News
Ad Astra Physics events
The latest report from students taking part in the Ad Astra Physics sessions is from Jonathan Sutton.
The picture on the Home page, shows a wave machine. A motor with a cam, oscillates a bar, which creates waves in the water bath. We tried various shaped barriers which directed the waves, it was really clever the way a curved one bounced all the waves in different directions! The picture here shows a spectrometer directed at a mercury lamp. All the different colours of ‘mercury’s’ light were split up, as it was a white light, most of the rainbow’s colours were there., however, when we tried a sodium lamp, the spectrometer mainly showed reds, oranges and yellows because the sodium light was an orange colour.
Jonathan Sutton
The big build up to Annie
Mr Bonnington and his team of volunteers are working really hard in the evenings and at weekends, building the set for Annie which is being performed in March. Thanks to their dedication, the stage will be looking fabulous. Tickets are selling fast for the performances, so don't leave it too soon before you buy yours.
Tickets avialable from: preeves@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk
Annie
The rehearsals for Annie, our musical production for this year are now in full swing, preparing for the opening performance on Wednesday 14th March 2012. New cast member Hartley, the dog who is our ‘Sandy’ is doing really well. He has never been on stage before, let alone with 40 students singing and dancing with the crew moving set!! Hartley has been arriving at school at 4pm three times a week for training and rehearsals, with his new trainers Greg Wills and Thomas Atkin who are doing a brilliant job. We would like to thank his owner, Janet Barnard for all her time and for allowing us to have Hartley for hours on end, as part of our preparation for the show.
Tickets are still available from Mr P Reeves in the school Print room 01263 733270
Ex 103
Or preeves@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk
Mrs Tanya Wiseman
Congratulations to our Year 10 Rugby team.
Congratulations to our Year 10 Rugby team. They had a brilliant game this evening, winning 48 – 0 against Thetford Grammar in the Norfolk County Cup Quarter Finals. They are now expecting to play Langley in the Semi – Finals.
Well done to the team and to Mr Keats - we are really proud of you.
Great performances at our recent concert
Many performers waited nervously backstage, whilst waiting to take to the stage in their own unique way during the recent Concert at Aylsham High. Performances included Christmas classics from the Snowman and Mariah Carey, combined with more recent songs from The Goo Goo Dolls and Adele. Refreshments and a vast array of stalls selling items including calendars and handmade jewellery adorned the dining hall during the interval. The concert was a great success, with many people including parents and students of the school came to watch the evening’s performance. The concert would not have run so smoothly without the help of Miss Allan and Mrs Fordham. Overall, it was a real success and was enjoyed by performers and the audience alike.
Review by: Katie Newman & Isabel Snell
Book your tickets now for Annie
Performances will be from 14th to 17th March 2012
Tickets can be purchased tickets from the School or from boxoffice@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk
Click here to see further details
AHS Young Chamber – what’s happening?
2011 was a great success for our Young Chamber. We expanded our reach, explored new ideas, engaged with more local businesses, visited establishments near and far, created more enterprise events, developed more competitions, hosted some important people and truly strived to develop the confidence and enterprising nature of all pupils at AHS.
So what for 2012? Well in our eyes we want it to be better than ever. It’s already really busy….
- Friday 10th February sees the first Business Breakfast of 2012 with Stephen Ferrey from Moco Development Ltd as guest speaker. If you’d like to be part of this event then please contact communications@ahs-yc.co.uk for more information.
- www.ahs-yc.co.uk has gone live. There’s lots more to come but it’s a great way to stay up-to-date with what we’re doing here at AHS YC.
- A new logo has been designed so keep your eyes open for that too. Many thanks to Alex Cabre for all of your help and congratulations on creating the winning entry.
- We’ve already started to form links with other schools across the region. Kings Lynn Academy are keen to start-up their own YC and we’re there to assist them every step of the way.
- Alex Ridgway is hard at work planning a trip to the Olympic Park and we really can’t wait for that!
- And Pencil Case is having a revamp. Look out for the new competition starting very soon.
We’re always looking to engage with as many pupils as possible so if you really enjoy enterprise, have a business idea, keen to build up your confidence or fancy a challenge then please get involved. Pop in to see Mr Turrell and he can explain all.
Shaun Taylor
AHS YC Chairperson
Mr Turrell
AHS YC Coordinator
The Real Business Challenge 2011
We were invited to take part in the Real Business Challenge, sponsored by Cocoa Cola. We were given a brief to work from and we had to raise awareness for recycling and less littering in our region and link it to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To do this we had to make a billboard, record a radio advertisement and present our ideas to other schools and a panel of judges. The judges were from Cocoa Cola UK, Pearson Education and the UK Olympic Committee.
Our group worked really well together, always helping each other out to meet deadlines, though we did struggle a bit.
I really enjoyed this challenge and I learned a lot from it. I now realise that working in the ‘real world’ isn’t as simple as they sometimes make it out to be.
Ellen Groom
Year 10 Business Studies
The event was a fantastic opportunity for students to develop a real business concept in a simulated environment. The chance to work with leading professionals from such a dynamic market was fantastic. The group’s link Cocoa Cola executive who worked with the group praised their team work and professionalism to the task.
The Head of Customer Services and Sales from Cocoa Cola UK said “Aylsham High School’s presentation to the judges was one of the most professional I have seen”.
The students worked really well and we were tremendously proud to be named Runners Up in the East Anglia Regional Final.
