Newsletter
March 2015
Counting on
our ICT talent
2
Meet the Prefects
New KS4 group starts role
More than 100 students applied this year to be KS4 prefects, and the select
group has now been appointed.
Students applying for the role obtained a reference from a member of staff.
They wrote a letter of application to Year Manager Mrs O’Keeffe, setting out
skills they would bring to the role, and responsibilities they have taken on in
and out of school. We also considered their behaviour and academic progress
before a decision was made.
Mrs O’Keeffe said, “Students
greatly appreciate all the
encouragement they receive.
The successful candidates are
very proud to say they are
prefects of The Radclyffe
School.”
Each of the 62 successful
candidates is allocated to a
faculty, where they might be
responsible for organising
lunchtime clubs, tutoring
younger students and helping
out at Open Evening or at
parents’ evenings. It is a
hugely rewarding role.
Students find Gateways to inspiring future
University of Manchester visit
Students from each year group are
offered the chance to take part in visits
to the University of Manchester, an
introduction to life at one Britain’s
leading seats of learning.
This term it was the turn of Year 9
students, and they spent an interesting
day discovering the skills they would
need for success in the future. The
Futures Conference gave them a
chance to share information and advice,
and to hear from university staff.
Towards the end of the day students
took part in a Careers Café, where
they looked at the subjects they enjoy
and their hobbies and interests - the
session tried to match up careers that
might be of interest. Staff from the
university were on hand to help.
You can find out more at www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk
3
Sculpting in paper fires students creative side
Art G&T workshop
Young artists created paper sculptures
working with professional artist Gemma
Wright.
The Year 8 students took inspiration
from the architecture of the school,
using photographs and drawings to
find shapes and forms in the school
environment. They then brought what
they found to experience paper
engineering and origami to create new
artwork. The finished structures will
go on display in school.
During the day the students learnt new
skills around creating sculptures, as well
as how they draw inspiration from other
works and from their surroundings.
The workshop was aimed to inspire
students identified as ‘gifted and
talented’, who have made exceptional
progress in Art in the last year. The
school is extending support for talented
students to gain new experiences.
Teacher of Art Miss Wilson said, “The
students were thrilled to be working
with Gemma. Her work takes a very
contemporary approach, which
students don’t often get to experience.”
Gemma Wright currently works at
Camden Arts Centre having studied
Fine Art at Coventry University and an
MA in Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking
at the University of West England.
Follow us on twitter @theradclyffe
4
Students spend a day as a doctor
East Manchester Medical Challenge
Three testing challenges for students thinking about Medicine as a career were
tackled at a special event at Ashton Sixth Form College.
The challenges examined physiology, anatomy and medical ethics. The students
were inspired by what they learned and enjoyed learning at an advanced level.
Alongside the challenges the Year 10 and 11 students found out more about the
subjects they would need to study and what they would need to achieve. They
also discovered what they could expect from the interview process and admission
tests. A current medical student from Bart’s hospital in London shared their
experiences of university, and a doctor working at Tameside Hospital spoke
about his job and answered questions from the young people.
Thanks for your responses
Parents Evening feedback
We are very grateful to Year 8 parents
for the feedback given during the recent
Parents’ Evening.
What you told us was very encouraging:
 100% of parents surveyed felt their
child is well taught.
 100% of parents surveyed felt their
child was making good progress.
 96% felt the student helpers improved
the Parents’ Evening.
There were many positive comments
about the new online booking system for
Parents’ Evenings; “It was a lot better than
the previous system”, “It was very up to
date, quick and easy to use.”
Many thanks to everyone who attended
and shared their opinions.
Year 10 student Fabbiha Akter said,
“The trip was a great experience and
helped me in defining my path to
Medicine. We participated in many
eye-opening activities and asked
questions, which gave me the best
insight. Many thanks to the amazing
staff.”
Hadika Raja added, I really enjoyed
the course. It has encouraged me to
pursue Medicine. I have a better idea
of what medical school would be like.”
Brain teasers
A carrot, a football scarf and five
buttons were found in a field. If
nobody placed them there, how
did they get there?
If an average hen’s egg is 5cm
long and weighs 300g and an
average peacock’s egg is twice the
length and 2,5 imes the weight,
which has the greater circumference?
