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Autumn Term

2015

www.testvalley.hants.sch.uk

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Year 11 Leavers 2015 Presentation Evening

Prize winners with Guest of Honour - Alex Lewis

At the end of November Test Valley School held its annual Presentation Evening to celebrate the success of returning Year 11 pupils from last year. The school was delighted by their success in their GCSEs in the summer.

The evening saw them receiving their GCSE certificates with the opportunity for their tutors to share what they have gone on to do next and their favourite memories of being at school. The event culminated in the presentation of 32 special awards all eagerly anticipated and well received. The school is very grateful to all the sponsors of these awards, many are local individuals and organisations who have proved to be longstanding friends of the school and many attended to present their awards.

The guest of honour this year was Alex Lewis who gave a very inspirational talk on his personal journey and the important part others can play in your life.

Louisa Hiscock (Headteacher) said: ‘we always look forward to this event when we welcome the pupils back with their families to celebrate their success. This year was undoubtedly a very special evening and there was much to celebrate. I are very proud of their achievements and also very grateful for having such a strong and committed staff working with and supporting all our pupils to do so well.’

See list of winners on page 4

Boston & New York Trip

Half Term gave an opportunity for 47 pupils to visit

both Boston and New York—see our photo album on

pages 16-17

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Dear Parent

I am delighted to welcome you to this edition of our newsletter, celebrating the many events, activities and

opportunities our pupils and staff have taken part in this term. I am always thrilled and amazed by how much

we manage to fit into one term. I have certainly enjoyed being reminded of all the different activities across all

year groups and subject areas.

As I write we are close to the end of a long Autumn Term and are all looking forward to the Christmas holidays.

It has, as always, proved to be a very busy term. We returned in September able to celebrate very good GCSE

examination results being achieved. It was lovely to welcome back the pupils in November to our annual

Presentation Evening and congratulate them on their success.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support. We

look forward to next term, returning to school on Monday January 4th.

With best wishes

Miss L Hiscock

Headteacher

Headteacher’s Message

Year 10/ 11 Food

Technology pupils helped to

run a successful coffee

event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. They

served tea, coffee and delicious cakes to Test

Valley school staff. £228.37 was raised in total.

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone

who attended and donated so generously.

Mrs Hudson

Serving up tea and cake— Lucy Monson Daisy Hillier Will Thorburn Amy

Broadberry Mateusz Palmer Laura Keane

£630.00 raised by our non-uniform day and two

pupils taking part in a sponsored silence

Pupils and

Staff raised

£520.71

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School’s incredible response to Refugee Appeal and Rotary School Box Appeal

On Wednesday 23rd September, Test Valley School sent a large donation of collected goods and clothing for refugees fleeing Syria and other war torn countries. The school had been collecting donations of men’s clothing, tents and sleeping bags for the past week and a half following an appeal from a parent who was travelling to a refugee camp to help out on the 26th and 27th September.

Each year a number of Year 11 pupils form a Charities Committee and as soon as they heard about the appeal they set to work talking to pupils and staff and giving assemblies. With only just over a week to collect donations they were unsure of the response that they would receive. However, all expectations were exceeded and on Wednesday morning they were pleased to be handing over 20 tents, 14 sleeping bags, as well as numerous blankets, bags of clothing and shoes.

The response to the appeal demonstrates the strong sense of community we value at our school. Louisa Hiscock (Headteacher) said: ‘We were delighted to be able to support this and, as always, I am so pleased at how pupils and staff rallied to this humanitarian cause’.

From left to right, members of the Charity Committee: -

Tom Madden , Luke Dennis, Cameron Maguire, Jasmin-Ann Thomson, Heidi Faux-Whitehead, Emily Fitzpatrick and Kai Mumford.

Test Valley School was delighted to participate in the annual shoebox appeal organised locally by Andover Rotary Club. This project involved pupils and staff filling shoeboxes with a range of small gifts to be distributed to individual children and young people across the world who are likely to re-ceive very little at Christmas. The school was pleased to be able to send 78 shoeboxes this year.

Each year the school’s Charity Committee is keen to support this appeal and they would like to thank the generosity of all staff and pupils who contributed. We are also grateful for the support of the Rotary Club who co-ordinate this project across the local area and ensure the shoeboxes reach their destinations safely and in time for Christmas.

