Manor High
School
Newsletter
2016-2017 | Autumn Term
SEPTEMBER 2016
An inspiring start to the new
academic year
Dear Parents and Carers
to host the EPL Trophy in school for the
whole day on Tuesday 27th September.
We are just a few weeks into term and
already there is enough material to fill
several newsletters.
Our summer results gave us a huge
boost with a 100% pass rate at C or
higher in our GCSEs and an A/A* rate of
49%. Our SATs were the best in the area
and were 25% higher than county and
national figures.
Our new students settled faster than
ever before thanks to our enlightened
vertical tutoring system. This
encourages all students to make new
friends quickly and for all students to
work across the years to help and
support each other regardless of age.
Every student in the school had the
chance to have a photography taken
with the cup.
We have had many sporting successes
and enrichment activities aimed at
raising confidence and self-esteem. Our
school is known for academic
excellence but this is underpinned and
propelled by the removal of social and
personal barriers through our whole
child development and emphasis on fun
and creativity.
English Premier League
Trophy at Manor High
School
Following on from the remarkable
success of Leicester City last season and
their 100% record so far in the
Champions League, we were delighted
We are very grateful to Mr Sonpal and
to Barclays for all of their great work in
making this possible. It was a huge
honour for Manor High School and
added considerably to the tangible buzz
factor we are experiencing.
At the end of the same day, it was great
to see Leicester City win for a second
time in their Champions League
campaign and also to see half of the
parents and students of Manor High at
the match.
NEWSLETTER | Autumn Term
2
Team Building at Rutland Water a
Great Success
All of our students had the opportunity to
go to Rutland Water to engage in
teamwork, problem solving and raft
building among other activities.
This initiative worked well with our rapid
integration for new students through our
tutoring system and helped to build
confidence and support social interaction.
The students were challenged by the
activities and they thoroughly enjoyed
themselves. “I was nervous at first about
going on the trip but the teachers
encouraged me and I am so glad that I took
part. We worked together in teams and it
brought us all closer together. I can now
see how as year group we have bonded.”
said one Year 6 student.
Although this was all about outdoor fun
and activities, the skills students learned
will be transferred to other areas of school
life, as another student said: “This will help
us in our lessons and in our school work. I
settled into Manor High very quickly and
the Rutland Water trip has helped me to
bond with my tutor group and to make
new friends. Thank you for the
opportunity”.
Mr Handley gave praise to the Year 6
students who attended saying, “The Year 6
students that attended Rutland Water
today were fantastic and were a credit to
The staff raft with
Mr McKinlay and Mr
Handley on has sadly
capsized!
our school. They completed each activity
with a smile on their face and they seemed
to enjoy every minute.
One of their highlights will no doubt be
seeing myself and Mr McKinlay capsizing
our staff raft and being saved and returned
to shore by the safety boat.“
NEWSLETTER | Autumn Term
Humanutopia
Last year we were lucky to be introduced
to Humanutopia, an organisation who
tap into human potential and focus on
the art of what is possible. They raise self
-esteem and encourage students to
work together.
Our Year 9 students had a whole week of
activity in which they considered what
makes them perform better, what holds
them back and how to change this for
the better.
The change in Year 9 was noticeable
across the week. Students thought
carefully about what makes them feel
good or bad and then they worked with
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Year 6 students to mentor and support
them.
“This has changed my life” and “This is
the most amazing thing I have ever
done” were two of the comments made
by students as they completed the last
day.
“What I loved about
the work with
Humanutopia is that
it made me look at
things differently. I
can now see how I
can improve my
confidence and social
skills to make myself
more employable and
to help to work even
harder with my studies
to fulfil my potential”
Year 9 student.
Year 6 Inspired by Adam
Walker the Ocean Swimmer
Safe and Considerate Driving
We would like to make another timely
appeal for safe and considerate driving by
all parents at all times.
We were delighted to welcome Adam
Walker back to the school this week. Last
January, on the staff training day, Adam
inspired us with his accounts of his seven
epic swims across the world’s most
notorious channels and oceans.
Because it was so engaging and exciting
and because so many of us have now
read his book, we invited Adam in to work
with our Year 6 students.
This is an important year group because
the students are preparing for their SATs
and also preparing through a specialist
secondary curriculum for Key Stage 3.
Adam explained how he prepared for
each swim and the challenges he faced.
Among some of the most memorable was
his account of being saved from a
potential shark attack by a group of
friendly and protective dolphins.
Another remarkable story described how
he overcame an attack by deadly jelly fish
but still completed his swim despite
unbearable pain, freezing waters and
chronic nausea.