(answers on page 14)
On twitter? You can follow us @theradcllyffe
5
Delicious dinners for winners
Rotary Young Chef Competition
News from
around school
Two and a half hours, £15 and lots of skill and
creativity were the ingredients of another successful
District Final of the Rotary Club Young Chef competition.
Eight cooks from schools and colleges across the
north west pitted their talents against one another to
create delicious three-course meals. The food is
judged on presentation, costs, healthy eating, culinary
skills and taste.
Two of our Year 11 students,
Hira Aslam and Tasnim Masuma
represented two local Rotary
Club branches, Chadderton &
Failsworth and Royton & Crompton.
We are proud of them both and
at the end of the evening Tasnim
emerged the winner. She will go
on to the Regional final at
Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale
next month.
Tasnim’s menu included chicken tikka in filo pastry
rolls, tender Pakistani chicken, chocolate fondant in
sweet caramel sauce with bananas and Moroccan nuts .
The results were mouth-watering.
Congratulations to our
Chess Champion Mr
Trochowski, who beat
Mr Deakin in the final.
A special mention also
to the semi finalists
Ben Hamlin and Jake
Atkins in Year 10.
++++++++++++
Food tasting in French
gave students some
tasty treats, and they
learned the words to
describe the tastes
and textures - brioche,
croissant , nice biscuits
and Bombay mix.
++++++++++++
The weather may be
wintry but the cricket
season is here! Teams
have been entering
and enjoying Oldham
Schools’ indoor cricket
events.
You can find out more at www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk
6
Mark at Mills Hill
Author inspires pupils
Keeping the Memory Alive
HMD2015
Our links with our partner primary
schools bring outstanding benefits to
all involved. So we were very pleased
to ‘lend’ our author-in-residence Mark
Wright to Mills Hill primary this term.
Students marked Holocaust Memorial
Day by creating a thoughtful display
recording pledges of how they would
remember.
The theme of this year’s event was
‘Keeping the Memory Alive’.
Assemblies for each year group
during the week reminded our young
people not only of the events of the
1940s but also more recent genocides
in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Mark meets Mills Hill pupils
Pupils from years 4,5 and 6 enjoyed
the visit which Headteacher Ian Mason
described as ‘enthralling, fascinating
and inspiring.’ Mark shared his story
about how he became a writer despite
facing obstacles such as his Dad saying
that it wasn't a proper job and that he
wouldn't make a career from it.
Mr Mason added, “The questioning
from the children about both being a
writer and about Dr Who demonstrated
their level of enthusiasm.”
To create the display students drew
around their hand on paper and cut
out the shapes. Hundreds of pledges
were written about the importance of
remembering.
Well done to members of the Nurture
Group also worked on their own poster.
“He shared different ways in which he
opens his stories and gave the children
a chance to develop a story board
showing the opening to a new Dr Who
story.”
Best ever GCSE results - 57% A*-C incl English and Maths
7
Readathon returns
Dip into a book and raise cash
Finding new authors and exciting new stories can
help anyone to read for pleasure, and raising money
for some fantastic charities at the same time can
make it even more rewarding.
Throughout this term, as a school we are taking up the challenge by taking part
in Readathon, The national campaign allows students to read anything they
want - books, magazines, e-books or comics, and to get sponsored to do it.
Forms are available now - the money raised going to four wonderful charities
Clic Sargent, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, Readwell and Together
for Short Lives.
At assemblies for Years 7 and 8 students have been invited to take part and
many have got involved already. A new addition for this year will be a series of
Jackanory-style readings from some exciting stories. Members of staff volunteered
to read and be recorded on video—the films will be available to view in the
library. Students have been given a challenge with each such as writing an
alternative ending, creating their own next chapter or drawing a picture of what
they heard in the story.
Get ready
for World
Book Day
We’re celebrating World Book
Day (March 5th) again this
year. The theme for the day
will be favourite authors, and
all around the school staff will
share the authors who have
inspired and entertained them.
