Update on this Blog

Dear Parents

I am delighted that there has been an increase in the number of people choosing to read my blog.  Despite this increased interest, the numbers remain much lower than the Update that I send out each Monday.  I have therefore come to a conclusion that I will incorporate all of the great opportunities and experiences that our students enjoy into the Update and continue to log the information on the VLE as well as publish it in this space, however it will not be called a  blog.   I hope this will allow a wider audience to be able to browse at their leisure and not rely on being able to retrieve an email.

Have a lovely week

Rachel Smith

Zombies and glitter!

Dear Parents

As usual there are such a variety of skills and delights on offer at our school.  Just before half term I took my husband to listen to our wonderful Bel Canto Choir.  The girls presented as professionals in their choral team outfits and delighted a packed audience for the Saturday evening.  I have watched them practice during school time and under the motivational instruction of Mrs Moss, they have learned to express the emotion of the music in both subtle and expressive ways.  We closed the concert with a renewed excitement at a forthcoming tour in Prague and many other opportunities to showcase the talent in the local community.  I want to take an opportunity to thank the parents who work tirelessly to help support the choir and its ongoing development.

Have a lovely weekend!

Rachel Smith

I would like spend much of this Blog letting our Year 13 girls speak for themselves.  The photographs and the fun sum up what is special and creative about this school.

You will also notice the photograph of some teachers dressed up holding cricket and baseball bats. In the Leavers’ assembly, they presented a surprise dance causing much laughter and amusement amongst the audience.

 

 

The make-up was wonderful but as the scars dried, a few of the girls realised that they could not move their necks up and down at all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course the profuse use of glitter took the edge of the blood and gore and brought so much laughter and screams of delight!

 

 

 

Humanities hedgehog story! by roving reporter Mrs Packer

Our Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Hall, found our BHS hedgehog  sitting under a chair in the K block foyer, obviously keen to join the ranks of Becky High students! Great excitement followed and exam marking was temporarily suspended whilst we gathered round to pontificate on our course of action. Concerned that it should not be out during daylight hours a  phone call to Tiddlewinkles pursued and we were advised that he was in trouble and should be ‘brought in ‘ immediately. Securely placed in a box he was then driven safely by Paramedic Williams. It or he as we found out is fine but being kept in for a week’s observation and pampering. We named him Becks.

Clearly our pastoral care knows no bounds!

Half term is here!

Dear Parents

I feel it is apt to help close this half term and turn our minds to rest and relaxation with a photo featured in my Update on Monday.  It was chosen as the winner photograph in the Year 7  ‘Water Aid’ photographic competition.  It definitely sets the mood.  Well done to Lucy Hill –she shows great promise!

I hope you all enjoy a few days of peace and return the girls ready for the last half term of the academic year.  I am looking forward to the Year 13 Leavers experience today – Zombie Apocalypse!  Yesterday was ‘Onsies’ – the excitement never ends!

Beaconsfield High to star in Shakespeare Festival

Our new and exciting Head of Drama, Mr Kedge made a successful application for our school to be entered into the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. This gives students the opportunity to perform a shortened version of one of Shakespeare’s plays.  If that is not exciting enough, then the chance to perform in a professional theatre environment most certainly is!  The play that Mr Kedge has chosen is The Comedy of Errors:

 Mr Kedge writes:- ‘The Comedy of Errors is William Shakespeare‘s shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It tells the story of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth and when they each encounter each other’s friends and families in a new town, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to; wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession.

Auditions for our present Year 8 students (to take part when they are in Year 9) will be on  Thursday 11 June from 3:30 – 4:30 in the Drama Studio, with a short meeting briefly on Thursday 4 June at morning break in the Drama studio.

More information has been sent to parents.  I have seen the excitement that this festival brings to a school; not only for its fun element, but also because it allows students to access a Shakespeare play at a level that helps develop a life long enjoyment of the Bard’s works.   From acting to technical back stage – there are a variety of opportunities so please do encourage your daughter to audition.

Winners of the Rhetoric Cup

The English team are delighted to formally announce the winners and finalists of Beaconsfield High School’s first Rhetoric Cup competition.

Winner of the Rhetoric Cup : Rochelle Moss, ably assisted by Charlotte Housden, Katherine Williams and Selin Whittick.

Winner of the popular vote (voted for by other Y9 students) : Preet Moonga, ably assisted by Zoe Kite and Erika Sicad.

The other fabulous finalists in the debating competition were Lillie Westcott and Jess Eveleigh.

The whole competition was great fun and we hope to make it an annual event.

Year 9 Exams

Year 9 exams will take place during normal lesson times in week beginning June 1. Students will have different exam timetables based on the subjects they are studying- these should be in their planners.

Timetables have been planned to spread the number of exams per day as evenly as possible through the week, and all other lessons are as usual. Tutors will have been through exam protocol with their students and they should be aware of how to behave and what they should and shouldn’t have with them for their exams. Please support the girls in their revision planning and with any information or instruction specific to your subject.

Junior Maths Challenge – this from Mrs Patel

Following in the footsteps of both the Individual Senior and Intermediate Maths Challenges I am delighted to report that the students in years 7 and 8 who took part in the Junior Maths challenge last month did not disappoint.