“I really loved listening to Adam and
asking him questions. I can’t wait to read
his book and find out more. This has made
me feel really confident and determined”.
Year 6 student.
All students are expected on the school
site no later than 8.30am every morning.
This means setting off early and allowing
plenty of time for the journey. Our school
is open to students in our Study Centre
from 7.45am each day and so it is better to
arrive early than late.
We still have a number of drivers who
drop off their children each morning in a
way that is not safe. As you know, we work
tirelessly with parents and police to ensure
safety. Please help us to ensure that no
child is ever put in danger by reckless or
selfish driving practices.
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NEWSLETTER | Autumn Term
MFL News
PE News
Barcelona Trip
Skiing Trip
Manor High School would like to offer
students in Year 8 and 9 the opportunity to
take part in a cross-curricular educational
visit to Barcelona with the Modern Foreign
Languages and DTA departments where
they will have the opportunity to study the
architectural significance of Gaudí’s work,
improve their language skills and sample
Spanish culture first hand.
Our annual Ski Trip to Switzerland is again
going in February 2017. This is a hugely
successful trip which has been running for
well over a decade now and gives students
a fantastic opportunity to challenge
themselves whilst learning new skills as
well as experience a different culture.
As well as time spent in a Spanish school
getting to know Spanish students,
participants will be able to enjoy visits to
Barcelona’s world famous Nou Camp
stadium and entrance into the football
club’s museum; Gaudí’s iconic Sagrada
Familia cathedral; and Gaudí’s Parc Güell
to see his mosaic work and experience
panoramic views of the city.
Please speak to Mrs Rodriguez if you are
interested in the Barcelona Trip as places
are filling fast.
The trip departs on Friday 27th January
2017 (afternoon) and will return on
Saturday 4th February 2017 (morning).
This is the penultimate week before half
term so shouldn’t clash with any family
holidays.
Mandarin at Manor High
There are great opportunities within
languages at Manor High right now. There
are Mandarin classes for beginners on a
Thursday after school and for GCSE on a
Tuesday after school. Please come along if
you are interested.
European Day of Languages
We will be based in Torgon which is a Swiss
resort in the Portes Du Soleil ski region. As
well as skiing in the day, Last year evening
activities included a roller disco, snowshoeing through the forest, indoor rock
climbing and the end of week disco.
Within Modern Foreign Languages, we
have three competitions running to
celebrate the European Day of Languages.
One is to design a postcard for MFL.
Another is to teach your teacher a new
language and the third is a vocabulary quiz.
See Mrs Rodriguez for more information.
If you are interested in the Ski Trip please
speak to Mr Handley.
Aspiration
Evening
need to make additional and unnecessary
transitions.
A transfer dip is something to avoid and
whilst parents will exercise choice at
various times, the benefits of continuity
and stability, free from the burden of
additional transition, will have a beneficial
effect on achievement and progress.
Thank you to the many parents and
students who attended our Aspiration
Evening on 22nd September. It was packed
out with many parents wanting to find out
more about the school and how to secure
a place at Manor High.
As always, the feedback was extremely
positive with parents expressing surprise at
how much goes on in the school. The
reassuring message to current students is
that their places are secure and there is no
NEWSLETTER | Autumn Term
7
Events Diary
Viewing of Kayleigh’s Love
Story (Parents/carers only)
There are important dates coming up in
the calendar which will be of great
interest to parents. Here are some key
ones:
You may be aware that following the
tragic death of Measham schoolgirl
Kayleigh Haywood, Leicestershire Police
has made a film about the last few
weeks of her life to raise awareness
amongst children of the dangers of
online grooming and child sexual
exploitation (CSE).
Post-16 Awareness Evening
6TH OCTOBER 2016: 6-7.30PM.
All of the 6th form and post-16 colleges
and providers from Leicester and South
Leicestershire will be there. This includes
Leicester Grammar, sixth forms from the
area and further afield as well as both De
Montfort and Leicester Universities,
apprenticeship providers, vocational
colleges and many more.
This event was held in our school six
months ago on behalf of Learning South
Leicestershire and such was the demand
that we have been asked to host it again.
Readathon Launch and Book
Character Day for Year 6
FRIDAY 7TH OCTOBER
Our annual event where students in Year
6 get to dress as their favourite book
character for the day. Readathon gets
children reading for fun through a
sponsored read in schools. The money
raised provides children's hospitals with
regular storyteller visits, plus a mobile
bookcase jam-packed full of brand-new
books.
The upcoming event was put in the
calendar last May so that we could book
all of the best post-16 providers. We
look forward to seeing you.
