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The
GRIFFIN
FRIDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2015
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FROM SOUTHBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
WORD FROM THE HEADTEACHER
Niall Smith
Department for Education Performance Tables 2014
I was very pleased with our position in the DfE Performance Tables, which were published last week.
While I acknowledge that the totality of a school’s performance cannot be summed up in a few headline
statistics, our figures clearly demonstrate the strength of our academic performance:
School
(RBK Comprehensives)
5 A*-C GCSE
(including English
& Maths)
English Baccalaureate (A*-C
in English, Maths, 2 Sciences,
a Humanity and a Language)
Total
Points
Score
Holy Cross School
77%
53%
441
Coombe Girls’ School
76%
43%
450
Richard Challoner School
76%
55%
453
Southborough High School
63%
40%
400
Chessington Community College
62%
8%
349
Tolworth Girls’ School
61%
32%
434
Hollyfield School
58%
25%
383
Coombe Boys’ School
58%
22%
354
Kind regards,
Mr N. Smith
Headteacher
FOSH CORNER
CALENDAR
Mon 9 Feb
Y12 AS Geography Revision
Workshop
Tues 10 Feb
Y11/12/13 Media and
Journalism Trip to the News
Building, Lessons from Auschwitz Seminar
Wed 11 Feb
Y12/13 Visit to Old Spitalfields Market
Thur 12 Feb
Y7-10 Kingston Literary
Cup Quiz (pm), 6pm for a
6.15pm Start – Y11 Curriculum Evening (to 7pm)
Fri 13 Feb
3.10pm Break up for Half
Term
16-20 Feb Half Term
Mon 23 Feb
8.40am School Starts, Y13
Visit to Wyndham’s Theatre A
View from the Bridge (eve)
Tues 24 Feb
6th Form Media Trip to St
Mary’s University (pm)
Thur 26 Feb
6pm for a 6.15pm Start –
Y11 Study Skills Evening (to
7pm)
Sun 1 Mar
WW1 Centenary Programme
Trip to France/Belgium (to
4/3)
Mon 2 Mar
P4 Whole School Reading,
Y9/10/11/6th Form Drama &
English Trip
to Othello at The Globe (pm)
Tues 3 Mar
2.20pm Pupils finish school –
Staff Training
Wed 4 Mar
6pm Y8 & 9 Options Evening
Thur 5 Mar
D of E Bronze Day Walk in
Oxshott, Youth Service Drop
In @ Lunchtime
Fri 6 Mar
GCSE/Y8 Drama Trip to Caucasian Chalk Circle
Tues 10 Mar
PSHCE Day, 6th Form Art/
History Trip to Paris (to 12/3)
Fri 13 Mar
DoE Silver Day Walk in
Oxshott
Thur 19 Mar
4-7pm Y10 Parents’ Consultation, Y10 Trip to The
Orange Tree Theatre
Fri 20 Mar
Y7-10 School Exams (to
26/3)
Mon 23 Mar
6th Form Rag Week (to
27/3), AS Geography Trip to
Swanage (to 25/3)
Tues 24 Mar
7pm Murder Mystery
Fri 27 Mar
Break Up at Lunchtime
Mon 13 Apr
Professional Learning Day –
School Closed for Pupils
Tues 14 Apr
8.40am School Starts
FOSH will be having a cake/
hot chocolate sale later in the
term, we shall also be providing an Easter hamper and a Licensed bar for the Murder Mystery (24th March).
Our
next
major
FOSH
fund-raising event shall be a
‘pig racing evening’ on Friday
24th April – do keep this evening free in your diary. At this
event: for each race there are 6
pigs competing, each complete
with a knitted jockey. You can
bet on which pig you think will
win, and then watch the race
on the big screen. It should be
a fun evening with food and a
Licensed bar available. Children
are welcome too, and there will
be burgers, sweets and J20’s
for sale.
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The GRIFFIN
6 February
6 February
The GRIFFIN
3
L
ast night, the Year 10
Drama team delivered
what was perhaps the
most successful dramatic
production that Southborough has seen in a very
long while. And given that
the standard of all dramatic productions over the last
couple of years here has
been so very good, that’s
high praise indeed!