Students and staff can dress
up as characters from any
book they like. We are planning
a display and treasure hunt
around favourite authors
Nearly half all GCSE grades were A* to B
8
Theatre trip gives students terrifying entertainment
Little Shop of Horrors
An evening visit to the Royal Exchange
theatre provided Arts Award students a
chance to see the fantastic ‘Little Shop of
Horrors. As part of the award the students
had to write a critique of the performance
and their experience of the theatre.
The Arts Award qualification inspires
students to develop their arts and leadership
talents. Amongst the reviews of the show
was this by Andrew Horsfall in Year 10:
The Little Shop of Horrors; the acting was
outstanding and most of the parts were
funny and some made me jump. The
person playing the plant ‘Audrey Two’ was
amazing doing the plant’s voice.
The film was written by the same person who wrote ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
The production was good even though there were about ten characters, it was
still well produced.
Down and out florist’s assistant Seymour becomes an overnight sensation
when he discovers an exotic plant with a macabre craving for blood! He is
secretly in love with his colleague, Audrey and names the plant after her,
Audrey Two.
The Audrey Two has plans that are far bigger than
Seymour can even imagine, as it grows into a bad
tempered, foul mouthed plant. For the plant not
eating Seymour, he has to kill people because the
plant persuades him.
The trip was a first experience for many students of
live theatre and theatre in the round at the Royal
Exchange, where the students were sat very close to
the performers. The students commented on the
style of the theatre as well as the quality of the
performance.
You can find out more at www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk
9
Performers serve up a feast of artistic fun
SPA Celebration Evening
The performing arts were the focus at
our SPA Celebration Evening. Talented
students presented songs, dance and
drama performances, accompanied by
an exhibition of students’ artwork to a
very appreciative audience.
The Radclyffe School Singers performing
Let it go from the film Frozen,
contemporary dance and a drama
performance of ‘Twas the night before
Christmas were amongst the highlights
of the show. GCSE Drama students
performed a piece they had written
themselves as part of their final examination.
Students working toward their silver Arts
Award designed tickets and programmes,
welcomed guests and acted as Master
of Ceremonies.
In the Street, guests were treated to
some of the very best artwork created
by KS3 and GCSE students, as well
as a Christmas market offering festive
refreshments and last minute Christmas
gifts. Organised by the student Voice
team, the market and raffle raised
£110 for our chosen charity Water Aid.
Head of SPA Mrs Taylor said, “All the
performers enjoyed showing off their
talents and did wonderfully well. I’d like
to thank all the parents and guests who
came along to support the event. It’s a
great opportunity to celebrate the
fantastic things we do in performing
arts.”
You can find out more at www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk
10
Twitterbriefs Peer Coaches lead language lessons
Primary MFL Day
School News in
fewer than 140
characters
On Twitter? Follow
us @TheRadclyffe
Musical instrument
tuition is on offer from
#drums to #guitar,
strings to sax. What
would you play?
CHAMPIONS! Well
done Year 8 Boys at
@oldhamssp indoor
athletics. Going on 2
represent #Oldham at
GM School Games in
March
An opportunity to support learning at
one of our partner primary schools
involved not only teachers but some
of our students this term. Peer
Coaches in Year 10 visited Whitegate
End primary school to support their
French Day.
During the day the primary children learned songs, made
French flags, tasted French food and found out about
some famous French people. By the end of the afternoon
they could identify famous Parisien landmarks and had learnt
all about the Tour de France. All the year groups from 1 to 6
got involved.
Teacher of MFL Mrs
Watkinson said,
“Our students really
enjoyed working
with the pupils. The
visit strengthened
their skills at the
same time as they
helped the primary
pupils.
A big welcome to 8
trainee teachers
from @ManMetUni
learning the job in
Music, Science, MFL,
English, Computing &
Art. Hope you enjoy “It was a great way to introduce them to what’s involved in
language teaching.”
it!
Students interviewed
for @OSFC_info
#thinkpositive and
#beexcellent
Squash to Swim
Wide choice in PE sports
GCSE PE students have added another sport to their
experience this term. They travelled to the squash
courts at Middleton Arena to learn how to play the
exciting, fast moving game.
Other trips have introduced swimming and rock climbing
(welcome indoors as the temperatures fell in January).
