S T. C U T H B E RT ' S
C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L
Educating Boys Since 1881
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Christmas Concert
Our annual Christmas concert goes
from strength to strength with 2014's
celebration proving to be a massive
hit.
A packed main hall audience were
treated to a stunning range of
performances featuring acting,
dancing, singing and highly
entertaining music-making.
The
evening, which was extremely wellreceived, was a credit to the hard work
of our students, their parents and in
particular the Music department (and
helpers) who made it such a success.
Get your tickets early for the 2015
event as it's sure to be a sell-out.
CAROLS IN THE
CATHEDRAL
Bede's World
Year 12 students enjoyed a day at Bede's
World, engaging in a range of educational
activities. The day encouraged students to
work together in teams on a range of tasks,
most of which were completely new to them.
Many thanks to Mr Collins for organising
the day.
Students, their families and staff enjoyed an Advent Service at
St Mary's Cathedral, fast becoming a fixture on the calendar.
The service makes an excellent spiritual preparation during the
last week of term and is set to be repeated in 2015. Details will
follow nearer the time. Many thanks to the Music Department
for organising such an uplifting service.
ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Students were rewarded for 100% attendance and excellent
behaviour with a day playing 'Bubble Football' and Go Karting.
Many congratulations to the thirty two selected students,
selected at random from the hundreds of eligible students.
This event is part of our well-established rewards programme
which celebrates positive achievement and promotes excellent
attendance at school.
Senior students spent a week of their holidays
helping children on the SVP Holy Island camp.
The activities they organised included sports
events, treasure hunts and fishing as well as
assisting in general camp duties. All our
volunteers were commended on their leadership
skills, communication and
initiative, receiving high
praise for their initiative,
self-reliance and good
humour.
We are delighted to have twenty five students currently
working towards their Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh
awards.
The first outdoor session is a navigation training exercise
which will take place in Hamsterley Forest, to be followed
by a further days training session in April. The Silver
group will carry out their practice and assessed
expeditions in Northumberland, and the Gold group in
the Lake District and Scotland.
We still have places available, so if any other pupils in years
10-12 would like to be involved they should see Mr Reeve.
HOLY ISLAND CAMP
STOP PRESS!!!!
We have just been awarded accreditation and support to
roll the Duke of Edinburgh scheme out across different
parts of the school. Details of this exciting leadership
opportunity will be posted soon.
Green Flag Eco Award
The Eco Team have been successful in achieving the
Green Flag Eco Award.
Jeff Brown from BBC Look North came to present
the award, describing the group as 'a great set of lads'.
To get the flag the students promoted recycling and
walking to school. They have taken part in Switch Off
Fortnight and Waste Week. They organised an interhouse walking challenge in conjunction with the
Living Streets organisation. They also interviewed our
German students about eco issues in Germany.
Many thanks to Mrs Fawdon for continuing to
promote the work of the group in school
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Leadership
Retreat
Our house and form captains
enjoyed a residential retreat
at the Youth Village.
Holocaust Memorial
Students commemorated
Holocaust Memorial Day with a
moving service in the chapel.
Shoes were brought in and left as a
symbol of those who died in the
concentration camps during WW2.
Prayers were said, candles were lit
and a separate silent vigil was held
Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but
also those of ill will. But do not remember all the
suffering they have inflicted upon us. Remember
rather the fruits we have brought, thanks to this
suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our
humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness
of heart that has grown out of this. And when they
come to judgment, let all the fruits we have bourne
be their forgiveness. Anonymous.
The focus for the students was
further developing their
leadership skills through
re f l e c t i n g o n st y l e s o f
leadership in the Gospels.
The students were also treated
to a session on public speaking
and then put their skills into
practice delivering talks on a
range of topical issues. Alain
Vendiola, Year 11, also led an
inspirational session on
leadership.
Lourdes Pilgrimage
Twenty one students spent a week on the Hexham and Newcastle Diocesan
Pilgrimage.