Emmalucy Auber
Head of Business and Enterprise
Team Perspective
We are a Team Perspective, a group of five year 10 and 11 students at Aylsham High. Earlier in the year we visited a conference in Peterborough where were set a challenge and learnt about a charity called Room to Read.
The challenge is to raise as much money as possible for the charity through an enterprising idea. Room to Read works in 9 different countries across Asia and Africa, improving the lives of thousands of children, by empowering them through education.
As students ourselves we know just how much of an impact school has on us and to think that some children don’t get a chance just because of the culture or country they were born into is shocking and we want to make a change. Our idea was to harness the support of local chefs and celebrities in creating a calendar on which each month features a different recipe from them.
After a long process we are proud to present our final calendar which is now for sale from school and various local businesses. Please help to support us through purchasing a calendar for just £4 of which all proceeds will contribute to the amazing work of Room to Read.
Thank you,
Team Perspective
Calendars are available from:
Barnwells, Market Place, Aylsham.
The Little Clothes Shop, Red Lion Street, Aylsham
The Shop on Red Lion Street, Red Lion Street , Aylsham
Keys, Market Place, Aylsham.
Icarus Hines Butchers in Cromer and Sheringham
Or email: j.stimpson@live.co.uk
The Tony Greenfield Memorial Public Speaking Competition 2011
Last week, a group of inspirational students competed in the third annual public speaking competition, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Aylsham. The students in the final had won their place though competing in a series of heats during the last few weeks. Their subject was ‘Olympic Values’.
All of the speakers were confident and articulated their points with great maturity. We are all really proud of everyone who took part in this event and would like to thank the Rotary Club of Aylsham for their support.
First place was awarded to Lydia Whiting in Year 8, second to Dominic Harvey in Year 7 and third place to Victoria Ing, also in Year 7.
Mrs Wade, who had been responsible for organising the event was sadly not well enough to attend the final and we wish her a speedy recovery. Many thanks to Mrs Chalk for her help.
Tickets are now on sale for Annie.
Performances will be from 14th to 17th March 2012
Tickets can be purchased tickets from the School or from boxoffice@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk
Click here to see further details
Blicking Hall event showcases songs from Annie
Students from Aylsham High School were invited to Blicking Hall as part of their Christmas events weekends. (10th 11th, 17th & 18th December 2011). There were numerous Christmas craft stalls and wonderful food stalls. Other guests included ‘King Henry VIII’ and his wife ‘Anne Boleyn’ and Father Christmas with his reindeer.
The cast were asked to go along to sing songs from and promote our forthcoming musical ‘Annie’ which will be performed from 14th to 17th March 2012 at Aylsham High School. Tickets are now on sale and selling extremely quickly.
As you can see from the photograph King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn both have their tickets!!
Tickets can be purchased tickets from the School or from boxoffice@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk
Thanks to Peter Engelsen, James Hubbard, Georgina Kemp & Millie Sawyer-Stone .
Mrs Tanya Wiseman
Article about Enterprise Week 2011 Aylsham High School
Monday 14th to Friday 18th November was National Enterprise week and Business and Enterprise at Aylsham High School was very busy. On Monday 14th the Young Chamber organised a “Super Challenge Day” for the year seven and eight pupils. The main aim was to come up with an idea to bring visitors to Norfolk during the Olympics. The day was a huge success with many bright ideas. On Thursday and Friday of the week the Enterprise spirit was in full flow, year nine Business and Enterprise students had the chance to run their own business. Students had completed market research to find out what their customers wanted and lots of different products and services were on offer. Cakes and biscuits were sold along with the competitions including Darts and Sand Sifting.
On Friday 18th we had a very special guest, Mark Prisk, Minister for Business and Enterprise. He spent half of the morning with us discovering what we do at Aylsham High School. Not only was this a great achievement for our school to be selected but he also gave us lots of advice. He said “I have been inspired today. To meet your generation and see what you are doing is brilliant.” Those words mean a lot to Aylsham High School and they leave us all feeling very proud. The importance of this visit has been recognised by the media and articles have appeared in many papers including the Eastern Daily Press, the Norwich Evening News, and the North Norfolk News as well as featuring on BBC Radio Norfolk.
This has been a busy week for me and one I have thoroughly enjoyed. I really enjoy enterprise because I do lots of fun and motivational actives that allow me to improve my enterprise skills; these help me in all of my other lessons. The day was a chance in a million and the Minister loved exploring Business and Enterprise at our school. However, we also wanted to know about how we can take our Business and Enterprise skills further and one of my Young Chamber colleagues, Alex Ridgway asked “I don’t want to go to college; I want to get straight out there and do an aircraft apprenticeship. But why is it so hard to find one in Norfolk?” Mark Prisk replied by saying he knows there has been a shortage in apprenticeships but the Government is committed to increasing this number.
I am proud to be a member of the Aylsham High School Young Chamber and the aim for us is to continue to develop and support the links between business and our school. I see the importance of the work we do and so do our teachers who motivate us.
Our teachers, Miss Auber and Mr Turrell said “Enterprise is special at our school. The work of the Business and Enterprise department team and our outstanding Young Chamber allows the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish”.
The week was a massive success, the Business and Enterprise activities made the whole school buzz and we were so glad we got to impress the Minister with what we do.
By Amelia Sawyer-Stone
Please click here to see a letter written to the school from Mr Prisk
Annabel competes in national catering competition
Fresh from her success as runner up in the Rotary Young Chef Competition, Annabel Gray took part in another national competition, this time at City College Norwich.