Of the 100 students who took part the students secured 19 GOLD, 31 SILVER and 29 BRONZE certificates, but the most amazing news is that this year Sophie Leman (8CXM) gained sufficient marks to go through to the Olympiad round and Zoe Walker (8HMM), Francesca Toccaceli (8SEH). Rosie Taylor (8LCB), Georgia Edwards (8LCB) and Shampavi Thangarajah (7KML) are through to the Junior Kangaroo Round. Both follow on rounds required students to answer some tricky questions.

The Maths Department would like to take this opportunity to thank all the students who wholeheartedly participate fully in these mind bending competitions and a special mention must go to our Maths Prefects; May Hayati, Katie Goode and Sobitha Kanagaray who came every Thursday lunchtime to prep the Year 7 students.

Athletics achievement – this from the PE team

We took two teams to the first round of the English Schools Cup on Wednesday 13^th May. The cup is a little complicated in that all athletes have to do a track and a field event where they score points based on the time they run or the distance they throw rather than the position they finish. All the girls’ points are added up together as a team and the team with the highest points wins! We had a day of glorious weather allowing the girls the best possible chance of success in their events. Every student was a credit to the school in their performance, attitude, sportsmanship and behaviour on the day, we are very proud of them.

We are very pleased to say that the inter girls team, Year 9 and 10, won the competition with 376 points so advance to the Regional Finals. The students who competed were: Anna Croft, Rachael Denton-Snape, Caroline Spence, Lauren Torley, Abi Fricker, Jade Quelch, Sophie Willis, Ami Robinson, Daisy Barrows, Maddy Peacock, Katie Jurdon, Scarlet Storr & Issy Harris-Evans.

A particular mention must go to Anna Croft and Caroline Spence who scored combined totals of 56 and 49 points respectively, which is a huge achievement. The Junior girls’ team, Year 7 and 8, came second with 312 points to Wycombe Abbey who were out of reach with 378 points!

The junior girls still have a high chance of getting through to the regional finals with the great score they achieved, we just have to wait for the other scores to come in from our region. The students who competed were: Cerys Vico, Sian Vico, Darcey Roe, Ronia Falana, Mia Lasocki, Lavinia Champion, Ginny Kucera, Kathryn Hewett, Liska Nowers, Anna Hearne, Alissa Merry, Molly Miller.

Drama Group of the week – this from Mr Kedge

7RCE won Drama group of the week. Firstly for the consistency with regards to their high standards in lessons and secondly, last lesson’s exploration of beauty and ugly was insightful, honest and perceptive, while their still images were some of the highest quality I have ever seen.

The Moon Walk – this from Claire Jagusz

Last Saturday night our Attendance Officer, Claire Jagusz, completed the Moonwalk with her husband, daughter Emily and 15,000 others. Many of you will have come across Claire since she started working at the school  ten years ago and Emily left Becky High in 2011. Read on to find out about their adventure:

We set out at 23:42 on Saturday night with a good stodgy meal inside us, along with the knowledge that we could easily do 20 of the 26.2 miles, because we’d trained that far already; what we were less certain of was our ability to keep going through the night.

It was an extraordinary experience. The goodwill and atmosphere from 15,000 walkers of all ages, shapes and sizes (and almost all female) was incredible. So many times we’d see someone ahead of us with a picture attached to her back of a loved one lost to cancer, or a dedication written on their clothing. In those quiet hours, around three in morning, and the last couple of miles, when everyone’s lost the energy to chat, the sheer momentum of the crowd swept us along.

The three of us have an incredible sense of achievement from the physical effort and the amount of money we’ve raised. If you’ve ever thought of signing up for such an event then just do it and if you would like to donate follow the link: www.justgiving.com/Jagusz-family

Another Friday already!

Dear Parents

Last Friday saw the informal ‘closing ceremony’ for Year 11 – I thoroughly enjoyed watching some very professional and at times poignant videos walking down the memory lanes of various tutor groups.  It made me smile to think that when I left Year 11 (back in the semi-dark ages)  no-one really celebrated and no one even thought to think back on the good times or the bad.  I have to say that the modern world has its faults but using photos to see how the girls had  grown up was lovely.

Of course, as the focus remains on our core purpose, it means that there is much less to report on what  has happened.  Frivolity is replaced by endurance and a determination to succeed.  I wanted to share a few of the photos so that when your daughter looks  a little tired and wan, remind her that there will be some laughter and much joy as the summer break approaches.  Keep those pennies safe in your pockets everyone!

 

 

 

 

Institute of Civil Engineers celebrates one of our students!

Grace Wilkinson decides on a career in Civil Engineering and is celebrated by ICE.  Kim Hall, our Head of Sixth Form says; ‘Grace currently has taken up a conditional place at the University of Bath and is well on course to achieve this. It is good to see that our students are at the forefront of breaking into traditionally male dominated professions and being role models for our younger students.’

https://www.ice.org.uk/careers-and-professional-development/16-19-s#profile-grace-wilkinson

Whilst we may know a great deal about the most usual pathways towards careers, please take a look at the ICE site and see if it offers you information that would be worth talking through with your daughter.

Applications for leave of absence or holidays within term time.

As we move towards the summer holidays, we would like to remind you that, in line with the latest DfE directives regarding school attendance and our in-school attendance policy, we request that parents should support us by not taking their daughters out of school during term time. Authorisation of foreseen absence, including religious observance, must be sought as far as possible in advance by completing a Leave of Absence Form (available on the school website) but please be aware that we will only authorise student Leave of Absence  for the most exceptional of circumstances; requests for holidays during term time will not be authorised.