Open Mornings
Parents Evenings Year 9—6th
and 13th October
An opportunity to speak to your child's
subject teachers about their progress so
far in Year 9. You can also learn about
the GCSE preparation work that has
already started. Places can be booked
online at:
https://parents-booking.co.uk/
manorhigh
AUTUMN TERM, WEEKLY AT 9.00AM
Our popular open mornings are running
once again and are booking up quickly. It
is the perfect opportunity to visit our
busy and happy school during typical
school days when all of the students are
engaged in learning and are in the
school.
Dates vary and places can be booked
online at: manorhigh.leics.sch.uk/
The school is closed on
Friday 14th October for
staff training.
The film has been made in liaison with
Kayleigh’s family who are keen that as
many children as possible view it.
We intend to show children in Years 7, 8
and 9 this film at school in the coming
weeks. Specialist Police officers will be
on hand to discuss any questions raised
by the film and we’re running a
dedicated classroom session to provide
children with advice about online safety
and CSE.
To allow you the opportunity to see the
film in advance of it being shown, we are
holding screenings for parents only at
4pm, 4.30pm and 5pm on Thursday 6th
October at Manor High School, the
session will last about 30 minutes. Places
are limited and the showings are for
parents/carers only of students in Years
7, 8 and 9.
To book a place for the viewing please
follow this link: http://
kayleighslovestory.eventzilla.net
While it is not obligatory that your child
sees the film, and you have the right to
withdraw your child from screenings, in
my view the film, while upsetting, is
something that all children ought to see
to ensure that they are sufficiently
aware of online safety issues and CSE.
Primary Liaison Week
WEEK COMMENCING 26TH JUNE:
Activities for Year 4 from a variety of
primary schools to engage in learning
and creativity at Manor High. More
information to follow.
10
NEWSLETTER | Summer Term
GCSE updates
Our teachers are ready and eager. We
School Bus
posted out support packs to all families to
All of our Year 9 students have now started support work over the summer. This is part We have been asked by many parents to
their full GCSE courses. This is because the of a programme to eliminate any chance of conduct a feasibility study into bus routes
new GCSE is more demanding and in order a dip in performance caused either by
to support transport to school.
to make it more manageable for students transition or the summer break.
and to improve outcomes, attainment and
progress, we have given it more time.
There is ample provision for all of our
students both locally and further afield for
the next transition point at 16 and our
students will achieve the highest possible
grades so they will meet entry
requirements for their destinations of
choice.
With waiting lists and many parents eager
for their children to access an education at
Manor High, we have agreed to do this.
We will be hosting more of our very
Consequently, there will be buses in place
popular parental awareness sessions so
to bring students to our school along the
please check our information on Facebook most popular routes.
and Twitter for further updates.
More information about this will follow
and they will be arranged for the current
academic year.
Our KS3 standards are higher than county
and national figures, our SATs are 25%
above national and county figures and our
students go on to achieve high grades at
GCSE.
House Roundup
A warm welcome back to Manor High
School to students and their families after
a refreshing summer break. Our House
system continues to go from strength to
strength with a new student leadership
system led by two new house captains:
Bradgate: Isabella Cyhan & Akinkunle
Atanda; Clarendon: Paige Uppal & Pajhan
Jaffari; Knighton: Henrietta Magill &
Muhammed Amaan Ibrahim; Watermead:
Henna Ruparelia & Teiren Mistry.
wider school, it promises to be a very
exciting year for everyone associated with
the school.
Even though we are so early in the new
term, it is great that our students have
made such a strong and successful start.
The older students have shown genuine
leadership and care for the younger ones,
who, in turn, have settled faster than ever
It has been another very successful start to before and have embarked on what will
the year for our school houses. Each one
prove to be a 6 year journey of
has done really well with excellent
achievement and rapid progress.
attendance, willingness to get involved and
general friendly competition.
House charities have also been well
represented already this term with several
bake sales being held in aid of Rainbows,
Wishes for Kids, British Heart Foundation
and Wateraid raising over £100. With the
range of activities and events already
taking place within the Houses and the
NEWSLETTER | Summer Term
11
Staff Workplace Challenge
Manor High was one of 18 workplaces
from around Leicestershire, Leicester
and Rutland who came together on
Friday 9th September to determine
which team would claim gold at the
Workplace Olympics, held at Saffron
Lane Athletics Stadium.
The three hour Olympics style
tournament saw track and field events
combine with more traditional sports
such as handball in order to determine
who would be taking home the medals
and glory this year. Friends and
colleagues joined together, with teams
of eight all getting opportunities at
activities they may not have tried before.