The students acted as helpers working with elderly and ill pilgrims (VIP pilgrims),
befriending and escorting them to masses and other services. The students were
part of a group of two hundred young people from the diocese and were
responsible for raising funds to cover their fares and expenses whilst there.
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Newcastle Year Five
Children 'Grow in Faith'
The year five children from across the Newcastle Catholic
Primary School Partnership enjoyed joining in a day of song
and prayer, led by the Diocesan Youth Mission Team.
Throughout the day, ambassadors from St Cuthbert's Sixth Form
helped to ensure that things ran smoothly, enabling each school
to participate fully and gain much from the experience.
Children from the primaries participated in dance, drama and
prayer workshops and through these prepared for an end of day
liturgy of celebration and thanksgiving. All the children
thoroughly enjoyed the event as well as gaining much from it.
ASPECTS OF NARRATIVE & POETRY LIVE
Year 12 Literature students enjoyed an Aspects of Narrative
conference, designed to support their AS level studies.
The conference, delivered by experts in their field, gave students
valuable insights into this part of their course and took place at
Newcastle's People's Theatre.
Not to be outdone, Year 11 GCSE English Literature students enjoyed
an inspirational day, again at the People's Theatre, gaining valuable tips
on how to succeed in their poetry exam. Highlights of the day included
the poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy and a motivational John Agard.
Bridge Building with the
Institute of Civil Engineers
The purpose-built Reece Building hosted a week-long set of
activities for students from years 7 and 8 in which they learnt
about the work of civil engineers.
The focus of activity was bridge building, giving the students an
insight into a career in this crucial industry. Many of our
students leave school to follow engineering degrees at university
before forging successful careers at home and abroad.
RAPPING FOR A CAREER
Year 12 students enjoyed an enrapturing afternoon
working on advice and guidance for their future
careers.
As well as receiving a range of sound advice, the
students produced their own 'raps' which
highlighted the pros and cons of the different
career routes open to them. Our presenter, who
had travelled from London to run the session,
concluded – 'Lovely school, lovely students'.
Well done to all concerned.
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They say things come in threes. Well, this
year, our third of entering students for the
prestigious Arkwright Scholarship, has seen
three of our students successful in receiving
the award.
Lloyd Matthews, Tousif Rahman and Jordan
Illingworth were all successful in passing the
rigorous selection process, designed to
promote Engineering. The students, all in Year
12, follow in the footsteps of Ricardo Velasco,
Jordan Brennan and Jordon Dobson.
ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Prayer with
OUTRAGEOUS
HOPE
Year 7 students attended a Youth Friday
celebration organised by the Youth Mission
Team on the theme of 'Outrageous Hope'.
Bishop Seamus and Fr Dermot Donnelly
led the event which saw representatives
from all Catholic primary and secondary
schools in attendance.
Remembrance
Mass
Our annual Remembrance Mass was
celebrated by Fr David Smith to a packed
main hall.
Year 13 students took part in a spiritual
reflection at the Youth Village, choosing a
scripture text which they reflected on and then presenting their ideas
on canvas.
Sports Leaders
Numerous students from years 10 and 11 are working towards
their Sports Leaders awards.
There are over fifty Year 10s completing their Level 1 and another
fifty are well on their way with the Level 2 qualification. Both
year groups are working in our feeder primary schools during
their PE lessons to work with children at St John Vianney and St
Cuthbert's Walbottle.
Further to this, in conjunction with the Newcastle Eagles,
students are learning coaching awards in basketball at both levels
1 and 2.
We also have twenty students involved in our PUMAS project,
promoting and supporting extra- curricular sport throughout the
school.
The service, which saw our uniformed
services students take the lead, was a
moving commemoration.
Many thanks to
Jack Illingworth,
Year 12, assisted
by Anthony
Shanley, Year 10,
for organising the
cadets and scouts on
this memorable
occasion.
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
St Vincent de Paul Society
PUBLIC
SPEAKING
SUCCESS
Murray Gove, Year 12, was successful
in the public speaking contest
organised by the Catenians.