For a small minority, it is tempting to break the rules, holidays are expensive and it is not always easy to get time off  during school holidays.  But if you do consider this, think of the message it sends to your daughters about following the rules and supporting this wonderful school.

 

 

Friday once again…

Dear Parents

We have had a great deal of variety this week in terms of success and student involvement.  I am including a selection of them for you to read about.

This week was also exciting for me – as if this job could get even more exciting!  I had the first ‘Meet the Head’ evening.  As the clock approached 7pm, I felt a little apprehensive as I wondered if anyone would ‘come to the party’ and was delighted and reassured when so many of you came.  Sarah Kucera, our Chair of Governors and Emily Heslop, our Head Girl also spoke.  The repeat performance is booked for Tuesday 12 May at 7pm and already many of you have emailed information@beaconsfieldhigh.bucks.sch.uk to say that you are coming – thank you.

At the opening of the meeting, Emily shared her vision for her role as Head Girl and focussed on a key interest of hers; work experience opportunities for the Year 11 girls.  She made mention of two ideas that she has had.  The first concerns parents who may be able to offer 1, 2, 3 or 5 days work experience in their place of work over the summer break.  She asked if you would email  workexperience@beaconsfieldhigh.bucks.sch.uk and suitable girls could  be allocated to your offer.

The second of Emily’s ideas was a call for any parent who would be prepared to offer  a morning or afternoon (date to be decided) to share their experience of the role they have or career that they have/have had.  If enough parents offer their time, we may be able to arrange a ‘career speed dating event’!  Students would send 10 minutes listening to what a role or career involves and opportunities it provides, followed by 5-10 minutes of questions.  At the ‘ping’ of a bell, the students will move to another table in rotation and listen to a new person.   The concept is simple but the organisation will be more challenging.  Until we know how many of you may be able to offer time, we cannot begin to consider the planning.  I do hope it will ultimately come together.

The examinations have now started and this morning, each Year 11 student was given a small token for good luck from myself and Sarah Kucera.  Do ask them about it as it could be a running theme of positivity during the exams.

May I wish you all good luck in supporting your daughters through this difficult time and remember, it will be over soon and a summer with relaxed daughters is to come.  For those of you not quite there yet, smile and be happy!

Rachel Smith

MPs bring the election of Beaconsfield High School

Mr Bird reports:   Throughout lunchtime last week the school hosted the General Election candidates for the Beaconsfield Constituency and they were questioned about a great variety of different issues, both local and national, that are of concern to our students.

The Monday session packed out the Main Hall and was a debate between Dominic Grieve (Conservative) and Tony Clements (Labour), who were grilled about issues such as HS2, the affordability of Trident and the future of the NHS. Dominic Grieve confirmed that he would oppose any coalition with UKIP and Tony Clements opposed a similar agreement with the SNP. They agreed that the pressures on local NHS services were a key priority for Beaconsfield in the next parliament.

During the Wednesday session in the LRC we hosted Peter Chapman (Liberal Democrats) who disagreed with the main party’s views on Trident – preferring a cheaper and more flexible approach to nuclear protection, he addressed the students about the problems with the affordability of housing for first time buyers in the constituency. He did find himself vigorously challenged by a number of disgruntled students about both the party’s poor female representation in Parliament as well as the Liberal Democrat’s approach to Tuition Fees in the last parliament and the amount that the party’s decision to support the raise will cost them. He did share an exclusive with the attendees, about the unwillingness of many Liberal Democrats to work with Ed Balls in any potential coalition.

The week ended with a very well attended meeting with Tim Scott (UKIP) who identified the need to encourage investment in local businesses, deal with pot holes and the building of a new  swimming pool as priorities for Beaconsfield in the coming parliament. He was challenge d by some students over the public image of his party and what they have done to counter any negative publicity. He outlined UKIP’s case for leaving the EU and admitted that a coalition with the Conservatives would be possible but not ideal.

Unfortunately Dave Hampton (Green) was unable to attend, however he sent his apologies , but encourages everyone to vote and would like people to read his campaign statement in the Bucks Free Press.

It was a pleasure to host these candidates and they commented on how engaged and prepared our students were for the events. We’d like to extend our best wishes to all the candidates for the election.

  Top 50 best British Young Athletes

 Miss Priestley sends you this message:

I thought you might like a look at this short video clip – if you watch from 1:30 minutes you will see Sarah Collin being interviewed. I was incredibly impressed – what a super ambassador for Beaconsfield High School! She was chosen as one of the top fifty British best young athletes to get support from SportsAid thanks to the My Lotto24’s Winners of Tomorrow Fund.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA0DwKU49yc

Quarter finals of the National Schools Individual Table Tennis Championships

Beaconsfield High School Year 8 pupil Jemma Walker, aged 13, narrowly lost out in a spirited quarter finals battle against England’s No.2 Under 13 girls table tennis player, Gauri Duhan (Yorks).  Gauri later became the eventual winner of the English Schools National Individual Table Tennis Tournament on Saturday 25^th April, 2015.