Annabel was one of 6 contestants from high schools at Stowmarket, Bungay, Sir John Leman, Cliff Park and Samuel Ward Academy (Haverhill) and they all cooked to a very high standard. But there could only be one winner!
Her dishes consisted of a Chicken Tagine and her highly acclaimed Cinnamon Pear Cake with fudge sauce to a budget of just £6. Judged by College chef Nigel Crane and industry professional/development consultant chef Rob Oberhoffer, they were impressed with her flair and menu.
Mr Oberhoffer, who has worked alongside Michel Roux Jnr and is himself a Hotelympia Master Chef Gold winner, then spend a considerable amount of time assisting Annabel with development ideas for her dishes for the next round, to be held in Bedford in February 2012. We are also working with City College to provide Annie with a mentor to further support her in the next round. Well done Annabel!
High quslity catering for our Working in Schools event.
The Catering Department were very honoured to be asked to cater for the Step into Teaching Event at AHS. As well as serving tea, coffee and juice, pupils produced a range of homemade biscuits including cookies, shortbread and lemon drizzle fingers to over 50 guests interested in joining the education industry. Pupils from year 8 offered to set up and serve the refreshment points, assisted by Mr Baxter and Mrs Bacon
The guests commented on how delicious the biscuits were, although we were accused of being very cruel by the ladies leaving their weigh-ins at the fitness session, as they had to walk past them!
Young Chef Competition 2012.
On Friday 11th November, Elise Mabbutt and Annabel Gray took part in the Rotary Club Of Norwich’s County Heats of the Young Chef Competition 2012.
Although 10 Schools were invited to take part, only 3 seized the opportunity resulting in 6 competitors being selected.
I am delighted to report that Annabel came runner up; the judges from Brasteds raving about her Dessert.
Elise astounded them with her Main Course and was announced as Winner.
Elise now goes on to the wider county finals where she will be pitted against other very capable students!
It’s not the end of the road for Annabel, however as she will now go to another national competition next week, the Springboard FutureChef event at City College, Norwich.
Mr Baxter
Well done Elise and Annabel,we are really proud of you.
year 10 physics students have been selected to take part in the Ad Astra Physics scheme
Eight year 10 physics students have been selected to take part in the Ad Astra Physics scheme. The group will be involved in joining other year 10 students from across Norfolk hoping to widen their knowledge of physics. Ad Astra is being supported by the Ogden Trust and Norfolk County Council and is being hosted by Norwich School in partnership with Sprowston High School. The core of the scheme involves the group attending 5 Saturday morning sessions at the new science laboratories at Horsefair House in Norwich. The events include considering A level Physics? Some cool experiments to give a flavour, Astronomy and The moon, microscopes and geology. All the students are looking forward to the first session on 3rd December.
U16 Netball Team to represent North Norfolk
The U16 Netball team competed in a netball tournament hosted by our school on Tuesday 1st November. it was open to all 8 schools in north Norfolk and we performed really well winning 6 matches and losing one. We now go through to represent North Norfolk at the Norfolk finals on Nov 19th at UEA.
Well done everyone and best wishes for the finals.
Choir perform at St Andrews Hall
The Aylsham High School choir has recently performed at St. Andrews Hall as part of the young choir festival. There were 25 different schools and colleges that took part and over 400 voices.
The choir was conducted by Richard Allain and we sang various genres of songs; from Handel to Snow Patrol. Overall, the young choir performed 7 songs and a medley of ‘Les Miserables’. As well as singing in the choir, Kiesha Rice also performed in the Norfolk Symphonic Wind Band playing 6 songs within 3 breaks.
The choir pupils from Aylsham High School are-
Year 7s: Gabriella Elia, Annabel Rowe, Daisy Finch, Hoshi Morris, Lily Wilson, Rachel Gee, Rebecca Welsh, Olivia Watson, Ruby Morris, Faith Jones
Year 10s:
Ruby Norris and Kiesha Rice
Well done to our brilliant choir. We are really proud of you.
Half Term visit to Russia
Mr Roberts, Miss Green and a parent helper, Mrs Tilney, braved the Russian autumn sunshine and extremely hospitable hosts offering food and drink to take sixteen of our students to visit our sister school in Zhukovsky ……and get a little sightseeing thrown in.
Huge credit must go to the English teacher Mrs Valya Vassikova at School No3. Zhukovsky for the warm welcome we received from the School and host families. Our students were able to experience the full range of what Moscow had to offer – The ballet, the Moscow State Circus, museums, art galleries, shopping in Oxhodni Riad, and the cheap DVD’s from Zhukovsky’s Universam. Ten days was not long enough but the farewell concert and goodbyes that followed saw a few tears between the students of the two schools. Thank heavens for face book!
Silver Final Duke of Edinburgh
Ex students from Aylsham High School completed their Final Silver D of E Expedition over the October half term holidays. The girls all started their Bronze award when they were all in Year 10 which they have all completed. They then started their Silver award in Year 11, along with all their GCSEs which was no easy task. Their Silver practice took place last June with the girls starting at Blicking Hall and finishing at Cley Beach car park. For their Silver final they started at Cley Beach car park and finished at Holkham Hall. (Approx. 60km)
This is a fantastic achievement for them all and we wish them all the very best with their Gold award.
Lizzie Hibberd, Nicole Watts, Vicky Last, Alex Whiting & Grace Jackson.
