

helped me out as well as my supervisor. 

Throughout the day I asked questions 

on how to do things and I always got 

an answer and all the staff and children 

that I met that day helped me. I got 

more confident during the day because 

of all the friendly staff and children 

that made me fit in straight away and 

helped me with the different activities 

and where everything was.’ 

First Impressions by Rachel Buckland 

‘I woke up bright and early very excited 

about my first day at placement. I got 

up, had a shower, got dressed and was 

ready to go. I left at 8:15 and arrived 

at 8:30. As I was waiting for someone 

to open the door my nerves began to 

creep in. I was met by Mrs D and the 

first thing we did was go through the 

risk assessments and I read through the 

safety policy regarding the children. 

After I had given in my CRB for them 

to check I was given a badge and a 

locker key that I would use all the time 

I am at placement with them. As Mrs D 

started to take me to my teacher who I 

would be with up until December I was 

recognising everything from when I was 

there 10 years ago. 

As I got to the classroom there was a 

woman sitting at her desk, looking for 

activities for the children to do for the 

week ahead. There was also another 

woman there that was running around 


with lots of photocopying she’d 

done in her arm. Mrs D introduced 

me to my teacher (Mrs G) and 

the teaching assistant (Mrs H). 

I was introduced to the children at 

8:50 when they arrived. 

We took the register first thing, and 

they soon got more confident towards 

me. Mrs G asked me if I would 

like some of them to read to me, so 

that I could get to know the children 

more so that I felt welcome. 9:00 

came and we had to finish reading 

as it was my first Maths lesson with 

the children. Just walking round to 

see what they could all do amazed 

me. 

Time seemed to have flown by and 

we had a lesson of Literacy. We did 

handwriting and that too amazed 

me. Break time followed and just 

seeing the children getting excited 

put a big smile on my face. 

As the children left I followed behind 

them and shut the door behind 

me. Out in the playground watching 

them and seeing how they all 

get along together, and not leaving 

anyone out was a brilliant moment. 

Break flew past and we got lined 

up ready to come in to go on the 

laptops which excited the children 

even more. 

Science came after and our topic 

was vehicles and how they move. 

Lunch time came as quick as lightning 

and ended in a flash with the 

children still excited before they 

went out. This confused me. Mrs G 

let the class in and explained to me 

that they had a school trip to the 

electricity museum and invited me 

along. 

17 

We left at 2:00pm and got back at 

2:55. It raced by. When we arrived 

back at school, got back to the classroom 

for the children to collect their 

belongings to go home. 3:05 came 

and the children were being let out 

by the teacher until the next day. 

Thursday. My overall view of it was 

what an amazing school.’ 

Report by Mrs Bunnett

18 

ALPs, the current indicator for A 

level Mathematics, has classed the 

present year 13 and the year that 

has just graduated as outstanding. 

The Year 13 of 2008 to 2010 

achieved: 

71% at A or A* in Further Maths 

compared with 61% nationally. 

66% scored A or A* in Mathematics 

compared with 44% nationally. 

91.8% scored A* to C; nationally this 

figure is 81%. 

The students have been compared 

with 100,524 students nationwide 

and have achieved results in the top 

5% of the country. Further Mathematics 

has also been classed as outstanding 

for last year. Well done to 

all students and teachers involved. 

On average, a student with a 

Mathematics A Level can expect to 

earn 30% more over their working 

lifetime than those without. 

You’d be surprised at the great 

diversity of jobs that are open to 

mathematicians; from developing 

computer games to studying climate 

change to working with a Formula 

One racing team on aerodynamics. 

However, many other subjects, 

including medicine, architecture, and 

the laboratory and social sciences, 

do have a certain amount of mathematical 

content - and these subjects 

will be much easier for those with an 

A level in Maths. 

What does A-Level Mathematics 

involve? 

Year One: C1, C2 and 1 applied (Me- 

m a thema 

tics/ict 

Another Year of Outstanding A Level Maths Results 

chanics or Statistics) 

Year 2: C3, C4 and 1 applied (Mechanics 

or Statistics) 

Further Mathematics is also available 

with 6 modules in the first year and 6 

in the second year. There is no coursework 

in A level Mathematics. The entry 

requirements are an A*, A or B at Higher 

GCSE. 

Senior UKMT Maths Challenge 

Senior UKMT Maths Challenge for Year 

12 and 13 will take place on Thursday 

4 th November with over 30 students set 

to take part. This is an excellent way of 

giving UCAS applications more credence. 

Entries have considerably increased 

this year, results are normally sent in 6 

weeks. 