This English Schools’ national event, which was staged at Tipton Sports Academy near Wolverhampton, was organised by the English Schools Table Tennis Association and sponsored by Butterfly, the official equipment supplier of the event.

Jemma, ranked number 7 in the England U13 girls’ competition, played magnificently in the early rounds of the tournament by beating her four opponents in the round robin stage without dropping a set.  She beat Lucy Curtis (Suffolk) 3-0; Anna Wilson (Northamptonshire) 3-0; Amillia Baker (Black Country) 3-0;  and most surprising of all was her victory over close rival Danielle Kelly (Surrey) also by the same 3-0 score line.

This final victory meant that Jemma went through as the well-deserved group winner and went on to play Chloe Lingard (Lincs) in the last 16, whom she also defeated by 3 sets to love.  It was after this triumph that Jemma took on England’s Number 2 U13 girl Gauri in the quarter finals and came unstuck.  But the plucky 13 year old gave Gauri a run for her money in a close run match with Gauri running out the eventual winner.

Jemma was beaten by the same 3-0 score but getting to the quarter final through winning her group and getting to the last eight out of the 42 girls that represented their counties was a huge achievement in itself.

Written by Junior Walker (For further information please contact: Gail Johns (Championship Organiser) 01606 215644  gailjohns@talktalk.net

English Championships Espoir silver medallist

Amelie Morgan from 7KXN competed against 56 other girls in a gymnastics competition.   Her skill meant that she was awarded the overall silver medallist for the Espoir English Championships and also won the gold medal for her beam routine.

 

High achievement at the National Floor and Vault Finals.

Louise Payne, having travelled to Stoke-on-Trent last weekend with the school gym team for the National Floor and Vault Finals, was very proud to report the team’s best ever placing in this competition.

Daisy Barrows, Kira Cosgrove, Anna Croft, Natasha Nowers and Bronwyn Edwards performed some superb floor routines and vaults and as a result came 3rd overall.  Louise said ‘We have never been placed in this competition in the history of the school (having come 4th before)and the girls performed exceptionally well to beat some very tough competition, beating some private schools that expected to be placed. A superb achievement.

To make the day even more amazing Anna Croft came third in the overall competition with her combined scores beating all the other female gymnasts (except the first and second placed gymnasts) that competed throughout the whole day whether U14 or Over 14 (with even some GB gymnasts competing!!!) ‘

 

Dear Parents

I am very keen to use my blog as a showcase for the details mentioned in your Monday Update and in this I will provide details of specific students and their achievements.  I will be delighted to showcase the breadth and depth of the curriculum and opportunities to broaden knowledge with additional experiences.  I want to make sure that both academic and sporting prowess is shared with you as often as possible to reinforce the hard work and dedication that staff show when sourcing opportunities to enrich your daughters’ education.

In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying receiving emails that inform me of the wonderful achievements happening outside of school – involvement in music, art, leadership, external studies and many other areas.  I respond to each and every one by sending an individual letter to your daughter and awarding them a Headteacher merit or asking for a praise postcard to be sent.  Do please keep them coming in!

May I also remind you of the E-safety talk for parents on Weds 17 June 2015: 19.00-20.30.  This talk is intended to bring you up to date on the technology that your daughters use and the potential dangers.   As was said in the Update, there will be the opportunity for questions and so it would be very helpful if you could indicate your interest by emailing maclea-s@beaconsfieldhigh.bucks.sch.uk, stating how many places you require.

Finally for this week, if you have not yet signed the online petition to help speed up the review process for the traffic and parking congestion at the start and end of the day in Wattleton Road, please log on and have your say to help us make the area safer.  I have done it and if you click on the link  immediately below, the process is really straightforward.  It would be terrible if there was an accident and we had missed an opportunity to avoid it adding weight to the call for council action.

https://democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=1007

I wish you a lovely extended weekend – I am hoping for sun!

Rachel Smith

Intermediate Maths Challenge

Eighty six students from Years 9 and 10 entered this year’s UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge in February.

The Maths department is delighted to report that 65 students achieved gold, silver or bronze certificates, exceeding last year’s results. As well as the overall success of our students we have also achieved some exceptional individual achievements.

An outstanding performance by Kitty Sparrowhawk (9KJJ) and Gracie Wilson (9KJJ) was rewarded with an entry to the Cayley round; a very prestigious competition which only the very best mathematicians are invited to take part.

Congratulations should go to Gracie who received a Certificate of Merit which put her in the top 5% of students who took the challenge. A superb effort from Kitty saw her awarded with a Certificate of Distinction – the first for a Beaconsfield High School student.

Eight students from years 9 and 10 qualified for the Grey and Pink Kangaroo round respectively. Charlotte Housden (9RPB) received a Certificate of Merit, while Certificates of Participation were awarded to Megan Evans (9RPB), Katie Webb (9KJJ), Shiromme Gnanaraj (9RJA), Piya Chadva (9KJJ), Khadi Kubra (9SXP), Hannah Ruby (10MJG) and Abbey Hespe (10CJP) who incidentally was also awarded ‘Best in Year’.

The UKMT challenges are designed to promote the application of skills learnt in the classroom and also to incorporate logic and problem-solving. Material provided by UKMT can be found on the VLE at Junior, Intermediate and Senior Level so have a browse through some of the questions to see the type of problems our students tackled to achieve this success.