Tanya Wiseman D of E Coordinator
The Eagles visit Holt Hall
Holt Hall
The Eagles recently took part in team work and communication activities at Holt Hall. They created a small dry garden which they made in the potting sheds and proudly took home.
They had fun working together and learning new skills and they are looking forward to future visits.
The Eagles would like to thank Holt Hall for having them and Mr Chris Wright.
Well done to the Eagles, we are really proud of how well you have represented Aylsham High School.
we are delighted to announce that Annie has found her Sandy
Following our plea a for help, we are delighted to announce that Annie has found her Sandy so the next musical at Aylsham High School is up and running. Show dates are 14th March to 17 th March 2012 with a Matinee on the Saturday.
Sandy is actually called Hartley and lives in Aylsham with his owner Janet.
We are full into rehearsals now and all is going well tickets will be on sale starting December.
We look forward to seeing you all in March.
Fashion Show at Wolterton Hall
On a sunny Sunday at the beginning of September, Miss Green and I worked with Aylsham High School models for a fashion show at Wolterton Hall. The event was to showcase the work of the Textiles GCSE garments to the public. The collection ranged from a recycled woven corset modelled by Sophie Bullimore to a range of playsuits modelled by Lauren Taylor, Jessica Conroy and Daisy Hughes. Other models included Bonnie Blyth and Charlotte Tolbart. Both the morning and afternoon shows were packed with impressed spectators. It was a fantastic day that was enjoyed by all and a great opportunity to strut our stuff! Well done to the designers, models and helpers!
Miss Norman
Comedy of Errors
On Wednesday September 14th 2011 the cast of Comedy of Errors set off from Aylsham High School to the Playhouse in Norwich to take part in a workshop with the National Youth Theatre as part of the National Shakespeare Festival.
These students have been working hard to prepare their own unique performance of Shakespeare’s play, even coming into school during the summer holidays to rehearse. The performance is set on a hot Mediterranean island which makes for a colourful spectacle complete with fly swats, ice-creams and carafes of wine! The plot is hilarious with lots of mistaken identities and the arrival of the terrifying Dr Pinch-in our case a student in a sparkly dress complete with angels to sing “Blow Gabriel”, Shakespeare would turn in his grave!
At the Playhouse the cast were given a chance to work with another school on the stage, experimenting with new voice warmups and many other drama activities. They were also able to demonstrate the first fifteen minutes of their performance.
Tickets for the evening performance on November 1st at 7pm are available from The Playhouse in Norwich from the box office 01603 598 598.
This performance can be seen at AHS later in the year. On Saturday 3rd of December we are presenting a Shakespearean evening. This begins at 6pm with Christmas craft stalls and refreshments. A performance of Romeo & Juliet directed by the Drama Captains is followed by the Comedy of Errors. Come and join us for an evening of entertainment by the students of Aylsham High School.
Tickets available from t.wiseman@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk or telephone 01263 733270.
We have our Annie now we need her dog ?
Students from Aylsham High School set off to Blickling Hall on the first week of the summer holidays. The National Trust staff had kindly agreed to let us take publicity photographs in the main hall using their newly re-furbished staircase. Principals from the show 'Annie', to be performed at Aylsham High School from March 14 -17 2012, posed in character against this magnificent backdrop.
Miss Hannigan in skimpy night attire lounged across a desk and Drake the butler marshalled the orphans into some kind of order while Mrs Greer the housekeeper looked on disapprovingly. Warbucks made a telephone call while Grace took notes and the star of the show viewed her surroundings from the staircase in awe, however one character was missing from the photos - Sandy!
We are now waiting to audition a dog for the show. If anyone out there has a sandy coloured large dog who would be interested in a lead role in our show - Annie - we would very much like to hear from you. Good behaviour and a love of children is of course very important.
If you can help us please contact twiseman@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk
We look forward to meeting you and your dog! Many thanks again to all at Blickling Hall.
Tanya Wiseman
Language Detective Day
Some pupils in Year 7 recently attended a Gifted and Talented day at Greshams. The students joined up with students from other local high schools. It was a Language Detective Day in which they had to use their knowledge of language structures to understand clues in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Welsh and Russian, in order to solve a Crime Mystery.
Aylsham All Stars Show Jumping Team
Aylsham All Stars competed in the West Norfolk Schools Show Jumping Competition at Lime Kiln Farm Equestrian Centre on July 10th 2011.
In the Novice class the team of three Freya Giles, Jasmine Hunter and Evie Maskrey secured a win being the only three Double clears.
In the Intermediate class the team of four Freya Giles, Jasmine Hunter, Issy Lorraine and Ellie Bailey missed out on 1st place by four faults and came 2nd out of 10 teams.
In the Open the team of three Jasmine Hunter, Issy Lorraine and Ellie Bailey came 5th.
Well done to all who took part and a big thank you to Mums and Dads for all their hard work and providing transport. Also, a big well done to St Clements’s High School for organising a fantastic event again.
Friendly Face Roadshow, Tuesday 7th June to Friday 10th June 2011
A few weeks ago on the 7th June, 10:17am sharp, the Friendly Face roadshow hit the road. A somewhat nervous crew set off towards Buxton Primary school where 18 year 6 pupils awaited. As we arrived and watched the pupils file in, it was exciting yet extremely scary. We began with a short speech about the role of the Friendly Faces, and talked about life at Aylsham High School. As usual nerves took over and we (well I) rushed through it, but it got the job done and the children weren’t falling asleep! Fabian and Elise then led some fun team games which were thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and Friendly Faces.