Important Examination dates KS4 

Year 10 Unit 1: Statistics & Number 

(26.7% of GCSE) 


Examination Date: Tues 9 th Nov 2010 

(am) 

Calculator Paper only 1 hour (max 54 

marks) 

Year 11 resits module 3 Number and 

some algebra 

Examination Date: Monday 15 th November 

2010 (am) 

Calc and non calc papers 

Year 12 resits 

Module 1 Data Handling Monday 15 th 

November (pm) cal & non cal 

Module 5 Algebra and shape and space 

Examination Date: Monday 9 th November 

2010 non calculator (am) 

Examination Date: Friday 12 th November 

2010 calculator (am) 

Reports by Mr Burgan

art/ e sign /technology 

d 

Year 13 Product Design Students are 

now well into the development of their 

ideas to solve self identified problems. 

Their course requires them to identify 

a genuine need, find a client and then 

develop a prototype solution for it. Two 

examples of self written briefs are below. 

“ BBGRO is a new lead 

in innovative design. I 

intend to design and make 

an easy to use balcony 

BBQ. When not in use, it 

is transformed into a vibrant planter, 

exploiting any outdoor area and making 

use of valuable and precious space. 

BBGRO‘s vision is to see people using 

their garden as an outdoor room meaning 

they are extending their living space. 

This means that many people can enjoy 

their garden, whatever its size.” 

“This product is designed to generate a 

sufficient supply of power from a rotational 

action from 

the product itself as 

the product flows 

through the water. 

The “Hydra” should 

combine enough 

drag force to cause the product’s rotational 

generation action but also be as 

streamline as possible to reduce as much 

unnecessary drag force. 

The product will be constructed from a 

lightweight metal rib cage made from 

materials such as manganese, magnesium, 

iron, and silicon and is resistant to 

corrosion by acids and sea water. 

The lightweight rib cage will be moulded 

in GRP or Fibre glass to strengthen the 

product from contact for protection. Also 

GRP is a marine grade resin used to build 

small crafts and dinghies as it’s corrosion 

resistant and will last for many years. 

Product design gets off to a flyer! 

Glass Fibre is a good resin as it has a 

high ratio of surface area to weight.” 

Both students will be at the prototype 

stage within weeks and I’m certain the 

final outcomes will be exciting, innovative, 

practical and genuine solutions 

to real life problems. Both of 

these students are applying 

for University courses, one in 

Industrial/Product Design and 

the other in Engineering. 

Mr Nicholls (Senior Curriculum Leader of 

Art Design and Technology) 

Open Evening 

Displays 

There was a buzzing sound emitted by 

the Da Vinci block on the school Open 

Evening. A variety of students were 

engaged in activities across the Faculty 

helping to illustrate the range of vibrant 

activities that they engage with daily. 

Examples of activities that were laid on 

were Lamp and Clock making in Product 

Design, Dalek driving and car racing in 

Electronics, T-Shirt printing in Textiles, 

Badge making and CD cover 

designing in Graphics, 

a variety of dishes were 

being created in Catering. 

Photography examples 

were on display and still 

life and screen printing 

were being enthusiastically 

developed in Art. It was 

an excellent evening and a 

pleasure to spend the time 

with the students. 

As ever the displays at 

the school are outstanding 

and received many 

complimentary comments 


19 

during Open Evening. Displays were 

created from general school work 

and activities ranging from African 

mask relief panels to silk batik banners 

and sporting achievements. An 

inspiring surrounding encourages 

a creative mind and we take great 

pride in showing and celebrating our 

students’ achievements. 

Report by Mrs Devlin

20 

Morsbags 

In July last year we began a project 

with Miss Thorp-West in our Art Textiles 

lessons. We entered a national 

competition 

with MORS- 

BAGS where 

we had to 

make a bag 

from recycled 

materials. The 

bag would be 

entered into 

the competition 

and 

would be 

judged at the 

Knitting and 

Stitching Show 

at Alexander 

Palace in 

London. After 

the competition 

had 

finished our 

bags would 

be given to charity shops and sold to 

raise money for that charity. 

When we got to Alexander Palace, 

on the way into the main hall we 

saw everyone’s MORSBAGS from 

Highcliffe, and all the other schools 

that had entered. We saw the bags 

we had made and 

took pictures of the 

other entries, it was 

really exciting to see 

who had won. There 

were 4 adult categories 

and 1 children’s 

category in different 

age groups, 

the overall winner 

won a trip to India! 

Unfortunately we 

didn’t win but Miss 

Thorp-West’s bag 

Art & Textiles News 

was hanging quite near the overall 

winner! 

We had a very long day on our trip 

to London, but it was very enjoy- 

able and we hope to go again next 

year. 

Report by Jayde Jenner Year 10 

and Miss Thorp-West – Curriculum 

Leader for KS3/4 Art 

Knitting and Stitching Show – London 

trip 

On Thursday 

7th October 

Years 9, 10, 

11 and 12 

took a visit to 

the Knitting 

and Stitching 

Show at Alexander 

Palace, 

London. We 

left school 

at 7am and 


didn’t manage to reach Alexander 

Palace until 11am. It was 

such a long journey, but definitely 

worth it. 

