I am delighted to be able to report that we have had so many positive developments, it has been difficult to choose which ones to include here. I apologise to any student or member of staff who feels aggrieved that I have not included their success story!

In April, we were recognised officially as a Healthy School. This is an excellent achievement and I am sure that you will be delighted with the news. I am indebted to Mrs Baverstock for her skilled work in coordinating the programme. The Local Authority’s Healthy Schools Coordinator had this to say:

“I was really encouraged to hear about the wealth of excellent practice being demonstrated at Stanground College in support of PHSE and Healthy Schools and am most impressed by the way in which the working group has continued to drive this incredibly important agenda forward.”

Also in April, Mr. Abbott gained the Economics and Business Education Association’s annual award for best new teacher. This national award is presented to the teacher who has shown innovation in teaching and Mr Abbott won thanks to his work on the use of interactive lessons. The award was presented to him at the EBEA’s Annual Conference and Dinner in London. Congratulations Mr Abbott!

Sixteen Year Eleven students completed the expedition stage of the Duke of Edinburgh Award in June. All the students put in a huge effort and performed magnificently. Cambridgeshire’s Outdoor Education Adviser commented that it was the best group of students he had seen for years and they were a credit to themselves and to the College. Many thanks to Mr Murray and Mr Potts whose skill and generous devotion of time supported the students in their success.
Our two cricket teams progressed to the semi-finals of a prestigious cricket league which is a pilot for the whole country. The under-13 team gave it their all, but lost in the end to a more experienced team. Our under-15 team played with the same determination and sportsmanship, but went one better and qualified for the final! Both teams have done the College proud and I must thank Mr Bibb and the PE staff for their time and expertise in coaching the teams.

I am going to take an unusual step in this report by turning the rest of it over to someone else! Like all schools, we have an independent, external reviewer who visits the College several times a year. I thought you would be interested to hear some of the very positive comments he has made about the College:

“ The school evaluates its effectiveness carefully; it has a broad and inclusive curriculum; senior leaders believe that teaching is generally good (a view confirmed in the last Ofsted report); lessons and pupils’ work are monitored regularly; and behaviour and attitudes are very good.”

“The college places a strong emphasis on sport and health, encouraging more healthy lifestyles amongst its students. All students have at least two hours physical exercise a week, with most enjoying even more through after-hours clubs. The school’s range of extra-curricular activities is extensive. Last year there were almost 1000 out-of-school learning hours of extension and extra-curricular activities available to the students, almost 1000 of whom took advantage of at least one.”

“Students report that they feel safe in the college. They report very little bullying or racism. On walking around the college during breaks between lessons and at lunchtime, I was very impressed by the mature attitude of the students, the absence of any boisterous behaviour and the courtesy of the students towards one another and towards adults in the school.”

We now await the examination results’ arrival in August and wish every student well. I am confident that they have all done their best. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy summer and look forward to working with you again in the new academic year.
Best wishes, Malcolm Ellison

Students experience an Alternative programme

A selection of Year 9 and 10 students have been attending Moulton College in the grounds of the Cathedral on a Horticulture course. They have learnt about plant growth, seasonal plants and the importance of nurturing plants within our environment. They have also been very hands on, in the work on the site and have been involved in garden maintenance with some ornamental brickwork and path construction. This programme is a pilot that was put in place so students could access alternative programmes linked to industry with qualifications attached including the experience of the world of work.The students have enjoyed the programme even with the inclement weather and although, on occasions, have got very wet their hard work has been recognised by the tutor at Moulton College. This programme’s success has led to Stanground looking further into similar courses with the emphasis on Work Related Learning.

Mrs Smith –Careers Coordinator

The Bizzle, the College’s Year 10 Young Enterprise company, followed up their remarkable success at the Peterborough Trade Fair in February by winning their category at the Annual Young Enterprise Presentation Evening. The event was hosted by the Mayor of Peterborough and took place at the Peterborough Town Hall on Wednesday 13th June.

The Bizzle (Aron Pool, Sian Carrington Smith, Nadia Lorenzini, Fabrizio Schivone, Adam Ridley, Christian Woodham, Danusha Cook & Navkarn Mandair won the Best Team Programme Award and the £250 first prize. This was in recognition of their success over the course of the business year and was a credit to the hard work of the sixteen students involved in the team. They also received further recognition by claiming the second prize on the night for the Best Trade Stand competition. This added a further £20 to their prize pot! The group will now have to decide how they are going to spend their prize, with a trip to a theme park of their preferred choice!