Manor High team included: Mr Watson,
Mr Flax, Mr Pollard, Mr Burbidge, Mrs
Watson, Mr Loweth, Mr Cross and Mr
King. They had a great evening of
friendly competition with Mr Watson
proud to have won the sack race and Mr
Flax victorious in the 100m. Injuries
sustained during the evening included
two pulled ham strings and a dead leg!
Celebrating the Life of Roald
Dahl
Sports Snippets
On Tuesday 13th September students
celebrated the life and work of one of
our favourite authors. The day marked
100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl.
Football
Students were invited to come to the
Study Centre to watch Willy Wonka and
the Chocolate Factory, use the
computers to explore the life of Roald
Dahl, take out Roald Dahl books,
complete a quiz to be entered into a
competition – where the winner, Sanae
Berdei in B3, received a Roald Dahl book
of her choice!
Duke of Edinburgh Gets Off
To Great Start
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award 2016
was launched on Monday 12 September.
There has been such a large interest this
year that we have doubled the number
of teams involved,
Our Year 7 Boys team are on a winning
streak so far this term. Their first match
against Welland Park ended with a 7-0
victory. A week later on Tuesday 20th
September they won 2-0 away at Wigston
Academy. Finally, on Tuesday 27the they
had a great game against Robert Smyth.
The score at final time was 1-0 from a
single goal from Henry Wells. Keep up the
good work boys!
Our Year 8 Boys have also had a lucky
streak, with wins against Welland Park and
on Wednesday 28 September they won
their 1st round National Cup match 3-1
against Avon Valley School. Well done
boys!
Cross Country
So far students have enjoyed practising
their map reading skills and team
orienteering, plus they had a session on
campsite cooking, where they learned to
cook on trangias. All this work will lead
to their expedition weekend next June.
Let the adventure begin!
You can now follow us
on Twitter and like us
on Facebook
A number of students joined in the fun at
the first cross country race of the year.
Students did really well in all their races,
with a great run from Henrietta who came
sixth in the Junior Girls race.
NEWSLETTER | Autumn Term
Proud Parents
Year 8 Hockey Star
One of our Year 8 students shines when
it comes to hockey. Yuvraj is currently
training with England Hockey Junior
Regional Performance Centre
(Nottingham) Under 15 Boys. He has
been selected one year early and is
hoping for selection to the next level
(High Performance Assessment Camp)
later next month. This is as part of
England Hockey’s player pathway which
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In 2015, he was selected for the UK Lions
touring squad which is selected from the
UK U13 Boys Regional Hockey
Championships, where selected boys
represent regions of England, Scotland,
Ireland and Wales. Once selected, the
boys receive top quality coaching from
highly qualified coaches and get an
opportunity to play hockey at home and
abroad. Yuvraj was selected two years
early for this group. As part of the Lions,
Yuvraj has played in Gibraltar, Sardinia
and Ireland.
In 2016, he has been selected again, still
one year young. He hopes to make it
three years running next year.
Yuvraj also plays for and trains at
Leicester Hockey Club, where he will be
part of their elite U14 squad.
ultimately leads to junior international
level; something to which Yuvraj aspires
and will need years of hard work and
luck to achieve.
Darshil Lodhia, in Year 8, spent his summer
in Atlanta, Georgia. But this was no normal
holiday. He enjoyed a working vacation
assisting his father’s cousin, Jit Vaitha, in
his Daycare Centres.
Darshil got to help in the daily running of
the centres and also a recruitment drive,
where he contributed in persuading new
enrolments. Quite a few parents reported
that Darshil did really well and spoke with
confidence and contributed in signing up.
Mr Vaitha is also one of the founders in a
charity he help set up and continues to
progress. The charity is called Rise 2 Shine
and has set up a school to provide
education and also support the families of
under privileged children in Haiti. http://
www.rise2shine.org/
While Darshil was in the US, he was given
spending money but instead decided to
donate it to the charity.
Are you a proud parent? If your child has done something outside of school that you would like to shout about, please email Alison
with the details: [email protected]
Learning South Leicestershire
Post-16 Careers & Education Event
Thursday 6 October 2016
In attendance: University of Leicester  De Montfort University 
Loughborough University  Regent College  Wyggeston and Queen
Elizabeth I College  Gateway College  Leicester College  South
Leicestershire College  Brooksby College  Leicester Grammar  Robert
Smyth Academy  Lutterworth College  Wigston College  Countesthorpe
College  Sir Frank Whittle Studio School  Leicester
Apprenticeship Hub  Armed Forces  And more…
Re s e r v e y o u r p l a c e o n l i n e a t :
w w w. m a n o r h i g h . l e i c s . s c h . u k / L S L