We then split the pupils into four groups and talked about the importance of wearing uniform with pride, using student planners, dealing with problems, about worries some people have about being bullied, and how to find the Friendly Faces in school. We also played a game called Sometimes Always Never. The group activities aimed to give the students a few tips about surviving high school and general school know how.
After the group activities, Shaun (a member of Young Chamber) showed a DVD on student voice at Aylsham High and spoke about Young Chamber.
Next came the best bit of the day… the song! We chose ‘Count on me’ by Bruno Mars as we thought the lyrics summed up what Friendly Faces is all about. We handed out words to the children so that they could join in (not that many did) and with Luke strumming the guitar with all he had, we began to sing - at first it was more humming and murmuring than actual singing but by the time we got to the chorus we could have been a full blown orchestra!
We handed out some ‘who do you want to be in your form’ sheets and made our way home, or so you might think… no we had to do it all over again for a whole week! And we really enjoyed it! We got some letters of thanks from some of the pupils at which really made it all worthwhile!
All in all I think a great week was had by both the year 6 pupils and the Friendly Face roadshow team!
Friendly Face Captain’s: Zac Highton and Georgi Connolly.
The roadshow team: Fabian Jackson, Lewis Gibbings, Jasmine Blake, Elise Mabbutt, Luke Whiting, Shannon Wiseman, Emma Atkin, Ellie Cleaver, Shaun Taylor.
Well done to our Friendly Face team. We are really proud of you.
AYLSHAM HIGH SCHOOL EXHIBIT AT THE ROYAL NORFOLK SHOW 2011
On the 29/30th June, the D.T. department exhibited the work from years 7-10 projects in the theme of Wildlife and a very excited group of students shared their work with visitors at the Royal Norfolk Show. We had plenty of activities to do including a frog coin flipper which proved to be very popular, attracting hundreds of visitors. It was great to meet the public and tell them about our school. We even met the First Lieutenant of Norfolk, Richard Jewson and Lisa Christensen who were impressed by our stand. It was a great day with lots of people.
By Jamie Laville
We are so proud of our talented scholars
Students from Aylsham High School have enjoyed great success in pursuing highly competitive scholarships for their post 16 study at prestigious sixth forms across the UK.
Joshua Nightingale has secured an all-round scholarship at the Ipswich School in Suffolk as a result of his impressive talents across the performing arts and sport as well as across a wide range of academic subjects.
Talented actress Jodie Randell has been awarded a drama and academic scholarship at Gresham’s of Holt. This is a testament to her talent and her commitment to her studies.
Stuart Blyth, one of our Hospitality and Catering students was spoilt for choice when it came to his post 16 options. Stuart was offered a scholarship to Westminster College, whose alumni includes Jamie Oliver and an apprenticeship with Michelin Star Chef Galton Blackiston at Morston Hall. Stuart has chosen to pursue the apprenticeship option and learn his trade from a master.
Our furthest travellers are Jacob Bunn and Sasha Norris who have both secured scholarship places at Gordonstoun School in Elgin, Morayshire. Gordonstoun is of course famous as the school attended by Prince Charles and his father the Duke of Edinburgh. Jacob is taking up an academic scholarship and Sasha has been awarded a scholarship in recognition of her artistic talents.
In addition seven of our current year 11 students have a chance of being awarded one of the sought after Paston scholarships. They will not know if they have been successful until they receive their examination results in August.
Headteacher Duncan Spalding commented:
“I am immensely proud of the achievements of all of our students and would like to congratulate warmly our successful scholars. More than anything their success, often as a result of competitive tests and rigorous interviews, is down to the fact that they are such confident, articulate and talented young people. As a school it is crucial to us that our students feel confident that they can take their place in any company and that they have the courage to pursue their dreams. I wish them all the very best in the future”.
Mr Spalding and all of the students would like to express a huge debt of gratitude to Mrs Dianne Wade our Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Coordinator who has been an inspiration throughout the process. Without her many may not have had the courage and confidence to take that bold initial step to apply in the first place.
Many congratulations to the Friendly Face Team who have been awarded the Princess Diana Anti-Bullying Award.
Friendly Faces are a team of pupils who work to solve the problems of younger pupils in the school including bullying. They have their own room in school where at least two Friendly Faces are available every Form, Break and Lunch time for pupils to drop in for problem solving advice, help with issues or just simply as someone to talk to. Their contribution to the school community is invaluable. The Friendly face team run a Friendly Face roadshow where they go out to the Primary schools to meet the Year 6 pupils in the few months before they are about to start at AHS, and help to get them ready for high school. This year they have also been involved in helping another local school to set up their own similiar scheme and deliver training for the pupils there.
The princess Diana Award recognises the quality of this work and we are really pleased that the hard work of the Friendly Faces has been externally validated in this way. Well done to the Friendly face team and to Miss Connor and Miss Heavens for their leadership,encouragement and support.
Dr R.Wade MB BS MClinEd FHEA
It always gives us great pleasure to hear about the successes that our students go on to achieve. We are therefore extremely proud to hear that former Head Boy Ryckie Wade, has recently completed his medical training, with distinctions in his Batchelor of Medicine and Batchelor of Surgery.and is now Dr R.Wade MB BS MClinEd FHEA
Ryckie is going to be based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for the next two years, during which he will continue his studies and training, with the eventual aim of becoming a Consultant Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon and a Lecturer to medical students of the future.
We know that this success comes after many years of very hard work and dedication and we are enormously proud of him.
