Newsletter
February 2016
Players sporting the new GCS Rugby Shirts
The Power of Six
Looking at these great
images of our new rugby
kit reminded me of the Six
Nations Rugby
Tournament that started in
such great style at the
weekend. Who will take
home the silverware and
who will graciously accept
the wooden spoon? Each
time it comes around, I am
always impressed with the
interest that the Six
Nations engenders around
school and in my own
home. I find huge
reassurance when I see
these key global players
coming together in the
name of sport, with such
well-tuned support from
their respective countries.
Wouldn't it be great to be
able to replicate this sense
of community through
sporting endeavour and
achievement at a more
local scale? A Six Nations
Cup of our very own...
But, hang on, we can do
just that. With the Six
Houses of Hanover,
Lancaster, Stuart, Tudor,
York and Windsor
continually vying for
superiority, both on and off
the sports field, a Six
Nations Cup is exactly
what we have got, right
here at County!
With House Rowing,
House Drama and House
Basketball already under
our belts this year and
Winter House Sports and
House Chess coming up
shortly after half term, the
competition is fierce yet
well-natured here on
Farnham Road.
Why do we care about this
competition? Why is it so
important for children to
experience competition in
an educational setting?
Much has been said of the
need to prepare children
for life after their schooling
comes to an end. Many
say that schooling is about
significantly more than a
raft of great exam results.
A truly rounded school
leaver should also be used
to the sense of pride and
achievement that comes
from excelling at something beyond the
classroom, at something
that is measured in more
than grades. Through our
Six Houses Cup, that is
exactly what we do
prepare the children for.
There is more to it even
than that of course because half of the battle
in reaching educational
enlightenment is about
learning not only to better
oneself, not only to deal
humbly with success, but
also to deal with failure
when it comes. For surely
one can learn more from
defeat and from the time
for reflection that comes
with it, than one can learn
from success?
So, as we move through
the academic year
2015/16, please ask your
children what extracurricular events they are
taking part in, how their
House team is doing and
what they have learnt from
their experiences away
from the classroom.
Steve Smith
Deputy Head Teacher
Rucking
and Rolling ….
This month saw the delivery of our brand new
Serious Stuff rugby kits. Tight fitting, bespoke to
each player and designed by the students to
incorporate the Guildford County traditional red and
blue, team members proudly display their playing
number. Much needed, the pupils are now
incredibly excited about wearing them.
This added enthusiasm and incentive will no doubt
pay dividends on the field, as all our
squads go into the second round of
the rugby season after half of term.
All squads are totally
indebted to
Pryer Construction,
without whose
sponsorship, new kits
would not have been
possible.
A Bright Future Ahead!
Girls’ Rugby
at Guildford County
On Tuesday 2nd February, ten of our students played in our first
ever girls’ rugby tournament.
The first match up was against George Abbott 2 - the match flew
and both teams were neck and neck, finishing in a draw - 8 tries
all. Next we had to play St Peters (who were a team of Yr9
students, whilst we were mainly Yr8 and one Yr7). This one was
tough but the team played their hardest and lost, only narrowly, by
1 try. George Abbott 1were next on our list – they were good but
not good enough - and we came away with a 10 – 8 win. Finally,
everything was pending on the last match against Christ College.
With our girls tired and cold, they knew this match was going to be
hard. We started off well, leading by 1 try. However, they had a
‘stand out’ player who managed to squeeze past our defence. We
lost by 1 try.
So … I am happy to announce that the team effort from Guildford
County secured our girls 2nd place. We all played to the rules and
worked together amazingly, but one of our team stood out, Louise
Vedoorn. At the end of the event she was awarded Player of the
Tournament and received a signed rugby ball from Leanne Riley –
an England International Player. Louise had only attended the
after school club once!
This was our first rugby tournament and everyone showed
amazing teamwork and talent. The girls loved playing in the brand
new kit and should be very proud of themselves. Here’s to a bright
future!
Cicely Paradine – Cullup Yr8
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Anniversary
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a charity that has
been dedicated to helping young people give it their all
since 1956. With every challenge they take on, and
every DofE Award they work towards, young people
from all walks of life have been given a chance to shine.
The DofE helps open doors and transform the lives of
young people. But as a charity, we’re nothing without
the support of people like you. Take the DofE Diamond
Challenge, raise money and give even more young
people that stepping stone they need towards a brighter
future.
Find yours today …..
Caitlin SimpsonHodson Yr11
Over the last couple of weeks our students have
been listening to a series of assemblies on
‘Success’. Yr9, in particular, have had
presentations from our Heads of Department, to
help them with their Option choices for next year.
