During the last month we have been consulting with parents, staff and the local community about forming a partnership with other local schools and other organisations called a Trust. This would allow us to work more closely with our main feeder primary schools as well as receiving support from bodies such as the University of Gloucestershire and NHS Gloucestershire. Thank you to all parents who responded to the questionnaire, and to those who attended our public meeting earlier in the month. The response to our proposal has been very positive. The Governing Body will hold a special meeting on Tuesday 20th April to decide whether to proceed further in view of the responses received.
We say farewell to one member of staff at the end of this term. Mrs Constantine leaves us to start her maternity leave and we wish her well over the next few months. She will be replaced by Ms McJennett who will take over her timetable in the Performing Arts department.
We have been investigating a change to our pastoral system at Beaufort Community School. We have been discussing a system called “vertical tutoring” in which the school is divided into houses rather than year groups and each tutor will have a mix of pupils of different ages within their tutor group. There would be no difference at all to the teaching groups in which pupils are taught for the vast majority of their time whilst in school. We have visited and talked to other schools who have made similar changes and who have been very positive about the benefits to their schools. This would be a significant change for the school and we would be keen to hear parents views on the issue. The idea has already been discussed by the School Council and by the Governing Body.
We received the sad news of the tragic death of Danielle Haines in Year 12 last week. Danielle died unexpectedly from a severe asthma attack. Danielle joined Beaufort Community School from Linden Primary School in September 2004, following her brother Luke, who was two years older. Danielle will be missed by all who knew her, and particularly by her close friends in the Sixth Form. We all send our condolences and best wishes at this sad time to her family.
We were also saddened to hear of the deaths of two long serving former members of staff last week, Bryan Wynn and Bob Tate.
Bryan Wynn taught Science at Beaufort Community School for 25 years and served as Head of Biology, Second in Science and Acting Head of Science. Ralph, his son, attended Beaufort in the Sixth Form and was a leading member of the Beaufort Venture Scouts. He retired last Summer due to ill health in order to spend some time with his family, his wife Liz and children, Ralph and Rosemary. We all send our condolences and best wishes to Bryan’s family.
Bob Tate taught Maths at Beaufort Community School for 19 years and served for many years as Head of Year and then Deputy Headteacher of the school. Following his retirement in 1992 he served as a Governor of the school. Bob was a very important and influential figure in the development and growth of our school and he will be remembered by many of our current parents. We all send our condolences and best wishes to Bob’s family.
Beaufort Three represent Gloucestershire U15
On Friday 12th March Gloucestershire U15s fielded three Beaufort pupils in the starting fifteen against Bristol Schools. Joel James at fly half, Ryan Charles at hooker and Reece Boughton was scrum half and also had the honour of captaining the side.
Gloucestershire won 23—19 in a fast and physical game between two very determined sides.
Well done to all three boys
Mr King, Head of PE
Year 9 Rugby – South West Trophy
The Year 9 rugby side were asked to represent the County at the South West Schools Trophy on March 9th 2010. The boys left school excited at the prospect of playing against new opposition and at the same time challenging themselves alongside the best in the South West. Playing short games we started slowly and only managed to scrap a no score draw in our opening match against Penair of Cornwall. Playing back to back fixture saw us meet the eventual winners of the day in our next match, Ivybridge; Ross Wayman scored Beaufort’s only try of the match as Ivybridge (Plymouth) won 12-5 in a closely fought game. Our final match saw us really cut lose as points seemed to come with ease against Mangotsfield from Bristol; running in tries from all over the field (2 x Aston Richards, 1 x Ashley Kocerhan, Zack Kotwica and Farrell Gwilliam). Three conversions also came via the boot of Gwilliam as we ran out 32-0 winners. In winning this match we cemented our position of 2nd in the standings. Well done.
Squad: Farrell Gwilliam (Capt), Daniel Broady, Leighton Thomas-Brinkley, Kane Sansom, Ashley Kocerhan, Ross Wayman, Lewis King, Aston Richards, Nathan Evans, Luke Robinson, Jamie James, Ryan Griffiths, Jack Hamblett, Callum Sullivan, Zack Kotwica, Spencer Hamilton, Callum Merchant, Lewis Duckett, Tanner Jones, Callum McMahon, Jake Handscombe, Daniel Williams.