Year 7 ‘cinema’!!

Year 7 and 8 go to the movies

On Friday 17th April, nearly 50 students dressed up in their onesies and enjoyed a night of Mamma Mia, karaoke and various treatments including henna, nails and hair. It was a huge success and we raised a total of £263.03.

Senior prefects Emily Heslop and Katie Lemon wish to send ‘A big thank you to helpers from Years 10, 11, 12 and to all the teachers! ‘

QPR girls under 14s celebrate a dramatic Surrey Girls League Cup Final win over Crystal Palace

Katie Hennesey 9SXP ensured that her skills at football helped take the team to victory

 

Do please click on the link below to read more.  http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/qpr-girls-crystal-palace-surrey-girls-league-cup-final-2407134.aspx

Platinum National Concert Band Award

On Sunday, 12^th April Mahima Patel, Anna Foo, Katie Burling, Issy Merritt  and former BHS student, Alice Cozens  travelled to Manchester with Chiltern Music Academy’s most senior wind band, the CMA Concert Band, to perform at the National Concert Band Festival at the Royal Northern College of Music.

All the bands played before a panel of distinguished adjudicators and Andy Rogers, who represents the Chiltern Music Academy, was delighted to inform me that our students’ musical contribution helped to enable the Concert Band to receive the highest honour possible, a Platinum Award.

If you would like to hear a clip of the band’s award winning performance, please click here or visit our website for more information: http://www.chilternmusicacademy.org

Ongoing Netball success for our teams

On the weekend of 24 April teams returned home late on Sunday flushed with success having been to Butlins to play in the Netball Tour.

The Year 7 team managed by Claire Priestley won their age group and in addition to the win, Flora Lockley from year 7, who injured her elbow in the last match, was awarded U12 player of the season.

The Year 8 team managed by our dedicated Chair of Governors won the U14 section.

The Year 9 team, managed by Stella Sanders came 3^rd in the U14 section against a massive 18 other teams

Madeleine Overturf proving to be an outstanding manager of Year 10 as they won the U16 Tournament

The girls brought home 3 huge trophies, awarded by a current England netball player.

TEDx

‘Tedx Beaconsfield High’ is an independently run event organised solely by Year 12 students.  We are very excited to announce that our first event will take place on Friday 3^rd July at 7pm in our Main Hall.

There will be a range of internal and external speakers covering diverse topics from the sciences to ‘slam’ poetry.  Additionally, there will be artistic performances including music and dance.  To complement these presentations there will be an editorial exhibit and ‘Bloggers’ Alley’ to explore.  During this networking session you can also sample (at no cost) food from around the world produced by our School Catering Manage.

Tickets can be purchased online at a price of £7.50 for those over 15; for those under 15, the event is free.

Please click on the link below and then click on ‘Buy tickets’ at the top of the page that you are directed to.  In the search box ‘Search for Venues’ please type in Beaconsfield and then click on the link to Beaconsfield High School.  https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/

As part of this leadership opportunity, we are searching for sponsorships to support our initiative to provide a full and immersive experience that focuses on ‘The Youth of Today’.  However small your donation, it will be put to good use.  Please contact us at the email below.

Thank you for your support

Gaby Wasser (Lead of Design Team) and Tanya Mubayawa (Lead Organiser)

Tedxyouthbhs@outlook.com

My first blog.

Dear Parents

I would like to thank all of those that have made my first few days at Beaconsfield High School so welcoming.  As I explained in the first Parent Update, I am repeating my initial introduction so that as many of you can see it as possible.

As the new Headteacher I would like to welcome you to the very busy summer term.  I would also like to send a positive burst of energy for all the families and girls who are stepping up their efforts and motivation even more to complete an intensive period of revision before the rapidly approaching GCSE and A level examinations begin.

Although there will be an opportunity for us all to talk informally at the ‘Meet the Head’ evenings on Tuesday 5 and 12 of May at 7pm in the Main Hall,  I would like to take a few lines to introduce myself.  For the past three years I have worked as a Deputy Head at Langley Grammar School and enjoyed much success in working with a lovely team of colleagues to improve the already great results.  Prior to that, for seven years I was Vice Principal and Acting Co-Principal at a non-selective school with very different challenges in Guildford.   Throughout my 20 years associated with teaching, I have remained committed to helping students, and staff, achieve the best that they can.  I bring this determination with me to Beaconsfield High School to complement the outstanding work that Annette France, the leadership team and each and every one of the staff, both teaching and support staff, continue to do.  I intend to keep the best that we do and enhance what we currently do so well.  It is not my intention to create change for the sake of change; I will spend much of these early months getting to know the girls, the staff and, of course, as many of you as I can.

Last week I made use of assemblies to ask the girls on their views of their school – what they believe makes it so special, what could be improved and what they feel would improve standards and daily life further.   As we all know, an ongoing and two-way communication is a key priority between school and parents so that we can create the very best environment for the girls to progress; complete synergy is always an aspiration! However, in this spirit, I have arranged for a short survey that I hope you will all find some time to complete that will allow me to gather your views too.  I will be collating all of the responses and then I will share what I learn with you in the coming weeks.

Please click on the link here for Parents Survey and share.  The deadline is Thursday 30 April 2015.

I wish you all a very good week and look forward to meeting many of you in time.