Eight of their team attended the awards ceremony with Mr Abbott, Mr Mason and Colin Swanborough, the group’s Business Advisor from Perkins Engines. The judges paid tribute to the students and commented that the quality of the group’s Company Report and Presentation was higher than many of the Sixth Form teams! Christian Woodham, the Managing Director, was presented with the trophy. He said that it was a “great honour” and he was “very proud of his team”.

The students have also had the opportunity to sit an additional exam, the Level 2 Certificate in Enterprise, assessing their learning from the Young Enterprise work. This exam is equivalent to a higher grade GCSE (A*-C level) and all of the Year 10 students who sat the exam passed with flying colours. Mr Abbott said “I

am incredibly proud of my Year 10 group. To win the Team Programme is a brilliant achievement. The College has now won the Team Programme Award three years running so there will be a lot of pressure on next year’s team!

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Colin Swanborough from Perkins who has now been working with the department for the past three years and he consistently provides outstanding advice, support and guidance. We are indebted to Colin and to Perkins for allowing him to attend our weekly meetings”.
Whilst the Year 10s won the main prize, special mention should also go to some of our 6th Formers. Luca Fontanella from Little Fountain was the runner up in the Best Individual Achiever category, sponsored by Cummins Generator Technologies. Ali Dungerwalla from SKI won Third Prize in the Best Company Secretary category. Alongside the Yr 10 students, the majority of the Sixth Form who have participated in Young Enterprise this year sat the Level 2 Certificate in Enterprise. There were some excellent results with all of the students achieving at least a Pass in this exam. Many of the students achieved Credits and seven achieved the highest grade, a Distinction, which is equivalent to an A grade at GCSE level.

Well done to both Luca and Ali for their awards and also, well done to all of the students who have participated this year.

Papa Luigi Visit — Stef Malajny, one of the owners of the Papa Luigi pizza franchise was invited to talk to the group. Stef invited the students to visit him at his Walton branch where they were given a detailed talk by Stef and one of his managers about the benefits of working as a franchise. The students were then invited to question the speakers before being given some free samples of Papa Luigi’s products! The visit was also covered by the Evening Telegraph. We are very grateful to Stef Malajny for this opportunity and wish to thank him for giving up his valuable time (and pizza!)

Mr Abbott

Sporting News.

GCSE PE PRACTICAL GRADES
The current Year 11 achieved outstanding practical grades in their April exam. 100% of our students achieved an A*-C grade. This looks extremely promising for their final grades. The top achievers were Luke Bonney, Matt Price, James Vernau and Sophie Strickle, who all achieved high A* grades.

ATHLETICS
Six students were selected to represent Peterborough schools in the Cambs Schools event held at the Peterborough track
Stanground were the only Peterborough school to qualify for all of the relay finals from Year 7 to 10 (boys and girls)
Stanground took the most athletes to the practice sessions held each week at the track
More than 50 students will be representing Stanground in the City School Athletics Championships this month

FOOTBALL
Four out of our six boys’ football teams won their respective Peterborough league competition this season. These were Year 9, 10, 11 and 12/13
The Year 8 team also progressed to the final 32 in the national competition and were cup winners
The Year 9, 10 and 12/13 football teams were also the regional representatives in the national competition and reached the last 64 in the country
Congratulations to Alex Beeken 7C, Dalton Desborough 7A, Dom Gioia, 7C, Ryan Hobbs 7D and Liam Stokes 7C, who have had a very successful season playing for the Stanground Juniors Football Team under 12’s. Their achievements include: Winners of Peterborough Junior Alliance League, not losing a single game. They were the winners of Peterborough Junior Alliance League, Huntingdon Regional Cup, Downham Market Tournament, Melton Mowbray Tournament and Wisbech St Mary Tournament

WIMBLEDON TRIP
20 of our students have been rewarded for their good work this year and have been watching the

tennis championships at Wimbledon (rain, rain and more rain!!!)

