This years’ House Drama final reached its exciting climax on Wednesday with Otter, Burrows and Wilson performing their exciting and creative interpretations of some well-known and much loved stories.  We were very lucky to have Kathy Bourne from Chichester Festival Theatre returning as our guest judge this year and she commended the Houses for their professional and energised performances, despite the rather hot conditions.

All three Houses gave outstanding performances.  The evening started with Burrows interpretation of A Series of Unfortunate Events.  They were commended for capturing the quirkiness of the story through their strong characterisations and staging alongside the more emotional elements of the piece.  Next were Otter House with their colourful performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  They were praised for their fantastic set design and for capturing the essence of such a well-known story.  The evening ended with Wilsons performance of The Wizard of Oz.  Again they were commended for taking such a famous story and staging it in an original and creative way.  In particular their use of multi-media and ensemble movement really stood out and as a result Year 12 students Bethany Dewey Webb, Jessica Riseborough and Oscary O’shea were awarded the Shippam Trophy for their direction of the piece.

The performances would not have been so successful without the fantastic work of our student technical team, led by Mr Green.  They have worked closely with all of the Houses throughout the process to ensure that the performances looked and sounded professional.  Theo Marley (10 Sherborne) was awarded ‘Tech of the Year’ in acknowledgement of his hard work and leadership of others within the technical team and Esme Kane (8 Burrows) was awarded the Leslie Bartlett Award for ‘Most Original Contribution’ for her performance of Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Despite soaring temperatures the casts and crew remained focused and professional throughout the evening which is testament to their passion and dedication.

Congratulations to everyone involved in the House Drama competition for producing a fantastic evening of theatre.

Mrs C Williams – Head of Arts Faculty

Table by Alex Howell (11 Ridgeway)

The Design and Technology Faculty are holding their annual Design Awards on Thursday 9 July from 6.30 – 8.00pm and would like to invite you to come along to the exhibition of work and to celebrate the achievements of our brightest and most creative design students at GCSE and A level.  This event will take place in the School Library.

Dress by Georgia Beadle (13 Otter)

The whole school, pupils, Sixth Form students and staff, fell silent at midday today as we all observed a minute’s silence to remember those who were killed in the seaside resort in Tunisia and to pray for peace.  This was the prayer that was read out:

Lord God of Hope and Father of all,
we are horrified at violence in so many parts of the world.

Hold back the hands that kill;  turn around the hearts that hate.

Grant instead your strong Spirit of Peace –

the peace that you offer everyone:

the peace that passes our understanding

and the peace that can change lives,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Ethan Storey (7 Story) recently attended a service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to mark the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.  This is his report on the day:

“18 June 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and our school was one of 200 Schools from around the country selected to take part in this event. I was chosen (after having to write an application letter) to represent the school at St Paul’s Cathedral in London for a commemorative service of the battle. I also had to make a biography on the life of a soldier named Captain Jonathan Leach, and make a mini museum of 10 artefacts that were connected to him, all for an online e-book to help people remember the battle.

“As the soldier I researched wasn’t very famous, I didn’t know anything from my own knowledge and I couldn’t find much information on the internet.  I did, however, discover that he had made an autobiography about his life.  The school was kind enough to buy me this book and it proved very useful for not only finding facts but also gave me an insight in to what he thought of his enemy and how he felt at the time.

“The service I attended was at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and many famous people attended the service, such as the Prime Minister, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Prince Charles and his wife.

“This was a wonderful, once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in the commemorations about a battle the shaped Europe and the world as we know it today.  Waterloo should never be forgotten.”

Year 10 GCSE Religious Studies classes were privileged to welcome Catherine Kimbangi, Education Coordinator from the Chichester Options Pregnancy Crisis Centre, into one of their RE lessons. Catherine presented an interactive session with explanations of foetal development and case study led discussions on issues surrounding unplanned pregnancy, abortion and adoption.

Pupils pictured with Catherine commented on how much detail had surprised them, especially regarding foetal development. Joe Chuter (10 King) highlighted how a baby’s eyes are able to open from very early in the pregnancy. Lauren Chater (10Bell) said, “Today I learnt all the stages of pregnancy!” Overall Taylor Caird (10King) said, “It was a very good session”.

Our thanks to Catherine for generously giving her time. This helped to support pupils in another aspect of their GCSE work in the study of ethics surrounding religion and medicine.

Angela Smith – Head of RE

The History department have recently returned from a very successful trip to Berlin, with a number of very memorable moments.  After an early start on Saturday 4 July, a trouble-free flight to Berlin saw us land into Germany’s hottest weather in living memory.  After a short coach journey we arrived at our first site – the Topography of Terror – this was a chance to find out more about the Nazi’s use of terror, and also an opportunity to see a remaining part of the Berlin Wall in situ.  We were then taken to our hotel, where the party settled into their rooms despite the very warm conditions.  After a meal, the evening was spent relaxing, and preparing for the busy day to follow.

