langleyschool.co.uk

Issue 16

LANGLEY NEWS

Welcome to our new look Langley News, into which we are able to fit slightly longer articles and more photographs. As usual, we have a huge amount of activity going on which extends and supports the curriculum, but we have also been able to report on developments in our facilities over the summer and have a special section on work experience, explaining the substantial benefits that this can bring to pupils. A big thank you to those who have contributed to this. I would also like to highlight our NACE membership and all the work recently undertaken to raise pupil aspiration through our Oxbridge and Russell Group pathways with a trip to Oxford within the first week of term! We are looking to build our partnerships with parents to support these exciting initiatives and will be writing directly to parents with the intention of building a grand database of stakeholder expertise.

NACE Award Music ExpansionWork Experience

Following our Artsmark Gold status, the demand for the arts continues to increase and nowhere more so than music. We are delighted to announce the addition, over the summer, of a brand new classroom and two further practice rooms, on top of our existing drum room and four smaller rooms. The existing music classroom

has also been refurbished and upgraded with a suite of ten computers, all running composition programmes such as Sibelius. All this additional space allows for the increase in pupils taking instrumental lessons following our very successful ‘Play Day’ (we offer instruction in all instruments, whether string, woodwind, brass or

percussion) and more lunchtime activities, such as the Chamber Choir and Rock Bands. To support the ever-growing role of The Arts at Langley, we have welcomed back Phoebe Chick and Sam Harper who are both taking a GAP year to support the Music, Art and Drama departments.

Exciting Music Expansion

Langley News - Issue 16

Young Historian Competition Success

Year 9 Art Trip to Walberswick

Langley students have been very successful recently in a national History competition. Emily Leeming was judged joint national winner and Ella Spear, very highly commended in the Spirit of Normandy Young Historian of the Year Competition. In addition, Charlotte Butt was awarded a certificate for her work which was judged to be highly commended. All three students had completed History projects linked to their studies about the

Second World War. Emily and Ella, together with their families and Mr Felton, were recently invited to an awards ceremony in London, where they received certificates and prize money. Mr Felton was also invited to receive a slate plaque on behalf of Langley School in recognition of the continued success that the school has achieved in this competition. This is the third occasion that a Langley student has won the national competition,

following previous successes in 2015 for Ellie Baxter and in 2017 for Jessica Stone.Following the awards ceremony, the students had the chance to meet and chat informally with a distinguished group of Normandy veterans, all well into their nineties, and learn more about their wartime experiences.

We are delighted to announce that Langley School has become a member of NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education). Nace is recognised both nationally and internationally as a leading charity in the field of education for able learners. The organisation provides guidance, support and training, enabling

teachers to attain the best from able learners in the everyday classroom, whilst enabling all learners to flourish and achieve. In addition, Miss Kisiel, one of our new Teaching and Learning Coordinators, will be coordinating the NACE Challenge Development Programme as part of our auditing, review and planning, in order to

further improve our provision for more able learners, in the context of challenge for all. Soon, she will be writing to all parents to explain the programme in more detail and request further information from parents regarding all our pupils’ (and parents’!) existing talents.

As part of our ‘Landscapes’ project, all Year 9 Art students went to Walberswick beach for some inspiration. The weather was fantastic, and everyone managed to create some energetic responses to their

surroundings. We used pencil, inks and watercolours to make visual recordings, as well as making sculptures in the landscape and taking photographs to work from back at school. This was a great opportunity

for students to work directly from the landscape, which many artists do, and we are looking forward to seeing the work develop further over the coming months.

Langley News - Issue 16

Year 9 English Suffragette ProjectYear 9 English students were invited to take part in an exciting new project called Suffragette Stories to commemorate the centenary of women over thirty gaining the right to vote. During the first session, the students worked with visitors from the UEA Library and NCC Library Service, looking at archive material from the women’s suffrage movement, including letters and badges.

During the second session, Georgina Cohen, Lola Eadie, Talitha Key and Tess Johnson went to Loddon Library to interview women in the local community about their role in society. During the third session, the students took part in a creative writing workshop in which they wrote a story about a suffragette. A selection of stories will be published in The Suffragette Stories Anthology in December.