‘Blood Brothers’ - a successful West End show originally written and presented
as a school play in 1982 by
Willy Russell - was played to
a packed hall and received an
encore of applause from the
highly impressed audience of
parents, students and Southborough staff.
As many will know, Blood
Brothers is a contemporary
‘nature versus nurture’ plot
revolving
around
fraternal
twins who were separated
at birth. The twins different
backgrounds take them to opposite ends of the social spectrum, one becoming a councillor and the other unemployed
and in prison. They both fall in
love with the same girl, causing a tear in their friendship
which ultimately leads to the
tragic death of both brothers.
The play was both set and
then originally debuted in
Liverpool and mastering the
‘scouse’ accents of the characters in the play was one of the
biggest challenges that our
drama students had to face.
But face it they certainly did,
delivering perfect Liverpudlian
accents that bowled over the
admiring audience!
The mix of rhyming dialogue and long soliloquies presented another big challenge,
but through countless hours
of rehearsals and many more
Head of Drama Mr Melhuish,
keeping an eagle eye on things
hours of practice at home, our
boys performed brilliantly on
the night!
A School Governor and
parent commented the morning after the show: “Without
slipping into hyperbole, last
night’s performance was truly memorable with hugely impressive performances by all.
My youngest son now wants to
read the play for himself.”
Another
Southborough
parent commented: “My son
spent hours and hours practising his lines in a Liverpudlian
accent and I feared that it was
just going to be too much on
the night. I was thrilled that
his performance went so well
– but also was incredibly impressed in how the entire cast
had pulled such an amazing
show together, giving wonderful performances. The show
was superb!”
Mr Cooper, Head of Year 10
added: “I feel so very proud
of these guys. They clearly
worked so hard and their performance was outstanding.”
Of course, shows like this
just don’t just ‘happen’ and
a huge thank you must also
go to the 6th form Production
Arts Team and 6 form Music Technology Team for their
fantastic hard work and input throughout – and to Mrs
Furminger and Mrs Taylor for
‘Front of House’. The biggest
thanks of all, though, must go
to Head of Drama Mr Melhuish
and Drama Teaching Assistant
Miss Parsons for all their hard
work, patience, commitment
and drive in making this production such a success. WELL DONE AGAIN TO THE CAST AND CREW!
TALENTED YEAR 10
DRAMA STUDENTS
DELIVER OUTSTANDING
PERFORMANCE OF
BLOOD BROTHERS
YOU WERE AMAZING!
Cast Act One:
Narrator
Mrs Johnstone
Mrs Lyons
Mr Lyons
Mickey
Eddie
Linda
Milkman
Sammy
Finance Man
Catalogue Man
Policeman
George Povey
James Salter
Josh Baxter
Bobby Hughes
Charlie Conlon
Charlie Pearce
Adil Sahara
Nikos Shine
Joel Severino
Kci Aboim
Leo Haines
Bilal Chattun
Cast Act Two:
Narrator
Mickey
Eddie
Linda
Conductor / Policeman
Sammy
Judge
Perkins
Seamus Hunter
Nauris Melnbarzdis
Declan Roberts
Nikos Shine
Darrel Hawes
Kci Aboim
Danial Siddiqi
Zubair Bhatti
Crew:
Make Up
Lily Rother, Aravint Chandrian
Set
Danny Cunnett, Sade Morris
and Callum McGilvray
Stage Manager
Abivarman Jeevanthan
Sound Technicians
Gemma Kwon and Tim Nagamani
Front of House
Mrs Furminger, Mrs Taylor
Filming
Mr Milliken
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6 February
BAY OF NAPLES TRIP A BLAST!
Last week, a large group of
Year 10, 11 and 12 Geography
students found themselves at
Gatwick, eagerly awaiting their
flight to Naples International
Airport in Italy. From there, they
were to spend the next four days
exploring the Bay of Naples, a
place renowned for its cornucopia of environmental sites guaranteed to impress even the most
discerning of Geographers.
