GCSE Presentation Evening
Last week on Wednesday evening we held our annual GCSE Awards Evening. The purpose of the event was to celebrate the achievements of our ‘Class of 2019’. This year, saw all subject areas moving to the new challenging 9-1 GCSE examination qualifications. There has been lots of discussion, as I am sure you are aware in the press this summer, on how these exams are far tougher than any previous GCSEs. However, despite the significant increase in challenge, this group of students did brilliantly in their GCSEs this year.
Their outcomes were the highest of any non-selective school in Plymouth and the highest in the Westcountry Schools Trust. During the evening the students were presented with their GCSE certificates, along with a number of young people receiving special trophies in recognition of subject achievement, amazing effort, perseverance and resilience. Well done to each and every student; you did the school proud. I would also like to thank all the staff – you went above and beyond, and it was greatly appreciated. Last, but by no means least, a big ‘thank you’ to our parents and carers for their support throughout.
Mr Wookey, their Head of Year, spoke from the heart about the pastoral care and support he and Miss Holton led with their tutor team. One of our parents summed this up “A wonderful environment where children are educated in so much more than exams. Every child in the year group was given the chance to have their moment to shine.”
Our Governors commented “Wonderful evening at Plymstock school GCSE awards, equipping their charges to be the best they can be, the passion, confidence and respect will count for as much as the excellent exam results. Congratulations to all the staff at PLYMSTOCK SCHOOL”
Our special guest this year was Johnny Rutherford. Johnny is a multi-award winning Video Journalist and Cameraman who has creatively worked in television broadcasting for more than 30 years. He has experience in film, drama, wildlife, documentaries, news & international sporting events; and has enjoyed working at the last six summer Olympics for both BBC and OBS. Johnny can be often seen on BBC South West reporting for BBC Spotlight.
Johnny said” “Thank you for inviting me. It was real pleasure to talk about BBCTV and @BBCSpotlight and meet so many students who have done so well. Good luck to all.”
He spoke about having a passion and following that dream. We all enjoyed his humour and his story telling
I would like to say a big thank you to Johnny for joining us – he was just brilliant.
Plus a special thank you goes to ex-student Stuey Nosworthy and team from his Plymouth Event Production Company, AVLX, for the fantastic job they did providing professional technical support with the audio, video and lighting for the evening.
I would like to thank our whole school community for their hard work and effort over the last 12-months – you have all been incredible, and we look forward to building further on this success.
Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) trip to the National Aquarium
Last Friday Mr Farrant led an absolutely fantastic STEM trip to the National Aquarium which was put on by The Maritime Trust in hope of developing participation of girls in STEM. There were a total of 29 girls from years 7 and 8 that attended the day and I was extremely delighted with how well they represented the school.
The day consisted of 4 different workshops. Firstly, there was an interactive seminar on how to develop a growth mindset and explore the principles of a “can do” attitude to help with self-confidence. The students were then fortunate enough to interview a variety of different female professionals all in careers linked to STEM and the sea! These included underwater archaeologists, ecologists, Royal Navy officers, boat engineers and researchers for speed sailing. It was noted that our students excelled in asking engaging questions and took a real interest in finding out the variety of opportunities possible to them. They then had to work in teams to create their own sails and find out which produced the highest voltage in the electricity test. Finally, the students took part in a hands-on technology workshop that consisted of coding, creating engine turbines, understanding sonar and creating pistons within circuits.
Year 8 Rugby Team – Win the Plymouth and West Devon Rugby Tournament
On Tuesday Mr Bellamy took the team to the Plymouth and West Devon Rugby Tournament which they won. Mr Bellamy said “The boys were a credit to the school and had some tough matches, especially against St Boniface and Devonport High. They have been a committed team and attend training regularly. I am proud to have spent the afternoon with them and they played some great stuff”.
Congratulations to this team, we are very proud of the success, effort and resilience and are grateful to Mr Bellamy for the time, energy and passion he put into working with them.
Success for Plymstock School in the Devon Schools Alpine Ski Championships
This may be a first for a Plymstock sports team! – A podium finish in the Devon Schools Alpine Ski Championships!
Jacob, Oliver and Finley who train at Plymouth Ski Centre, represented Plymstock School on Sunday at Torquay Alpine Ski Club’s annual event. The boys raced against very strong competition from 16 other secondary schools, many of which have a very long history of ski racing, including successfully training British Olympic athletes. It’s worth mentioning that the majority of these teams represented Public Schools.
Their hard training supported by excellent coaching on the tougher and steeper surface here at Plymouth really paid off. All 3 boys put down 2 superb runs, which combined, resulted in a well-deserved third place awarded to their Plymstock team.
Additionally, Jacob’s own individual performance won him the award of fastest Senior (16-19 years) in Devon.
Shoe Boxes – Operation Christmas Child
Tracy Childs, one of our Teaching Assistants, helps organise a collection for this appeal with our students and staff, every year. Tracy wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. They were added to those collected by Plymstock United Church and over 140 boxes of gifts are now on their way to bring love and joy to some of the world’s neediest children. The photo shows TA, Tracy Childs, and the Church’s co-ordinator, along with just some of the many boxes generously donated.
Thank you Tracy.
YOUNG AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME 2019
At Plymstock School we currently have 8 students who have been identified as young leaders and volunteers with a responsibility of acting as an ambassador for PE and school sport. They form a vital link between the students, teachers, Leadership & Volunteering Coordinator & School Games Organiser, working closely with Mrs Hughes to offer sporting opportunities to others.
