The latest news from Coombe Girls School and Sixth Form. Duke of Edinburgh Award

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1 Coombe Girls News Summer The latest news from Coombe Girls School and Sixth Form Back to the front page Coombe Creates Duke of Edinburgh Award 2015 Borough Athletics // // //

2 Welcome As our summer term draws to a close, it is marvellous to reflect upon the many achievements of the past year. This year started once again with an impressive performance from out GCSE students who equalled our highest ever percentage of students achieving 5 A*- C with English and maths with 40% of those results at either A* or A, a stunning accomplishment. The Coombe Sixth Form once again bucked the national trend of a decline in the top grades and we were absolutely delighted that 27% of entries at Advanced Level were awarded A/A* representing an increase on previous years and staggeringly 10% of the cohort achieved a clean sweep of A/A* grades. We were particularly pleased that our GCSE girls high attainment was recognised by an outstanding educational outcomes award for which we were recognised as being in the top 10% of schools nationally for exceptional attainment and progress. We are very pleased to be able to celebrate these top grades and high attainment but above all, we are proud of the achievements of all of our students irrespective of their ability, future pathway and final educational outcomes. This year has also seen the consolidation of the Ad Astra programme designed to inform our Y10-Y13 students about exciting and inspirational pathways, careers and university courses, all of which focus on complementing their academic studies and the launch of our apprenticeship preparation programme for those interested in following this new and exciting pathway in the future. We watch the development of this as an alternative to higher education with interest and look forward to reporting back in the future on some of our students successes in this field via our newly formed alumni network. A couple of weeks ago, I was delighted to see so many Year 10 girls and their parents at our Sixth Form Opportunities Evening; we are prioritising places for our internal students and with post 16 places becoming increasingly competitive, we look forward to receiving their applications before the end of term so that they can be processed at the very start of next academic year. We were also very pleased to welcome our soon to be Year 7 Coombe girls and their parents last week and very much look forward to seeing them at summer school and in September. It is now a year since we were awarded National Teaching School status and this inaugural year has been an exciting one! The Kingston Teaching School Alliance (KTSA) has gone from strength to strength and we were very proud to be designated Specialist Partners in Initial Teacher Education and Research & Development with UCL/Institute of Education. A key priority for us all is to ensure that any strategic decisions we make over the coming years are firmly rooted in research and it is wonderful to be involved in a number of high profile national research projects all focusing on providing outstanding educational provision. We are particularly fortunate to be involved in a national project at the moment focusing on how schools can use best practice to embed a restorative justice approach with the overall aim of enhancing community cohesion and resilience. I have been so impressed to see how our students positivity, sense of well-being and empathy has really come to the fore as the research project has developed over the last year and we look forward to sharing the outcomes with you next year. I would like to thank all our staff and students for another amazing year, wish you and your families a restful summer break and look forward to welcoming all members of the Coombe community back in September. Deborah Walls, Executive Headteacher The Coombe Secondary Schools Academy Trust

3 Coombe Creates Exhibition Once again, the annual Coombe Creates exhibition demonstrated that our students are bursting with imagination and creative skill. The show was our opportunity to reward A Level students from art, photography, product design, textiles, food and media for all of their hard work. We were delighted with how well attended the event was with family and friends crowding into the hall to view the exhibition. We know that without their support the students would struggle to achieve the high standards that they do or maintain the motivation required to complete their complex projects.

4 Year 11 Fun Day Back to the front page

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6 Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Expedition Our Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh team set off for the New Forest at 8am on Saturday ready to do their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh s Award assessed expedition. After a number of training sessions, after school, at lunch times and at the weekend, it was time for the girls to put all of their skills they had practiced into action. During the week before, the girls had been given a number of coordinates on a map and were asked to plan a route over 2 days which included these check points. When we arrived in the New Forest, they were set off at intervals to see if they could follow the route they had planned. It was a grey day, but the girls set off in high spirits and all arrived at their first check point in good time. They had improved on a range of skills since their practice expedition in the Surrey Hills 3 weeks ago. Their map reading had improved and they were much better at encouraging each other as a team. The girls continued on their route through the woodland and common land of the New Forest. They were in charge of deciding where they had their breaks, how fast they would go and what they needed to eat along the way. In the evening, the girls had to pitch their tents and set up where they were sleeping for the night. Then they need to cook and prepare their own meal. Most of them had planned this during the week before so that a group could share ideas and the most importantly the weight of the food out across their bags! After a night of midges and some sleeping better than others, the girls were off again for their final day. Over the two days they covered about 30 kilometres, with most of them still arriving at the end with smiles on their faces! Not only have the girls put a lot of hard work into preparing for their expeditions and of course their recent exams, but they have also had to balance managing their time so that they can complete the other sections of their Duke of Edinburgh s Award. They have to do a physical activity, learn a skill and volunteer for at least 3 months. Some of the girls have done some brilliant activities, which range from golf, singing, baking, football and working with Oxfam to badminton, one to one reading, horse riding, playing a musical instrument and learning to draw. We a proud to say that 28 girls have completed and passed their expedition and should shortly be receiving their awards!