Gloucester Secondary Schools Swimming Gala
On Tuesday 9th March 2010 the school took part in the annual Secondary Schools Swimming Gala at GL1. A good day was had by all with a very high standard of swimming on display. The school finished in 4th place overall, which was an excellent result. All swimmers swam well and showed good team spirit. Special mention goes to Tom Gennaio (Year 8) who came first in his event—25m breaststroke.
My thanks go to Charlotte and Emma, students from the University of Gloucestershire, who have been helping with the successful After School Swim Club on a Tuesday night. Through this club many swimmers have benefitted from the training and help, with some swimmers learning new strokes which they displayed with confidence in the gala. Thank you also to Mr Harber for his help on the day.
Well done everybody for your fantastic effort, which was rewarded with a brilliant result.
Mrs Sutton, Swimming Teacher
Swim School Sports Relief
Well done to everyone who took part in the sponsored ‘Swim a Mile’ for Sports Relief.
The 20 children who took part raised £621.30 by swimming a total of 82 lengths each! A fantastic achievement.
Key Stage 4 Girls Football
Gloucester Champions
The Key Stage 4 Girls football team played in the county finals on Tuesday 30th March. They successfully beat every school in the first round tournament, getting us through to the final! Unfortunately in the final game we were beaten 1-0 by Whitecross School.
We are now the Gloucester School Champions and the County Champion Runners up!
TEAM
Danni Whitmore, Gemma Wood, Emmie Kelly , Laura Howell, Laura Birkett, Paris Gutteridge, Jodi Douglas, Hannah Hale,
Well done ladies you are a credit to Beaufort School!
Mrs Stratford
Berlin 2010
Thirty two Year 10 pupils braved the freezing temperatures and snow to visit Germany's exciting capital this February. Visits to the Reichstag, the Olympic Stadium, the Berlin Wall and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp gave pupils a real insight into the city's dramatic history. While not exclusively a History themed trip, recent events in the city have left much for the visitor to experience. A snowy bike tour and a ride in a 200 metre lift to peer out over the city from the top of the iconic Television Tower were other highlights. Berlin's trams, trains, underground and buses were a great way to get around the city and for pupils to rub shoulders with ever-friendly Berliners. It's fair to say that while most pupils seemed unimpressed by Mr Nye's karaoke singing, they enjoyed late-night ice-skating under the stars and go-karting which formed the evening entertainment. There was just about time for a bit of shopping in the Kufurstendamm and a trip to the Berlin Zoo before they had to fly home to England's relative warmth!
An excellent trip with pupils who were a credit to the school.
Mr Nye
World Book Day at Beaufort.
Thursday 4th March was World Book Day and pupils in KS3 took part in a number of events in the English department to celebrate.
In Year 7 we held a poetry competition; well done to Ruby Duckworth, Henry Davies and Georgia Moss-Bond for their winning entries.
Year 8 completed a quiz in the library; the winners were Kimberley Constant, Kay Horton, Charlotte Harris and Kim Sevens – well done girls!
Each pupil in Year 9 took part in a chain story writing event where they continued the events of a story started by another pupil in another class – some very interesting stories were produced!!
All pupils in school were also given a book token to swap for one of the specially published World Book Day novels or to use as a standard £1 book token instead.
Mrs Tomlin
Year 7 Trip to Paris
This term thirty three Year 7 pupils enjoyed an exciting four day visit to Paris. Leaving early on Friday morning we travelled by coach and Eurotunnel to the Chateau de Grande Romaine, a PGL centre situated a few miles outside of Paris. On our first full day in the city we spent the morning climbing to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, from where we had stunning panoramic views of the city. Later we travelled by boat along the Seine to view many of the historic buildings situated along the river. In the afternoon we took a short but eventful coach tour of the city to visit the stunning landmark of Sacre-Coeur (yet more steps to climb!) and the street artists at Montmartre. The following day we slowed the pace a little by visiting the small market town of Brie Comte Robert, where pupils tackled a town trail with clues in French. In the afternoon we had a fascinating time at the museum of Science and Industry. The trip culminated in a full day spent in the Disneyland Paris theme park before returning, somewhat exhausted, overnight back to the UK.