On Sunday we had an early start (which, in the heat was definitely a good idea, as our first visit involved being outside).  We went to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, and saw an example of the Nazi’s use of such camps to control and intimidate the German population, and others.  The experience of visiting such a camp, with ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ on the gates, and a gas chamber, with ovens, was incredibly sobering for all.  Following that we proceeded to Wannsee, where pupils were given free time to relax (in a lovely lakeside setting) before another sobering visit to the Wannsee villa where the Nazis decided on the ‘Final Solution’.  Following this we proceeded to Potsdam, and visited Schloss Cecilienhof – the site of the Potsdam Conference in 1945.  A quick break back at the hotel for an evening meal was followed by a visit to the Bundestag/Reichstag – where we were able to marvel at the fantastic views from the rooftop terrace.  As with the previous night, the late evening was marked by fierce thunderstorms – the weather was definitely a feature of the visit (in fact Sunday was the hottest day on record for Germany – thankfully pupils were sensible with suncream and drinks).

Monday saw us check out and use trams and buses to visit the German Resistance Museum.  Following that, there was a lunchbreak at AlexanderPlatz (with shopping time) and then it was back to the hotel to collect luggage.  Our final visit was to the Olympic Stadium – an immense building and a physical example of Nazi propaganda .  From there a terribly congested set of roads led us to the airport with literally minutes to spare before the flight (the coach driver had never known traffic like it!).

The pupils were a credit to the school throughout, and my thanks must go to them for their excellent attitude, and also to the staff – who made the trip possible.

Justin Barnett – Head of Humanities and Trip Leader

On Wednesday 8 July a Parents Evening was held for pupils moving into Year 11 in September.

Please click on the link Year 11 Induction Evening 7 July 2015 Presentation to view the slides used during the presentation.  The slides contain useful information and guidance on how to support your child during this important year.

A List of Key Dates for Year 11 2015-16 was also distributed at the meeting

Please note that School will finish on Wednesday 22 July at 11.30 am.  Bus times have been rearranged and are detailed on the attached letter (Last Day of Term Arrangements July 2015).

May I, on behalf of the Directors and Staff at Bishop Luffa School, wish you a happy and restful summer holiday.

Mr Nick Taunt, Headteacher

The Sports Day competition was joined with gusto and enthusiasm.  I was delighted to see those who came last applauded with as much support as the winners.  Congratulations to Bell House for winning the overall School Sports Trophy.  More details to follow.

A group of Year 12 students have been leading some of the learning in RE this term. Maddie Causer (12 Sherborne), Ben Crook (12 Ridgeway), Harry-Joe Gallimore (12 Story), Jessica Goddard (12 Ridgeway) and Abigail Smith (12 Sherborne) have worked alongside RE staff to plan, deliver and evaluate teaching RE lessons to some classes in Year 7.

The project has three aims: firstly, it enhances the teaching of Religious Education, secondly, it provides development opportunities for Sixth Form students and finally, it is a response to the national shortage of candidates considering RE teaching as a career.

The Year 7 pupils commented,

• “I’ve really enjoyed having the Sixth Formers teaching us today because it was really fun.”
• “The Sixth Formers are very nice but they are strict when they need to be.”
• “It’s been nice to see what the Sixth Formers have learnt compared to the teacher.”

The Year 12s said in their evaluations afterwards:

• “I feel it has broadened my perspectives and I have a greater understanding of Year 7s.”
• “It was incredibly helpful: developing teamwork and leading skills.”
• “It made me see things from a teacher’s perspective.”

Thanks to Mrs Bradberry and Miss Ghinn for their part in the project and for all the pupils who took part so enthusiastically. We look forward to developing this approach in the future.

Mrs Angela Smith, Head of RE

On Thursday 9 July Jemma Georgeou (8 King), Alfie Scott (8 Sherborne), Abigail Turner (8 Bell) and James Young (8 Wilson) went to a Hampshire SACRE(Standing Advisory Committee on RE) Youth Voice Conference in Winchester, as Bishop Luffa School’s representatives, accompanied by Mrs Smith and Mrs Adams. The question discussed was ‘Does religion matter, even if you are not religious?’ The day was split into five periods – two round table discussions and three workshops led by different religious representatives.

Abigail Turner, Alfie Scott, Jemma Georgeou & James Young

Alfie summarises, “I chose workshops with a policeman talking about terrorism, a Christian priest talking about how Christians know God is real and also a man named Mohammed who talked of the spiritual revolution and what it means to be spiritual.  At the start of the day I thought taking RE GCSE as a core subject would not be as useful as taking history for example, but now I believe it is fundamental as religion impacts on everything we do. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and am very grateful to Hampshire SACRE for allowing us to take part.”