11
Help to stay safe online
Safer Internet Day
Many of our students spend a lot of time accessing the internet, both for
leisure and for learning. So it is very important to ensure that they are
aware of potential dangers and stay safe online.
Safer Internet Day took place on 10th
February, and throughout the week in
lessons and assemblies students
learned about the importance of managing
their privacy and other settings when
using social media.
Head of Computing Mr Maher said, “Social
networks are constantly changing, and become more popular with different
age groups. We will ensure our students as well as parents are well informed.”
If you would like to find out more about how you can help your children stay
safe online, the national campaign has a clear and simple to use website at
http://saferinternetday.org
Stars show their Computing skill
ICT All Stars
Greater confidence and awareness of
what’s needed to succeed in computing
is the aim of a special club that is boosting
students knowledge and achievement.
ICT All Stars met every week to earn
their bronze, silver and gold badges in
topics as varied as e-safety, desktop
publishing, creating presentations in
PowerPoint and using spreadsheets to
manage data.
A fantastic 134 students tested their
talents and earned their badges. Teacher
of ICT Mrs Pope-Moore said “I am
immensely proud of the students’
dedication and commitment to achieving
their badges and want to congratulate
them all.”
Some of our amazing ICT All
Stars show off their badges—
Husnah Fatima, Lyla Thapper,
Shawleen Sultana, Alina Bibi and
Jacob West
12
Be safe on the roads
Broadway crossing concern
The safety of our students as they travel to and from school is of huge
importance . We were concerned to hear from a driver on Broadway recently
that some of our students were crossing such a busy road while paying little
attention to traffic. Crossing when the pedestrian signal is on red is dangerous
on a road where vehicles will be traveling at up to 40mph. Remember that at
this time of year visibility can be poor at the start and end of the school day.
It is just over four years since one of our students
was knocked down by a lorry at the junction of
Broadway and Hunt Lane. Jesmin Begum spent 13
days in a coma but thankfully recovered. We do
not want this kind of accident to happen again.
We would ask all students to think about their
safety as they cross busy roads. Have the patience
to wait for the proper signal. If you have an
accident it is not just you who are affected - think
about the effect on your family, friends and the
driver of the vehicle.
We would ask you as parents and carers to remind your children just how
important it is to cross roads safely. We’re grateful for your efforts in showing
them what to do. It never hurts to remind them.
Active Kids is back
Sainsbury’s voucher scheme brings new sport kit
Once again we’re collecting the Sainsbury’s
Active Kids vouchers to add a little extra to
school sport.
If you do shop at Sainsbury’s or you know
anyone else who does and would collect the
vouchers please pass them on to school there is a large, brightly coloured collection
box at Student Reception.
Amongst the kit we ‘spent’ last year’s
vouchers on was a set of tags for tag rugby.
Help us to collect more vouchers this year
and we will share what we get.
13
To speak respectfully.
To behave respectfully.
To respect the school
environment.
To have respect for
your own learning.
To have respect for other
students’ learning.
14
Young children’s care opens new horizons
Teens & Toddlers
For a group of Year 10 girls, an 18 week introduction to caring for young
children is helping them to make decisions about future careers as well as
developing important skills.
The Teens & Toddlers project, organised by a national charity gives students
practical experience in a nursery setting. Our students have been visiting the
nursery at Oasis Limeside. It’s not just time in a classroom; the needs and
challenges of looking after toddlers is all part of the programme.
Spending time at the nursery
allows the young people to
experience what happens in a
real work environment as they
join the team, supporting the
staff in the day-to-day care of
the toddlers.
Once the students have finished
the programme they continue
to meet monthly up until they
sit their GCSEs. Year 11
students who went thorough
the course last year are still
gaining, helping them to focus
on their studies.
Many congratulations to this year’s successful students; Kalisha Hinds, Beth
Stirling, Lauren Scott, Mehvish Shahzad, Omay Azeem,
Nishat Tasnim, Majeha Ferdous, Mazeda Negum, Monique
Taylor, Saba Shaheen and Jodie Cornforth.
The students attended a Presentation Ceremony in the
final week before half term at Failsworth School. They
were presented with certificates recognising that they
have achieved the National Award in Interpersonal Skills.