Rachel Smith

 

 

Final Goodbye

This is my last post as Headteacher of Beaconsfield High School.  I am delighted to be able to announce that we have been successful with a Condition Improvement Fund bid to refurbish the roof and replace the hall windows.  This bid amounts to  £737,628 worth of improvements to the school.

It is extremely hard to leave Beaconsfield High School.  I consider myself very privileged to have worked with some wonderful staff who go more than the extra mile to support students in the achievement of their potential.

I do not know whether many of the readers will remember my first ‘Meet the New Headteacher’ meetings.  One of them was a real challenge but it was clear that BHS Parents took an active interest in the school and I will carry with me the wonderful support I have been given personally, but even more, the way parents have rallied round to help the school in these financially challenging times.

Finally, I must mention the Governors of the school – unsung heroes who give up huge amounts of their time and skills in the service of the school.  Mrs Susan Buckingham, who was Chair of Governors for most of my time here worked tirelessly  to ensure the school was able to convert to Academy status and gave me much time and support.

I leave the school in very safe hands with a new and very talented governing body and a superb headteacher, Mrs Rachel Smith.  I wish her and the school every success and I will continue to watch the school’s successes, albeit from a distance, always with great affection and admiration.

Thank you all.

 

Fantastic Achievements – Part 2

I fully intended this post and the previous one to follow on closely, but with my impending retirement, my diary and daily life has become more and more manic. However, I shall redress the balance of acknowledging our girls’ achievements now.

Ten of our students from recently attended the Model United Nations Convention at the World Forum in The Hague accompanied by their teacher Mr Cole. Below is his report:

This convention is the main European conference for the Model United Nations and attracts over 3500 students from over 200 schools from over 50 countries from around the world. MUN at The Hague has invited top students to attend since 1968 and is one of the foremost and most prestigious events where students they can debate world issues and practice public speaking on an international stage.

MUN offers students the experience of a direct simulation of the real United Nations with student delegations adopting a country from around the globe (BHS represented Djibouti). Each delegation has an Ambassador, proposes resolutions for discussion at the General Assembly and other committees, lobbies other delegations for support for their resolutions and speaks to the resolution in debate in order to get their resolution adopted and passed by the conference.

BHS students spoke to their resolutions to audiences of up to 2000 students and were successful in getting one of their resolutions passed by the General Assembly – this resolution will be sent to the actual United Nations for their consideration. In all 7 BHS drawn resolutions were passed by individual committees.

BHS students acquitted themselves admirably at the week-long conference, appearing regularly in the in the daily conference newspaper and featuring prominently in debate. Special mention to Nikita Julius who spoke in front of 2000 people in the main auditorium and to a further 600 watching on a video link, and to Charlotte Spruzen whose resolution went through all sections and was passed at the final General Assembly. All students spoke to resolutions in front of a discerning and critical group of at least 200 of their peers.

The Rachel Cornford (Y7), Ella Patrick (Y8), Abi Fricker (Y10) and Sarah Collin (Y13) all qualified to compete in the National Schools Biathlon finals at the Olympic Park.

In gymnastics earlier in the term our young U14 team were placed 4^th and only 0.2 behind 3^rd place. They performed very well and worked really hard on both their vault and floor routines. They were very resilient as the competition ran over 1.5 hours late for their competition and they managed to keep focussed and perform well.

The U14 girls competing were Rhea Chopra, Tara Burke, Sana Anwar, Ria Sedani and Erika Sicad.

The U 19 Girls were also in action and were outstanding.

Their competition ran over 3 hours late and they managed to keep focussed and perform exceptionally well. They WON despite stiff competition and now go to Stoke-on- Trent for the national finals on the first May bank holiday weekend representing the southern region.

A special mention must go to Natasha Nowers who won an individual award as the gymnast that achieved the highest score in the U19 competition but also the highest scoring gymnast all day. She also achieved the almost impossible score of a maximum score of 16/16 for her floor routine. A sensational achievement.

The team competing were: Kira Cosgrove, Kaliska Nowers, Daisy Barrows, Anna Croft, Natasha Nowers and Bronwyn Edwards. We wish them well for the next round.

We should also mention the parents were amazing in supporting Mrs Payne and the girls on what was a very testing day finishing over 3 hours later than it should have done at 7:30pm on a Sunday evening.

Anna Croft, Daisy Barrows, Kira Cosgrove and Natasha Nowers travelled to Stoke-on-Trent for the National U16 Milano Team Finals. The four girls performed both a floor routine, a vault and then a group routine. They were outstanding and secured a 3rd place. We, as a school, have never medalled in the National Gymnastics finals and the two schools in first and second place where both independent schools making us the first placed state school in the country, a fantastic achievement for the girls who have worked very, very hard.  The scores were incredibly close: 1st place 117.050,  2nd place 116.450,  3rd place 116.150 (BHS), 4th place 115.950 and  5th place 115.400.

They were also the first placed school with their floor routines, an amazing performance.

Author Visit: To celebrate World Book Day we had the award winning author, Sarah Crossan, speaking to all Y7 & 8 students in the Main Hall.