Jemma’s thoughts: “I really enjoyed our experience on Thursday at the SACRE youth conference. As you know our question of discussion was ‘Does religion matter – even if you’re not religious?’ At the beginning of the day I had the uneducated opinion that no it doesn’t matter.  The two workshops I found most interesting were about the spiritual revolution and about Sikhism and the life of a Sikh. These two workshops really made me reconsider my beliefs and understand the large impact and value religion has on me and others. The workshops made me realise that religion is a part of everything we do, everything we see, and everyone that is around us in the modern culturally diverse world that we live in, whether you like it or not, and that it should be accepted in society without any stereotypical beliefs. I really found the conference very enlightening and educational.”

Abi said, “The speakers were very interesting and challenged my understanding and thinking. The workshops were a good idea and a fun way to make us think about the question at hand. I liked the way that we all came together at the end of the conference to discuss what we thought was the answer to the question. I think that RE is important even if you aren’t religious because you can take aspects of religion and put it into your daily lives.”

James adds, “I enjoyed the round table discussions where we made posters and could express our ideas. My favourite workshop was led by a Muslim called Mohammed, who allowed us to work and share our opinions on some thought provoking questions. I have now gained a greater understanding of the questions we shall be tackling in RE GCSE.”

Our thanks to Hampshire SACRE for letting us take part. We are now exploring how this model could help us in West Sussex.

Mrs Angela Smith, Head of RE

Thirty-four Year 10 Product Design students enjoyed an incredible day at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June.  A half day lecture in the Super Shell building was taken mainly by Kevin Rice the chief designer at Mazda who was inspirational. The pupils were among the first to witness the unveiling of the new Mazda LM55 concept car (see link below). Lord March – as always – made an impassioned speech about the importance of design and engineering – giving an insight into his passion for design and how the Festival of Speed was conceived.

This was an amazing opportunity for students to see for themselves the exciting opportunities on offer in the automotive area of the design industry.  Our thanks go to Lord March who encourages and funds this amazing opportunity for our young designers.

http://www.cardesignnews.com/articles/news/2015/07/kevin-rice-unveils-mazda-lm55-concept-to-school-children-at-goodwood/

Rob Goldsmith, Faculty Coach Design and Technology

On Thursday 9 July the Design and Technology Faculty celebrated their annual Design Awards.  The event was again kindly sponsored by The Rotary Club of Chichester Priory and it was a wonderful opportunity to exhibit the best exam work in Resistant Materials, Graphics, Textiles and Food.

Guests of Honour, Peter Haydn-Jones OBE, President of the Rotary Club and Alexandra Woodcock, an ex-design pupil from 2008, now qualified from Brunel University with a First Class degree, presented Certificates of Achievement and Awards to 20 pupils.

Alexandra Woodcock was delighted to be invited to the Awards evening, “It was such an honour to be invited to present the awards to these talented students. I’m really grateful to the Design staff at Bishop Luffa for setting me off on this exciting and rewarding career path.  I’m sure that events like this will continue to inspire the next generation of designers and engineers.”

The winners in each subject were: GCSE – Leo Bugeja (11 Ridgeway), Tim Rumsey (11 Burrows) and Joe Foye (11 Burrows), and at A2 Richard Creswick (13 Ridgeway) and Georgia Beadle (13 Otter).

What a fitting end to a fantastic sporting year Sports Day made. Seeing pupils battle it out to gain their team an extra point or two, demonstrated their resilience of character and commitment to their houses.  A similar ethos that has carried the school teams throughout the year.

There are so many fantastic records and achievements to share and this can be found within Sporting Achievements 2015.

Bell house were successful in retaining the Sports day Cup following some consistent performances across all competitions.

The final presentation of the afternoon was the School Games Cup which has been is a culmination of all of the interhouse sporting competitions that have taken place throughout the academic year.  Once again it was Bell house who took the honours to make it a double, double of Sports day and School Games Cup successes.

Below are some photos from the day

Mr Tim Brown, Team Leader PE

This year Bishop Luffa entered three teams into the KoduKup UK competition.  The students had to create a game using Kodu, develop a business plan for a game franchise and create and produce a least one piece of merchandise that promotes their game.  Bishop Luffa’s team Wicked (Harry Drew (9 Otter), Dylan Drew (9 King) and Jack Stallard (9 Burrows)) created The Maze Runner game, based on the film and book.  They were one of the 10 teams that received an invitation to present their games to a panel of judges from the games industry at Microsoft Headquarters in Reading on 13 July.  Mrs Williams and the team had a fantastic day out at Microsoft.