Did you solve the brain teasers?
Carrot scarf and buttons in a field? They were the remains of a snowman, after
he had melted.
Egg circumference? It can only be the hen. Peacocks don’t lay eggs, peahens do.
You can find out more at www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk
15
Uniform winners
Auditions reveal talent
Alladin 2015
A spectacular show is promised in July,
with a production of Disney’s Alladin.
Auditions took place earlier this term
and created a lot of interest.
It was very encouraging to see so many
talented and enthusiastic students from
Years 7 to 10. The cast will be:
Iago –Coralee Overton
Jafar – Missy Carrington
Magic Carpet – Shifa Sheikh
Narrator 1 – Josie Melling
Narrator 2 – Izzy Melling
Narrator 3 – Jessica Wells
Narrator 4 – Lucy Taylor
Narrator 5 – Samina Nishat
Prince Baba Ganoush – William Hudson
Prince Dahdu Rahn-Rahn – Finn Hurst
Prince (the artist formerly known as)
Jo Parker
Jasmine – Shamaamah Hussain
Sultan – Shaniqua Denny
Aladdin – Mohibur Khan
Genie – Charlotte Taylor
Razoual – Katherine Birnie
Princess girls - Marufa Begum,
Shafia Begum-Chowdury and Terri
Leigh Green, Lacey Bintley
Guards – Darcie Roebuck, Natalie
Bradshaw, Amy Corbett, Hadia Arain,
Megan Fayers
Attendants – Alisa Imran, Halima
Begum, Laiba Qureshi, Mah Noor
Towns People – Emily Garland, Evie
Shepherd, Emma Hearder, Hallie
Stachini, Chloe Crawford
Dance Captains - Hallie Stachini,
Chloe Crawford
Well done to all our winners in this
month’s uniform draw. Each receives a
£20 Love2Shop voucher as a reward for
wearing uniform neatly and having the
right equipment.
Year 7 - Shakeel Rahman, Ivy Yan,
Mehmoona Mehboob, Rufon Miah
and Laiba Qureshi
Year 8 - Aiden Burford, Tasnim
Chaudhury, Haadiya Ali, Sultana
Yeasmin, Zakariya Rahman
Year 9 - Joe Hall, Nayema Kashem,
Alex Baglin, Haadya Sidra, Asad
Ahmed
Year 10 - Holly Toolan, Aaliyah
Edwards, Anhar Ali, Riyazul Hoque
and Tazkiah Chowdhury
Year 11 - Liam Seanor, Safikul
Alom, Ambia Khatun, Rizwan Fayyaz
and Ihtesham Shahid
Vivo Stars
Vivos are our reward programme for
students to earn points that can be used
to buy lots of interesting fun prizes.
Well done to everyone who has been
awarded this term. Our top five earners
since Christmas are:
Mohammed Usman Anwar
138
Alex Fox
118
Abbie Leigh Flanagan
115
Faheema Hussain
109
Mohammed Sulayman Ourang 109
You can find out more at www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk
16
Reward something to write home about
D&T Pens
Excellent achievements throughout the school are
rewarded with a fantastic selection of lapel badges.
But the Design & Technology faculty wanted to give
students something a little different.
The result is… The D&T Reward Pen! With an elegant,
ergonomic design the pen is especially useful for
students to produce PROUD work. At the click of a
button the pens can write in black, blue, red or green.
Black is the colour for general work, green for peer or
self assessment and blue for MAD (Make a Difference)
time.
D&T staff are awarding the pens to 50 students in
KS4 and KS3, and the pens are proving very popular.
Lateral thinking - answers from January
Jenny works at a greengrocers. We asked you what she weighs? Fruit and
vegetables of course!
You enter a deserted house at night and find an oil lamp, a gas fire and a stove full of
wood. You have only one match so what do you light first? The match.
Would you like this Large Print?
The newsletter is available as a large print version
on request.
You can also find recent editions of the newsletter
on the school website.
For more information please contact the Marketing
Manager, Mr Peden
Hunt Lane, Chadderton,
Oldham, OL9 0LS.
Tel: 0161 622 3200.
Fax: 0161 633 2183.
www.theradclyffeschool.co.uk