This neatly comes under the umbrella of ‘Success’,
because it helps all of our students to make
appropriate choices, eventually leading to success
in achieving a career.
The lower school also heard about the importance
of making short-term achievable targets to help
them gain what they want in life. There were a
variety of examples of this given, from ‘people who
help others’, to ‘school work’, to ‘achieving a better
quality of life from the perspective of a disabled
person’. It was also
mentioned that people
often have to sacrifice
something in order to
achieve success in
something else.
Students were asked to
contemplate their
commitment to school and
school life and think about
where they could achieve
their short-term successes
- all very apt at the
moment with many inter-house competitions taking
place.
John Lewis Head of KS3
breeds …..
breeds …..
in fun sporting activities, allowing new life long
friendships to be formed. Then, for the second week,
there is a chance given to travel to Surrey University
and live in the dorms on campus. This week is
designed to help develop skills (eg photography) and
have a taste for university life. In the third and final
week, groups of participants are created and,
together, they help the local community. Overall, this
course will help young people cope in many aspects
of life and could open up opportunities; it offers a lifechanging 3 weeks and employers, universities and
colleges also highly praise it.
The recent assembly I had about NCS was
extremely helpful. I had heard about it before, but
until then I hadn’t had enough of my questions
answered to make me feel comfortable signing up.
Now I'm extremely excited to take part in the scheme
and would recommend considering it to anyone!
Success
Success
I have decided to
take a place on a
government scheme
called NCS or
National Citizen
Service. NCS is a 3
week course run for
16-18 year olds over
the summer holidays.
In the first week
students travel to
Wales and take part
breeds …..
As part of the DofE’s Diamond Anniversary celebrations,
everyone is invited to take the DofE Diamond
Challenge. The Challenge is inspired by the DofE
Award, asking you to take on your own adventure, personal or skill challenge.
Your challenge can be as big or as small as you like, from kayaking the Zambesi to learning to knit. If it’s a challenge
to you, it counts. And the best part is, it’s open to anyone of any age, anywhere!
So if you never had the chance to get involved while growing up, if your kids are doing it now, if you’re doing your own
DofE or if you’re just looking for a reason to get out of your comfort zone, seize the day!
Choose a challenge, change a life ….
Sign up now and your £20 (£15 for under 18s) fee gets you an exclusive Challenger Kit - complete with t-shirt and
Challenge Companion, a journal and keepsake to help you at each stage of your challenge; from choosing, to
planning, taking part and remembering it forever.
To complete your Challenge, we need you to raise a minimum of £60 - it is our 60th birthday, after all! Then you’ll not
only be rewarded with a limited edition DofE Diamond Challenge pin and a huge sense of achievement, you’ll also
help to transform lives.
Raise £40 and you’ll help fund the registration cost of a DofE programme for a young person from a
disadvantaged community. Raise £100 and you’ll help us train more inspiring DofE Leaders. Or reach £150 and you’ll
fund one of our specially-trained local operations team for a day.
Mike Briggs, Head of York House and DofE Leader
Success
Focus on
York House
DoE Diamond
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Stuart
Tudor
Wise Words from Will Lawson
What a superb time it has been for Stuart in
House Basketball! It has been amazing to see the
commitment shown across the years; though
victory might not always have been ours, the spirit
shown by the players has been commendable!
Well done especially to the Year 8 Boys, Year 9
Girls and Year 10 Boys for reaching the Finals!
Good luck to the Seniors on the final week, and
well done to all!
Jess Starling & Amra Omerovic
"Life, is a unique experience.
It can be wonderful, exciting, terrifying and trying, all at once.
We get given so many opportunities, wonderful things that could change our lives so profoundly.
But they often scare us.
We don't always like reading new books or watching new films, we prefer the stories we know.
We don't think we can learn a new language, or play a new sport, or befriend someone alone.
We all struggle with the new, everyone who has ever ever lived has felt the same fear.
The secret to a happy life is not to hide from new things.
It is to embrace them.
Why?
Because every sports star learned how to kick the ball before they ever hoped to score.
Because every French speaker started out with 'Bonjour'.
Every great actor had to audition, before their first applause.
And the more they embraced, the better they became.
So if you ever want to give something a go, turn to it, then just go.
It's always worth the risk.
Because everything now that we couldn't bear to lose
Started out as something new."
Hanover
York
After a relaxing Christmas holiday, it was straight into
house basketball. Hanover Yr7 got us off to a great start
with the girls wining the first final of the competition, and
the boys coming close. Yr8 also had a great performance,
with the girls getting to the final and the boys narrowly
missing out. Yr9 boys were also unlucky not to get to the
final, but the Yr10 boys did, and then won, with some
incredible all round play from Jamie McGary. We look
forward to the 6th form/ Yr11 tournament next week!