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English Emily Payne

English Literature Jake Penny

Mathematics Jeremy Wen

Physics Jonathan Smith

Biology Eve Cavey

Chemistry Seamus O’Farrell

Environmental Science Daniel Meade

French Steven Dade

German Holly Deere

GCSE ICT Jin Ying Wong

Geography Ellis Andrews

History Emma Fisher

D&T RMT Practical Work Sam Waters

Graphics Rachel Chambers

D&T Electronics Josh Powell

Art Alice Monson

Music Josh Yard

Drama Ella Cruz

D&T Food Leah Mansbridge

Textiles Anna Pearce

Child Development Emma Foster

RE Evie Templeman

Sportsperson (F) Erin Phillips

Sportsperson (M) John Darling

PE Lucy Hudson

Science Exceptional Improvement Jacob Foord

Personal Achievement Ellis Andrews

Service Above Self (Rotary) Daniel Bavister

Effort and Attitude Tessa Bundy

Personal Endeavour Margaret Cooper

Overall Achievement Holly Deere

Rising Star Seamus O’Farrell

Award Winner

2015 Year 11 Leavers—List of Prize Winners Year 10 Trip to St Paul’s Cathedral

On the 11th

December a group of

Year 10 RE pupils

visited St Pauls

Cathedral in London

to examine the signs

and symbolism

within the Church.

Pupils began with a

guided trail around

the Cathedral with

their attention being

drawn to areas, objects and art that relate to issues

such as war, peace, remembrance, suffering, birth,

morals, Biblical teaching, preaching and prayer. They

were encouraged by our guide to think about the

function of the

Cathedral as a

place for worship,

reflection and

debate for those

of other faiths/

beliefs. Pupils

then climbed to

the Whispering

Gallery, the first

level within the

dome and two

pupils

demonstrated how it worked by sending messages

from the far side of the dome to the rest of the

group. Finally pupils climbed the 2nd and 3rd stages of

the dome and had clear views out over the rest of

London from the very top. All pupils behaved

exceptionally well and were a credit to Test Valley

School.

By Mrs Osborne

The Group at Convent Garden

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World War One Battlefields Tour—By Kira Nash Year 10

On the 5 _7th October Izzy Woodfield (Year 11), Mrs Allsopp

and I (Kira Nash Year 10) went with 30 others from different

schools in Southampton and Bournemouth to France and

Belgium. While we were there we visited various locations

where fighting took place in WW1.

On the first day we

visited the Lijssenthoek

Military Cemetery in

Ypres. There were

10,785 burials between

1914-1919 and only 35

of the graves are

unnamed. In the cemetery there are British, American,

Canadian, German and Chinese graves and a Sikh memorial

stone. At the entrance to the Cemetery there are metal rods

that mark the number of

people buried on each day.

We were also fortunate

enough to be able to visit the

grave of a man called Charles

Kimber who died in WW1

from the village where I live

(East Tytherley), he was buried

at Ferme-Olivier Cemetery

Belgium.

At 8pm every day the last post is sounded at the Menin Gate

in Ypres and on the Monday we were there. There are

54,406 names recorded on the Menin Gate all of which have

no known graves. Since 11 November 1929 the Last Post has

been sounded at the Menin Gate Memorial every night and

in all weathers. The only exception to this was during the

four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20 May

1940 to 6 September 1944.

On the Tuesday we spent the day in France and visited the

Thiepval memorial and the Newfoundland Memorial Park.

The Thiepval memorial was built between 1928 and 1932 and

is the largest British war memorial in the world. There are

72,192 British and South African men recorded missing who

died on the Somme between 1915 and March 1918 who have

no known graves. Thiepval is currently undergoing

renovation.

The Newfoundland Memorial Park is dedicated to the

Newfoundland soldiers who

were killed during WW1. The

preserved battle field is the

site of the Newfoundland

Regiment’s unsuccessful attack

on the first day of the Battle of

the Somme.

I was also able to find two further men from East Tytherley

who have no known graves at the Vis-En-Artios memorial.

Their names are Elvie George Musselwhite and Fredrick Allen

Hiscock.

On the final day we visited

Tyne Cot Cemetery which

is the largest British and

Commonwealth cemetery

in the world. There are

11,956 soldiers buried here

and a further 34,927 UK

and New Zealand soldiers who were killed after 15th August

1917 recorded on memorial panels across the back wall.

It was a very enjoyable and informative week and made you

appreciate what men went through to serve our country. It’s

not until you see the graves lined up side by side, English and

German next to

each other, you

realise the enormity

of what happened.

On the 3rd December, the RE department took a group of

Year 8 pupils to experience Hindu Worship. The building

itself is magnificent, taking three years to build, as each

part was hand craved by 100 volunteers. The pupils were a

delight and will have gained a lot from the day, which they

can use in their upcoming lessons on Hinduism.

Mrs Smyth—Humanities Teacher

RE Trip to Neasden Mandir

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The all-important Futures Day took place on Wednesday 23rd September enabling an early opportunity in

the term for Year 11 to find out what colleges, 6th forms and work areas (including the forces) have to

offer.