Students have a blast at Thorpe Park!
Year 10 Business Studies students recently visited Thorpe Park, in preparation for their unit of marketing and communication. We were greeted by the Education Officer, who took us into the ‘Thrills’ building for an educational talk. We made notes and collected the correct information in order to complete our course work, after which the students were eager to go and explore the park. We made more notes and collected leaflets and posters which would be relevant to our section of our unit ‘marketing’. While collecting this information, some of the students were fortunate enough to meet ‘Only way is Essex’ stars Joey Essex and Sam Faiers. Unfortunately the biggest ‘Only way’ fan, Joanna Maxwell, searched all over the park, and to her disappointed did not meet him even though other students claimed to have seen him approximately three times. Overall, a great day was had, and we are very thankful to the efficient student organisers, Ellie Cleaver, Ellen Lincoln, Joanna Maxwell and bus organiser (we wouldn’t have got there without him) Alex Karop!
Also, many thanks to the teachers to gave up their time to support us for this trip, Mrs Auber, Mr Turrell, Mr Doyle, Miss Shanahan and Miss Meadows.
Jo Maxwell
Year 11 Business Studies Student
Students awarded Chief Scouts Gold Award.
Many congratulations to seven of our students from the 1st Buxton Lamas Sea Scouts Group, who have received the Chief Scouts Gold Award.
This is the highest award that can be awarded in the Scout section and is achieved by completing a series of challenges from different areas of the scouting programme. The final challenge was completed in March, through a 30 mile expedition which they had organised themselves.
Everyone at the 1st Buxton Lamas Group is extremely proud of what the young people have achieved which has taken several years. They have all shown great dedication to the scouting movement and to themselves.
This is another example of how hard young people work and how determined they are to achieve at the highest level. It is also a further example of the many organisations and opportunities that are open to our students through the hard work of adults in the community, who give so much time voluntarily for the benefit of others.
Well done to everyone involved, we are very proud of your achievements.
Aylsham Cluster Family Fun Day at AHS
Aylsham High School was the place to be on Saturday as over 600 children, mums, dads and grandparents spent the day enjoying the activities offered at the annual Aylsham Cluster Family Fun Day sponsored by Aylsham Rotary Club. The school was filled with families doing art and craft, science activities, workshops and sports.
Families were offered the chance to sign up for workshops from Dinostar and the Planetarium, which were fully booked by lunch time, and to try their hand at Scalextric racing by Presto Park. Children also loved the opportunity to meet the ponies from Redwings and the fluffy chicks from Let’s Hatch Eggs.
The cluster schools and other local organisations provided craft and science opportunities such as making germs, monsters, parachutes, bird feeders, spinners, lemonade and much, much more, along with opportunities to learn about healthy hearts, clever hand washing and how to be an astronaut
The weather was just right as out on the school field families took part in multi-skills activities provided by the Community Sports Foundation and Tri-Golf run by High School students. We were also treated to a skipping demonstration.
With a café full of delicious home cooked food to recharge the batteries there really wasn’t time to do everything and families were sad to leave at the end of the day. What a lovely way to spend the weekend. Here’s to next year…
Thank you and well done to Monica Harding and Sam Tovell, for leading the organisation of the day and thank to to everyone else who was involved in the day, including the many members of staff who gave up their Saturday so willingly to make the event a great sucess.
Our Thanks to Aylsham Rotary Club for not only sponsoring the event but also to all of the members who gave their time so generously to help run the day.
Business and Finance Diploma students visit Waitrose to explore Corporate Social Responsibility.
As part of our Business and Finance Diploma, we have been learning about “CSR” (Corporate Social Responsibility). For this unit we needed to research a business that has a good CSR policy, so we decided to use Waitrose as they are local and successful. After researching them in our lessons, we decided to visit our local Waitrose supermarket for an interview with the Store Manager and an opportunity to look around the supermarket during the working day.
We arrived by minibus and were escorted upstairs to a well presented conference room where the Store Manager gave a detailed presentation of the “Waitrose Way” He showed us videos, posters, figures and slides of information and after the talk he allowed us to ask him questions in which we noted down and discussed when we came back to school. We then returned to the shop floor and were given a tour around the store rooms and we were allowed to access the freezers to experience the conditions in which the food is kept. The coldest we went in were -24 degree’s C!
We learnt about the charity work they do and the initiatives they are taking to reduce their impact on the environment. At the end of the trip we did a taste test of their strawberries - the Waitrose ones were great!
We left with a ‘bag for life’ full of information and goodies to enjoy. Our appreciation goes to Nick Leverett and Sally West for all the information they gave us and for giving up their time to look after us.
Sinead Delaney
Year 10 BAF Student
Year 9 Sports Ambassadors visit to the Olympic Village
A recent trip to the Olympic village with 5 of our year 9 students was a great success!! We have appointed 6 Sports Ambassadors from year 9 who have been commissioned with the task of promoting the London olympics and paralympics in our schools over the next year and share the legacy it will leave us after the Olympic games.
We were given talks and workshops on the Olympic build, the size of each stadium, the transport issues, people involved. Also we were shown what will happen to the Olympic park after the games are over!
In addition, we were treated to a bike ride along the canal weaving around the park!!
Fashion Show Project with Break Charity
The fashion show was amazing! It went really well and we raised lots of money for Break charity. The outfits were outstanding and admired by everyone. Most of the models are keeping the outfits that they made so that they can wear them. The fashion show was a great success!