Once we managed 

to get 

into the exhibition, 

there 

were plenty 

of interesting 

things to see. 

In the main 

room, there 

were about 

30 different 

stalls where 

you could 

watch people 

demonstrating 

new products, 

try out products 

and also 

buy plenty of 

useful things. 

Even though 

it was called 

the Knitting and Stitching show, 

there were huge amounts of textile 

and art textile products e.g. 

types of fabric , types of embellishment, 

even bags and clothes. 

Seeing all the different textile 

products really helped to give us 

all an array of ideas that we may 

not have thought of before. 

Walking round the exhibition, we 

all became very creative, coming 

up with designs, ideas for our 

work and ways we could achieve 

things. The extensive amount 

of fabric that was on sale was 

amazing, there were designs that 

you wouldn’t usually find in the 

shops back home. We all bought 

some fabric. 

There were many other rooms 

to visit too, which also had items

for sale, but mainly they were 

showcases of products that people 

had made. They were all so different 

from each other, some things 

Earlier this year Mr Bryden entered a 

Sixth Form team in the National Debating 

matters competition. Schools 

from all over the country would be 

competing for a place in the Grand 

Final next year and Mr Bryden was determined 

that Highcliffe School should 

be represented. Before you could say 

“George Osborne” Mr Bryden had 

organised a crack team to launch their 

assault on this prestigious award. The 

team consisted initially of just Asya 

Zuyeva and Jenna Lloyd, but they 

were soon ably supported by David 

Penson and Philip Sparkes. All four 

willingly gave up their time to prepare 

for the regional heat of the competition, 

using the Sixth Form Debate Club 

as a testing ground in which to hone 

their debating skills. 

On the afternoon of Monday 18 th 

October the team made their way to 

Burgate School for the regional heat 

Learning to Debate 

you wouldn’t realise you could 

actually create. All the designers’ 

ideas were amazing and everything 

stood out, either due to their bold 

colouring, the unusualness or even 

just the design itself. 

Looking at all the products on show, 

you could really tell that all the 

designers had spent a huge amount 

of time planning, researching and 

then making their products. Many 

items inspired me and began to 

give me ideas for my final design. 

There were so many different ways 

in which you could pursue a certain 

idea, which has become very obvi- 

of the competition. In the first round 

Asya and Phil were pitted against a team 

from Godolphin School in Hampshire. 

The debate itself was riveting, as first 

Asya and then Phil rose to speak for the 

motion “ Online privacy is dead “. After 

some discussion the judges, perhaps impressed 

by the contrast in the speaking 

styles of the Highcliffe pair, and possibly 

influenced by Phil’s “locked toilet door“ 

theory of privacy, awarded the first 

debate to Highcliffe. This meant that 

Jenna Lloyd and David Penson would 

now contest the final against...Burgate 

School! 

After a break for refreshments and a 

vain attempt by this writer to win the 

support of the judges (“nice weather 

we’ve been having” ), everyone reconvened 

in the drama studio for the final. 

The motion was on whether extremism 

should be banned on university campuses 

and again it was a closely fought 


e n glish 

21 

ous to me after visiting 

the show. The different ways 

designers have involved texture 

into their designs is really creative 

and has helped to give me plenty 

of ideas for what I can do. 

Overall the trip to the Knitting 

and Stitching show was really 

good and very inspiring. When I 

complete my final piece, I will use 

many techniques and ideas that I 

have seen from the show. 

Written by Helena Sinclair 

Year 12 

contest. The spirit of Sammy Joynson 

could be felt in the room as arguments 

began to flare between one 

Burgate student and the chief judge. 

Briefly Highcliffe spirits soared at the 

possibility of a victory, but in the end 

the judges gave the nod to Burgate 

School. However the Highcliffe team 

were not downcast and warmly 

congratulated the winners. In fact 

the spirit amongst all four teams was 

excellent and a credit to their schools. 

I would just like to add my own 

thanks to the Sixth Form Team. They 

were excellent representatives of 

the school as a whole and it was a 

pleasure watching them work so well 

together. 

A final note of thanks is due to Mr 

Bryden who organised the school’s 

involvement in the competition and 

gave up his time to read through 

the various speeches and suggest 

changes. 

Report by Mr Turner

22 

Language Leaders 

Foreign Language Leaders Award 

Many congratulations to the following Year 13 students who have been 

awarded the Foreign Language Leader Award certificate: 

Lauren Cooper, Jade Southwell, Asya Zuyeva, Tom Towers, Adam Horwich, 

Hannah Leary, Claire Kendall, Lauren Evans, Jenna Lloyd, Amy Gilbert, Fenella 

Courage and Sarah Hemming 

m o dern langua ges 

This year’s Foreign Language Leader Award will start in November during Thursday lunch times for any interested Year 12 linguists. 

