On Friday 16th we were invited to attend the Alpine F1 factory in Enstone and take part in their “Women in Engineering” event. This is the first of two events planned with Alpine. The event was aimed at girls in years 7-9 to give them an insight into working life in Formula One and the skills required to succeed in engineering at the highest level. The girls were able to talk with the ladies that work at Alpine and learn their route into engineering as well taking part in activities and having tour around the factory.

We look forward to our next trip to Alpine with our F1 club students on 28th June.

Many of our students achieve great success and personal enrichment through out of school activities and it’s always good to share some of these. Most recently:
Eleanor in Year 8 competed in the European Dance Championships in Blackpool. In the ballroom competition she reached the semi-finals and was only one mark off making the finals. A fantastic achievement!

Joshua in Year 9 recently completed a cricket coaching course. Josh will now be supporting the “All Stars” Cricket programme on a Friday evening at Shipston Sports Club. What a wonderful opportunity to develop his coaching skills prior to starting the Cambridge National Sport Studies course next year.

Mia in Year 7, together with her mum, became a Guide Dogs for the Blind volunteer. There’s no better way to describe Mia’s role than in her own words:
“I have always wanted a dog but it was just too expensive, we then found out about Guide Dogs where you can volunteer for various roles including being a brood holder. In March 2022 we got Lucy, a Golden Retriever Labrador, who was to be a brood for future guide dogs. One year later, on 30th March 2023, she gave birth to 4 puppies by C-section, the puppies were huge, the size of a 1 week old! She had 3 boys and 1 girl, we gave them temporary names until they were officially named, these were: Herrmann, Croissant, Cooper and Bailey. The first 3 weeks were the easiest as Lucy did all the work of feeding and cleaning. By week 4, that’s when the fun started. Their eyes and ears opened, they started to walk, they found their voices and enjoyed rough play. By week 7 they were running and jumping around the house and garden, eating solid food and relying less on mum. On their last weekend with us, we held an open day where people could come and play with the puppies. We raised £180 for the Guide Dogs, enough for a starter kit for a new guide dog owner and a tailormade book for a child with sight loss. We were very proud of Lucy and her puppies. They have now moved on to their next home with their puppy raisers where they will spend the next year before going on to guide dog training school.”

Samantha is a Year 10 student who has taken an unexpected opportunity to the next level.

At the age of 3 whilst Sam was on holiday in Canada for Christmas, the local lake was frozen so her parents bought her a small pair of skates to join in with the local children who were skating.  She took to it so easily and the following Spring she was enrolled for basic Skating lessons in Oxford on a Saturday morning.  She progressed and loved it.

Her first competition was at the age of 7 in Oxford where she came First. From then on she has competed numerous times gaining podium places.

She now trains five mornings at week, getting up at 4.40 a.m.  Her dedication to the sport never waivers and even through the pandemic she was still training over zoom.

Sam has moved up to a new level this year, now competing at ISU (International Skating Union) National 5, there are 7 levels before moving to Seniors.

Following a competition at Alexandra Palace later this month, Sam is due to compete in the British Championship Qualifiers at the National Ice Centre in Sheffield, where the finals will also take place.  This competition, at her level, is for children aged between 13 to 15 and she will be competing against people from all of the UK.

As well as morning skating Sam goes to Shipston gym three afternoons a week for strength and conditioning.

Her ambition is to get to the World Championships and also to train as a Skating Coach helping others learn to skate alongside her career as a Police Officer.

Sam is a tremendously dedicated and accomplished skater.  She is a fantastic example of what commitment and sheer hard work can achieve.  We are all very proud of Sam’s achievements to date and would like to wish her the very best of luck for her upcoming competitions.

Mental health during childhood and adolescence is very important. Difficulties like anxiety and depression can start when people are young and it is important for young people and their families to understand these difficulties and get support when needed.

The PIPA Trial is exploring the effectiveness of an online resource for parents/carers to help reduce depression and anxiety in young people. The trial is being coordinated by the University of Warwick and involves families of young people aged 11-15 years from schools in the UK.

The trial is free and conducted completely online. Eligible parents/carers and young people will be asked to complete some questionnaires. Parents/carers will then receive access to some online parenting resources: either the standard educational package of factsheets or the personalised programme with up to nine modules. Parents/carers and young people will also be asked to complete some follow-up questionnaires.

Please look out for the letter about how to sign up which also contains some information sheets with more details. If you have any questions, please speak to Mrs L Baker or contact the PIPA trial team at PIPA@warwick.ac.uk or 02476574316/02476575078.

As our Year 11 students progress towards the end of their time here, their careers sessions increase the focus on CV writing, interview techniques and completing applications for post 16 courses and apprenticeships.