Young GB athletes Heidi Long (Rowing) and Sarah Collin (Modern Pentathlon) from Beaconsfield High School were invited to a reception at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 28^th hosted by Sports Aid, MyLotto24, and John Leech MP (Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee). The girls are sponsored by MyLotto24 through Sports Aid along with 22 other young GB athletes from England who were also at the reception. debate

Heidi and Sarah were taken on a tour of the House of Commons, and sat in the Public Gallery in the Hose of Lords listening to a debate on counter-terrorism. They were then taken to the Terrace Restaurant overlooking the River Thames where there were speeches from the hosts, and where they met Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve, and also Dame Tani Grey-Thompson who had been attending a meeting on women in sport.

Heidi said, “It was a truly inspiring and enjoyable experience. I loved spending time with the other athletes and talking to them about all of their experiences in their own sports. It was brilliant to be able to meet Sports Aid employees and Some MPs. I look forward to the next event.”

Sarah said, “It’s great to meet athletes who come from such different sports and learn about their experiences. Being in such an iconic place really made me feel proud to be able to represent my country – it was a privilege to be invited and meet with such inspirational people, especially Dame Tani Grey-Thompson.

Activities this term have included an educational visit to the Guardian for Feature Writing Workshop(15 sixthformers); a visit to the Houses of Parliament (39 sixthformers); a visit to The British Film Institute (10 sixthformers), Y12 Geography Field Course to Swanage (36 students); Y11 Art trip to Tate Modern, Magistrates Mock Challenge (Y9); Wife of Bath Study Day (8 Y13 girls); 44 Y8 girls went on a Latin trip to St Albans; 16 Y10 students attended an Engineering Conference at Wycombe High School; 19 Y12 students went on a Physics Study Day at the Greenwich Royal Observatory,

Sophie Hales, Sophia Kidd, Imogen Relf, Sarah Stevens, Tieran Virdee and Holly Walker (all Y9) competed in the Young Engineer of the Year Competition in toke on Trent.  We were only able to take part in this competition thanks to Costa Express donating  3D printer to the school.  We are proud to announce that they got through to the Finals!

In The Haileybury MUN our students representing DPRK  achieved Highly Commended Delegation.  Jodie Bates  was awarded Distinguished Delegate (with crystal trophy); and Rebecca Jurdon, Melaniee Lavollee and Charlotte Spruzen  all gained Highly Commended Delegate Certificates.  Charlotte Spruzen’s resolution was the final one of the day  (out of 6 from 128 total resolutions) that made it to the plenary session of the General Assembly.  Beaconsfield High School gave a very good account of itself.

A talented group of dancers, supported by staff and parents and led by Miss Lasocki entered Rock Challenge and won their heat in style, taking nine awards.  It was a stunning and very polished performance.  From the moment the girls stepped on the stage I knew they were winners!

 

Philippa Nunn and Martha Stevens were successful in getting through to the interview stage for Arkwright Scholarships.

National Schools Netball Finals: both the Under 16 and 19 Netball squads competed at the National Schools Netball Tournament played at Whitby High, Ellesmere Port.  Both teams have been coached by Kat Ratnapala who is an extremely successful Netball Player and now much respected coach in the Netball Community.

The Under 19 had a tough qualifying round but played some superb Netball throughout the day. They finished fourth in their group, drawing with the two teams that went on to qualify for the finals and also drew with the eventual winners. The team was Anna Carter Roberts, Helen Carter Roberts, Kate Bannister, Lola Comrie, Georgia McKay, Rebecca Campbell, Ellie Robinson, Emma Couves, Daisy Ruhle, Natasha Pavelin, Hannae Hall. 

The Under 16 team played some superb Netball throughout the day. They convincingly won all of their matches in their qualifying groups throughout the day. They were the eventual winners of their group. They then faced Leeds Grammar in a highly competitive and charged Semi Final but unfortunately lost by 3 goals. Although they were disheartened, they raised their heads and fought hard in the third/fourth play off and won the game to take Bronze Medal. A superb result. This therefore makes them the third best school in the country. The team were Anya Wood, Alex Taal, Katie Bowen, Lizzie Lawley, Martha Stevens, Amber Bains, Sadie Thomas, Caitlin O’Hagan, Lauren Torley, Bea Overturf, Grace Simmonds, and Josie Kucera. Huge thanks to all the players, parents, supporters, Sarah Kucera and most notably Kat Ratnapala.

Claire Priestley, Head of PE

Emily Delgado (Y12)  won the Bronze medal for U17 Women in one of the biggest cross country leagues in the country – the Chiltern League. She helped her team, Wycombe Phoenix Harriers to silver in the combined U20/U7 age group.  The final Chiltern League race of the season, in which Emma’s position was confirmed, was part of the British Athletics Cross Challenge (a national series of races) where Emma came 20th in the combined U20/U17 race beating many of the ladies taking part in the Cross Challenge.

Tina Chikasha (7RCE) competed in the UDO British Streetdancing competition and made the final in her category (Under 14s) and has qualified for UDO World Championships to be held in Glasgow in August 2015.

Jemma Walker (Y8)  is representing the county of Buckinghamshire in the Under 13 Girls competition at the England Schools National Table Tennis competition in Tipton.  Jemma and Megan Ashfield (Y10) were winners of Junior Girls Division 3 in the Junior British League in Table Tennis, held in Cosford.