The event was attended by a wide range of local providers to accommodate the large geographical area

serviced by Test Valley School and it catered for the needs of each individual by providing a personal

programme of choices for each pupil.

The event was followed up by a well-attended information evening on 6th October. This event enabled

parents and pupils to talk to individual colleges, 6th forms and apprenticeship providers on a one to one

basis and attend workshops on pathways into university and exam preparation.

The excitement of visiting colleges and finding about specific subjects and their content is now well underway. By Mr Langdown—Year 11 Co-ordinator

Year 11 Futures Day and Information Evening

Ten Year 9 girls were given the opportunity to visit the ‘Ada

Lovelace Day’ celebrations at the IBM Centre, Hursley in

October.

Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852) was a controversial

mathematician and pioneer of computational thinking. Not

only was she the daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron,

Ada became one of the world’s first computer programmers

and was an extremely influential figure in the development of

modern day computing.

The girls attended the event and collaborated with other

schools from Hampshire to produce complex solutions to a

variety of computational problems.

The event gave our pupils the opportunity to work alongside

various female IT professionals from IBM, raising the

aspirations of young women and encouraging them to pursue

a career in computer programming and software

development.

Activities included programming robots to solve rubix cube

problems, game design, software testing, virtual reality,

emerging technologies and much more.

The BBC were also present to document the event and

celebrate the female role model’s contribution to Computer

Science. Many of the girls were interviewed by the reporters

and appeared on the ‘BBC South Today’ televised news report

later that day.

Congratulations to Annabel Anderson who won first prize on

the day for her Computer Programming skills.

The day was very successful and all of those who participated

had a great time learning about new concepts in modern day

computing, as well as celebrating the female founding

‘mother’ of Computer Science.

By Mr Willcox—Head of Computing

Computing Department News

Attendees—Annabel Anderson Ellenar Bunn Amelia

Cairns Sophie Henry Abbie Hollinshead Mia Keable Kitty

Loader Brezinskis Talisker O’Farrell Tizzy Stiles-Palmer

Alice Woodfield

Visit IBM Hursley for Ada Lovelace Day

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By Mrs Wingham - Head of Geography

Geography Department News

Geography makes you Appy!

This has been a very busy half term with

a number of trips going out. Year 8

visited Hengistbury Head for a combined

Geography and History Walk and

Wonder Trip. The weather held and the

pupils got to see coastal processes in

action. The visit will prove useful when

we study our topic on coasts at the end

of the winter term.

Year 10 visited the New Forest and

conducted footpath surveys and field

sketches at Godshill. We stopped at

Burley and Lyndhurst to look at the

impact of tourism on these locations.

Pupils produced high street maps and

conducted footpath and vehicle counts.

The Year 11 GCSE group have conducted

their fieldwork for the controlled

assessment and have been using the

research from Southampton Common to

produce their assessed piece.

The Geography Department are building

up a bank of useful Apps which can be

used in the field. In this newsletter we

would like to introduce you to a Field

Studies Council (FSC) Tree App which

allows pupils to identify tree species. A

fun little App which can be used on walks

this Autumn.

What’s coming up?

Year 7 have completed their unit on Maps

and will be studying Britain and identifying

landmarks in Britain which they think should

win Britain’s Got Talent.

Year 8 have completed their unit on

weather and will be looking at Hydrology

and rivers.

Year 9 are currently looking at Fair trade

and will be looking at multinationals and the

growth and development on India.

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Modern Foreign Languages News

Test Valley School enjoyed celebrating the different languages spoken across Europe in

this past week as part of the celebrations for the European Day of Languages held annually on 26th

September.

We kicked off the week with French Day where pupils got to speak as

much French around the school as they could with their teachers

getting involved too! At lunchtime we enjoyed some great games of

boules, with pupils showing off some amazing talent for the

traditional French game. During their language lessons, Year 7 got to

complete a European Union passport to open their eyes to the world

outside of England.

Tuesday was German Day with many pupils and staff going round the school saying ‘Guten Tag’. In

language lessons pupils compiled word lists with German words they’d always wanted to learn as well

as finding out about German companies around the world by playing the Logo game. There was a lot

of surprise that Haribo is a German company!

On Wednesday we said ‘ciao!’ to welcome Italian Day. Mrs Knight’s

pupils were treated to an Italian

lesson and the pupils were very

quick to pick up the animals in

Italian as well as understanding

everything the teacher said to them

– no English allowed! At lunchtime

we constructed the leaning tower of Pisa out of Jenga and reached

very high heights!