Year 10 language students prepare for the business world! 

In September, sixty-five year 10 students embarked upon the exciting NVQ business languages course. 

Calling all Year 12 language students! 

Foreign Language Leader Award coming soon... 

Every Thursday lunchtime in ML3 

Please see Mr Wayth if you have any questions 

This two-year course covers language that students may need in their future careers and is offered in French, German and Spanish. 

So far, students have tried smoothie tasting and described it in the foreign language, visited a careers fair where they found out 

about careers with languages and are currently preparing presentations on a product to deliver in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch. 

By the end of year 11, students will achieve a level two NVQ in business languages (the equivalent of a grade B at GCSE) and will 

be well prepared to use their languages in the world of work! 


Report by Mr Wayth

Dual Linguists 

All students start with two languages 

in Years 7 and 8 at Highcliffe, but we 

have a strong cohort of students who 

continue to study two languages in 

Years 9, 10 and 11. Last year’s GCSE 

dual linguists performed exceptionally 

well in their GCSE language examinations. 

They gained 100% A*- C and 

76% gained an A* or A. An impressive 

37% of the dual linguists also got an 

A* in both languages. Many of the 

dual linguists go on to study languages 

at A Level and seven of the current 

Year 12 students are studying two 

languages. Two students explain why 

they are studying two languages at AS 

Level: 

Claudia Fairhurst, Year 12 (Italian and 

Spanish): 

I am studying Italian and Spanish and 

I’m really enjoying them. I’m going on 

the Spanish exchange and I have had a 

Spanish student over here already. It is 

great way to expand your vocabulary. 

Sometimes you can get confused doing 

two languages but at GCSE it starts getting 

easier. Now I don’t get confused at 

all and I can tell the difference between 

the two languages really easily. It is really 

worth doing two languages because 

they are so useful. Also a lot of employers 

like people who can speak languages 

and when you’re older it will be much 

easier to go travelling and work abroad 

if you know the language. 

Sam Jackson, Year 12 (French and German): 

I like studying two languages, because 

in Mr Maurice’s words, we are more 

knowledgeable. As well as this, it opens 

up a wealth of opportunities to you. All 

the jobs I could do in England, I could 

potentially do in any French or German 

speaking countries. And you cannot 

under-estimate the ability to communicate 

– getting your point across is a 

wonderful feeling and to be able to do 

that to 83 million Germans or 63 million 

French people is truly empowering! 

In recent years many linguists have also 

gone onto study languages at university. 

Wall of Achievement 

Becky Jackson, who left 

Highcliffe last year and 

also studied two languages at A Level, 

is currently studying French and Law 

at Cardiff University: 

Having just started a Law with French 

degree at Cardiff University, I have, to 

be honest, surprised myself, as I never 

imagined I would still be learning a 

language 8 years after my first tentative 

steps in year 7, although I do not 

regret it one bit! They may be difficult 

at times, but being able to speak another 

language is also very rewarding 

and I hope, useful in the future. 

I initially considered taking a language 

at university merely as a way of 

increasing my employability, however, 

having been presented with so 

many opportunities to meet foreign 

students, I have learnt so much about 

them and their culture and most 

importantly, I have had fun and made 

friends with people who have houses 

all around the world-some amazing 

holidays are in store I hope. My advice 

is to persevere, your hard work will be 

rewarded! 

Look out for some outstanding pieces of work on the Wall of Achievement in the Languages 

corridor. You might see your own work there! 

Here are some examples:Georgia Hilliard (Year 8), Oliver Harrald (Year 10) 


23

24 

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES 

TRIPS 2009 – 2010 

Foreign Language Leader Award Cholet, France 

Gifted and Talented Trip, June 2010 June 2010 

Year 9 and Year 12, Leeson House Year 9 

Bailén, Spain Cologne, Germany 

February 2010 December 2009 

Year 9 and Year 12 Year 8 and Year 9 

Florence, Italy (joint trip with ADT) All Abroad 

July 2010 Boulogne, July 2010 

Year 9 and Year 12 Year 7 and Year 8 


e x pressive a 

rts 

Drama 

Blood Brothers Theatre Visit 

In September as Year 10, 11 and 12 

Expressive Arts and Drama students 

entered the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 

we were eagerly anticipating 

what was about to come. 

A group of us were trying to remember 

what we had studied of the play “Blood 

Brothers”, back in year nine. Nearly all 

of us had very much enjoyed acting it 

and we couldn’t wait to see the musical- 

live at the Mayflower! Once in our 

seats, the lights suddenly dimmed and 

the orchestra started! 

The play was sensational- I loved the 

music, I loved the set (the Liverpool 

city backdrop was very realistic, and so 

were the graffiti-ed walls and alleys), 

and I think the whole cast performed 

wonderfully. 