Each student prepares their CV ready for Mock Interview day which this year took place on Thursday 24^th November.  During the course of the day, each student had an individual interview with members of the local community based on their CV.  There were some very nervous students, smartly dressed in their interview clothes, but from all accounts they presented very well, speaking confidently about their interests, next steps, and career aspirations.

We are very grateful to the members of Shipston on Stour Rotary Club, Stour Valley Lions Club, Careers Seekers Direct, past employees and local business people who gave up their time to come and support the students.

Despite it being a bit nerve-wracking all agreed that the whole process had been a very valuable experience and that they had gained some helpful tips to prepare them for interviews going forward.

We were delighted to be able to host our annual Awards Evening and welcome back our Summer 2021 Year 11 leavers into school for an evening of celebrations.

Prizes were awarded for effort, progress and achievement across all GCSE subjects and for the first time since the pandemic, it was an honour to be able to present our special community awards to recognise the fantastic achievements of our students.

Nominated by Form Tutors and Heads of House, our special award winners were:

The Russell Cup for Endeavour and Perseverance – Joseph Rogers

The Rotary Club Award for Service to the School – Archie Griffiths

The Alumni Award for Independent Learning – Maria Fernandes

The Governors’ Award for Best Value Added GCSE Results – Sam Chapman

The Governors’ Award for Best Overall GCSE Results – Emma Musgrove

The Bob Armstrong Award for All Round Contribution to the School – Jamie Gray

The Graham Lowe Award for being a Cheerful and Willing Volunteer in School – Harry Wixey

A proud Emma M and Harry W with their awards.

It is always a delight to reconnect with former students, to learn how they are progressing post Shipston High and to discover the many and varied paths they have taken since leaving us.

We would like to wish every success to the cohort of 2021 in whatever they choose to do in the future.

Remembrance holds a very special place in our school Calendar.

This year, we held two assemblies on the theme of Remembrance which were attended by Mr Richard Adams and Mr David Kernohan from the Shipston branch of the Royal British Legion.  At such a busy time for the Legion, their support and interest in the school is much appreciated.

Aside from the assemblies, the school observed the silence at 11.00 a.m. on Armistice Day whilst Mr Saunders and the senior prefects represented the school in Shipston town centre.

Sunday 13th November saw the senior prefects join other members of the community in the procession and church service to honour Shipston’s war dead.  The students read out the names of the fallen at the town war memorial and then shared some of their own thoughts and poetry during the service.

Thank you Nahia, Imogen, Daisy and Georgina for the mature way in which you represented our school community.

Our Further Education Fair was held on Thursday 3^rd November 2022 in the school Hall. This was an ideal opportunity for the older students to find out what is available to them after they leave school and for the younger ones to start thinking about what type of career interests them.

Year 10 and 11 students visited the Fair during teaching period 5, whilst all students from all year groups and parents were welcome to attend after 3.30pm.

Representatives from the local Colleges and sixth forms, apprenticeship providers and local businesses were present and answered many and varied questions posed by the students about opportunities within their organisations. There was a flurry of excitement when the Aston Martin team arrived in their very impressive car, especially when we found out that accompanying it was one of our ex-students!

We were pleased to welcome representatives from the following:

King Edward VI School
Stratford Girls’ Grammar School
St. Benedicts School, Alcester
Alcester Grammar School
The Cotswold School
Chipping Campden School
Sibford School
Chipping Norton School
Bloxham School
Hartpury College
Stratford College
Warwickshire College

Activate Learning (Banbury College)
ASK Apprenticeships
Stratford College
The Royal Air Force
Police Service
Pink Connect
The National Grid
Q Hotels Apprenticeships
Aston Martin Apprenticeships
GBS Training
Young Leos
The Civil Service

Thanks to Ms. Moorman for her hard work in making this event possible and also to all the local organisations for
 

Since its first meeting, the Running Club has progressed from short runs to running for 28 minutes nonstop 3 times a week! The beginning of November sees week 9 of the couch to 5K – the final week! This means a 30 minute run 3 times a week – but the running club has decided to keep going! At the end of week 9 members of the club will be doing 30 minute runs twice a week at school (and one run at the weekend) focussing on increasing their pace.

Successful runners will be awarded their first running award – a bronze running badge – if they have completed 8 or more runs – in week 9 of the programme. Students have been choosing the style of badges they prefer which is being funded by the PE department.

The running club has enjoyed the support and encouragement of none other than Denise Lewis as their ‘running coach’ through the ‘couch to 5K’ app.  They have got so used to her voice keeping them going that one of the running club members – Rebecca Hinton – was able to guess who it was when she appeared on ‘The Masked Singer’!

Shipston High School was a keen participant in the recent European Day of Languages 2022. We celebrated this with various activities across the week.  Years 7 and 8 had the opportunity to enter a poster competition, designing a poster about a European country they would like to visit. Posters included thoughtful details such as what languages are spoken, traditional food eaten, popular music and famous landmarks.