Mr Follett
Young Writers Mini Saga Competition
A number of Beaufort pupils recently had their work entered into the national young writers’ competition. A record number of pupils’ work from Beaufort was selected for publication based on imagination, perception, expression and creative use of language.
The following all had work selected:
Tyrell Watts, Josh Dowd, Chelsea Bryon, Emilie Watts, Owen Smith, Georgia May Sandford, Jacob Hobbs, Kayleigh Andrews, Hannah Jones, Shannon Brown, Laura Beacham, Emily Ricketts, Alana Turner, Jack Amos, Harvey Lewis, Charles Davies, Luke Bass, Connor Palmer, Martin Harrison, Jamie James, Kieran-Lee Prendiville, Isobel Chance-Hyett, Jack Kotwica, Callum McMahon, Bradley Long, Marcus Gilling, Christie Tsame, Ross Wayman, Thomas Lewis, Becki Partlett, Daniel Robson, Hayley Malsom, Harry Heckford-Hemming, Rowan Bennett, Alex Babbage, Alex Cox, Tia Constant, Kelly Shannon.
This is a great achievement and the selected pupils should be proud of themselves. The editorial team will now go on to select the school winners but all the selected entries will be available to view when the book is published, there will be a copy in the school library, your local library and even the British Library, providing a lasting record of their achievement.
Mrs Hastings, English Department
Important Dates
Thursday 1st April—End of Term 4—3.15pm
Monday 19th April—Start of Term 5—8.30am
Thursday 29th April—Year 7 Parents Evening
Monday 3rd May—May Day—school closed
Friday 14th May—Non school uniform day—End Polio Day
Friday 28th May—End of Term 5—3.15pm
Thursday 3rd June—Watersports trip departs
Friday 11th June—Watersports trip returns
Pupil welfare
Pupils with asthma should carry an inhaler in their bags at all times—a spare named inhaler should be handed into the Medical Room.
Parents of pupils with a medical condition, or the need to take medication in school, should ensure that the school is fully informed at all times. Please feel free to contact the medical room.
It is also important that the school has a full set of contact numbers so that we can get in touch with you should the need arise. Please contact the school office to either check your details or inform us about any changes.
Nurse Drop in Sessions
The school nurse is available during Monday and Thursday lunchtimes for any pupil requiring support or advice. She can be found in the Medical Room.
Ski Trip 2010
The boys and girls departed mid-afternoon on Saturday 20th February for the annual ski trip to Pila, Italy. On arrival in our resort we went straight to base camp for fitting of our ski equipment before the short trip to the hotel which was to be our home for the week. By now, and with all the winter weather the UK had enjoyed, it was still pleasing to see the look on some of the pupils faces when we finally got on the slopes. Fresh snow resulted in powdery conditions – the best conditions to learn to ski. Meeting up with pupils and their groups on a regular basis was great and to see the progression in some was amazing. Most pupils started on the ‘Baby Pila’ slope, but by the end of the week they were hitting the red runs, even those who found it a struggle stuck with it and were rewarded by the end of their stay. In total 29 pupils with 4 members of staff took up the challenge and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we had a fantastic time. Off the slopes we enjoyed evening activities such as; bowling, swimming, pizza evening and the much looked forward to disco evening. Thanks must go the to the staff; Miss Hopes, Mr Lockett and Mrs Izatt for giving up their time and a special vote of thanks must go to Mr Davies for organising the trip.
The local police want to advise parents and carers about the need to ensure that none of their personal possessions (eg holdalls, handbags etc.) are visible within their vehicles when they are left unattended outside school premises. This is especially relevant at the start and at the end of the school day during the traditional ‘school run’. There is also the need to ensure that vehicles are left fully secure with all windows closed. A few months ago a number of such offences occurred outside Gloucester schools. The problem has unfortunately started once again. Please remember that even though cars are sometimes only left unattended for a matter of minutes this is more than enough time for a thief to act and ruin your day.