7 Year 8 Geography Trip to Cuckmere Haven Year 8 have had a full day out on Geography field work at Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex studying the River Cuckmere and it s features. They looked at the magnificent meanders, flood plain and chalk grassland. We walked several kilometres along the riverside to reach the pebble beach at Cuckmere Haven where we found wave cut platforms and high chalk cliffs. The pupils sketched the landscape and did pebble surveys. Despite July 1st being the hottest on record, Year 8 managed to complete their tasks and walked back to the coaches for a well-deserved ice cream.! Following the trip, pupils commented: Simone I thought the scenery was outstanding and the sea view at Cuckmere Haven was wonderful. Jannat It was a good opportunity to see thongs we learn about in class such as the rock types and the meander. Sephora The views were absolutely amazing and I think the walking was a breathe of fresh air. Gulayse I liked the eroded cliffs and the colour of the sea. Katya Cuckmere Haven made me appreciate nature more and the way we went from sitting in our class rooms to a natural environment made me feel contented! Nada The sea views were beautiful and the walking was good exercise despite the fact it was 36 degrees! It was really educational.

8 Back to the front page My World Trip. Our experience of young mariners by Maddy and group 8 Venus Raft building was really fun and it brought us all together as a team. The land activities were challenging but developed our team work. The canoeing was fun especially the capsizing. Our young mariners trip by Ivy and group 8 Venus As a group of eight we found the trip a great fun experience. The weather was disappointing at first because it was raining, but it didn t stop us from carrying on the activities. Overall the whole day was really enjoyable and a great way to celebrate finishing our end of year exams. Young mariners trip by Anna and group 8Venus We arrived at young mariners at 9.00am. We were put into groups of 10 and then went to our first activity. Our first activity was raft building. We carried the logs to make a square which we placed the barrels on top of. We then carried the raft down in to the river, we got on it and used paddles to push it along. It was really fun even if our legs and feet got really wet! For our next activity we did team building activities such as trying to balance a giant see-saw with our weight. We also did an activity using crates. For our third activity we did kayaking, we were really worried about it but when we got on it was amazing. We played lots of amazing games. It was a great day.

9 First Class Performance We would like to congratulate Anastasia Marine who recently took part in the Ealing Music Festival. Anastasia performed a duet with her sister in the Family Group class and they won 1st place (achieving a distinction) and were awarded a cup for the 4th consecutive year. The Ealing Music Festival is an annual event open to performers of all ages across a range of London venues. Earlier this year Anastasia also took part in the Richmond Performing Arts Festival where she played a duet with her sister and won first place. Following this, we are delighted to hear that the sisters have been invited to perform at a special event organised as part of the Richmond Borough celebrations for the Rugby World Cup later this year in October. Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund Anna Buchanan, an ex-coombe girl was making the most of her world of opportunity and decided that she would spend her gap year travelling through Nepal when the 7.8 earthquake hit on the 25/4/15. She has seen the complete devastation first hand in Kathmandu and the surrounding area and felt obliged to help this country in need. The Nepalese are some of the kindest people she has met. Even after the earthquake she was only met by genuine generosity and compassion. She is now safety back in England and wants to raise awareness and funds for these people in need. She has come back to Coombe to share her story and journey so far with pupils through a variety of assemblies. A gofundme page has been set up to give aid and vital supplies to people in villages as yet unreached by anyone else. Your money will also help with the rebuilding of their homes and communities. Here is their link so you can see the inspiring work they have done so far. Anna and the school would like to thank everyone for their donations so far; no matter the amount everything counts in this vital cause.