Thursday was Spanish Day and pupils had a brilliant time getting blindfolded

and having a go on the traditional piñata at lunchtime. Lots of sweets were up

for grabs once the donkey was broken into. In lessons pupils benefited from

learning key phrases and one of our Year 7 pupils taught his whole class the

numbers in Spanish!

Finally, Friday was Greek Day - Yassas! Pupils used the

Greek alphabet and learned all about the ancient Greek

myths, including Odysseus and the Cyclops, Medusa

and the gods on Mount Olympus. At lunch pupils

created some fantastic ancient Greek theatre masks as

well as a very good model of the Parthenon made out

of Lego!

Languages Week 21-25 September

By Mrs Knight—Modern Foreign Languages Department

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On Wednesday 04 November, a group of Year 10 and Year 11 GCSE R.E

pupils departed school to the Odeon Cinema in Andover to watch the Nobel

Prize Winner’s new film which was part of the Into Film Festival.

The film recounted Malala Yousafzai’s eventful life, expressing how she

was thrust into the spotlight at twelve years old and targeted by the

Taliban for speaking out for girls’ education. Then at age 15, she was

shot in the head on her school bus for attempting to go to school. The

film then documented Malala’s current life in Birmingham where she is

doing her A-levels and has almost fully recovered. Malala’s story was

inspiring and unique, influencing young children up and down the country watching the film at the

same time. Soon after the film ended Emma Watson conducted a live Q&A with Malala herself,

where they talked through The Malala Fund and Malala’s long term

goal of seeing every child in quality education. Overall, the film was

very enjoyable, moving and sent a strong message out to all those

watching.

By Sophie Bott and Francesca Sutcliffe—Year 11

`He Named Me Malala`

A group of 51 Year 9 and 10

Test Valley pupils enjoyed a

dynamic and fast-paced

production of “The Scottish Play” on

Wednesday 4 November at the

Watermill Theatre in Newbury. Using a

military theme and modern dress, as

well as some inventive staging

techniques and unusual props, the 3

actors conveyed the essential storyline

and themes in an energetic

performance.

Test Valley pupils enjoyed the

experience, promoting lively and

thought-provoking discussion, as it

presented an alternative insight into

the play in preparation for the new

GCSE examination.

By Mrs L Berry - English Department

`Macbeth` Theatre Trip

On the 24th November, a group of Year 9 pupils and five members of

staff visited the Beth Shalom National Holocaust and Memorial Centre

in Newark. During the visit the group toured the museum and

memorial gardens, and heard a very moving talk from Holocaust

survivor Harry Bibring who will be 90 on Boxing Day. He told us of

how his life was turned upside down when the Nazis came to power

and how he and his sister were sent to England on the Kinder

Transport – although they weren’t placed together. He movingly

showed us his travel papers and letters from his mother, the writing

deteriorating as she spent time in a concentration camp, and after a

few months they ceased altogether. All pupils behaved exceptionally

well and asked a number of very insightful and thought provoking

questions. As a follow up to the

visit, Year 9 pupils will be working

on Holocaust survivor stories as

well as studying obedience,

authority, Human Rights,

intolerance and discrimination.

The centre has invited Test Valley

School to visit again next year and

we very much hope to be able to

offer this invaluable experience.

By Mrs Osborne—Head of RE

Year 9 Visit to the Holocaust

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Year 8 Update

This term seems to have gone very quickly. Many of the year group enjoyed a trip to Hengistbury at the start of the year

and have recently had the opportunity to visit Neasden Mandir. Sporting activities have continued, the football team and

rugby team are starting to take good shape. Inter-house competitions have been fun to watch and table tennis continues

to thrive. In these final weeks the drama production is starting and some of the year group are involved in rehearsals for

a production which I am sure will be a great success.

It was lovely to see so many of you at parents’ evening. The online booking system seemed to be successful. Year 8 were

the first group to trial it on a full parents’ evening and so hopefully any issues that were raised will be addressed for next

time.

I am pleased to be leading this year group, their reports showed that progress and attitude across the year group as a

whole is high. I hope that both you and your children have a lovely Christmas break and that they return to us rested and

ready for another busy term.

Merry Christmas

Mrs Wingham - Year 8 Co-ordinator

Deep Sea Rescue Report—Year 9 Design Technology Project

During the Autumn Term we have been exploring, learning and creating a

model of a crane which will be able to pick up a passenger jet fuselage.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 passenger jet, which went missing over the Indian

Ocean in 2014 is thought to be some 4000m below the surface of the sea

lying on the bottom of the ocean bed.

We had the challenge to build a working remote controlled device model to

recover the aircraft fuselage.

The mechanical grab must use a material called smart wire to operate the

claw electrically. When the wire is heated up to around 70 degrees it shrinks

by 5% which holds on to the fuselage.