For me, the best performance was 

from Mickey, and it was tragic to 

watch him change from a cheeky, 

happy young boy to a morose, desperate, 

depressed man after being in 

prison. Everything about his character 

changed: the speech, body language, 

mannerisms and his relationships. 

It has to be said, Nikki Evans (remember 

her from the X factor 2007?) 

was an amazing Mrs Johnstone- very 

motherly, caring, funny, and, in the 

very moving scenes, she proved she 

wasn’t just a great singer, but also a 

formidable actress! Tears were shed 

by the Highcliffe students during the 

harrowing last scene as Mrs Johnstone 

sobbed over the bodies of her sons, 

Mickey and Edward. 

I am really glad that I went to see the 

show- not only was it theatrically great, 

but I’ve learned so much from watching 

the actors’ performances. Also, the 

rest of the day was a lot of fun. 

Thank you to Mrs McGrath for organising 

the trip! 

Direct Theatre School 

By Francesca Crisante Year 11 

Year 10 Expressive Arts students 

recently had the opportunity to work 

with Peter Courtney, an experienced 

actor and director of Direct Theatre 

School in Southbourne. Peter devised a 

lively and entertaining workshop which 

included drama skills such as developing 

character, using status and spontaneous 

improvisation. The Year 10 students had 

fun creating many scenarios and they 

even surprised themselves with their 

own ingenuity and improvisational skills! 

The work can now be used to help and 

inspire the students who are performing 

a GCSE examination piece in December. 

Well done to all the students who took 

part with such positivity and enthusiasm! 

Idun and the Golden Apples 

Recently, Year 5 and 6 students from 

Bransgore and St Luke’s Schools joined 

us at Highcliffe to work on a brilliant 

story telling project. Each Tuesday after 

school for a number of weeks, Pete 

Gritton, a local professional storyteller, 

would set up his tepee in our school 

grounds and invite the students to join 

him around the fire where stories from 

many cultures were told. As the weeks 

progressed the exciting Norse story of 

Idun and the Golden Apples was chosen 

on which to base a performance piece 

to include drama, music and movement. 

The students even made their own 

instruments including digeridoos and 

bull-roarers! 

As the audience arrived on the day of 

the performance, there was a high level 

of anticipation and excitement and as 

the performance unfolded the audience 

were transported to a world of magical 

Norse characters and locations. The musicians 

provided a haunting soundtrack 

to the piece which was performed with 

amazing focus and professionalism by 


25 

the children. The audience reaction 

was very positive and some of the 

comments heard afterwards from 

the students included: ‘the project 

made me feel very happy’ and it 

was ‘really cool!’ 

Reports by Mrs McGrath 

Music 

Highcliffe student wins local talent 

competition 

Four musical acts from Highcliffe 

School performed amongst other 

young people from across the 

South Coast in the local music talent 

contest Talent Call. The contest 

took place on Saturday 16 th of 

October at the prestigious Bournemouth 

Pavilion. After a thrilling 

concert, Luke Adams took the judges’ 

vote, winning the phenomenal 

£2500 prize given for first place. 

He won by singing and accompanying 

himself on the guitar his own 

version of Ain’t No Sunshine When 

She’s Gone. Luke said, ‘It took me 

two days to finally realise that I had 

won this amazing prize. I went out 

to have a good time and ended up 

winning. I couldn’t be happier’. 

When asked what he would do 

with the prize money, he said that 

he hadn’t quite decided what he 

would spend it on yet, but he had 

his eye on some studio recording 

equipment to help him launch his 

singing career. We are really proud 

that five of the 20 entries were 

from Highcliffe and over the moon 

that so much of the musical talent 

we have was represented in an 

open competition. All those who 

entered should be commended for 

their efforts and achievement. 

Report by Miss Duddle

26 

Dance at The Quay 

On Tuesday 29 th June audience members and the unsuspecting public experienced five exciting ‘Site-specific Dance 

Pieces’ choreographed by year 12 Btec Dance students from Highcliffe School. The performances started at the Mayors 

Mead end of Christchurch Quay amongst the trees for ‘Hide and Seek’ choreographed by Fenella Courage. The performers 

then led the audience across the grass to the Band Stand where the usually calm and relaxing space sprang into life 

with an explosive performance choreographed by Amanda Alexander. Gareth Walls made a wish in the well by the Mill 

and his wish turned sour and trapped him in ‘Careful what you wish for . . .’ choreographed by Emma Loe. Then on to 

‘Mirrors and Reflections’, a captivating duet by the pool composed by Sofia Constantinou. Ending in the gardens of the 

Priory Jade Southwell’s piece ‘The Breath of Life’ led us through the arch way of trees following the spirits of long ago 

spring to a resting place in the flowers . All of the students worked very hard rehearsing non-stop, they will next perform 

in the Dance Evening in November. 