We also invited Year 6 in Acorns, Brailes and Shipston Primary schools to enter and we  received some fantastic entries.

The winners are:

Acorns Primary – Y6 Macy (France)

Shipston Primary – Y6 Sophie (Sweden)

Shipston High School – Y7 Isobel (France)

Y8 Lola (Netherlands)

Students were also invited to interview staff about their own language skills, discovering lots of information such as which staff members speak another language at home or have needed language skills at work.

The week finished with the whole school taking part in a European Language Quiz.

Many thanks to Miss Chambers and Miss Angulo for organising the events.

Open Evening was held at the school on 29^th September for the first time since the covid lockdowns.

The evening was exceptionally well attended and visitors had the opportunity to get involved in a variety of demonstrations and activities in all departments across the school.  For many this was a chance to revisit the school and see the new buildings and facilities that have evolved since their own schooldays!

Visitors particularly remarked on the warm welcome received from staff and students and the maturity and knowledge shown by the students when explaining what they were doing, together with the evident pride they have in their school.  We are very grateful to the huge number of students who volunteered to come back into school for the evening to help out, whether doing car parking duties, helping in classrooms or being tour guides.  They really are our best advertisement.

Similarly our Open Morning on 5^th October was very successful and parents expressed their thanks for being able to see Shipston High School in action during a normal school day.  A great many parents remarked on the calm and focused learning environment in the classrooms and the contemporary feel of the newer school buildings.

Prospective parents are reminded that the closing date for on-time applications for Year 7 September 2023 is 31^st October.  Please address any queries regarding Admissions to the Headteacher’s Secretary apunt@shipstonhigh.co.uk

On 20^th September, Year 10 and 11 students went to see ‘The Woman in Black’ at the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden – a trip which had been rearranged from last term due to COVID.

Drama students study ‘The Woman in Black’ ready for their written exam where they have to write a review of live theatre.

We arrived in London and had some time to look around Covent Garden (and admire the street theatre before going to the theatre for the show. Once again, students enjoyed the production and it was certainly entertaining for Mrs Evans to watch the students jumping at all the key moments in the production!

Surviving ‘The Woman in Black’ is a key moment for any Drama students and the show never fails to entertain….

The school was shocked and saddened at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Many conversations have taken place in history lessons over the last few weeks around what the Queen meant to us, what she did for the Country and the British monarchy and line of succession.  These discussions have culminated in a joint project between the history and art departments to create a timeline

of her life and a board of student observations.  The display is now complete and has pride of place in the Humanities/Art corridor and attracted a lot of attention at our recent Open Evening.

The images below give a flavour of the sentiments expressed in the pieces of work done by the students.

The image that heads this article is by Year 11 student Imogen.  Truly breathtaking!”

Statement from Headteacher, Mr Gavin Saunders:

Shipston High School students have achieved fantastic GCSE results this year. Students in Year 11 worked extremely hard studying for their exams, including through periods of pandemic lockdown and remote learning, and their commitment has been rewarded with impressive individual performances and extremely strong results across the school. All students should be very proud, and they certainly looked delighted as they collected their results on 25^th August.

These results show the results of sustained hard work and the excellent progress students make at the school. I am delighted that these results empower students to go on to fulfil their ambitions in education, training and employment.

Shipston maintains its consistently strong record in core subjects. Around 80% of students secured grades between 4 and 9 in English and likewise in Maths. Shipston students secured an impressive array of top grades 8 and 9 across the subject range, including students with multiple grades at 7, 8 and 9.  Students have achieved the challenging grade 9 in a wide variety of academic subjects, showing a consistent high performance in a diverse range of disciplines. It’s very impressive. Results include one student with seven grade 9s, another with three grade 9s and five grade 8s, along with other similar achievements across Year 11.

As important as individual grades achieved is the sustained progress from students, with many exceeding their expected outcomes.

The school has a robust and consistent record of academic strength. The school’s focus on quality education, and our work preparing students for adult life, will enable students to move onto a wide range of fulfilling careers. 2022 results demonstrate the strong academic focus of Shipston High School. This is also a day to remember the community spirit that supported our young people through their pandemic affected studies.  All students should be congratulated. Well done to everyone.

Shipston High School’s work is centred on our students, and we are delighted to see so many strong results; they are a testimony to the ethos of the school and the dedication of our staff, families and young people. There was a tangible and shared joy in the school as results were collected. Shipston students have once again excelled; congratulations.

Following meetings in July 2022, Warwickshire County Council has agreed to fund a multi-million pound investment into the development of the school site. The funding is exclusively for the development of the school built environment, and we understand it will be in the region of £10 million.

This represents a huge vote of confidence in the school and the education we provide, and we are delighted that this will enable us to offer more school places in the future. Shipston High School is consistently over-subscribed, and this funding will allow more students to enter the school in future Year 7 cohorts. Details and timescales are still to be confirmed, but this will not affect student numbers for the September 2022 intake.