By Beth Bailey- Year 8 designer and model
I was really impressed by how well the girls coordinated the fashion show! They even choreographed a dance routine that they performed at the end for the audience. It was also a great opportunity for the GCSE Textiles students to showcase their final pieces on the catwalk! Well done to all of the girls involved!
By Miss Norman
David Copperfield
Half term - what half term? No half term for students at Aylsham High rehearsing for the summer show David Copperfield. All performers are working extremely hard to ensure another brilliant performance.
This is a wonderful entertaining production suitable for the whole family. Performances will take place at Aylsham High School on Friday July 1st and Saturday July 2nd, 2011
at 7.30pm. All tickets are £5.00 and are now available from twiseman@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk or telephone 01263 733270 Ex 126
The play is the story of David’s life. His own father had died six months before he was born. Seven years later his wonderful caring mother marries the horrid, strict Mr Edward Murdstone, who beats David on a regular basis. Following one of his beatings, David bites him and is sent away to Salem House, a boy’s boarding school with a stern headmaster called Mr Creakle. Here he meets a life long friend James Steerforth.
David’s mother then gives birth to Murdstone’s son but sadly both mother & son pass away. David returns home immediately to see Peggotty his mother’s housekeeper & loyal friend but she has been dismissed by Jane Murdstone, Mr Murdstone’s evil sister. David is then sent away to work in the bottle factory, partly owned by Murdstone. Here he meets his new landlord Mr Wilkins Macawber and Mrs Macawber with their many children. Macawber is then sent to prison after going bankrupt and David then decides to run away as he has no where to live and no one to care for him. He runs to Dover to see his only relative Miss Betsey Trotwood who along with Mr Dick is rather eccentric!
David likes his time in Dover with his aunt and Mr Dick but when he is old enough he leaves to go and work in London at Wickfields where he meets the lovely Agnes Wickfield and Uriah Heep the devious and fraudulent clerk.
We look forward to seeing you all,
Tanya Wiseman.
Visit to Ypres May 2011
Forty four of our students took on a day trip to Flanders, travelling through the night to find themselves in the heart of Belgium. Ninety seven years ago the trenches dug here were filled with the soldiers of four nations struggling to survive the new age of industrialised warfare. The museums told the soldiers’ experiences of the trenches and the graveyards spoke silently but eloquently as to the end of very many of those soldiers. Many of our students were filled with a ghastly awe when viewing the sights of these battlefields. Particularly poignant was the grave of Private Strudwick at Essex Farm Cemetery, whose grave was covered with poppies and crosses. He was just 15 when killed in action…..Just one year older of most of our students.
Lest we forget
Ellie Cleaver & Shannon Wiseman, complete the Race for Life
Well done to Ellie Cleaver & Shannon Wiseman, for completing the Race for Life at the Norfolk Show Ground last Saturday. They managed to complete the walk dressed up as a camel, which was extremely hard work. They wanted to make a difference, as the mother of one of their friends has just been diagnosed with cancer, so it was very close to their hearts. The girls have raised a huge amount of money for Norfolk Cancer Research. Thank you to Vicky from Costume World in Norwich for allowing the girls to use her camel costume.
Well done to you both and you didn't even get the hump with each other!!
Mrs Wiseman
Preview of Year 8 Fashion Show
Students in Year 8 have been working in partnership with the Aylsham Evening WI and Break Charity and will be putting on a Fashion Show at 4.00pm TOMORROW ( Saturday 21st May) at the Town Hall in Aylsham. Please come. Tickets available from the Break shop or on the door.
Aylsham in Bloom
Year 10 Land Based and Environmental Science students, spent time yesterday planting out geraniums that they have been caring for, in the market place. They have been working in partnership with the Aylsham in Bloom committee.
Norfolk Schools Aquathon
Congratulations to all of our swimmers who took part in the Norfolk Schools Aquathon at the UEA and went on to be Norfolk Champions.
We are really proud of you all.
Prom and Glam Fashion Show
Well done to the Class of 2011. We are so incredibly proud of you.
The Prom and Glam Fashion show raised over £1100 for the Prom. Everyone had a fantastic evening and enjoyed watching you all looking so fabulous.
Best wishes to you all for your GCSE Examinations starting this week.
Many thanks to our Business supporters, Essence Bridal,Blossom and Green,Decorum Menswear,the Rose Garden.Catwalk Fashions,Cute Little Cupcakes,The Little Clothes Shop,Sollis Spray Tan,Arbonne Beauty Products,Virgin Vie Cosmetics,Just Aylsham and Gianne Zagne Hair and Beauty Salon.
Well done and thank you to everyone who helped.
A HUGE thank you to Dianne and Georgina Wade for making this event such an amazing success
THE FRENCH EXCHANGE 2011
I woke up excited on the 14th April, all ready and packed for the next five days. I arrived at Norwich Station just after Mrs Howe, Mrs Chalk and the other students who were all buzzing with excitement and nerves.
After about seven trains and underground trains we arrived in Blois, and the families were there to meet us. Most of them live in La Chaussée St Victor, a suburb of Blois, which is twinned with Aylsham.
Throughout the stay, we did many activities with the families, such as visits to the fair, the local castles and the zoo. With the whole group, we spent a morning in school and went to a reception hosted by the mayor of La Chaussée. On the way home, we spent a day in Paris.
I found my exchange partner Valentine, and her family, very kind and welcoming. Some of their culture is different to ours and they eat very late in the evening, between 8 and 9 pm.