Report by Mrs A Wills 

Dance Teacher 

Dance Evening 

‘One world’ a celebration of global dance 

7pm Thursday 18 th November 2010 

Years 7-13 Performing 

£3 Adults 

£2 Students 

Tickets on Sale from 1 st November 


Sports Leadership 

The level 2 Award in Community 

Sports Leadership 

is a qualification 

for people 

aged 16 or over, 

who wish to gain 

experience in delivering 

sporting 

activities within 

school and the 

wider community. 

The qualification 

provides the 

key skills required 

to plan and deliver 

community 

sports activities 

and aims to 

prepare responsible, 

motivated and confident people 

who can independently lead safe, 

purposeful and enjoyable sporting 

and recreational activities for small 

groups. The main upcoming event for 

sports leader students is the First Aid 

course 10th November 2010. 

U18 Girls Football 

It has been pleasing to see so many 

Sixth Form students attending training 

sessions and being involved with 

Sport 

football in the Sixth Form. Sixth Form 

girls’ football is now fully established in 

the school and is going from strength to 

strength, finishing in the last 16 in the 

ESFA National Cup the past two years in 

a row. This year the team is already in 

the last 32 in the country and have the 

potential to go far in the National Cup 

this season. Not only have the girls been 

training and playing as part of the U18 

squad but a number of them have been 

given the responsibility of training and 

organising fixtures for the girls’ teams 

lower down in the school. Keep up the 

hard work girls. 


‘Round 3 Highcliffe School 2 vs 

Reading 1 

The trip away to Reading was the 

first game of the season and the 

excitement levels were high but 

there was also an element of anxiety 

as it was the first game that the 

girls had played together as a team. 

After weeks of hard training the girls 

knew that it was a crucial match 

and a win would secure their place 

in the last 32. Their professionalism 

saw them overcome their nerves 

and warm up as a squad that looked 

confident about the forthcoming 

90 minutes. Highcliffe started 

the game well and played some 

attacking football which put the opposition’s 

defence and goal keeper 

under pressure from the start. This 

continued pressure saw the first 

goal come from Sarah Stocker in 

the 24 th minute, a shot that was 

hit hard and left the keeper watching 

as the ball flew into the bottom 

right corner. There were some close 

chances had by the opposition but 

the strong play and determination 

of the defence and Jess Thompson in 

goal ensured that their efforts failed 

taking the team into half time 1-0 

up. As the second half started it was 

clear that Reading were not going 

to go down without a fight and had 

some very close chances to draw 

level. This only meant that Highcliffe 

raised their game and this resulted 

in a second goal from Emily Gard 

whose decision to follow up a shot 

on the goalkeeper paid off. Highcliffe 

remained composed and settled defending 

well but still going forward 

to try and increase the lead. Reading 

did get a consolation goal with 10 

minutes to spare which yet again 

increased the pace of the game, but 

Highcliffe also stepped up theirs to 

ensure that they did not go home 

defeated.’ 

Back Row (L-R) Millie Alexander, 

Sarah Stocker, Emily Gard, Abbie 

Awdas, Hannah Vincent (C), Danika 

Rickard Front Row (L-R) Dale 

27

28 

Hunter, Alice Hayden, Frankie Smith, Jess 

Thompson, Amy Weir, Kayleigh Whyte, 

Ebony Day Missing from picture Hannah 

Golding, Jenny 

Dathan, Alice Nicholls, 

Sammy Davies, 

Tash Brookes, Amy 

Falla, Chloe Hayward 

Reports by Miss 

Fellingham 

U18 Boys Football 

This year the boys 

Sixth Form football 

team has gone from 

strength to strength, 

playing a series of 

matches with local 

district schools 

and entry into the 

County Cup for the 

first time. 

In their first game they played a County 

Cup fixture against Burgate School, Fordingbridge. 

With only pre-match warm 

up games against year 11 and an intra 

school Sixth Form match behind them, 

the boys turned up with some concern 

as to what lay ahead. Their attitudes 

were excellent as they started the game 

full of enthusiasm. Early on Burgate 

looked dangerous, however after a good 

passage of play Highcliffe took the lead. 

This soon became two and then finished 

the half 4-0 up. The boys’ confidence 

was brimming, though their enthusiasm 

soon took a dent as Burgate hit back 

with an early goal. Highcliffe soon got 

back into their stride and scored again. 

Without any subs on a balmy October 

evening tiredness began to tell and the 

boys held on for a comfortable 5-2 win. 

Goals came from Mitch East x 2, Lewis 

Sando, Joe Smith and Josh Harris. Team 

: Will Fry, Tom Orford, Daniel Hancock, 

James Emmett, Jacob Moore, Oliver 

Lucas, Joe Smith, Lewis Sando, Joshua 

Harris, Sam Nailor, Mitch East 

The following game saw a changed team 

play against local rivals Arnewood, led 

ably by new team manager Miss Swan. 