CRICKET
The Year 12/13 team have won all of their games this season and look like winning their league competition
The Year 9/10 team are currently second in their league and have reached the semi finals of their competition.
Andrew Rowlands (Year 10) currently has a batting average of 149 runs
The Year 7/8 team are also performing brilliantly and have only lost one game. They will be playing Sawtry in the semi finals of their competition. They have been a consistent team with great batting performances by Daniel Bannister, Ben Crowther, Jason Dunn Josh Robinson and Krishna Karavadra has perhaps been the top bowler
The U13 team narrowly lost in the semi finals of their regional competition (see picture above)

ROUNDERS
The Year 9 rounders team recently performed brilliantly in their Peterborough Tournament at Jack Hunt, winning all their games

SWIMMING GALA
Stanground had the largest team at the Peterborough Schools Swimming Gala at Jack Hunt pool. Around 45 students represented the college and we finished fourth of the seven schools. Arthur Mellows, Sir Harry Smith and Jack Hunt occupied the first three places, but we out-performed Kings and Deacons. Stanground swimmers were also the smartest as they were the only school in team swimming hats!

TENNIS
A large number of students recently took part in a tournament at Stanground for Years 7 and 8. Anita Fisher, a tennis coach, has been working with a number of younger students in lesson time to raise standards in the sport.

PRIMARY PE
Stanground recently hosted the Minto-Ballantyne football and netball tournaments for Primary Schools
During the month we will also be organising Primary Sports Day
These events will involve BTEC and JSLA students who will be refereeing, marshalling, scoring and organising

SPORTS DAYS
The department are currently busy organising each of the sport days at Peterborough Athletics Track

AND THERE’S MORE ……...

Stacie White of 7E continues to balance a successful school career with an intense gymnastics training schedule. She competes in high level national competitions and has recently won a silver medal for her efforts. She achieved this for being the second best gymnast in her age group (12-13) in the UK! She was even presented the medal by Beth Tweddle - the best gymnast in the UK.

PE & Sports Team

Clic Sargent Karting Challenge

On Sunday 3rd June 2007, three students from Stanground College; Matt Bold, Josh Bold and Ashley Dibden, took part in a sponsored kart race in order to raise money for the children’s cancer charity Clic Sargent. The three of us raced in our own team with some friends and our dads! We raced under the team name ‘Pony Express’.

We all arrived at the Red Lodge Kart circuit Sunday morning ready to race. It was set to be a very competitive 3 hour endurance race. With two drivers in the team that had never raced a Kart before, we were just going out to race for fun hoping for decent place finish out of 14. As the afternoon progressed we made ourselves noticed in 6th place and began to climb up the race order. After a strong few stints Pony Express was in 5th place. Then a mechanical failure lost us time and we had to change kart. However Ashley, who drove the second stint was back in the seat for the final stint, having set one of the fastest lap times during his earlier session, our hopes were high. Ashley was by far one of the fastest drivers on the track in the final stint, as the clock was counting down; Ashley was moving us up the rankings. Then the three hours were up, and thanks to some very fast times, Pony Express finished in 4th place.

Finally we would just like to say a big thank you to all the staff and students at Stanground College who sponsored us in this very worthwhile cause.
Matt & Josh Bold, Ashley Dibden

On Sunday 3rd June 2007, three students from Stanground College; Matt Bold, Josh Bold and Ashley Dibden, took part in a sponsored kart race in order to raise money for the children’s cancer charity Clic Sargent. The three of us raced in our own team with some friends and our dads! We raced under the team name ‘Pony Express’.

We all arrived at the Red Lodge Kart circuit Sunday morning ready to race. It was set to be a very competitive 3 hour endurance race. With two drivers in the team that had never raced a Kart before, we were just going out to race for fun hoping for decent place finish out of 14. As the afternoon progressed we made ourselves noticed in 6th place and began to climb up the race order. After a strong few stints Pony Express was in 5th place. Then a mechanical failure lost us time and we had to change kart. However Ashley, who drove the second stint was back in the seat for the final stint, having set one of the fastest lap times during his earlier session, our hopes were high. Ashley was by far one of the fastest drivers on the track in the final stint, as the clock was counting down; Ashley was moving us up the rankings. Then the three hours were up, and thanks to some very fast times, Pony Express finished in 4th place.