Murray spoke on the topic of Pope
Francis – 'Why does he keep upsetting
people?' and was successful in winning
the Bishop Harris cup. Murray will
proceed to the national finals in
Manchester.
Our Youth SVP group (Mini Vinnies) is now up and
running making students aware of the struggles some
people in society face.
The group will give talks, go into primary schools and visit the elderly. By
putting their faith into action the group will run according to its motto SEE THINK DO. The group held a commissioning liturgy in the chapel
with Michael Willcock and Bill Lawson from the SVP in attendance.
Senior historians enjoyed an educational visit to Edinburgh to help
with their understanding of Tudor history.
The visit included a tour of Edinburgh Castle as well as taking in
other key aspects of the city. Many thanks to the history department
for organising the day. Next year's A level History syllabus will focus
on Russian History in addition to studying the Tudors.
Student lead in
the classroom
Students have been taking a lead in
the classroom, preparing lessons and
activities to support the learning of
others. Research has shown that
students teaching a topic gives
teachers an excellent insight into
their level of understanding,
allowing the teacher to concentrate
on any gaps that need filling.
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Careers
Guidance
University unzipped for Year 7 students was delivered by
Northumbria University and provided insights into key
aspects of university life.
Medicine and dentistry interview workshop for applicants for
these courses in Sixth Form.
University study skills and research skills for our Sixth Form
Extended Project Qualification cohort in collaboration with
Newcastle University, the Robinson library and the City
library.
The Inspiring Minds mentoring programme with Years 9, 10
and 11, in collaboration with Newcastle University to help
raise aspiration and support progress in STEM subjects.
Launch talks by Northumbria and Sunderland universities
on their widening participation schemes for Year 12 students.
Investigate your future with current university students to
help Year 9 students with their options.
Student finance workshop with Newcastle University for Year
13 students.
Mock interview workshop for students not intending
progressing to university with SAGE, Great Park.
Students across the school have benefited from a
range of careers advice designed to help them make
informed choices about their futures. Highlights
include:
STAR student delivered by Northumbria University to Year 8
students covering a range of subjects including social life,
course choice and finance.
DEBATING
London Highlights
The new English Department Debate Club has
provided Y10 and Y11 students with a
wonderful opportunity to engage in a
challenging and competitive skill!
Senior English Literature students enjoyed a chilling (in many
senses) visit to London in order to focus on the Gothic element of
their A level course.
Students have attended a beginners' workshop
where they received guidance and mentoring
from current students at Oxford University.
They also worked with students from Newcastle
High School for Girls on honing their skills.
The group visited the London dungeons which was gorgeously
gruesome, saw 'The Woman in Black' in London's theatreland, took in
the Gothic architecture, visited Winter Wonderland and
enjoyed delicious dining. It was an
enlightening experience for everyone
involved, topped by some excellent iceskating skills.
Two teams recently took part in an Oxford
Union public speaking competition at Dame
Allan's school, both competing commendably.
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Formula One
with Prince Charles
Two teams of Year 9 engineers had a day to remember,
competing in the North East finals of the F1 challenge at
Nissan in Washington.
The teams, Sync Ignition and Horizon, had engineered
their own vehicles and competed against twenty eight other
schools from the North East. Sync Ignition won the best
engineered car and fastest car, whilst Horizon won the F1
first prize for the Rookie class. Their success sees them to
progress to the national finals in Birmingham, with the
winner progressing to the international finals in Singapore.
Some of the lucky Year 9s were invited back to Nissan to
meet Prince Charles. This gave them the chance to race him
and discuss their projects. Their next opportunity will be a
visit to the House of Lords. Well done to everyone involved
in this exciting project which has made full use of our new
Reece Building.
IRISH
National
STORYTELLER Citizenship
Students were entertained during our
annual visit of Irish storyteller Pat
Speight. Focussing on the oral narrative
tradition, he taught the boys some key
aspects of narrative structure.
Newcastle
University
Science Visit
Sixth Form scientists visited
Newcastle University to use
high-tech laborator y
facilities.