The boys went onto a comfortable 4-0 

half time lead, without matching the 

free flowing football from their previous 

match. The second half was a different 

affair with Arnewood hitting back to win 

2-1. The final score was another 5-2 win, 

goals coming from Daniel Hancock, Tom 

Atkinson and a Peter Crowley hat-trick. 

Team : Will Fry, Tom Orford, Daniel 

Hancock, Ben Gunner, Jacob Moore, Joe 

Smith, Lewis Sando, Peter Crowley, Sam 

Nailor, Mitch East, Tom Atkinson 

In the County Cup quarter final against 

Ferndown Upper School, the team met 

their match. Ferndown produced precise 

passing build-up play with Highcliffe 

soaking up the pressure and hitting them 

on the break. It was this tactic that led to 


Highcliffe taking the lead through 

a Peter Crowley one on one. 

Ferndown continued to have the 

majority of the possession, 

and eventually 

this paid off with 

a penalty converted 

by the Ferndown 

captain. 

Sports Ambassadors 

The final 10 minutes 

were end to end 

with chances falling 

to both sides. The 

scores remained 

even and the game 

went into extra time. 

Ferndown eventually 

managed to win 

3-1 (aet) and bring 

the end to the boys’ 

Cup run for another 

year. 

Report by Mr Hallam 

Tom Orford and Emma Langley 

in Year 12 are the school’s sports 

ambassadors for 2010/2011. They 

will help to promote sport to 

younger students in school and at 

Highcliffe St Mark Primary School. 

Report by Mrs Webber

During the summer holidays I applied 

to stay in Cuxhaven, in North Germany, 

for a 2 week language course run 

by the UK-German Connection. I wanted 

to apply for this course, because I 

would be able to live with a German 

family, go to a German school and go 

on numerous excursions to nearby 

cities, including Bremen, Bremerhaven 

and Hamburg. 

Luckily, I was accepted on the course, 

along with only 11 other students 

from around the UK. The price for this 

memorable journey was only £250, 

just to cover the travel costs. This is 

Globalised 

Uk - German Connection in Action 

because the UK-German Connection are 

supported by the German government, 

who therefore paid for everything else, 

including all of our excursions. 

Overall, I had a brilliant experience as 

not only did I learn lots of new useful 

vocabulary, I also learned much more 

about everyday German life and culture. 

Even though I had been to Germany 5 

times before, I had never had such an 

unforgettable and educational experience. 

The highlight of the trip was a day 

out in the medieval city of Bremen with 

the whole group. 

Furthermore, the UK-German Connection 

run courses in quite a few locations 


29 

so if you would like to apply, you 

could easily stay in a different part 

of Germany. I would recommend 

this trip to anyone who is intending 

to study German for their A-levels, 

as staying with a German family is 

definitely the best way to improve 

on all aspects of the language. After 

only two weeks I feel that my spoken 

German has vastly improved. 

Thank you to Herr Hill and Frau 

Weidemann for their help with the 

application. 

Report by Adam Horwich

30 

Wednesday 30 th June saw seven Year 

12 students, accompanied by Mrs 

Dedman and Mr Lose set off to Oxford 

and Cambridge for a three day residential 

visit. 

Tom Smith, Stephen 

Hutt, Heidi 

Barnett, Jade 

Southwell, Amy 

Gilbert, Sarah 

Hemming and 

Samantha Millard 

were keen 

to get going. In 

Heidi Barnett’s 

words, “I am so 

excited!” 

Oxbridge Visit 

The sun shone for the 3 days, which 

made the spires of Oxford and the River 

Cam look extra special. Our first stop was 

Keble College, Oxford, where we settled 

ourselves into our accommodation. En 

suites, kettle, fridge, 

tea and coffee were 

most welcome. I did 

point out that this 

isn’t what every hall 

of residence has to 

offer! 

We then ventured 

into the busy city 

centre and were 

shown around numerous 

colleges by undergraduate stu- 

Aspire 

dents. Stephen Hutt was “so excited” 

to be in the same room where Harry 

Potter once stood, where ‘The Golden 

Compass’ was filmed and where Lewis 

Carroll wrote ‘Alice and Wonderland’. 

What else had this city got to offer? 

Dinner was served on Wednesday 

evening in the dining hall in Keble 

College. It was all very grand! This was 

followed by a stroll around the city in 

the evening sun. 