We have tested our crane and winch, it successfully works and achieves the

success criteria.

I really enjoyed this project because it challenged my technical and

mechanical side and working with Esme was enjoyable. We would both say it

was challenging and tiresome. However, we managed to create a strong

working winch and crane.

By Amelia Cairns and Esme Wilson

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Library News by Kerry Natt –Librarian

Last year a group of Year 9 pupils were

fortunate enough to meet Chris

Bradford who had won the Hampshire

Book Award for his book `The

Bodyguard’. This year armed with eight

Test Valley pupils, I headed off once

again to the Hampshire Book Award

Winners Ceremony where Jonathan

Stroud was to receive the award for his

book `Lockwood & Co’.

As in previous Years, our eight pupils

had to choose a winner from a shortlist

of books chosen by previous year’s

pupils, a host of librarians and teachers.

The shortlist included Captain by Sam

Angus, Thirteen by Tom Hoyle, The Last

Minute by Eleanor Updale, Ghost Hawk

by Susan Cooper and Counting by 7s by

Holly Goldberg Sloan as well as the

winning novel. Each pupil who had

participated had had to read all 6 books

over a 4 month period and then

evaluate it based on 3 categories:

enjoyment, engagement and

enrichment.

Over the four month period, we had

met regularly to discuss the books and

in early June, the pupils and I attended

a choosing ceremony whereby they,

with their evaluations, got together

with pupils from across the region to

discuss which book they believed was

the best and why. After a challenging

quiz (with the table I was on victorious)

the winner was announced from all the

voting that was taking place around the

county. A much deserved winner the

pupils all agreed.

The event in

November was

held once again in Winchester Guildhall

with the Public Library Service

supporting the Schools Library Service

and the Mayor of Winchester officiating

the event. Jonathan kept the pupils,

from across the county, engaged as he

discussed his process of writing with

participation from the audience.

Afterwards, we were all given the

opportunity to meet him and have our

books signed (I even managed to get a

selfie!).

The Year 9s are now busy working on a

project to choose the shortlist books

for the next Hampshire Book Award

which will start in March 2016 with

Year 8 – we are looking forward to

reading some exciting books.

Molly Soper Sophie Henry Karis Thomas Alicia Finch Sophie Haydock Wilfred Breach Jessie Burnfield Megan Ward with Chris Bradford

If you are a parent of a Year 11 pupil, I am sure you are aware that they have been doing their mock examinations and

hopefully they have shared their results with you. These are a very helpful tool to guide staff in producing predicted grades

for college applications but also an indicator to pupils as to the level of preparation required to ensure they are going to gain

the best grade they can in their GCSE examinations next summer.

My I take this opportunity to wish to a very Happy Christmas - Mr Langdown

Year 11 Mock Examinations

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Year 10 and 11 pupils at Sparsholt and Andover Colleges

On Tuesday 1st and Thursday 3rd December Mrs Briggs and Mrs Martin visited our pupils on their 14-16 Courses at Andover and Sparsholt Colleges.

Pupils are studying courses as diverse as Motor Vehicle & Engineering and Agriculture. We were pleased to see our young people engaged and enthusiastic about their courses. We saw them welding, preparing metal for fabrication and valeting vehicles. We also visited the Farrowing Sheds (where pigs give birth) and saw piglets being weighed and sexed. We even cuddled a piglet!

The tutors were very pleased with our pupils and their progress. We discussed how different pupils can be in a college environment and the benefits, especially to pupils who struggle in a school environment.

The Year 10 and 11 pupils go to college one day a week and study Entry Level, Level 1 and sometimes Level 2 courses.

`Mrs Briggs and I were very impressed with our pupils; their mature attitude and progress.`

By Mrs Martin

Pupil Services Manager and WRL Coordinator

Year 9 STEM Challenge - `Gadgets and Gizmos`

As part of International Men’s Day 10 Year 9 pupils took part in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)

challenge at Winchester Science Centre.

Pupils took part in the challenge mentored by male STEM Ambassadors from a wide range of STEM backgrounds. They also

took part in a careers speed networking session where pupils discussed the world of work . The day culminated with a

fantastic planetarium show in the state of the art 360° planetarium.