Staying in a village not far
from Sorrento, the students began, on day one, by learning all
about tectonic plates and volcanoes in the area, with Mount Vesuvius as the number one case
study. Climbing up the volcano itself took quite a bit of effort on the part of both students
and staff members Miss Bassnett-Barker, Mr Walker, Mr Cooper and Mr Dixon. However, once
at the top, they marvelled at the
amazing view, which went on for
miles as the sky was clear and
cloud-free that day. The red and
black coloured igneous rock and
pumice stone was interesting to
see and hold (so light!) and the
students were told that the fact
that the volcano was smoking
was a GOOD sign - as opposed
to ‘not smoking’ equalling a very
bad sign indeed!
A trip to Pompei followed.
The famous ancient city was
completely annihilated in AD79
when Mount Vesuvius spectacularly erupted, killing thousands
of people and animals and destroying towns and cities surrounding many miles in its path.
After many years of careful excavation, large areas of the city
can now be explored and experienced through the eyes of modern visitors – and our students
were suitably in awe of such an
amazing site.
Geography ‘A’ level student
Cameron Ritchie, who was inter-
viewed for this piece, commented: “Pompei was absolutely surreal and its scale was truly mind
blowing! We had the entire afternoon to explore the site, and
yet we could have spent a whole
week covering the area! We saw
grooves made by the chariots in
the streets and alleyways, remains of the main city centre,
public baths - and even the local
brothel! It was amazing!”
A visit to the coast the following day gave the students
an ideal opportunity to witness past and present day land
movement caused by tectonic
plates and they loved visiting
an area packed with mini volcanoes with gas spurting out. The
area looked - literally - out of
this world, although the sulphur
made it rather smelly!
A trip to the Archaeological Museum in Naples city centre was extremely interesting.
Packed with sculptures, marble
and castes of Pompei victims,
the museum was huge and stu-
dents enjoyed spotting ‘lookalikes’ of their teachers amongst
the many hundreds of ancient
busts!
A visit to the smaller town of
Herculaneum, followed by some
welcome shopping in Sorrento
town centre was enjoyed by all.
The students had such a lovely
time, they even clubbed together and bought token gifts for
their teachers.
Year 12 student Cameron
Ritchie summed up the experience as follows: “It was an
amazing trip. However, one of
the nicest surprises to come out
of it was the fact that the different year groups mixed so well together, so we made new friends
as well as saw some spectacular
sites.”
Many thanks must go to the
teachers who took the time to
both organise and run the trip,
namely Miss Bassnett-Barker, Mr
Walker, Mr Cooper and Mr Dixon.
A fabulous Geography trip to remember!
6 February
The GRIFFIN
5
EXTRACT FROM SEC ED:
Shakespeare and drama
across the school
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY
2015: YEAR 10 STUDENTS HEAR A
BRAVE, LOCAL WOMAN’S STORY
Imagine you are a very young boy or girl, going
home to your parents after school one random day and
being told that you were going to be sent away for an
indefinite length of time. Imagine also the realisation
that you were going to have to leave your parents,
brothers and sisters, in fact anyone and everything that
you loved and cherished in your young life, and travel
alongside a group of strangers to somewhere unknown.
Imagine then finding yourself in a different country, living with more strangers and having no way to ever contact your loved ones. And after several painfully lonely
years, imagine finding out that all your family have perished and that you’ll never, ever see them again… and
you’re still such a young child.
Last week, a group of Year 10 History and Religious
Studies students visited the Orthodox Synagogue in
Surbiton last Wednesday afternoon in order to mark
the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of Holocaust
Memorial Day.
Accompanied by Mr McMillan, Mr Needs, Mr Iles and
Miss Pike, the students joined others in a special event
designed to engage young people more fully with the
Jewish community and to remember the millions of
people who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
Whilst there, our boys were privileged to get the
chance to listen to a talk given by a woman called Bronia
Snow, a brave lady who, over seventy years ago, lived
through the living hell of being sent away from home
in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to live amongst strangers in
England, only to find some years later that her entire
family had been killed in Auschwitz.