We anticipate a project that will see additional capacity in Sport, Science and Technology, with details pending. Importantly, as well as providing future school places, this work will improve the facilities and environment for our existing students. Following previous development in 2015 and 2018, we look forward to this next phase of our success story with the expansion and improvement of the environment at Shipston High School for the benefit of all students.

This type of investment is very unusual in schools, and we are fortunate to have secured this funding. We are extremely grateful to Warwickshire County Council, and their readiness to invest in Shipston High School is due to the excellent reputation of the school and its students.

To support their learning of the Ecosystems and Genes topics, Year 7 embarked upon a trip to Cotswold Wildlife Park.

Completing a work booklet on their way round, the students discovered about the many adaptations that a wide range of animals and plants have to survive. Exploring the park, Year 7 went on an adventure across the World, looking at ecosystems throughout the globe and the organisms that inhabit them. The students journeyed across the African savannah, observing rhinos and giraffe, into the deserts of North Africa, where they encountered some very inquisitive camels. From here, a hop across the Indian Ocean saw them land in Madagascar to walk around the jungle, encountering lemurs on their travels. Flying south, the pupils land in Australia to watch the Wallabies nurturing their young. Heading north for the rarest of encounters, some students were lucky enough to spot a clouded leopard.

After a refuel at lunch, travelling across the Pacific Ocean, the groups landed in South America to discover one of the more bizarre animals on our trip, a family of tapirs. After a long, very hot and exciting day exploring the habitats of the world, Year 7 headed for home, having represented the school fantastically, eagerly sharing stories of all that they saw.

The photograph accompanying this article is by Keira who won the Cotswold Wildlife Park photography competition.

On Thursday 14^th July the Careers and Science Departments organised a Careers in Health/STEM day with Medical Mavericks.

This was a fantastic, inspiring and aspirational experience for over 200 of our students who had shown an interest in Science, Medical careers or STEM.

Year 10 had a 2 hour session called Mini Medics and Year 7, 8 and 9 all had an hour long session each about Careers in health.

Students listed to a talk about Medical careers and then had a very hands-on experience using real medical equipment. Amongst many other exciting things, they were able to take ECGs, their pulse with a Pulse-Doppler, Blood Pressure, Ultrasound scans so they could see inside their own bodies, Retinal imaging, Key Hole Surgery and even take blood from ‘Andy the Arm’. There was even a Vein Scanner which shone a light on your arm so you could see the veins inside it.

Kacie-Mae in Year 7 said “I thought it was amazing, I loved it, and it was a lovely day. I especially loved taking blood from Andy (dummy) and seeing my muscles on the ultrasound. I liked looking through the glasses that had different effects. The medical students explained it very well. I have always wanted to become a midwife and this has inspired me more”

We would like to thank the Stour Valley Lions who very generously funded this event for us and who also came and joined in.

A short while ago the School was contacted by the Stratford Food Bank, asking whether we would consider doing something to help keep their facility stocked up due to the increasing number of families finding themselves needing to use the Food Bank.

Mrs Cottriall, Head of Hart House, rose to the challenge, contacted the Food Bank to see what items were most urgently needed, and led an assembly to members of her House, followed by an e-mail to all parents requesting any donations they could spare.

The generosity of our parents was fantastic resulting in a large and varied selection of food, cleaning and hygiene products which Mrs Cottriall was able to take over to Stratford.  Pictured is Mrs Cottriall together with two Hart House students Bracken and Sabbir helping to sort out the donations.

Many thanks to all parents for items donated to such a worthwhile cause.

We want our students to get reading! We encourage all students to continue to read for a minimum of 20 minutes a day.

To this end, we have put together a reading challenge for each year group. Students can aim for bronze, silver or gold – and will get a badge for every award they achieve!

For year 7, there is a reading list where students need to read 4 books from the list to achieve bronze, 6 for silver and 9 for gold. They have 12 months to complete the reading – starting from the first day of the summer holiday – together with some activities to complete.

For year 8, the system is similar to year 7 – but the books are a little bit more advanced. Again they have a reading list and some activities to complete. For bronze, they need to read 5 books from the list, 7 for silver and 10 for gold.

For year 9, the challenge goes up a gear: they will be giving a presentation on at least one of their books in the Spring term! They ave the choice of reading a range of books and presenting on one book (bronze), reading a range of books but presenting on several books by one author (silver), or presenting on a specific genre – having read several books from that genre (gold). We are super excited to start the book debate with this challenge! Which genre/ author/ book is the best? You tell us!

Going forward, students will have a reading lesson once a fortnight where they can get advice from their teacher who will check on their progress – but the large majority of the reading will take place at home.

Let the reading journey commence…