By Miss Hibbert - Science Department

Far left—Peter Arthur and

Felix Hammer

Left— Wilfred Breach and

David Mossman -Smith

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On Friday 6th November Mr Murdoch-Smith and Mr Hill took all of the Year 7s down to Stockbridge Town Hall where we took part in the film festival. Tutors A and D were one of the first groups of people in the country to see the 3 films as we went on the first day they were shown. However, tutors N and S went to see them the next day. When we walked down to the town hall, it was quite wet and windy, so we were glad that it was only a short walk down the high street. As soon as we arrived we were allowed into the cinema room where we were greeted by Mr Kidd, the man in charge of organising the film festival. Soon after that we got comfortable in our seats and the films began. `Goodnight Mr Tom` was the final film to be shown after the two short films, and was extremely good. It was about a young boy called William Beech who is evacuated when the First World War starts. He has to make a long journey into the countryside with nothing but a small paper bag and his few possessions. Old Mister Tom had never been particularly kind or social to anyone until Willy came to live with him. Slowly but surely, they began to love each other and when Willy receives urgent news from his mother saying that she needs to meet him again in London, Mister Tom is silently heartbroken. Willy has to be persuaded to visit his mum; he doesn't want to leave Mister Tom and all of his friends in the countryside. The classic story was very good and everyone loved it. It was a very enjoyable experience and everybody was glad they got the chance to do it. Thank you, Mr Kidd for organising the Stockbridge film festival! By Jennifer Meade 7D

On the 6th of November, as part of the film festival, Test Valley Year 7 pupils walked into Stockbridge to see three films. It was a great experience for everyone and thank you to Mr Kidd for allowing us to go. In the morning our spirits were high as we walked down into Stockbridge and entered the cinema. The first film was quite short and showed us what it was like to be evacuated and to take in an evacuee. We saw how hard it was for the families being split up. We also learnt about the extra responsibilities an evacuee would mean and how they were sorted and transported to the country. I feel this has given me a better and broader understanding of life during the war. The third and feature film was a longer film called `Goodnight Mr Tom` and is about a boy who is evacuated into the country and sorted into an unknown place. We see the challenges he has to overcome in a place with no one he knows and a completely different landscape. He is put into a house with Mr Tom who is known in the village for not being very sociable or friendly. However, when they both settle down and William (the evacuee) makes some friends they form a loving bond. William is physically and emotionally abused at home by his mother so when William is forced to go back to London it is a hard time for both of them. William goes back to the village but feels the hardship again as his mother and best friend are both killed and he sees trucks of troops in the village. I think that it was emotionally better for both of them to meet each other which is why I liked the film because it shows that you can still have good times in the worst situations. I really enjoyed the film and I think the whole of Year 7 did as well. By Casper Hawkes 7S

Year 7 Cinema Trip to Stockbridge

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Year 11 News - By Mr Langdown Year 11 Co-ordintor

Millinery Magic—PSHE Closedown Day

On Friday 20 November , Year 11 pupils took part in a school enterprise event called Millinery Magic. The purpose of the

event was to deepen pupils’ entrepreneurial understanding.

The event was organised so that each tutor group was a large company competing against other tutor groups and each

company was split into mini departments each with a full team of directors focusing on a business plan, financial projec-

tions as well as promotions and creativity. Overarching all of this was the emphasis on working as a team, ensuring that

every individual within the team delivered their part to ensure the department carried out their objectives.

Managing and Financial Directors were required to present their business and financial plans to a judging panel. All the

Promotions Directors in each company were required to combine their promotional power points to form on presentation

to be played to the audience and at the event finale. This was a catwalk which promoted the company hats.

The company themes were varied and unexpected, topped off with some quality and creative hats which made the catwalk

presentations a lot of fun and very enjoyable. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Andover College staff and stu-

dent ambassadors from their Drama Department who helped ensure the catwalk was so effective by running training

sessions during the morning.

The winning tutor group was 11 Nightingale who not only pulled off a competitive performance on the catwalk but also

presented some outstanding business models.

Millinery Magic photo album

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Year 7 News - Mr Hill Year 7 Co-ordinator

Congratulations to all the Year 7s on completing their first term at Test Valley. It has been great to see a year group adapt to

secondary school so well. They have had a busy first term and have already had many memorable experiences including

Aspire sessions, a PSHE day where pupils looked at their possible future careers, a cinema trip as part of celebrating the film

festival in Stockbridge, as well as embracing all their new lessons.

There are many opportunities at Test Valley and it’s clear that the Year 7s are taking full advantage of them with a number

or pupils involved in extra-curricular activities including: ELBS club where pupils have been looking after all our resident

animals, the orchestra and representing the school in a number of sport teams. I have enjoyed watching the pupils in these

areas and long may their enthusiasm and commitment to achieve personal excellence continue. As their Year Co-ordinator I

would like to wish them an enjoyable and restful holiday.

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Boston and New York Trip 2015 Photo Album

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Boston and New York Trip 2015 Photo Album

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Sports News

Year 9 Girls Are Hampshire Champions!