Finally we would just like to say a big thank you to all the staff and students at Stanground College who sponsored us in this very worthwhile cause.
Matt & Josh Bold, Ashley Dibden

As well as all of that you can also use these systems to show DVD screenings of educational programs removing the need to book and transport mobile TV and video playback facilities across the school.

Sixteen Year 11 students in four groups were completing their final expedition, the last part of the Award.

Despite the less than ideal weather forecast the groups were ready and waiting to start at 10am in Polebrook. After some final checks to make sure they had all the kit they needed and a few words of encouragement they set off to complete the first days walk. The route took them from Polebrook through Warmington and onto the Nene Way footpath. The groups followed this path through Fotheringhay and Nassington to reach the campsite at Yarwell Mill.

The remaining students were Year 10s undertaking the practice expedition where they would pick up the skills needed to complete the “real” expedition later in the year. Soon after arriving they were busy putting up tents and settling in to the campsite. For some putting up tents seemed considerably easier than for others! Having had lunch, the group learnt about which items of kit they would need and how to properly pack a backpack. Map skills and route planning followed in the afternoon as the skies started to darken.

At 3:30pm the first groups of Year 11s started to arrive at the campsite.

Although they were tired and wet having had to wade across a flooded
footpath, they were still full of enthusiasm and looking forward to cooking their evening meals. Quickly, tents sprung up and the air was filled with the smell of camp cooking as the groups tucked into their food and replenished their energy levels.

It was at this point it started to rain! A series of heavy showers soaked the campsite for the next few hours. It was a good opportunity to test whether the tents were waterproofed! Most passed, but one or two weren’t quite as watertight as they should have been. Even this failed to dampen the spirits though and a team effort saw to it that everybody was in a dry tent soon after the rain stopped.

As it started to get dark, we played frisby, football and a bit of rugby league though many were a bit too tired to take too active a part! It was a good chance to wind down and relax before everyone went to bed to get what sleep they could before day two. The following morning saw several groups up and packed away by 7:30am. Talk about enthusiasm!

The Year 11s set off to complete the last stage of their route whilst the Year 10s went in two groups to put some of the skills they had learnt the
day before into practice. By 1pm everyone was sat on the green in Elton Village, tired but proud
that they had finished.

It was an excellent effort by the Year 11s and they should all be really happy with the level of effort and commitment that they showed over the weekend.

The Year 10s also showed that they were quick learners and that they are all more than capable of undertaking the proper expedition in September.

The Year 11s who completed the Expedition were;

Rebecca Atkins, Peter Bark, Danielle Barnes, Jacob Benton, Kynan Berezncyckj, Amanda Coakes, Edward Cottingham, Adam Fountain, Chantelle Green, Laura Harper, Adam Jeffries, Thomas Smith, Christopher Starkey, Lewis Steels, Matthew and Michelle Wagstaff.

For further information on the DofE click here

Students at Stanground College, an 11-18 comprehensive in Peterborough, have started the spring term in style, winning over £30,000 of new software titles from secondary software specialist Birchfield Interactive. As the winner of a massive competition, launched by the Times Educational Supplement's Online magazine and Birchfield Interactive, Stanground College can look forward to being the first school in the country to experience the new Birchfield Lesson Kits, recently launched at the BETT 2006 educational technology show.

Presented to school principal, Malcolm Ellison by Birchfield Chief Executive Jonathan Case at the BETT show on 12 January, the new Lesson Kit software, currently available in a wide range of curriculum subjects, features Instant Lessons, designed to provide staff with a wide selection of ready-made class work modules packed full of engaging activities and the Lesson Builder, a program that provides teachers with the tools and resources needed to create engaging presentations featuring stunning high quality 3-D animations, narrated text, voice-overs and music. Integral to both lesson delivery options is the Assessment Tool, which automatically monitors pupil and class progress and produces detailed reports itemising time spent and results achieved.

Mr Ellison enthused, "This prize from Birchfield is a big boost to the College's improvement agenda. In providing a wealth of support for effective lessons, it will help to ensure that Stanground students are at the cutting edge of e-learning."
Jonathan Case commented, "At Birchfield, our aim has always been to develop the best software that we can. We are pleased that Stanground College students and teachers can now benefit from the exciting new ways of learning and teaching that our new Lesson Kit range has brought them."

