The
andprint
Issue 19 : 31 Jan 2014
Headlines
Last week the Government published the Secondary School Performance tables for 2013 results, and I
am delighted to announce that once again Sandringham is amongst the top 100 highest performing
non-selective schools in the country. This is an outstanding achievement and we should be very proud of
all our students from 2013 who performed exceptionally well. There are over 3000 secondary schools in the
country, which demonstrates just how highly Sandringham is performing in comparison with the rest. A
study of the tables shows that like last year, St.
George’s in Harpenden and STAGS also performed
exceptionally well, and I believe Loreto and Beaumont
have also achieved this benchmark this year. This is
excellent news for our area with five schools performing in the top 100 non-selective schools in the country.
Over 200 talented students took part in the annual
dance show, Velocity, this week to packed audiences
each night. The quality of dancing and choreography
was exceptional with some wonderful themes and large
numbers of students of all ages participating. For the
first time we had the school Jazz Band playing, with
the students dancing to live music. I would like to congratulate all the performers for their efforts and Miss
Meeking and Miss Hebb for their encouragement and
expertise in helping students perform to such a high
standard. Well done everyone.
The weekly newsletter of
Sandringham School
A Specialist Arts and Science College
DIARY DATES
Mon 10 Feb
Thurs 13 Feb
Fri 14 Feb
17 - 21 Feb
14 - 22 Feb
21 - 24 Feb
Tues 25 Feb
27/28 Feb
Sat 1 March
Weds 5 March
Thurs 6 March
Fri 7 March
Tues 11 March
Fri 14 March
17 - 21 March
Tues 18 March
Mon 24 March
Friday 4 April
Weds 23 April
House Music, 7pm in SandPit Theatre
INSET day
INSET day
Half-term break
Ski trip to Austria (be at school for 7.30pm)
KS5 Geography trip to Iceland
Year 9 into 10 evening - 7pm in the hall
Les Miserables, 7.30pm in the SandPit Theatre
Les Miserables, 2.30pm & 7.30pm in the SandPit
Theatre
Year 9 PTC - from 4pm onwards
Top of the Form - SandPit - 3.15pm - 4.15pm
Fo$S Prom Fair and Fashion Show, 7pm, SandPit
ELD 4
Fo$S ‘Alternative’ Race Night - 7pm
National Science and Engineering Week
DofE information evening, 7pm
PTC Year 10, 4.00pm onwards
Break for Easter
Return to school from Easter break
Visit to Parliament
On Friday 24th January, the Year 12
Government and Politics students went to
Westminster to see how our parliamentary system works in real life. After going through some
very serious security, we met Lord McNally in the lobby
of the House of Lords. Then it was straight upstairs into
On Thursday evening over 70 students received
the gallery to listen to a debate on the forthcoming E.U.
their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Awards with a further Referendum. It was an important debate and the cham20 gaining the prestigious Silver Award. The presenta- ber was packed – noticeable ‘faces’ included Douglas
tions showcased the outstanding commitment of these Hurd, Sir Geoffrey Howe, Betty Boothroyd and Sebasstudents and how much this will benefit them in the
tian Coe. We then went into a comparatively very
future, with essential skills in communication, resilisparsely inhabited House of Commons to listen in on a
ence, community work and challenge. Well done to
debate on Deep Sea Mining. A very interesting Question
everyone involved and a very big thank you to the
and Answer session followed in one of the Committee
DofE team, led by Mrs Cuneen.
Rooms, where the students were able to ask Lord
McNally about his background, how he came to be apAlan Gray pointed as a Lord and whether the Lords should be an
Headteacher elected chamber in future. He then went off to vote on
the amendment (in the Lords they have ‘Content’ and
‘Not Content’ as opposed to the ‘Ayes’ and ‘Noes’ in the
Word of the Week
Commons.) Upon his return, they also asked him about
lobbying groups and their influence on parliamentariSubsequent [adjective]
ans. Overall, a very interesting and worthwhile visit eduHappening after something else
cationally as well as from the point of view of improving
The book discusses his illness and subsequent
the students’ understanding of their own role as citizens.
resignation from the government.
Those explosions must have been subsequent to our
Graeme Swann
departure, because we didn't hear anything.