On the 13th July 2015, the Under 13 Girls, Club Championship

cricket final took place at Twyford Independent School. The

teams competing were Hartley Wintney Cricket Club and

Andover Cricket Club.

Andover scored 147 runs off 18 overs, Hartley Wintney

replying with 112 runs off 16 overs when they were all out.

Then Year 8 students, Rebecca Dean and Tally O'Farrell both

bowled 3 overs, taking a wicket each.

All 9 girls of the Andover team, of whom 3 are Hampshire

County cricket players and 5 are Winchester District players,

contributed to the team effort making Andover the 2015

Hampshire Under 13 Girls cricket champions.

Hampshire Under 13 Rugby Tournament On Tuesday 3rd November the Year 8 rugby squad headed off to the

Hampshire tournament at Southampton RFC. After what had been a tough season so far, the boys showed a huge amount of determination and they had learnt a lot from their previous experiences.

In the first pool stage in the morning the squad drew three games which included Mountbatten School and John Hanson School , who they had lost to on previous occasions, and lost two. This placed them fourth in the pool.

In the second pool stage in the afternoon the team played against other teams who had finished fourth in their pools. In this they won three games and drew with Henry Beaufort School who they had also lost to earlier in the season.

After a whole day of rugby the squad came away tired but content with the progress that they are making. Well Done all of you.

On Monday 16th November Test Valley took Year 7 and 8 boys and girls teams to the Andover and District cross county competition.

All pupils worked exceptionally hard to produce performances to their personal best level and represented the school in a very positive light.

However the stand out team was the Year 8 boys as they came second and as a result of their finishing positions Nile Battey, Ed Duffield and Lewis Sharpe will be going on to represent Andover and District in the Hampshire round.

Year 7 and 8 Cross Country The U15 squad have turned a corner this season and are starting to play some very solid rugby based on a clear and effective game plan.

They lost their first 2 games against strong opposition, 25 - 12 against Testbourne and 17 - 5 against Westgate but in both games there was evidence of both good individual and team play. With Kings up as the next opponents it got no easier but the squad appeared to grow in stature and resolve and came away with a 26 - 0 victory.

With things on the up the squad went into their Hampshire

Plate game against Fareham Academy with a positive

attitude and played some excellent rugby both in attack and

defence, especially towards the end of the game with

Fareham trying to break through for a match tying score.

This allowed Test Valley to come away 17 - 10 winners and

into the next round of the competition.

Under 15 Rugby

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Nominated Ambassador

Pupils from our seven primary feeder schools arrived at the school

reception with the expectation of a full and varied day. Three pupils

from each school had been selected for this day by their primary school teachers who thought these pupils had

the required qualities to make a good Ambassador.

The primary school pupils worked closely with four Young Sports Leaders from Test Valley School during the

day: Sam Hunt, Alex and Zac Jones and Amelia Cairns. Holly Shirley (School Games Organiser for the Test Valley

Area) lead the day setting high expectations from the beginning.

Bronze Ambassadors’ Day

The Ambassadors were given an introductory

talk about their specific roles and

responsibilities.

Mrs Shirley and the Sports Leaders were on hand

with help and suggestions for the mini game

activities and the team building challenges.

The roles and responsibilities of the Bronze Ambassador were described as:

Being a role model advocating PE and school sport.

Creating and managing a School Sport Organising Crew which will promote the ‘Spirit of the Games’ values within the school.

Increasing participation and healthy lifestyles in their school.

Assisting in the organisation and running of the Level 1 School Games programme within the school.

Being the young people’s voice on PE and school sport in their school.

Publicising sporting updates through notice boards, the school webstie, school twitter, school newsletters etc.

Five specific tasks were allocated to the Ambassadors and they were to try and introduce

them into their schools over the next few weeks. Some schools already had some of the tasks

in place but the majority of pupils saw these as new challenges to help promote sport.

TASKS :

1. Set up and maintain a School Organising Crew 2. Set up a new sports club – Change4Life Club 3. Run a School Sport Competition 4. Make a presentation on sporting opportunities in school 5. Create or update a PE and School Games notice board

The six ‘Spirit of the Games’ values were also discussed and used throughout the day. These included : Honesty, Self Belief, Respect, Determination, Passion and Teamwork. This initiative is organised through the Youth Sports Trust which runs events across the country for Young people. Well Done to all Bronze Ambassadors!

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Year 11 pupils Alex Farrow and Emily Fitzpatrick

successfully achieved the Sports Leaders UK ‘Spirit of

Leadership Award’ as part of their Level 1 qualification.

This award recognises the Leadership and Volunteering

they have undertaken during the course and working

beyond the course requirements.