Kate, Lauren, Molly and Lottie all in Year 11 are our Gold Young Ambassadors who work across a local area coordinating activity. These Young Ambassadors also support the training of Silver and Bronze Young Ambassadors. Leah, Holly, Imogen and Carmen in Year 10 are our Silver Young Ambassadors who work in our school and are trained locally by Platinum and Gold Young Ambassadors using resources supplied by the Youth Sport Trust.
Last week our Young Ambassadors supported a primary athletics event hosted by the Plymouth Schools Sports Partnership here at Plymstock School. They performed a valuable role allowing this event to take place and giving younger children the opportunity to develop and enjoy sporting success. The programme also allows other students interested in volunteering the opportunity to get involved. Iris and Charlie in Year 10 benefitted from the experience during this event.
A fantastic achievement and we are very proud of their hard work and for being such wonderful role models for the primary students who attended. Brilliant leadership by all!
Sister Act Update
On Saturday, over 60 students came into school to do a 6-hour intensive rehearsal for Sister Act. The cast made huge amounts of progress due to their hard work throughout the whole day. The show is looking amazing and promises to be a high quality, high energy, all singing, all dancing extravaganza! We would like to thank all the students for their amazing efforts and their parents for allowing them to miss a day of family time! Mrs Lowe would also like to thank Miss Grainger, Miss Connor and Mr Chick for their hard work on the day as well.
Tickets will be on sale soon – watch this space!
Cheesecake!
Mrs Worley’s Year 11 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition class were tasked with creating a cheesecake, and then decorating it how they wished to show off their creative skills. The photos are on the food tech instagram page, and the cheesecake with the highest number of votes will win a prize. The class all worked fantastically well, with some challenging decorative techniques. Mrs Worley said they were the smoothest cheesecakes she had seen and would have been more than happy to receive one in a restaurant! The cheesecake which stood out for Mrs Worley was made by Eleanor, who not only made her own sauce, but also attempted home-made chocolate truffles.
A fantastic effort by all!
Annual Rotary Young Artist of the Year Awards
Open to all students in secondary education across Plymouth, the Young Artist of the Year competition has three categories: Years 7-9, Years 10-11, and sixth form. This is a showcase for budding creative talent across the city and an opportunity for young artists to network with active members of the art world.
Mr Hurd-Thomas said “It was with very great pleasure that I attended the annual Rotary Young Artist of the Year Awards on Monday night.” Several of our students had work in the show, two being highly commended and three won prizes. The work on display was drawn from schools across the city and was of a very accomplished standard.
The students representing Plymstock were;
Teodora (KS3 – 3rd Prize), Xiaoying (KS3 – 2nd Prize), Max (KS4 -2nd Prize), Tom (KS4 – Highly Commended), Lily (KS5 – Highly Commended), Annabel (KS5) and Olivia (KS4).
Well done everyone. Some amazing work from a group of incredibly talented young people.
Careers@Plymstock
Our fourth week of Careers Insight focuses on Careers in The South West #Gatsby Benchmarks
Devon and Cornwall may be well known for its beautiful coastline and countryside, but we should not overlook the wealth of employment opportunity that the South West offers.
Challenge Week Booklet 2020
The Year 8 & 9 Challenge Week Booklet for 2020 is being sent home via students on Monday 25th November 2019. Please read the document carefully as it contains important information about the week and the allocation process. Returns need to be back into school by December 2nd 2019.
Please direct any questions to twilkins@plymstockschool.org.uk
We now reach our students of the week section. Our winners include:
Keira, Gabby, Jessica and Olivia have all been extremely helpful this week and have been particularly praised by Mrs Crookston, our Business Manager. These delightful young ladies helped by putting the chairs away at the end of lunchtime in the Galley. Thank you to all of you; this is greatly appreciated!
Jake and Harry are to be praised for their quick thinking and for offering their assistance to our Meal Time Assistant when another student was hurt whilst playing on the tennis courts at lunchtime. Thank you both; you are a real credit to the school!
Zack, who is in Year 9, not only scribed for another student in his geography lesson but also annotated a text and supported their understanding. We are so proud of you Zack; thank you for being such a caring young person. Ms Bartlett said of Zach that he has been working excellently and his knowledge and recall have been brilliant.
Esmay, has been nominated for being an amazingly thoughtful and kind young person. She has gone above and beyond to support another student recently. Well done Esmay, we are really proud of you!
Matthew has been chosen this week for always dazzling us with his amazing knowledge. He tries his best in his lessons even when it is difficult, he’s extremely resilient and works very hard. Most importantly, he is a positive role model to other students.
Anna exhibited absolutely amazing effort with the school production rehearsals for ‘Sister Act’. She learnt songs brilliantly well, and nearly made Mrs Lowe cry (which is unheard of!) because her song was so beautiful; all the while being an amazing student. Total star!
And finally…
A final reminder of an event next week if you want to ‘Get into Teaching’ and we hope you do!
If you are thinking of a career in teaching, or know someone who is, please join us for our ‘Get into Teaching’ open morning on Saturday 30th November in the Galley, 10:00 – 12:00. The team from The Learning Institute South West will be on hand to discuss the Primary/Secondary Initial Teacher Training course and can answer questions on funding, entry requirements, PGCE qualifications and routes into the teaching profession.
To sign up for this event, please register here – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/get-into-teaching-information-session-plymstock-school-tickets-80672767419?ref=estw
We are looking forward to meeting you.
Mr Kris Chick
Associate Assistant Head Teacher
Initial Teacher Training