After the talk, there was a question and answer session and the boys worked in small groups with other
members from the synagogue. Our boys got the chance
to find out more about the horrors of the Holocaust and
think and reflect on how such an awful event could have
ever occurred. Sonia spent time answering questions
from the boys, who were eager to find out more.
For their part, our well behaved students conducted
themselves with immense dignity and were a real credit
to the school. Many thanks to Mrs Bronia Snow – who
has lived happily for many years in England since her
personal ordeal – and to everyone at the Kingston Synagogue for their kind hospitality.
Please use link below to see a very interesting article in the Sec Ed online with
Mr Melhuish, our Head of Drama.
http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/
best-practice/shakespeare-anddrama-across-the-school
Y7 BOROUGH INDOOR
ATHLETICS
The Year 7 Borough Indoor athletics
were held at CCC, the boys came second
out of four. There were some outstanding
performances from Charlie Whittaker and
Jack Greig to name but two.
U19 BASKETBALL
The U19 basketball team achieved their
first win of the season last week when we
hosted Redbridge College in the Dynamik
England Men's Conference (national competition). Winning 59-24, a great team performance and showing promise moving forward.
WORD OF THE WEEK: ‘PROPITIOUS’
Our word this week is 'propitious'. The word 'propitious' means 'presenting favourable circumstances
or showing signs of a favourable outcome'. As we await numbers for entry here next year and
remain keenly hopeful that results in the summer will please, perhaps the word 'propitious' applies.
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The GRIFFIN
6 February
Book of
the week!
MUSIC
CLUBS
Blindness
Imagine a world in which everyone inexplicably lost their
sight. What might happen? How might you find your way home?
How might you find your loved ones again? How would you be
able to survive? José Saramago’s Blindness is a dystopian story of a sudden and terrifying mass epidemic of blindness that
afflicts nearly everyone in an unnamed city. The social order
unravels as the government attempts to contain the contagion
and keep order by quarantining the ‘infected’ in an abandoned
hospital. As panic sets in, the situation becomes more and more
desperate. The infected find themselves in an ever increasingly
dangerous situation as inmates begin to turn on each other to
survive. Not only is this a white-knuckle read from start to finish, it will also make you think twice about just how lucky you
really are to have your sight. Miss Pike
SAINSBURY’S ACTIVE KIDS
We are now collecting
these vouchers in order to
obtain free PE kit for the
pupils. In previous years
we have been able to
send off for some fantastic equipment. So please
do bring in /send in your
vouchers to reception.
Please ask neighbours,
relatives and friends for their vouchers to help us get as
many as possible. Many thanks in advance for your help.
7
CAN YOU HOST A
STUDENT FROM OUR
MADRID PARTNER
SCHOOL COLEGIOS
EL VALLE?
SOUTHBOROUGH SCHOOL TRIP
TO MADRID OCTOBER 2015
TUESDAY: 12.50
MUSIC 1 – JAZZ BAND
At present we have 3 trumpets,
1 trombone and 1 baritone – any
brass or woodwind players of at
least Grade 3 standard would be
very welcome!
WEDNESDAY: 12.50
MUSIC 1 - UKULELE CLUB
If you have already played or you
would like to improve your skills,
come along to make music!
THURSDAY: 12.50
BANDITS
Aimed at any KS3 pupil, the
Bandits is a rock/pop band you are
welcome to join. We need a decent
keyboard player particularly!
FRIDAY: 12.50
MUSIC 1 – SINGING CLUB
Singing for everyone – all ages
welcome!
Wednesday
Lunch
All boys in Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) are invited to take part
in Southborough’s annual trip to Madrid which will take place
from Tuesday 20th October –
Monday October 26th 2015. Students spend the week with
the family of a student from our Spanish partner school Colegios el Valle. The trip includes a visit to the Santiago Bernabéu
stadium, the home of Real Madrid, and a trip to the historical
city of Toledo, along with plenty of evening activities such as a
night out watching a Spanish football match.
The total cost for this trip is £350.