The boys had to promote their game to the judges in a marketplace, and had a tour of the offices. Team Wicked won the best Secondary School category.  The winners of each category received an XBOX 360 with Minecraft.

I have received this letter from Mr Phil Baker, Vice President of Chichester Runners,  in appreciation of the School’s contribution to sport in the area.

Dear Mr Taunt

I am writing to you at the end of the 2014 -2015 academic year to congratulate Bishop Luffa on their outstanding contribution to sport during the past year. I am writing mainly from an athletics perspective but understand that in other sports, performances have been equally as commendable.

As  founder member of Chichester Runners & AC in 1984 and having acted as schools liaison officer in all of that time, I can say that this year has been one of the most impressive both in terms of performances from the athletes  themselves and also organisation of the various events in which Bishop Luffa has played a leading part.

During the winter there was a varied range of activities provided with Bishop Luffa hosting indoor Sportshall competitions plus the two West Sussex West Cross Country championships on either side of Christmas.

Many local pupils then went on to represent the area at the Sussex County Championships at both school and club level. Both in the winter and summer, Bishop Luffa has been one of the few local schools to take part in the ESAA schools Cup over both cross country and more recently athletics where the school progressed to the regional finals in three of the four age groups, a fine achievement when competing against both private and state schools.

It is during the past summer term when I believe the schools has excelled in both performance and event management. The two West Sussex West track and field championships have both been held at the Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth and Mr Tim Brown, your head of PE, has been able to use his Hampshire County AA contacts to bring in qualified club officials to act as starter, chief timekeeper, track referee and field referee to ensure that the events run to the same high standard any major championships or club match. I have noticed that he has been greatly helped not only by members of staff from the competing schools but also highly competent sports leaders from Bishop Luffa, especially in the technical computerised results service which has provide detailed and accurate results almost instantly.

The two Mountbatten events were a credit to all concerned with healthy competition from a dozen or more schools taking part and impeccable behaviour from all the athletes. This brought very complimentary comments from the Hampshire Officials in attendance who expect high standards and do not always offer such high praise.

Finally this brings me to your own Sports Day held last Friday.  I can only say that every part of the day was of the highest standard. From the pre-event set up with help from the caretaking team which made the playing fields look perfect for the occasion, right through to the track races and field events, the school can be justly proud of the showcase it provided for sporting endeavour. I am sure Mr Brown will be the first to acknowledge the help he receives not only from his own department but also from the rest of the staff, but I think he himself deserves credit for the vision he has for the events under his direction and the many hours of meticulous preparation which goes in to ensuring that everything goes to plan on the day.

It was good to meet up with you again last Friday and may I extend my best wishes for the continued success of the school in the future.

Yours sincerely

Philip Baker, Vice President, Chichester Runners & Athletic Club/Vice President, Sussex County AA

Year 12 students enjoyed a very exciting and productive week of work experience, in placements related to the industries they are interested in following when they leave school. Most of the destinations this year were in West Sussex and London, varying from vet surgeries, nurseries and schools, to financial services and solicitors offices.

The aim of our Work Experience Scheme is to help the pupils get a view of the world of work. It provides the students with a continuous spell in a working environment to gain first-hand knowledge of what a particular job entails.  The pupils were prepared for work experience during their P4C lessons.

A parent this week wrote to us saying,

“We just wanted to update you on a very successful work experience placement our daughter had this week. She went to work for a marketing company and they were so impressed that they have offered her a job and commented that she was a credit to Bishop Luffa.”

We would like to thank all Work Experience employers on behalf of the school for their support to our WE scheme and for the valuable time spent with our pupils.

Our Year 12 Oxbridge hopefuls recently enjoyed a stimulating course, ‘The Edge’, delivered by Wiser Words’ coordinator Emily Wiser.

Students immersed themselves in a range of activities designed to stretch and challenge them and ultimately help prepare for an Oxbridge interview. They initially attempted to solve a complex crime and presented their solutions through the selection of key evidence, the use of reasoning skills and a structured argument. The day also included a specific focus on how to apply subject knowledge and understanding to wider ideas and concepts by responding to a series of thought-provoking questions.

Florence Alexander (12 Bell) enjoyed “being asked a broad question, analysing what you know and then linking this back to the question to find something you can talk about.”

James Fitzmaurice (12 Sherborne) “found it interesting and stimulating the way my interpretations were challenged and how I was forced to think differently.”

One logic puzzle that students were asked to solve during the day was the following:

In the village of Stubbleton there is a barber and that barber shaves the beards of all and only the men in the village who do not shave themselves. Is the barber a man, a woman, or is it impossible to tell?

What do you think?

Mr J A Saunders, Assistant Headteacher – Head of Sixth Form