Edition 12 Easter 2018

What a half term it has been! Firstly, we had an unprecedented snow closure with which to contend,

and then the momentous occasion of our first XV winning the Nat West Vase in the national final at

Twickenham, with over 300 pupils, teachers, parents and Icenians in attendance. Thank you all for

your support. Throughout all this, we were able to keep teaching and learning on track and have also

rescheduled Grease (report in the next issue).

Our second CORE value is Opportunity - enjoy reading how pupils have made the most of all that has

been on offer this half-term. Look out for a special MFL edition of Langley News coming very soon.

Two Cambridge Visits The first of two trips saw five pupils visit Gonville and Caius, a college embodied with history and character

and the producer of fourteen Nobel Prize winners, focusing on STEM subjects. During the day pupils attended two very insightful lectures. The first, about how ‘X-rays transformed Chemistry and Biology’ and the way in which the structure of DNA strands were determined through the use of X-rays. Pupils found the second lecture on ‘genes going sideways’ and bacterial resistance against antibiotics particularly interesting as it reinforced the current media reported trends. The

second trip saw five pupils getting a better understanding of humanity subjects by experiencing

masterclass sessions delivered by academics at the university; each student attended two masterclasses, consisting of either English Literature, History, Political Science or Classics. As well as touring the campus,

and being given an understanding of day-to-day life at one of the top universities in the world, pupils were offered guidance on how to apply.

History Heroes Final Langley School recently hosted the final of the sixth annual Year 8 History Heroes competition. This is a gifted and talented event which aims to encourage and promote the excellent standard of historical knowledge and understanding witnessed in Norfolk schools and across the country. Well done to Beeston School who took this year’s first place.

Science Week On Monday 12th March, Science Week at Langley got off to a bang in assembly… literally! The Head of Science, Mr Clegg, introduced the week’s activities during a science packed assembly. Mr

McComish interrupted the peace with some well-aimed rockets that were fired across the MPH. Dr Munday extracted Mr Clegg’s DNA live on stage. Rumour has it, he is making clones! Dr Mason

made molten iron in a flash of smoke and sparks. The week’s activities were then introduced and, due to the science hungry nature of Langley students, we had to increase the number of sessions offered. Ms Madeley’s slime making was so popular, she extended the activity into Monday and Thursday’s lunchtime. On Tuesday, Mr Clegg helped students experience friction free movement using the science department’s hovercraft.

Norfolk Scholars 2017 This is an honorary award by Norfolk County Council to Norfolk students in special recognition of the very high standard achieved in their Summer 2017 examinations.

Early this term, we were delighted to welcome some of our 2017 Norfolk Scholars back to Langley to celebrate with them.

World Book Day World book day saw many pupils and staff dress up as a range of characters from literature of the past and present in an effort to encourage more reading for pleasure in a fun way. Money raised went to Book Aid International. Please make sure you use your book tokens.

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

Dragon’s Den Our ‘design a sub’ team went to the final at Cambridge University to give their marketing presentation to a Dragon’s Den style group of real life entrepreneurs. There was admiration and respect from all corners as our Year 10 group were up against sixth form teams. Congratulations to Finn Spear, Nelson Khumbeni, Keenan Langley, George Morrison, Marcus Bennett and Tony Springett who

came away with a £250 prize for their ‘A Taste of Africa’ © presentation.

National Challenge Langley School met Perse A in the regional final of the National Challenge Quiz at Thetford Grammar School on Friday 9th February having defeated teams from Woodbridge School, Framlingham College and Thetford Grammar School in earlier rounds. The team captained by Billy Lund comprised Jabez Cooke, Rob McCall and Charlie Peacock. Having taken an early lead, Langley remained 100 points in front until the last five minutes, the start of the music round, when Perse forged ahead. This is the second time Billy Lund and Jabez Cooke have been in a Langley team to reach the regional final in the Senior Challenge Quiz. The boys were a credit to themselves and the school. Congratulations to Perse.

ESU Mace East Region Taking part in our third debate of the competition, Ella Baragwanath and I travelled to the Royal Hospital School to compete against two other teams in the semi-final of the East England English Speaking Union MACE debate. We fought against

the motion ‘The England team should boycott the 2018 Russian FIFA World Cup’. We were not chosen to take part in the 2018 Final, however, we enjoyed the day thoroughly and the debate was another great experience for both Ella and me. By Emma Lees

The above debate placed Ella and Emma in the top 50 in the country, which is amazing considering it is their first year in the competition. Also, Langley has been awarded a Commendation by the ESU for its ‘Debating Culture’ in school and will be hosting its first Interscholastic Debate on Thursday 3rd May 2018—details to follow.

Holocaust Survivor On 26th February, Year 8 students heard the testimony of the Holocaust survivor, Rudi Oppenheimer, as part of an annual event organised by

the English Department. Mr Oppenheimer described his family’s experiences as ‘Exchange Jews’ in the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen in Germany from 1944-1945 and how he and his brother survived the Holocaust.

University Connections The University of East Anglia’s Literature faculty is now in partnership with Langley’s English department.

The university has confirmed that our students will receive bespoke lectures at the UEA related to the

themes and topics we study here at Langley. In addition, Professor Nick Groom, a world specialist in Gothic Literature, skyped our students on 21st March from the University of Exeter for a tailored Q&A

session.

Holly Black Visit Langley School welcomed world famous, bestselling author, Holly Black, known for her fantasy fiction including The Spiderwick

Chronicles. Year 8 and 9 pupils were given a talk on how to write creatively before being allowed to discuss a variety of topics with Holly. She signed copies of her latest novel The Cruel Prince.

Heads of School We are delighted to announce the following appointments for September 2018: Heads of School: Deputy Heads of School: Ella Baragwanath Mia King Tim Dowden Patrick Chen