Adam Carter
Welcome to 2016!
Can’t believe it’s the half term break already! We’ve packed loads in. York have their house
assemblies on a Friday and it’s my chance to talk to the whole house about a range of issues
and ideas. Here’s what we have covered so far since the Christmas break: Attendance, New
Year’s resolutions, team building (Yr7&8), rewards and congratulations for outstanding effort,
mobile phone addiction and the importance of breakfast.
On that last topic, I ran a quick anonymous poll about breakfast. The main question was: Do
you eat breakfast before coming to school each morning? (Mon-Fri)
Here are the results:
Mike Briggs
Lancaster
Once again, Lancaster have had a magnificent half
term. Lancaster’s House Basketball teams have seen 3
out of 4 possible finals so far. The Yr7 boys dominated
the tournament, winning their final comfortably, whilst
the Yr7 girls narrowly missed out on the top spot. The
Yr8 girls then did Lancaster proud, winning their final as
well. Overall Lancaster continue their great run of form
in House events as we hope to climb up the table.
Robbie Mostyn & Georgina Tann-Farr
Windsor
Windsor House have had a fantastic year so far, winning or coming second in most of the House Competitions. This is due to much enthusiasm
from the amazing students in the House.
Keep up the good work! Well done!
Dan Green & Ben Stephenson
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George Frederick Watts ….
‘The angels were very peaceful’
I really liked experimenting
with all the gluey paints and
dirt to create an abstract
textured painting on canvas
Yr 10 artists recently visited the Gallery and
newly refurbished Studios of George and
Mary Watts. They had a guided tour of the
studio, a creative workshop and time to
sketch in the gallery before visiting the
wonderfully inspiring Chapel.
The studio had a
really cool pulley
thing to move his
paintings
I struggled making my
frame for the canvas, but
it was fun to do.
‘Both Victorian artists and visionaries, the
Watts built their home, Limnerslease, in the
Surrey Hills amongst the breath-taking
scenery of the Pilgrims' Way. The Studios
restore that sense of wonderment found at
Limnerslease, bringing back the Watts’
vision of 'Art for All' and adding a new
exciting element to the Artists' Village.
In George’s Studio, the smell of oils and
varnish fills the air and on the desks are
letters in the artist's own hand. Around the
room are unfinished canvases displayed
on easels or suspended from the rafters.
The studio transports the visitor back to
theworkspace of one of the 19th century's
most eminent artists’. Watts Gallery
The chapel was
beautifuI. I loved the
flowery style and
colours inside.
We did and saw so much ...
…..his Gallery and Studios
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Power and Conflict
Emotive response from Leah Smith, Yr10
Year 10 have been studying a collection of poems ‘Power and Conflict’ included in the
GCSE English Literature Anthology and were asked to produce their individual creative
response to the poem, ‘ War Photographer’ by Carol Ann Duffy, making connections to
themes across the cluster of poems being studied.
Jane White, English Teacher
Differentiation
without the planning
Differentiation by outcome
is a technique whereby all
students undertake the
same task, but a variety of
results is expected and
acceptable. For example,
the teacher sets a task,
but instead of working
towards a single ‘right’
answer, the students
arrive at a personalised
outcome.
In this case the outcome
criteria was a creative
response.
Wonderful responses too!
Page 6
A theatrical show of any dimension
usually guarantees, along the way, a full
range of emotions, a selection box of
character building endurance tests and
a ‘finale-ful’ of euphoric luvvies!
The GCS whole school production of
West Side Story has been no exception
and, six months from initiation, ‘The
Rumble’ approaches.
Tickets have moved as fast as the feet
in ‘The Mambo’ and full houses are
anticipated every night.
Hannah Koci’s ticket design
Energy and support for this show has been given by the Whole
School and also Wider Community. A very particular mention and
thanks for endless visits, technical advice and sponsorship, goes to
Pryer Construction, who have provided Tony and Maria with a
scaffold balcony ‘extraordinaire’.
Thanks too, to former student, Megan Swaisland –Dyke, who gave
her time and expertise, running a stage fighting workshop. The cast
had great fun trying to work out how to punch without causing
grievous bodily harm. All useful life skills!
Also, much gratitude to Mrs Sara Scott for her assistance and artistic
flair with costumes, giving generous hours of patience, pinning and
creating.
Stage Fighting Workshop
So, take your seat! It certainly will be a story of epic proportions!
Lesley Nicole, CommunityArts Manager
Congratulations to our A* Physics alumni Alex Young
Winner of IET Diamond Jubilee Scholarship.