The curriculum subjects presently covered by the Birchfield Lesson Kit include: biology, physics, chemistry, business studies, design & technology, English, history, geography, ICT, maths, modern foreign languages, physical education, PSHE & citizenship and religious studies. Stanground College will also benefit from all the new titles developed during 2006.

The Extra Curricular Fair – A fair for students and Parents to find out how they can get involved in activities outside of school including Scuba Diving, Army, Air & Sea Cadets, Drama, Music, Martial Arts, Community Projects etc

Ladies Pamper Evening – A relaxation and beauty therapy evening for Stanground mums

Keeping your child safe on the Internet – An evening for families giving practical advice on child protection and the internet

Health Issues Evening – An opportunity for parents to discuss issues to do with talking to their children about sex and relationships

Helping with homework – A chance to discuss with parents ways of helping support students with homework

Helping your child prepare for exams – An evening for parents and Carers

Gifted and Talented Students – An event for the parents of students on the gifted and talented register providing support and advice

Primary Evening – An event for the families of new Year 7 students to find out about what happens when pupils start in September

Year 7 Transition Feedback – An opportunity for parents to talk about experiences of their son/daughter’s transition from Primary to Secondary School

Yr 10 Work Experience Evening – An opportunity for parents and students to find out the types of work experience they can get involved with in year 11

Yr 11 Work Experience Celebration Evening – An evening for Parents to celebrate students’ success

University Evening – Discussion with those parents and students thinking of applying for University

These events provide a wide range of activities and cover a number of issues which may be helpful to you as parents. Our Leading Parent Partnership Team also makes sure that the communication with parents, and the school’s systems that are created, are done with parental support and accessibility in mind. Some of the recent changes that you may not be aware of are things like…

the enhancement of the website so that parents can access letters home they may have missed
the installation of translated phrases in the foyer to support parents who are not fluent English speakers
Website links to training providers to help parents continue their learning
The extra curricular fair web page is now active and all the organisations that come to the X-Fair 2007 now have their contact details on the school website. Just go to the school web page, click on ‘Extra Curricular Activities’ and then click ‘Clubs and activities around Stanground’.

There are over 30 clubs and organisations from archery and sailing to fire cadets and martial arts. If you know of any clubs that you are a member of, but you cannot see on the list, then let us know on the website address below.

As part of our continuing commitment to ‘Help Parents Support Students’, we would like to know if there is anything else we could do in terms of events or evenings which would be helpful to you. Our most recent addition is the ‘Keeping your child safe on the internet’ which was suggested recently and is something which we are in the process of organising for next year. We welcome all suggestions to improve our level of support for parents. You can send in your ideas addressed to the LPPA team or email us at the address below. If you would like to be kept up to date via email on the events we hold throughout the year as well as other school updates, then please email us at LPPA@stangroundcollege.co.uk
Leading Parent Partnership Team

For further information on the LPPA click here

Year 7

As the end of the Year 7 gets closer, students have been really busy getting involved in lots of different activities, as well as working hard in their usual lessons!

One of the highlights of this term for Year 7 students was the Achievers Lunch which took place in April. Sixty students were selected because of their excellent and outstanding A-E checks. We spent lunchtime enjoying pizza and chips and playing on the games at Powerleague.

Another group of students have also been chosen to spend the day at Fletton Lakes in July. This is a local area where students will be looking at the wildlife that can be found on our doorstep. They will be doing this through pond dipping, bird watching,
wildlife drawing and even building a

sculpture. It promises to be a great day out.

Some of our Year 7 students have even made newspaper headlines AND appeared on Look East as part of Stanground College’s campaign to encourage students to drink water and keep hydrated.

Here’s Daniel Cobourne and Daisy
Leakey making sure they are drinking enough water.
With our first Activity Week as a year group only around the corner, we’ve
got a great end to the year to look forward to, with lots of students getting involved in sports day, inter-form rounders and a presentation assembly.

Finally, I’d like to say well done to all of our Year 7 students who have made their first year at Stanground College really successful.

Mrs Maddison

For further information on Year 7 click here

Year 8

We are fast approaching the end of a very busy term which has seen our students making sound progress and excellent contributions to college life.