10 Celebrating 60 years of Success Coombe Girls School celebrated 60 years by hosting an Alumni diamond anniversary celebration on Monday 15th July. Coombe Girls Alumni were warmly welcomed back to class and enjoyed a tour of how the school is today, a musical recital and a welcome presentation from Mrs Walls. Thereafter, our visitors, including Coombe Girls very first Head Girl re-told stories and reflected upon fond memoires from their own school days, many had brought in their own photographs, reports and school exercise books to share. Coombe Girls School was established in September 1955 and formerly called Coombe County Secondary School. The school s original log book was on display and together with whole school photographs dating back to the 1950 s and school uniforms, sparked great conversation and interest. The event proved to be the perfect diamond anniversary celebration and we are extremely grateful to everyone who visited us and made the day so special.

11 Sports Week in Action! On Friday 19 th June Friday 26 th June Coombe Girls School hosted Sports Week at school to coincide with the National School Sports Week celebrations. Students had many opportunities to take part in a variety of sports throughout the week, representing their House while gaining valuable House points. The week commended with the Year 7 and Year 8 Tug of War competition at lunchtime on Friday 19 th June. Proud winners were 7Jupiter won and 8Venus. The Year 9 and Year 10 Tug of War competition took place on Tuesday 23 rd June. Congratulations to our competition winners 9Pluto and 10Saturn. The Year 7 and Year 8 Coombe Athletics Squad took part in an Borough Athletics competition at Kingsmeadow Athletics Track on Wednesday 24 th June. There were some great individual performances with Karen Umbwi being crowned 100m Borough Champion and Imogen Busa being crowned 1500m Borough Champion! The standard was extremely high so well done to all competitors. Sports Day took place on Thursday 25 th June at Kingsmeadow Athletics Track. All competitors were fantastic throughout the day and the talent shone through on a beautiful, sunny day. There were fantastic performances from all students in both the track and field events. Two school records were broken and six students won best individual athletes in their respected event. The swimming festival `AquaSplash` drew a superb week to a close on Friday 26th June. Year 7 students had a fantastic time being taught by Year 10 leaders. Students experienced synchronised swimming, diving, life-saving skills and they enjoyed 6minutes in the wave machine! Sports Week was a huge success well done to everyone who competed! Overall sports day results: 7 th place Jupiter with 210 points 6 th place Mercury with 216 points Joint 4 th Neptune and Saturn with 222 points 3 rd Mars with 230 points 2 nd Venus with 240 points Sports Week winners PLUTO 244 points!

12 2015 Borough Athletics Update Kingsmeadow Athletics ground hosted the 2015 Borough Athletics event on Wednesday 24th July. Congratulations to all our athletes of whom we are extremely proud of a tremendous performance!

13 Business A level trip to the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising It was a rainy start with a gloriously sunny end to an interesting and fun afternoon on the day of our trip to the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. A group of our A level Business students made the journey to, arguably one of the prettiest spots in London, Notting Hill, to observe a history of how brands, packaging and advertising have evolved since the Victorian era to today as they walked through the time tunnel. It was astonishing to be able to view over 12,000 original items, which had all started as one man s personal collection, the Robert Opie Collection. It has been even an emotional journey back in time for some students and staff as many of the childhood favourites were spotted during our tour of the museum, moving from one decade s display to another. The trip ended with students taking part in a Marketing and Consumer Profiling workshop, which enabled students to use the theories they had learned during their A level studies in Business, such as market research, market mapping, consumer trends and the marketing mix. It has been an irreplaceable experience that we would not be able to match in a classroom environment. Seeing iconic objects that are part of our history such as the Rimmel cosmetics from the 1890s, to the 1960s space-hopper and the 1970s chopper bike alongside today s One Direction merchandise has been absolutely delightful.

14 A fantastic evening as Coombe Celebrates! PFA News Update May I thank all those who bought raffle tickets for the PFA Summer Raffle that raised the splendid total of 1,400, and those who joined us for the Summer Quiz on the 26th June where another 405 was added. Three wish list items have so far been approved at a combined cost of 3,600, including the picnic benches for the Year 7 lunches in the orchard, which now looks magnificent! Sadly, due to pressure of work we have lost the services of Mrs Claire Knight, who has been our liaison link with the School for the past seven years. This picture is of our presentation to her as a small token of our regard for all the hard work on our behalf. Ms Sophie Jackson is our new School liaison representative to whom we bid welcome. Ralph Barwick, Chairman CGS PFA