Institution of Engineering and Technology
This year, through the use of a new website, Fast Tomato, we are further supporting our Yr9
students, ensuring they are better informed when it comes to GCSE options.
Fast Tomato motivates young people to consider options they may previously have thought
unattainable, thus opening up a rich world of course and career opportunities. The programme is
simple and easy to use for both students and teachers; lessons are straightforward and maximise
the productive time students spend on careers exploration.
Using sophisticated assessments to highlight each person's interests, attitudes and motivations, Fast Tomato suggests individualised and personally
tailored careers and courses. Students are given accurate and highly relevant subject information.
Our hope is that this leads to more informed and better prepared students, as they begin their GCSEs in Yr10.
Dave Ayres PSHE
I was very happy, and pleasantly surprised to win the IET
scholarship, as I knew that there would be a lot of very strong
applications to it. I found out about the scholarship during Sixth Form
and it motivated me to aim for the best grades I could at A Level. It's
a great thing to be able to put on my CV. Engineering at Surrey has
been really good fun so far. I have already learned a lot of new skills
- academic and non academic - that I did not have before.
I still have a lot of good memories of GCS too—particularly the Sixth
Form. The group of students who studied STEM subjects was small
and tight-knit. We had a great time, and enjoyed really good
relationships with our teachers. .
Alex Young—Class of 2015
Dates for the Diary:
Feb 22
School returns
Feb 22
Friends Meeting (HRT Room)
Feb 24-26
West Side Story Performances
Feb 29
Charity Week
Mar 08
Winter House Sports
Mar 10
Foreign Film Society ‘Goodbye Lenin’
Mar 04
GCS Friends Quiz Night
May 07
Funk Night
Page 7
Friends of GCS ...
Hurray for Friends– raising smiles and funds
A digital weather station
Ten microscopes with built-in lights
Workplace-compatible 3D printer software
30 sets of headphones and two ‘roving’ microphones
Portable goalposts and two table tennis tables
A fat fryer and a dryer for food tech
Two DSLR cameras and two enlargers
Megan's 3Dprinted cat
‘Biscuit’
designed
using Friends
-funded
Solidworks
software.
GCS at Surrey Schools Sports
Together, these enrich the daily experiences of every one of our students – so a huge thank you to our energetic
committee led by Linda Kincaid-Falkner, ably supported by secretary Jenny Burgess and treasurer Thamasin Young, and
to all of the kind Friends, volunteers and attendees at our events. With your continued support, who knows what we will
achieve together in 2016? ‘Friend of the term’ award goes to Karen Telfer, for her brilliant dedication in making the
Christmas Fair one to remember!
If you would like to make a difference at GCS, join our band of excellent supporters: all are
warmly welcome to our next Friends meeting on Monday 22nd February at 7pm in the HRT room.
Do you know your arsenic from your elbow? The capital of Hungary? Or who wrote
‘Candle in the Wind’ originally about whom? If so, don’t forget to buy your ticket to our
forthcoming Friends’ ‘Quiz and Chilli’ Night on Friday 4th March.
Celebrating parent power at GCS
A number of parents and governors have supported us creatively this term:

Thanks to Pryer Construction and the Pryer family for their fantastic sponsorship of our school rugby team kits
from Year 7 to 1st XV, and for set support for West Side Story (www.pryerconstruction.co.uk), and to GlugGlugGlug
and the Taplin family for funding our Year 8 football team kits (www.glugglugglug.co.uk)

Thank you to all of the parents and companies who have kindly donated or generously bid on items in our Auction
of Promises – you helped to raise over £6250 for our Fit for IT improvements!

A few parents are cannily maximising their donations or Annual Fund support via employers’ match-funding
schemes – a great initiative – thank you

Thank you to all parents who are enthusiastically supporting our West Side Story production with offers of props
and costumes - roll on February 24-26th!
If you’ve got an idea for enriching the life of the school, either by way of an in-kind donation, individual fundraising or sponsorship (perhaps while promoting your business), please let us know [email protected]
What’s next? In 2016/17, our fundraising efforts are focusing on improving our sports facilities – by
upgrading our on-site sports hall to deliver an extended sports curriculum, and making full use of our excellent locations at Urnfield and Wodeland Avenue. At this early stage of development, we welcome any
community sport/celebrity contacts or sponsorship suggestions. We aim to raise £3m though grants,
events, a buy-a-brick scheme and sponsorship, so there are plenty of opportunities to make your mark
while benefitting the school community and beyond. Funk Night on 7th May will start the ball rolling!
Focus on Fundraisng ….
Our supportive Friends of GCS recently contributed the lion’s share towards our new minibus (a fantastic £5000 donation)
in addition to purchasing school equipment including:
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