Success in Rowing: The following students took part in the South Bucks and Chiltern District Indoor Rowing Competition: Amelia Cousins, Katherine Handcock, Erin Roper, Flora Robertson, Sarah Stevens, Diana Franceva, Ella March, Flora Lockley, Mia Lasocki, Amber Clarke, Alia Chohan, Beau Overall, Anna Hearne, Charlotte Dent, Chloe Stevenson, Herleen Braich, Mariane James and Katie Hearne.

There were some outstanding performances from; Mia Lasocki in Y7/8 came 1^st  and both Marianne James and Katie Hearne for the Y9/10 also were 1^st in their races. These results plus the other girls coming either  2^nd or 3^rd ensured that we won the Individual Girls Cup for the 4^th Year  running.   The girls  also took home the Girls Relay Cup.

As we are a girls only school  some of our girls, race in the boy races. Boys are much faster and stronger at these ages. Another  fantastic result was that overall in the Mixed Relay Becky High came 4^th beating schools that actually had boys rowing.

Mrs Short reported that our girls’ behaviour was outstanding.  After they had  finished their own races they  encouraged the students from Alfriston School. The organiser of the event told Mrs Short that was the true meaning of being a good sport and that we should be very proud of all our rowers. Katarina Short  Y11 was  at the event as team coach. Mention must be made of Heidi Long Y13  who ran the coaching and trials at school but could not attend on the day because of her mock exams.

Katarina Short (Y11) won the  National Schools’  Head  6.8k race on the River Thames by 23 seconds. (She raced as Marlow Boat Club)

Fantastic Achievements – Part 1

I really should not leave more than a week between posts as so much happens in the life of Beaconsfield High school.

There have been more sensational sporting successes.  Our girls got through to the quarter-finals of the Indoor Hockey National Competition which I was privileged to watch,  Miss McGonigle wrote the following report:

The two games you watched, Ipswich first and then followed by Repton – those two teams ended up in the final with Ipswich winning. So for our girls to narrowly lose 4-3 to Ipswich (with a goal of ours disallowed) and draw 1-1 with Repton is absolutely huge. We were also the team who conceded the least goals across the whole tournament, a great achievement. Given that some of the girls in that team have been playing indoor hockey for only a few months and many others only a year and a few months the results they achieved this weekend were amazing. You can now see why it can be quite emotional with everything the girls gave in those games on Sunday for them to miss out on a semi-final place in the closest of circumstances. Had we drawn with Ipswich as well as Repton we would have been in the semi-finals. Had we beaten Repton we would have been in the semi-finals. So close but what an amazing weekend. The girls were a huge credit to the school and a pleasure to be with all weekend.

The girls in the team were:Emma Couves, Lizzie Clarke, Daisy Ruhle, Ellie Robinson, Laura Drysdale, India Gommo, Georgie Dean, Kate Lemon, Abby Wagge, Jenna Wyllie and Caroline Spence.

Parents are often intrigues about what goes on in classrooms these days.  The following photos will give some clues about what goes on in Y8 Geography.  I love the creativity our students display!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ON Monday 9th February we hosted Luciana Berger (MP for Liverpool Wavertree), one of the youngest MPs in the House of Commons (29 when she was elected in 2010)  to speak to our politics students.  She spoke for about 90 minutes.  It is superb for our students to be exposed to successful female role models from a range of careers.

On a similar theme, we are starting to work with Hitachi.  See the reference below: http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240235778/HDS-and-Beaconsfield-High-School-put-STEM-in-the-spotlight

We submitted 140 UCAS applications this year, including 13 successful Oxbridge applications.  It is a mammoth task for the sixth form tutors and checking team, but it is particularly a testimony to the aspirations and ambitions of our students

Congratulations to our girls who have reached the U13 Netballers School Sports Magazine National Netball Cup Semi-finals. This competition, we believe, started with 114 teams from the North, Midlands, Wales, South East and South West and our U13A girls are now in the last 2 teams having just beaten Guildford High School 29-25. The finals will be on Wednesday 25 March as Wellsway School, Bristol at 3.30pm. We wish the team well.

The team are: Annabelle Cowan, Sahib Kaur, Ginny Kucera, Ella Patrick, Claudia Cousins, Lavinia Champion, Lucy Ashworth, Kathryn Hewitt and Maddie Coughlin.  We are very grateful to Sarah Kucera who has coached this team so successfully.

Not to be left behind our rowers have achieved success in the South Bucks and Chiltern District Indoor Rowing Competition.  There were some outstanding performances from Mia Lasocki in Y7/8 who came 1st and both Marianne James and Katie Hearne for the Y9/10 were also 1st in their races. These results plus the other girls coming either 2nd or 3rd ensured that we won the Individual Girls Cup for the 4th Year running! The girls also took home the Girls Relay Cup.

As we are a girls only school some of our girl, race in the boy races. Boys are must faster and stronger at these ages. Another fantastic result was that overall in the Mixed Relay we came 4th beating schools who actually had boys rowing.

The girls’ behaviour was outstanding. After they had finished their own races they encouraged the students from Alfriston School. The organiser of the event told Mrs Short, who took our girls to the competition, that was the true meaning of being a good sport.

Natasha Nowers, Kira Cosgrove, Daisy Barrows and Anna Croft competed in the Milano Team Trio Competition. They were amazing and as a result won the competition and now go on to represent the Southern Region at the National Finals on Friday 13th March in Stoke-on-Trent. They worked really hard and deserved to do really well.