Teacher of Geography and Politics
Sandringham School Academy Trust
Registered in England No. 07523557
Student Achievements
Headteacher’s commendations
Amy Colvin 7B Art
Emily Giovanni 7B S4LL
Bartosz Kolsut 7B Art
Cami Messer 7B S4LL
Neve Phillips 7B S4LL & Art
Izzy Shaw 7B S4LL
Luke Smith 7B Art
Greg Zielinski 7B Art
Leah Mukubvu 7D Library
James Townsend 7D S4LL
David Barnes-Rider 7K Library
Scott Combes 7K Drama
Diego Gonzalez 7K Drama
Chiara Guddemi 7K Art
Samuel Hardie 7K S4LL & Art
Daniel Herbert 7K Art
Oscar Holmes 7K Drama
Elena Kite 7K Art
Rajesh Lakhani 7K Drama
Juan Lopez 7K Drama
Henry Masters 7K Art
Megan Mitchell 7K Art
Adam North 7K Art
Nathalie Palmer 7K Art
Anna Sutcliffe 7K Art
Zoe Webb 7K Art
Harry Hurp 7S S4LL
Eve Shaw 7S S4LL
Claire Bottoms 7V Library
Edward Mansfield 7V Library
Christopher Rowe 7V S4LL
Anna Johnson 8B English & Art
Amy Williams 8B Library
Cara Binder 8D English
Zain Choudry 8D English
Pollyxeni Gupta 8D Library
James Stewart 8D English
Emma Wilkinson 8D English & Library
Delara Baria 8DA English
Matthew Hollingham 8DA Library
Thomas Sear 8DA Library
James Carpenter 8E Drama
Lily Charnock 8E Drama
Lauren O'Neill 8E Drama
Yasmin Wazir 8E Library, English & Drama
Juliet Calder 8K Drama
Emma Goldingay 8K Maths
Joe Davies 9B Geography
Georgina Leeks 9B Geography
William Dawson 9D Music
Thomas Weaver 9D Music
Sophie Lewis 9E Geography
Chelsea Nyamupingidza 9E Geography
Jasmine Stacey 9E Geography
Shannon Pearson 9K Geography
Beth Wilkins 9S Geography
Oliver Bailey 9V Geography
Niall Braniff 9V Geography
Zach Bukomieritsch 9V Geography
Roberto Cellek 9V Geography
Aaron Chadwick 9V Geography
Oliver Coyne 9V Geography
Tayler Fennel 9V Geography
Matthew Gaskin 9V Geography
Michelle Irwin 9V Geography
Aleisha Khan 9V Geography
Jessica Lambert 9V Geography
Amber McDonald 9V Geography
Rebecca McShane 9V Geography
Benjamin Mitchell 9V Music
Miguel Rangasamy 9V Geography
Kate Sidnell 9V Geography
Natalie Waterworth 9V Geography
Benjamin Watkins 9V Geography & Music
Jamie Willis 9V Geography
Thomas Goodall 10B English & History
Eloise Perry 10B History
Hannah Gill 10E History
Florence Holmes 10E History
Iram Shah 10E English
Alex Russo 10K History
Niamh Cockhill 10S Drama
Hana Keen 10S History
Alex Lees 10S Science
Emily Caswell 10V History
Ruth Saunders 10V History
Benjamin Hall 12S Business Studies
Music News
Velocity
For the first time, the Sandringham Swing Band
performed as part of Velocity. They featured in the
second half playing the well known classics 'Fly Me to
the Moon' and 'Sing, Sing, Sing' before playing 'Hit the
Road, Jack' for the finale. They were extremely professional, both in their stage presence and the standard of
their playing, so well done to all the students involved.
Isaac Nelson - Guitar
David Colebourn - Saxophone
Didier Osindero - Piano
Ben Collins - Drums
Tom Dalby - Trumpet / Vocals
Upcoming dates and events
House Music - 10th February at 7pm
Each house is hard at work preparing for House Music
and tickets are now on sale. There is still time to get involved, so speak to your House Captains or look at the
House noticeboard in the small hall to find out when you
are rehearsing.
Les Misérables - 27th February – 1st March
The orchestra and cast for Les Misérables are rehearsing
hard in preparation for the show. Tickets are selling fast,
so please contact the SandPit Theatre Box Office to buy
yours!
For more up-to-date Music news, follow us on Twitter
@SandringhamMus.
Amy Stothard
Director of Learning: Music
PE Fixtures
Fo$S News
Sat 1st February – County XC @ Verulamium
Mon 3rd February – Yr 10 Netball v STAHS (A)
Yr 7 Basketball v STABS (A)
Yr 7/8 Girls Football tournament
@ Nicky B
Tues 4th February - Yr 7 Rugby 7s @ Harpenden
RFC
Yr 8 Basketball v SCC (A)
Yr 11 Basketball v Queens’ (H)
Yr 9/10 Girls Football Tournament
@ Nicky B
Weds 5th February – Yr 11 Basketball v Simon Balle (H)
Yr 10 Girls Basketball v Highfield
(H)
Thurs 6th February – Yr 8/10 Netball v St. Helen’s
College
See below for details of some exciting new events this
spring.
Basketball
On Monday, the Year 8 boys basketball team played
Simon Balle in the National competition group stage.