WEEKLY FIXTURES LIST - W/C MONDAY 9th FEBRUARY
Fixture Date
Staff
9/2/15
Mr Jordan
Y8 v Rutlish 11/2/15
Mr Colbert
U19 B’ball v Barking - AWAY 3.45 TO
12/2/15
Mr Jordan
Cricket – Indoor league @R. Challoner U15’s - 6pm and 7.10pm
13/2/15
TBC
U19 B’ball v Coombe - AWAY 3.45 TO
MENU w/c MONDAY 9th FEBRUARY
The maths department offers help after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays. Please come along. If you’d like to develop your thinking
skills, why not join us at chess club or puzzle club?
Tuesday
Is your son in Years 9-12?
We are looking for families to
host students from our Madrid
partner school, Colegios el Valle
from Sunday June 21st – Sunday
June 28th 2015.
Trips planned for the week include a visit to Hampton Court, a
day trip to London, evening activities such as bowling at the rotunda, and a barbecue event at the
school.
As a host family your son will
be entitled to take part in the
above activities for free.
As a host family you will be expected to provide breakfast and an
evening meal as well as a warm,
inviting atmosphere for our guests.
Interested families should contact Head of MFL Mr Johnson at
djohnson@southborough.kingston.sch.uk
MUSIC 1 – YEAR 7 ‘PLAY TIME’
For those who would enjoy getting
together with others on a variety
of instruments and producing performances of various songs.
MATHS CLUBS
After School
The GRIFFIN
MONDAY: 12.50
by Jose Saramago
Monday
6 February
Thursday
Friday
Chess club (B7) Maths challenge club (B5)
Maths help for
Maths help
Y11
for Y11
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Chicken Korma
Pizza
Roast Chicken
Lasagne
Battered
Onion Bhajji
Veggie Pizza
Veggie Quiche
Vegetarian
Pollock
Burgers
Potato Wedges
Roast Potatoes,
Bolognaise
Veggie
Rice
Peas & Carrots
Yorkshire
Garlic Bread
Sausages
Green Beans &
Meringue Nests
Pudding
Sweetcorn
Chips
Angel Delight
Baked Beans
Maths help
for Y7-10
Maths help
for Y11
(B8)
(B6)
(B5)
(B5)
Carrots
& Gravy
Puzzle club
Maths help for
Y7-10
Maths help for
Y7-10
Maths help
for Y7-10
Fruit Crumble &
Mixed Veg
Custard
Raspberry Jelly
(B5)
(B5)
(B7)
(B8)
Rice Pudding
Jacket Potatoes, paninis, bakes beans, salad, fresh fruit and a variety of sandwiches and rolls are also served
every day.
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The GRIFFIN
6 February
Southborough High School / PE Department
Key Stage 3 & 4 Extra
Curricular Programme Spring Term 2015
Monday
Lunchtime
After School
Gym - Table Tennis Club – No Clubs – Staff Meetings
up to 20 participants JCO
Astro –Y7
Tuesday
Astro – Y8 Rugby Club - All Years
CJO / ACO – School Field
Football Club – Year 7
ADU / KSC - Astro
Wednesday
Astro – Y9
Football Club – Year 8
JCO - Astro
Thursday
Astro – Y10 Football Club – Year 9
Y 7/8 cricket bowling machine ACO
– 6th formers
Friday
Astro – Y11
Badminton – Gym JCO
Personalised training programs
OPEN TO YEARS 10-13
THE WEIGHTS ROOM
WEDNESDAYS
3:20-4:30PM
THE
MUSCLE
PROJECT
STRENGTH
MUSCLE
WEIGHT LOSS
DIET ADVICE
Weights room & Fitness suite
Extra Curricular Programme
Lunchtime After School
Monday
Year 11 Weights gym & Fitness suite JCO
Staff Meetings
Tuesday
Year 10 weights gym & Fitness suite* CJO
Years 10/11 & 6th form
weights gym & Fitness suite*
Wednesday 6th form weights gym & fitness suite* KSC
Thursday
Yr 10 Core PE
The Muscle Project- MHA
Years 10/11 & 6th form weights
gym & Fitness suite* JCO
Friday
Yr 11 Core PE
Years 10/11 & 6th form weights
gym & fitness suite*
MHA
* Due to the popularity of this club there will be limited entry into the weights room & fitness suite.