An hour long podcast of the Drivetime Show for this special day is available from the school website. Hosted by the Station Head Dom Chambers with guest, Councillor Sarah Bevan and pupils from the school. Click here to go to the relevant page on the website.
Eight pupils from Somervale School were part of a pioneering project called KICK. Kids in Court Kick…Crime aimed to make teenagers more aware of the workings of the criminal justice system and some of the possible consequences of being in trouble. It was initially launched in Norfolk and is being trailed in the Bath and Wansdyke Bench area under the auspices of its Magistrates in the Community Coordinator and local businessman David Evans. Magistrates in the Community aims to give people and young persons an idea of how the system works and what happens in a magistrates court.
Assisting David Evans in the launching of the project has been Zoe Threlfall Community Engagement Coordinator for Her Majesty’s Court Service.
The project was divided in three stages. A visit to the magistrates court in Bath, a session called “You be the Judge” based on real cases where the teenagers have to put themselves in the position of magistrates and justify their verdicts and a visit to the school by an ex offender. The pupils then evaluate the course and on completion are awarded a certificate highlighting that they have successfully completed the course.
David Evans was delighted with the pupils feed back which had been very good. The pupils appeared to have learnt a lot from the project and it had been a successful launch. He hoped it would encourage more and more young people to avoid getting caught up in the Court system.
Pupils within the school are invited to enter the Eco-schools school photo competition ‘Love where you live’. The pictures could be about how the school is promoting sustainability or simply anything about how good or bad the area you live is.
Entries should be given to Mr Benfield on memory stick or CD/DVD. All pictures should be named with student’s name and tutor group.
More information and entry forms are available from the ‘Publications’ area of the school website, or from Mr Benfield in the Science Department.
Prizes awarded to KS3 and KS4 winners.
Closing Date is the 25th February 2010
A team of six year 9 students have made it to the final four of a national competition. On February the 10th they will present their ideas and plans to a panel of four judges at The Royal Institute of British Architects. The challenge was to plan and create conceptual models for a sustainable town for twenty thousand people using innovative ideas and materials.
The competition sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Communities and Local Government aims to raise the aspirations and enterprising outlook of young people. The team had to focus on areas such as sustainable energy, ecological design, wildlife mitigation and environmentally sustainable building materials. In addition to this the design had to include the needs of citizens from different social groups and landscaping of public spaces. If the team are successful on the 10th February they will be invited back to London for an Ambassador’s Day where they will meet with politicians and businessman to discuss their models and design ideas.
Quote from Mr Benfield (Science teacher and competition mentor)
‘I am extremely proud of the enthusiasm and motivation with which the students have approached this challenging task. They have spent a lot of time and effort on this project and they deserve the chance to show the judges their innovative designs. The students exemplify the sustainable ethos we have at Somervale.’
All Key Stage 3 students at Somervale School took part in a Holocaust Remembrance experience around the theme of ‘The Legacy of Hope’ on Tuesday and Wednesday 26th and 27th January. All lessons for the two days were themed around personal reflection to try to help students to learn from the mistakes of our past by examining the Holocaust and other genocides.
Students worked to a normal timetable but all lessons in all subjects were themed around personal reflection or creating artefacts to display in the school hall around the theme to fit the subject’s content.
David Campbell, the Head of Humanities, who organised the days, explained the reasons behind the event: ‘we are keen to provide the opportunity for our students to reflect and respond individually and to join with millions of other people across the world in a time of remembrance, in the hope that we educate the next generation so that such events will never happen again and so that the world can be a better place.’
The event culminated in turning the school hall into a place of remembrance which all Key Stage 3 students visited during the afternoon school on the Wednesday where their work was displayed. The centre piece was a tree of hope which the students had decorated with flowers and messages. Peter Beaven, the H
eadteacher when visiting the final exhibition said, ‘the hall had been turned into a quiet place of reflection and the students came and looked through the huge variety of photos, written work, films and presentations with great interest and with great respect. The tree of hope filled with luggage labels and flowers representing those who had lost their lives in the holocaust were particularly poignant.’
These two theme days are part of an extended enrichment programme the school provides to enhance students’ responsibility as local and global citizens.
On Monday 25th January 2010 Somervale Maths Department once again welcomed Baths Spa University Mathematics students who came in to introduce yr 7 and yr 8 pupils to the complexities of the Enigma Code and the Mathematical properties of the Star of David, The activities were an excellent start to 3 days of activities based on the anniversary of the Holocaust , the last concentration camp closing 65 years ago.
Yr 8 pupils had some codes to break that led to a message. The Enigma Code breaking machine developed by the famous mathematician Alan Turin led to the war ending early and potentially saving many thousands of lives.
Yr 7 looked at the Star of David investigating its Mathematical properties and learning how to construct it accurately, as you may know the Jewish people were forced to wear a star to indicate that they were Jewish.
All pupils said that it was a good start to the week and in their following lessons looked at calorie intake for food rations and the proportions of each countries population that were exterminated.
Mark Kenny, Deputy Headteacher said, ‘it’s always a pleasure to have the Maths students with us and every year there seems to be more of them which is great for the profession. The students responded really well to the extra help they were given and enjoyed the challenge within the lessons. The work linked really well with our Holocaust Theme Days.’
Somervale School held its annual Presentation Evening on Thursday 17th December to celebrate the achievements of last year’s students from Y11 and Y13. The evening was an opportunity to look back at the achievements of last year and to welcome students back who had returned from their first term at University. Somervale welcomed back former Headteacher, Michael Gorman, to award the prizes and to address the students as the guest speaker.
Peter Beaven, Headteacher of Somervale School said, ‘the evening was a lovely occasion it was great to meet the students and celebrate their achievements with their families. It is always a delight to hear their stories about how they are making their way in the world.
From 10 Oct – 1 Nov an exhibition of artworks from all
secondary and special schools in BANES was held at the Victoria Art
gallery, Bath. The following students had work on display – Steph Lake,
Naomi Stearn, Grant Johnson, Emily Hill, Josh Martin and Dan Morris
The Year 10 Somervale Curriculum Enrichment Group joined forces with BTCV Environmental Conservation Group at Silver Street Wood on Friday 25th September. The group are currently clearing an ancient natural pond to restore it to its former glory. Pupils; Sam Watts, Katie Britt and Natalie Seymour spent the afternoon with spades and wheelbarrows removing silt to allow the natural stream to once again flow into the pond area.
Mrs Mitchard and Mr Didymus were really impressed with the attitude and motivation of the pupils who were rewarded at the end of the session by seeing the pond begin to fill.
After the tremendous Year 11 GCSE results which were the best in the school’s history, some more good news for Somervale students. Year 10 students who took Maths a year early achieved a 100% A*/C success rate.
Special mention needs to be made of Emily Hill who got full marks 600/600 in every component of the exam. Not far behind with A*’s were Jonathan Harvey and Ian Williamson who dropped only 2 marks and 5 marks respectively out of the 600 available.
The Science modular results for Year 10 were equally impressive. Notable achievements are: Harry Ancill and Sam Presley stay on course to achieve a perfect score in GCSE Chemistry. Emily Hill has gained a grade A* for her Core Science GCSE, with 395/400, Jonathan Harvey, Jonathan Turner and Ian Williamson have all achieved an A* for every module undertaken (one and half GCSE Science grades each). Jade Woodbury, Ryan Gay, Zoe George and Zoe Foister achieved full marks in one or more component.