The game was extremely competitive, especially in the
first half. The score was always within 5 points and Tom
Dumsday and George Pettengell were excellent defending Simon Balle’s biggest offensive threat, as well as going forward themselves. As the second half started, we
started to find our groove and defensively we were superb containing Simon Balle to their half at times. Offensively Joe Caswell was good and made some excellent
decisions, teaming up with Ben Muckleston well in the
back court. Towards the end, an 18 point lead was whittled down to 10 for the victory with the whole squad
playing a key role in the game. Well played boys.
The Year 9 boys played Beaumont in the County League
on Tuesday. After an early defeat this year in the District
League the team were keen for revenge in this return fixture. The game was a very competitive affair and close
throughout. Without one key player, Toby Pearce and
George Pettengell unable to play the whole game it was
very tough and eventually out of reach. Oli Moody was
excellent and composed himself at times to lead the team,
however Beaumont proved to be too strong in the final
quarter.
Netball
The Year 8 and 10 teams played their County League
fixture against Haberdashers’ Girl’s School on Monday.
The Year 8 team played well, however the opposition
were too strong and took the game 17-2 with Sarah Dayton impressing. The Year 10 team were excellent and
won 21-16 with Emily Caswell showing her progress this
year.
For more news, fixtures and results please don’t forget to
follow us @SandringhamPE on Twitter.
Andy Cracknell
Director of Learning: PE
Diary Dates
Prom Fair & Fashion Show - The SandPit Theatre
Friday 7th March 7.00 – 9.00pm
This exciting and prestigious event is a one-stop shop
for all Prom goers from St Albans and the surrounding
areas, parents and everyone who enjoys a good night
out. Featuring a fashion show by Seymour Styles and
a host of stalls, offering everything you need for the
big event. Tickets will be £2.00 if pre-booked and are
available online www.sandpittheatre.co.uk or call
01727 370067. If you buy your ticket on the door it
will cost £3.00.
Alternative Race Night!
Friday 14th March - 7.00pm til late
Tickets are now available for our Alternative Race
Night…..a fun-packed evening of traditional horse racing and some very special ‘races with faces you’ll
recognise’! It will cost you £10 per head which includes entry, fish (or pie, sausage, veggie option) and
chips and complimentary bets in our special races with
big cash prizes to be won. You can even buy and name
your very own race horse for just £5 - it’ll be listed in
the race programme and prizes will be awarded to the
winning horse owner of each race. For more information, to book tickets, order your food and buy a
horse, please visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk or call
01727 370067.
Sue McKinnon
Chair of Fo$S
Leisure classes for adults at Sandringham
School
Beginners Watercolour Class will take place on
Mondays, 3 February to 3 March, 7 – 9pm at Sandringham School. It is an introduction to watercolour techniques, including laying down washes and stretching
paper. The fee will be £36 for four sessions.
Intermediate Watercolour Class will take place on
Mondays, 10 March to 31 March and will cost £36 for
four sessions. This course is suitable for those who have
done the beginners or have experience of watercolours;
the class will focus on still life painting for the first two
weeks and flowers and foliage for the second two weeks.
Mixed Media Art Class will take place on Thursday
evenings from 7 – 9pm from 6 February to 27 March (no
class at half term). The fee will be £60 for 6 sessions. You will explore different themes each week,
learning new techniques including drawing skills to help
you develop and express your own ideas.
Jewellery Workshops
Simple Necklaces and Earrings - Sat 1 March
Bracelet and Necklace using Wire and Chain - Sat
29 March
All workshops are from 10am - 12.30pm and cost £30
per session, inclusive of all materials and refreshments.
For further information or to enrol on any courses, please
contact Carole Heselton on 01727 754113 or email
[email protected]
Carole Heselton
Community Links Administrator
BeauSandVer Consortium
News from the SandPit Theatre….
Are you looking for something to do with the family for Chinese New Year?
Well look no further, as in the February half term The
National Academy of Martial Arts are bringing this incredible show to The SandPit Theatre. One for all the
family it's one you won't want to miss!
It is an original performance inspired by the Chinese legend of 'the Monkey King'. It is a family friendly action
story which involves traditional Chinese Martial Arts.
We join the mischievous Monkey King as he embarks on
an epic, magical adventure across the five elemental
worlds, where our hero will encounter many legendary
figures and mythical beasts from ancient China during
his quest. If you’re lucky you may even catch a glimpse
of Po ‘The Kung Fu Panda’…
Directed by 'Bob Fermor' and performed by 'The
National Academy of Martial Arts.
Saturday 15th February @ 6pm. Tickets: Adults £10 and
Concessions £815th
Rachael Peacock
SandPit Theatre Manager
Velocity (written article to follow next week)