After breakfast on Thursday morning, 

students visited various faculties at 

numerous locations in the city. They all 

then attended lectures on their chosen 

subject area at Keble and the students 

I really enjoyed visiting Oxford and Cambridge, but as nice as Cambridge was, I knew as soon as we stayed in Oxford 

that it was going to be the university for me. Staying in one of their colleges was a huge advantage, as we got to see 

what it was like to actually live there for a day, something which you don’t get when just looking round on an open 

day. The trip overall was great fun, and helped us to see what everyday life with our friends would be like if we went 

to university there. The highlights were tea in the evenings, sitting at the top table in the dining hall, visiting the 

scenes of Harry Potter and singing ‘Break-Stephen’ on the minibus. Punting in Cambridge and Mr Lose’s hat were 

also great, playing catch in the dark was interesting. Abbreviating words was totez the best thing about it all. And 

Tom’s lumber. 

Amy Gilbert (Year 13) 

First of all I was a little bit awestruck when we turned up at Oxford, everything seemed so established and academic. 

Once we’d visited a few colleges though, I found myself feeling really at home in some of them and now I think that 

it’s somewhere I’d love to read History. Highlights from Oxford and Cambridge include: Harry Potter’s Great Hall; 

sitting at the top table in Keble; rather attractive students; morning cups of tea; evening cups of tea; faulty kettles; 

the food; having our own little rooms; minibus journeys, where we sang to every song on the radio (“When a heart 

breaks, no it don’t break STEPHEN!”); punting at Cambridge; the Bodleian Library and History faculty library at 

Oxford. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip and both the students and teachers got on really well- we had so much 

fun and so many laughs. It was a truly memorable experience and I’d encourage people to go on the trip, even if you 

aren’t sure about applying to Oxbridge. 


Sarah Hemming (Year 13)

found the question and answer session 

very helpful. 

After lunch we set off to Cambridge. 

We decided to avoid the M25, which 

turned out to be a good decision. 

We settled in to our accommodation 

at Churchill College, which gave the 

students a completely different feel 

to university life, as this was built in 

the 60s. 

Unfortunately 

only one 

en suite 

- for Stephen 

this 

time. Mrs 

Dedman 

still hasn’t 

got over 

that … and 

no kettle! 

We drove into the city and enjoyed a 

‘chauffeured’ punt experience on the 

Lloyd Atherton 

Following on from the story in the 

previous issue we have been excited 

to receive the following letter from the 

English Surfing Federation Surf School. 

‘To whom it may concern, 

Thank you for allowing Lloyd Atherton 

to attend in the English Surfing Federation/Three 

Sixty Magazine Morocco pro 

Coaching Week. Lloyd has been chosen 

to be part of a selection of the UK’s best 

up and coming young bodyboarders to 

have an intensive week of coaching in 

Taghazoute. Lloyd was chosen based on 

his conduct and performance as part 

of the Protest English Junior Surf Team 

and also his overall performance on 

River Cam. The view of the colleges was 

stunning and our tour guide, Tristan, 

gave us a potted history as we ‘cruised’ 

along. 

Tristan even felt brave enough to allow 

those who wanted a go at punting – 

even Mrs Dedman volunteered and we 

all survived to tell the tale! (There is 

photographic evidence!) After an enjoyable 

meal in town we returned 

to Churchill for a cuppa served 

beautifully by Sarah. Where did 

she find that kettle? 

On Friday morning Mr Lose 

drove students to various locations 

for their faculty lectures. It 

was the annual ‘Street Buskers 

and Entertainers Fair’ so the 

city was very buzzy and lively. 

The students found these sessions 

very useful and they felt 

they could now make informed decisions 

about their possible destinations. 

Sadly, we checked out of Churchill 

College in the early afternoon and 

began the long journey back to 

Highcliffe School. Thank you to all 

the students for making the trip 

such a memorable one. They were 

good fun and a pleasure to be with. 

We wish them every success in their 

applications, wherever they choose 

to continue their education. 

Report by Mrs Dedman 

(Lead Teacher Gifted & Talented) 

& Mr Lose (Teacher Mathematics) 

Inspire 

the Auto 

Sleepers 

UK Bodyboard 

Tour 

where he 

finished 

19 th out 

of 56 (a 

credible 

performance 

in 

an open 

competition 

from someone who is only 15). 

Lloyd’s participation in the trip will aid in 

his selection for future English and British 

Bodyboard Teams. 

The trip aims to work on the youngsters’ 

competition techniques and strate- 


gies through heat drills and video 

analysis in the wide variety of 

surf conditions that Taghazoute 

facilitates. The trip will be staffed 

by Rob Barber (British Team Coach), 

myself (English Junior Team Coach) 

who will take care of the coaching 

aspect of the trip. We shall also 

have a professional videographer 

and photographer in attendance to 

document the trip for Three Sixty 

Magazine which will help garner 

the participant’s sponsorship upport 

in the future… 

Warm regards, 

Aidan Salmon 

(English Junior Team Coach)’ 

Hearty congratulations to Lloyd! 

31

32 

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. 

Name of Student : TG: 

Nature of Achievement : 

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. 

Name of Student : TG: 

Nature of Achievement : 

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

Ambition and hard work bring great rewards - Highcliffe School

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