Their work
included manufacturing a
fruit flavoured ester and
carr ying out thin-layer
chromatography.
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Orienteering Success
Service
Numerous senior students
have seized the opportunity
to work with the National
Citizenship Service (NCS).
The NCS gives students the
skills and confidence to make
a positive impact in the
community through working
on developing a range of skills
that are highly regarded by
employers such as initiative,
self-reliance, public speaking
and organisation.
Our Year 11 GCSE PE students enjoyed
mastering a new sport when they recently
completed an orienteering course at Plessey
Woods and The Rising Sun Country Park.
Jon Chamberlain, course organiser, said,
'This was a very able group in terms of
navigational skills and athletic ability. They
were outstanding, highly motivated and
contained some excellent athletes.'
ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
IT'S BEHIND
YOU!
Reading for
Pleasure
Students and staff have been working hard across the
school to promote reading for pleasure. Activities include:
All year 7 have been given a book by the school, supported by
the Book Trust, to support and encourage them in reading
for pleasure. They chose from an exciting range of new books
such as 'Tiger Wars', 'Ghost Stadium' & 'Wild Boy'. They
were handed out in December, just in time for Christmas.
All of Year 7 were taken to the panto 'Snow
White' at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle. It
was a filled with excitement and humour, a
giant dinosaur leaping out at the audience,
audience participation galore and superb
special effects. A tremendous time was had by
all!
The St Cuthbert's Shakespeare Company
performed The Tempest at The Whitley Bay
Playhouse as part of the Shakespeare Schools
Festival. This is our third time taking part in
the festival and Mrs Evans and her cast put on
a tremendous interpretation complete with
an Aboriginal twist.
We've been running a Readathon in aid of children's
charities in the UK. All students were set a challenge to read
500 pages over the last half term and many have achieved
this. Sponsor money is now coming in which will help those
in need.
We are holding a Big Book Swap to celebrate
World Book Day. Students should
bring books into school (in good
condition) which can be exchanged for
tokens which can be used to 'buy'
books.
Lastly, students should remember that
they should always have a book to read
with them. This can be fact or fiction but
will help them further improve literacy
skills.
Primary Coding
Students and staff at St Cuthbert's continue to take a lead when
it comes to coding and working with primary schools.
This work has seen us hosting training and conference events as
well as working with a range of primary school staff and students to
give them an insight into the world of computer coding, using
Raspberry Pi, Beebots and LEGO Mindstorm.
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Water Purification
Project
The British Physics Olympiad has run for 25 years and is entered
annually by over 1,600 talented young physicists. The
examination-based competition has a dual purpose: to challenge
and reward the best physicists in British schools and to select the
UK Physics Team for competition at international level.
Three of our students Connor Slomski, John Miller and Jordan
Brennan (all Year 13) achieved a commendation in the
competition. This award places them in the top 50 % of all the
students who entered this tough competition. In the words of the
BPHO 'students achieving an award in the British Physics
Olympiad are very able physicists'.
Connor and John have both been given offers to study physics at
Durham University.
Well done Connor, John and Jordan on an excellent achievement.
YEAR 7 & 8 POETRY
ANTHOLOGY
The English Department have been celebrating the creative
writing of Year 7 and 8 students by creating an anthology of
poetry. Here are some examples of the students' work.
A SPELL FROM A TALE by Jack Forster
A witch searches for a spell
To take down Queen Isabel
So she adds ten awkward things
That charge a very nasty sting:
Tropical poison and repelling rat
Killer leaves and meddling thieves
Shark tail with chainmail
Elephant ivy and her monkey Mirean.
These shall kill Queen Isabel
And the rest of the village with her, as well.
I REMEMBER…. by Christian Lewis
I remember waking up to a world of white
Silent snow had fallen in the dead of night
I remember my crunching feet
As I walked through the frozen sheet
I remember my snowman finally done
My nose and fingers strangely numb
I remember on this New Year's night
Snow looked blue under the moon so bright.