The student council have proved themselves to be a very active unit and during one of our meetings decided it was time Yr 8 had their own designated charity. As a result back in May they produced an impressive assembly, the result of many hours of hard work, highlighting various charities to the year group. The form groups then went on to vote for their favourite charity. We are pleased to announce that Cancer Research UK will be our chosen Yr 8 charity. We look forward to raising lots of money to support this extremely worthwhile organisation.

On the subject of raising money for charity, two of our students recently participated in the Red Lodge Karting event at Newmarket.

Our sporting achievements continue to impress. Five of our students, Jessica Mescall, Dale Saunders, Katie Potter, Helena Russo and Emma Pryzbl have received

nominations for the Sport Oscars. They will be attending the prestigious ceremony on 12th July at the college in the presence of their family and friends and we wish them luck and hope they enjoy this much deserved evening.

The summer term is traditionally a very busy time for us and this year is no exception.

We have activities week to look forward to and in particular our year group trip to Alton Towers.

The celebration assembly is always a very enjoyable event for both staff and students and is a chance for students to be congratulated for their achievements this academic year. Auditions for performers keen to participate will be held very soon.

May we take the opportunity to wish you all a restful and enjoyable summer holiday and we look forward to September for the start of what we hope will be another successful year.

Best wishes from the year 8 team.

Year 9

Due to the fact that modular exams will be taking place throughout year 10, I would like to request that holidays are not booked during term time. This is an important point in the students’ lives and good attendance at college is vital to ensure they reach their full potential in their exams. Thank you for your support in this.

Some students in Year 9 have been active recently in a different way, raising money for charity. However, one particular student wasn’t happy with contributing through the usual methods - non-uniform days, loose change etc, and went a step further…...

Andrew Butcher of 9R wanted to raise some money for The Sue Ryder Home in Peterborough and so went to great ‘lengths’! He had his head shaved! (not below a number 2 of course). If anybody would like to offer further sponsorship please contact Mrs Pocock at the college.

Year 10

Life is never dull for Year Ten!
They have taken their MFL exams a year early and also sat a number of Science Modular Tests. We are proud to say that their behaviour when lining up, as well as in the actual exam, was exemplary.

We have formed an SRA Committee in readiness for our ‘big day’ next year. Members of the committee are currently in the process of organising fund raising events.

Our Subject Evening was very successful, with a 78% attendance rate. Thanks to all parents who came.

Fifty five of our students attended Bassingbourne on Wednesday 27th June. Six thousand students attended, from hundreds of schools in the area. Our students took part in a number of activities and we are pleased to say that they came first in the girls’ football, second in the boys’ football and second in the ‘tug of war.’

We are looking forward to Activities Week. Apart from the usual events, we have two trips: one to Wickstead Park and the other to Ferry Meadows. We are also looking forward to two careers days, which we hope the students will find useful.

Have a happy and safe summer break.`
Mr S McLean

News 07/2007/00014

Post 16

As part of their General Studies lessons, Post 16 students were able to listen to lectures from Friends of the Earth, The Human Embryology Authority and the Cambridge based Sanger Institute which carries out research into gene function in health and disease. The lectures were thought provoking and the students enjoyed the debates. Many thanks to Mrs Houghton-Wood for organising this.

Post 16 students were briefed on the procedures of application for Higher Education courses. A Careers/UCAS week was held with many visiting speakers including local employers and University tutors. A visit to Leicester University was also organised.

In addition to the students’ programme an Information Evening for parents and students was held on Tuesday 3 July. This was an opportunity for parents to listen to an admissions tutor and a representative from the Awards Department at Shire Hall.
Congratulations to Lucy Donnelly and James Day who have gained a place on the Sutton Trust Summer School. Lucy is going to Nottingham and James to Oxford. Congratulations also to James Keir, Jack Goodwin and Michael Channing who have gained a place on the Cambridge Summer School. All 5 students will be able to sample student life, go to lectures, and gain an insight into university courses.

All Year 12 students on a 2 year programme will be on work experience between Monday 9 July and Friday 20 July. This is a valuable part of the students’ programme as it gives them the opportunity to study their areas of career interest in more depth. We are looking forward to our annual Summer Ball when we say goodbye and best wishes to all the leavers.
Mme Roberts