Oxford University Open DayOn 14th September, twelve students had the opportunity to attend the Oxford University Open Day. As in the summer, students had the chance to create bespoke itineraries which consisted of a series of tours and lectures. Year 13 students applying for Oxford, used this occasion as a second opportunity

to confirm their college of choice, whilst Year 12s had the chance to start exploring potential higher education pathways. It was a fantastic day that inspired and educated! The planning for both Open Days at Oxford and Cambridge University has commenced, in addition to Masterclasses and Study Days.

Year 8 Black History DayLangley School celebrated a wide range and variety of contributions Black and Asian individuals have made during their recent Black History Day. October has been designated Black History month in the UK since 1987 and the week began with a thought-provoking assembly on the lives of two Black individuals: Elizabeth Eckford and Walter Tull. On Friday 5th October, Year 8

students from the Preparatory School, as well as the Senior School, took part in a series of different activities to give them a greater flavour and understanding about Black and Asian culture. This year, Maasai warriors from the Osiligi tribe also performed during their visit.

Langley News - Issue 16

My Work Experience by Imogen Ramsdale

For my work experience, I went to the book publishers, Book Life, previously known as Pandora Books. This company specialises in educational books for children at Key Stage 3 level. This placement was arranged by my parents for me as they know I have an interest in English and writing. At the start of the week I wasn’t awfully hopeful, as I didn’t think educational writing was the type of literature I was passionate about or looking to pursue in the future. As the week progressed, I was given a number of tasks to complete in the morning that seemed rather laborious and slow, such as filing and faxing and just as I feared, not all that stimulating. However, each afternoon, I was sent up to the Editor’s Office. This was where my work placement really came alive for me and sparked my imagination. They asked me to start developing a series of educational children’s books called STEM School - Science Technology Engineering and Maths. Within this series, there were a range of topics such as travel,

sport, medicine and space and I had to cultivate ideas to fit into each of these categories. This allowed me to relate some of my work at GCSE to the topics I was presented with. For example, I wrote about how drugs are sometimes delivered to the body in a specially designed Nano cage to ensure they target the right area. I also wrote about how you might use ice bags in medicine or hand warmers when you go camping and the exothermic or endothermic chemical reactions that take place. It was fascinating to try and explain some of these difficult concepts to children by using the right words and phrases. By the end of the week, I was truly inspired and started considering alternative university courses such as Human Social and Political Science, instead of English Literature and Language. It really opened my eyes and allowed me to see the full extent of my capability on a much higher level than I had initially hoped or wished for.

My Work Experience by James JenkinsContinuing on from a successful week of work experience in July, I travelled to Germany, Belgium, Holland and Goodwood with a locally based classic car racing team. The team’s Jaguar E-type has won its class in each of its races. I have been working alongside the chief mechanic gaining experience in the motor sport industry and being fortunate enough to be offered continued work experience on a weekly basis.

Year 10 Work Experience At the end of the summer term, our Year 10 students carried out a week-long work experience placement. Students secured their own placements and worked in a variety of sectors including property, healthcare, law, engineering and financial services. The week was highly successful, with all students rating their placements as excellent or very good. 92% of students said they greatly benefitted from

work experience, listing skills such as communication, organisation, team work and problem solving as areas they improved.Employers were equally impressed with students and gave excellent feedback. For example, ‘She has been a pleasure to work with. She is happy, hard working and conscientious’ (Alice Brown, Rennie Construction). ‘He has been thoughtful, diligent, engaged and has started to

input his own ideas throughout the week’ (Padraig Turner, Bespak). ‘He has shown real interest in the business and is very keen to learn’ (Ben Grant, Claxton Engineering).Well done to all Year 10 students for such a positive week and thank you to their employers for providing a high-quality work experience opportunity. Below are a couple of personal Year 10 students’ experiences.

There is so much going on at Langley this term, we don’t want you to miss anything. Please visit our website for the latest news and results from around the school: langleyschool.co.uk