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A group of year 10 students have been working
on developing a sustainable way of providing
drinking water for use in third world
countries. After a number of trials they have
finally developed a system that could be used
for cooking and purifying water at the same
time. They are currently developing a
prototype to be tested.
This project will form the basis for a Silver
CREST Award.
Working with
Primary
Schools
Our work with primary school students and
staff is busier than ever and has seen numerous
visits, workshops and mentoring programmes
running.
One way in which we work together is to use our
subject specialists, such as our linguists, to work
with primary school colleagues on language
activities and skills that will work with their
students. This outreach work is part of a wellestablished on-going programme, designed to
help children from our feeder schools make a
seamless transition to St Cuthbert's.
ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Celebrating
Italian Food
'La Petite
Creperie'
All year 10 Italian students tasted traditional festive
desserts namely panettone, pandoro, panforte and
torrone. They also learnt about the traditions behind
them and surveyed each other about which they liked
the best. The pandoro was the hands down students'
favourite!
Year 7 students enjoyed a taste for France working
with Julien and Fred from 'La Petite Creperie'.
The boys discovered the French tradition of crepes,
including how to make them, the ingredients
needed and why they are so popular in France.
The students, needless to say, enjoyed the cultural
experience saying, 'The food tasting was great as it gave
us the chance to have fun
while learning about
another culture.'
LINGUISTIC
The language faculty continues its story of success, sending
numerous students on to top universities to study languages.
In 2014 the following students progressed to read languages:
Andrew Cartwright and Pascal Foster – reading French and
Italian at Oxford
Matthew Brown – reading French and Italian at Hull
Euan Graham – reading French and Italian at Birmingham
SUCCESSES
These successes, along with several others, follow 2013 which
saw Jerome Foster and Aidan Clark placed at Oxford, Cory
Clayton winning the first year prize of Italian at Warwick and
Darren Johnson studying Italian and Spanish at Bristol.
German Exchange with Partner School
Our German Partner School Theodor Heuss Gymnasium visited the school and the
North East, being hosted by exchange families.
The students engaged in activities in school and visited some of the highlights that the
North East has to offer. Their visit included a chance to attend lessons in a range of
subjects in English.
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ISSUE 15 - WINTER/SPRING 2015
Partnership with Liceo
Madonna della Neve Adro
The Languages Faculty is leading a whole
school initiative which seeks to broaden the
international outlook of the school.
This year Mr Collinson, Miss Goh, Mr Reeve
and Mrs Vasey will visit Latvia, Spain, Italy and
Gedrmany respectively to develop their own
international project with partner staff and
students. This work will be supported by
students and staff from Italian, German and
Spanish within school.
This work is part of our mission to engage in the
community in the widest possible sense of the
word. It complements educational visits and
exchanges that are a regular part of the school's
calendar.
SPANISH CLUB
Spanish at St Cuthbert's goes from strength to
strength with our new Spanish Club
Students have explored topics such as Spanish
festivals, traditional food and Christmas in
Spain.
Our partnership with the Liceo Madonna della Neve continues
to flourish with a series of visits and exchanges.
This year's activity started with sixteen Italian students on an
exchange with host families
from our Sixth Form. Our
visitors followed an A level
curriculum for two weeks as
well as visiting a range of
local attractions. The
exchange was reciprocated
with our senior Italian and
Sports Studies students
travelling to Italy in October.
We have just enjoyed a further visit from Rezzato students, who
enjoyed following an English curriculum and engaging in a range
of enriching activities including teaching their hosts how to cook
Italian food.
Thirty Year 9-12 students will visit Adro in July, staying at the
Franciscan monastery in Rezzato.
They boys have shown great commitment and
enthusiasm, especially Jack Kennedy, Joseph
Todd and Matthew Lockey. Next on the agenda
is discovering the world of Spanish football.
Senior students have been working on their
language skills too, with their conversational
Spanish enrichment activity. One highlight was
a successful afternoon of Spanish carol singing.
Gretna Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, NE15 7PX. Telephone: 0191 274 4510
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.st-cuthbertshigh.newcastle.sch.uk
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