I really enjoyed the trip and spoke lots of French. Our French partners will be returning to Norfolk in July.
Robyn Morley Year 9
Loir et Cher | Le Blaisois | la chaussée-saint-victor
Onze collégiens anglais en visite 19/04/2011
Les collégiens en compagnie des élus et des professeurs. - (dr)
Vendredi soir, Marc Jollet, maire adjoint en charge de la culture et Jean-Marie Lachat, maire adjoint aux finances, ont accueilli onze collégiens d'Aylsham, ville d'Angleterre jumelée avec la commune pour un court séjour dans la cité ligérienne.
Leurs professeurs, Hilary Howe et Diane Chalk les accompagnaient ; ils sont hébergés dans les familles de leur correspondant. Le programme, préparé conjointement par Muriel Le Chalony et Béatrice Fessy, toutes deux professeurs d'anglais au collège des Provinces, qu'ils visiteront, leur permettra de découvrir le château de Blois et la région avec un passage par le bowling.
Dans son allocution de bienvenue, Marc Jollet a mis l'accent sur l'importance des échanges linguistiques en famille, d'une part pour le côté linguistique car c'est une véritable immersion et d'autre part pour le côté convivial et relationnel. La salle de la mairie où avait lieu la réception a été l'occasion de leur faire un rapide historique sur les personnalités locales telles que Marcel Achard, Adrien Thibault et de leur décrire la fresque murale sans oublier la statue de Marianne. Une visite de Paris précédera leur retour en Eurostar prévu mardi.
Un moment de convivialité a clos cette sympathique réception.
Elise Mabbutt impressed the judges at the South East regional Finals.
Elise Mabbutt, 14, recently attended North Hertfordshire College for the penultimate round in the Rotary Young Chef competition. Elise had fought off fierce competition in the previous rounds and this round was bringing the best together from the South East region. The next step would be the National final!
For her starter, Elise made celeriac remoulade with walnut halves, apple croutons and sultanas soaked in orange juice. The main course was salmon en croute with salsa verde served with pea shoots and carrot ribbons and the pudding course was rhubarb delice.
The competition was fierce and the working conditions were extremely challenging. The final decisions were really hard, with the judges taking a long time to deliberate and Denniss Lusnikovs, nearly 4 years her senior, won the final by a very narrow margin. The judges were very complimentary to Elise and the other competitors stating that this was the closest year that they had ever had in terms of making a final decision.
Elise was presented with an embroidered apron, a large bag of olive oils and olives and a gift voucher. Elise came out smiling and full of determination saying that next year she will do it, she will get to that final!
Since the competition Elise was asked to give a 20 minute talk to the local Rotary club about her experience in the competition. Her talk was hugely successful and in addition to this she was also interviewed by the Eastern Evening News.
Many congratulations Elise. We are all really proud of your tremendous achievement and we look forward to next year!
Year 7 meet Charlie Higson.
On the Friday 8th of April, just over one hundred year 7 students walked to the Jubilee Centre in Aylsham to listen to a talk by Charlie Higson.
Mr Higson talked about his new book ‘The Dead’ This book is the second in a series of books to be written about Mothers and Fathers who are all zombies and small groups of children trying to survive. Everyone over the age of 14 has contracted the ‘Zombie Plague’, hence the zombie outbreak, really scary.
We watched a short trailer, the first Chapter of ‘The Dead’, of a small boy, on U Tube, sending out a message, asking for help. He is the last one alive and is trapped inside his home with the Mothers and Fathers trying to get to him. WOW!
We have posted our individual comments below:
I thought Charlie Higson was great. Some of the book sounded very disturbing but very exciting at the same time.
Max Byrnes
The book begins with a small boy being kidnapped by the Mothers and Fathers who had become Zombies through some sort of plague. Scary!
Joel Lodge
I thought the visit was fun and Charlie Higson was Hilarious. I will be reading more of his books.
Luke Wooldridge
Charlie Higsons book ‘The Dead’ seems very different to many other books, because he really wants to scare you.
Hannah Richards
Charlie Higsons first book of this series ‘The Enemy’ begins immediately you start reading. I will definitely be recommending to others.
Eleanor Fowell
Year 7 would like to thank the Norfolk Children’s Book Centre for making this visit to meet Charlie Higson possible.
Written by:
Max Byrnes
Joel Lodge
Luke Wooldridge
Hannah Richards
Eleanor Fowell
Thank you to Mrs Walker for organising the event.
AHS Students on Time Team Dig
In the middle of March, if you had travelled to Garboldisham, you would have found our students carrying out an archaeological dig under the supervision and guidance of Time Team’s Carenza Lewis and Paul Blinkhorn. Normally done by undergraduate students from Carenza’s Cambridge University archaeological faculty, our students burrowed into the earth near Thetford and rewrote the history of Garboldisham. Over two days all the finds from earth test pits were collected, cleaned and recorded, the whole being put together at Cambridge University on day three. Our students also had a chance to look round the University and try out the facilities of, perhaps, their future academic home.
Prelimary results suggest that Garboldisham had an intense period of human settlement in Neolithic times, after which the settlements dwindled only being partially resettled during Saxon times. The Norman invasion seemed to have unsettled things as occupation dwindled again but came back in the middle medieval age after which humans remained and thrived, especially through the Tudor period. It’s not often that a student gets to write the history books.
A terrific experience for our students and possible a future career path for some? Thanks to Cambridge University for the opportunity.
Mr Roberts