Both pupils are Young Ambassadors. This part of the

London 2012 legacy established by the Youth Sport Trust

(YST) when London won the right to host the 2012 Olympic

and Paralympic Games. The programme has now become

embedded in our schools. Young people are now aspiring to, and striving to become, the next Young Ambassadors in

their school. The role of a Young Ambassador is to increase participation in PE and school sport, promote the positive

values sport can develop and be an advocate and role model for PE and school sport.

Alex and Emily are fully involved with the School Sports Council and regularly organise team competitions for the inter-

house events. Well done to them both on an excellent achievement!

Leaders have `Spirit`

Test Valley School was this year’s new venue for the

cluster schools’ Cross Country event. There was also a

new format this year with the introduction of a Year 4

race and competition runners from the whole year group

could compete not just Elite and Intermediate runners.

The atmosphere was electric with lots of cheers and

encouragement for all the pupils taking part. The event

started with a Year 3 Fun Run which really did look like

fun for most of the runners and there were even some

smiles at the finish line.

Year 8 Young Leaders and Year 10 Sports Leaders joined

in with the races and lead the runners around the new

course so there was no confusion about the route. Some

Leaders helped the pupils to warm up prior to their event

and focus on their individual performance inspiring the

competitors to do their best. They helped to marshal the

course, collect the final results and record the medal

winners.

The competition runners in 1st and 2nd place all received a

medal, gold or silver and all the other runners were to be

presented with certificates in their school assemblies.

Primary Schools’ Cross Country 2015

`Lead the Way`

School Overall Team placing Year 4/5 and 6 B&G

1st Wallop

2nd Wherwell

3rd Lockerley

4th Broughton

5th West Tytherley

6th Stockbridge

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This year all seven schools competed in

the Primary Schools’ Indoor Athletics Challenge. Coaches from Personal Best Education

set up seven field events which included the foam javelin, speed bounce and long jump stations.

The Young Sports Leaders watched and recorded the results for each school encouraging all the competitors to do the

best that they could on each of the athletic disciplines.

Indoor Sports Hall Athletics

Amy demonstrates how it should be done!

Year 8 Young Leaders record the Long Jump

scores in a close competition

Top 3 Results

1st Wallop

2nd Lockerley

3rd King Somborne

Right— Winners—Wallop School

Below—Year 8 Young Leaders presented

the gold and silver medal winners to the

competitors and congratulated them for

doing so well.

Club members Annabel Anderson, Alex Dennis, Chris Melville and Harry Scobie represent Test Valley in the Andover Table Tennis League. They have made an excellent impression on opposing teams and are a credit to the school. Matches are played on Tuesday or Friday evenings from 7.00-9.30 pm, a considerable commitment. The team is developing well against very tough opposition. `I am proud of them`.

Our Under 13 Girls' Team, Rebecca Ledwidge, Isabel Henrys, Rebekah Searle and Alix Hart competed in the Hampshire Schools County Team Final at Testwood Sports College. The girls came third in the competition which was an excellent result-they were superb in their application and match etiquette- Well done girls!

We wish to thank the PTA for supporting us with equipment and school for supporting us with league fees and thanks to parents for tremendous support with transport to League matches.

Pupils took part in a match against staff in the last club evening of the term on 15 December.

By Mr Dyke

Table Tennis Club

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U16 Boys’ Football: Callum Giles attempts a diving header, supported by Tristan Jones.

U13 Girls’ Table Tennis Team: Isabel Henrys, Alix Hart, Rebecca Ledwidge and Rebekah Searle ready to compete in the Hampshire

Schools County Team Final.

LEFT: U15 Boys’ Rugby: George Lewis single-handedly takes on Testbourne School.

The U15s will play Henry Beaufort School in the quarter finals of the Hamsphire Plate

Table Tennis: Alex Dennis practising for Andover League action during Mr Dyke’s

after school Table Tennis Club.

U14 Girls’ Netball: Goal Attack Finlay Jarvis shoots during an 11-11 draw against

Wellington Academy.

Autumn Sports at Test Valley School Photo Album

Photographs by Mr Hewson.

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U16 Girls’ Netball Team: BR: Jasmin-Ann Thomson, Heidi Faux-Whitehead, Lauren Henrys, Eleanor Dinner,

FR: Ruby Cooper, Daisy Hillier and Charlotte Thorpe.

U15 Boys’ Rugby: Takeio Wareham taking contact, supported by Harry Scobie and Samuel Slark.

U12 Boys’ Football: Caspar Hawkes going for goal.

U16 Boys’ Basketball: George Ward supported by Harry Scobie and Mateusz Palmer.

U15 Boys’ Football: Tate Whitehead and Ben Findlay competing for the ball.

U16 Girls’ Basketball: Heather Foster and Millie Darbyshire.

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