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- Message from the Headteacher
- Isaac Powell – St. Anne's College, University of Oxford
- Iris Breaks into Loughborough Lightning U15 Squad
- Bedrock Vocabulary Learning Success at QEHS
- Thomas the Bedrock Star!
- Anna's Amazing Act of Kindness
- VOTE ISABELLE! North Lincolnshire Youth Elections 2022
- Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DofE)
- Work Experience - steps to take now to meet the deadline
- Year 10 GCSE Art
- Kaiserschmarren kochen Bericht
- QEHS Quality Marks
- Term 3 House Events
- Term 4 House Events
- Music Exam Results
- Kickstart Team
- Christmas Jumper Day - Save the Children
- NSPCC Number Day
- Road Safety
The start to 2022 has seen the school move on at pace and become a busier place than ever. Now in to the heart of the academic year, some key life choices are starting to be made by students. Which GCSE subjects to take? What A Levels to study? Where to go to Uni and what to read? Thanks to the incredibly supportive and experienced staff here at QEHS and through the support and advice offered during events such as Options and Parents' Evenings, assemblies and presentations, our Year 9, 11 and 13 students now find themselves in a strong position to make informed choices about the next steps on their learning journeys. Notable successes in this sense may be exemplified by Emilia B and Natasha B who have been offered places at Oxford and Cambridge respectively. Without doubt, wonderful and most well deserved achievements.
Across other year groups recent report cards have shared details of students' QEHS Standards around Learning to Learn (i.e. the progress being made in subject areas), Behaviour for Learning (i.e. cognitive and behavioural habits and skills) and Leadership for Learning (i.e. active roles taken on to support others as team leaders and/or team members). This feedback serves to recognise achievement and talent, and seeks to identify where progress can improve. On a daily basis we see individuals rise to face fresh challenges and in this Newsletter you will learn of numerous examples that serve to demonstrate where such dedication and effort may take those who strive for success.
Elsewhere, you will read in the end of term letters from Heads of Year and House Leaders just how many opportunities students have been afforded this term to show of their best and share in new experiences. What with Music Recitals, public speaking competitions, the Intermediate Maths Challenge, House music, rugby and football, special PSHE days, fieldtrips and rock climbing residentials, to mention but a few, the students here at QEHS really are provided numerous platforms upon which to shine. Exposure to such an array of life affirming opportunities not only builds character but also confidence, and in an increasingly competitive world such attributes can only be a good thing.
I hope that the stories, articles and images here in the newsletter fill you with pride and serve to give you, once again, a real flavour of just how fulfilling, enriching and rewarding the Queenies educational experience truly is.
Mr R M Eastham
Headteacher
Isaac Powell – St. Anne's College, University of Oxford
We are delighted to report that Isaac Powell is now in his second term at the University of Oxford studying Mathematics. Isaac achieved 3 A* grades in his A Levels last summer, at the age of 16, which is a remarkable achievement and a QEHS record. He is enjoying the challenges of studying at Oxford and being at the same University as his brother, Oscar, who is a former Head Boy at QEHS.
We would like to wish Isaac every success and look forward to hearing more about his future achievements. Many congratulations Isaac!
Iris Breaks into Loughborough Lightning U15 Squad
I started playing netball at the age of 8 and I instantly fell in love with the sport. I started at a local club because my sisters played there and I used to watch them and wanted to join in! A year and a half ago, I moved to Brigg netball club and I now play in their U14 and U16 team. I have been lucky enough to play in 2 national competitions and have represented Lincolnshire. In September I trialled for Loughborough Lightning U15 franchise and I was thrilled to be accepted into their Lincoln hub. Recently, I was asked to trial for the Loughborough Lightning U15 competition squad and I was so happy when I found out that I had been successful. I have made some great friends on the Netball court and I love taking part in training, matches and competitions. Netball is so important to me and I love the sport. I’m excited to wear the Loughborough Lightning dress and look forward to the season ahead and one day I hope to play in the Superleague!
Iris Hutchinson, 8C
Well done Iris, this is a great acheievement!
Bedrock Vocabulary Learning Success at QEHS
Our amazing Year 9 students have made tremendous progress with their vocabulary acquisition, using the online learning programme called Bedrock.
As a school, we value and promote the importance of vocabulary learning. It is to state the obvious to say that vocabulary knowledge plays a central role in reading comprehension; a student’s ability to make sense of a text largely depends on their ability to understand the language used. As a student progresses through school, they need to be adding at least 3,000 new words to their vocabulary per year (Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2002; Nagy, 1980 & 1986) if they are to keep up with the increasingly challenging requirements of academic texts. If a student’s vocabulary is growing at a slower rate, they will find understanding school textbooks, academic resources and exam texts more and more difficult as they progress through school.
With the support of the English Department and Year 9 tutors, our school’s overall usage of the vocabulary learning programme was over 80% during the autumn term; on average, the expectation is 40-60% for secondary schools. This is a fantastic achievement. Lucy Huddart, 9C, was our top performing students and George Richardson-Lee, 9D, was the student who had made most progress with his studies. We would like to thank Mr Burge and Mrs Wadd who encouraged their tutees in 9D and 9A to be top performing forms. With over 300,000 students using Bedrock, Thomas Freeman, our Year 9 student, has been selected for their consistent completion of lessons - this amazing achievement was awarded by the Bedrock company with Amazon vouchers!
As we have very high expectations for our students, we are hoping that we will achieve 90% engagement this spring term with the vocabulary learning.
Mrs Daubney
I am delighted with the dedication and commitment that Year 9 have shown towards developing their vocabulary through Bedrock. Not only will we be celebrating this great achievement now but also in years to come when they have opportunities to exercise their increased knowledge and understanding of language across all subject areas at GCSE Level, A Level and beyond. Well done Year 9!
Mrs Crick
Well done to Thomas Freeman, 9D, who received a £10 Amazon voucher for his hard work and dedication to Bedrock.
Anna's Amazing Act of Kindness
Anna Elwess, 7B, committed an exceptional act of kindness whilst racing at the County Cross Country Meeting in January.
Whilst racing, a student from another school collapsed behind Anna and she ran back to speak to the girl. Realising she was in a lot of pain, Anna then ran back to the nearest Marshal to alert them. After she alerted the Marshal, Anna then remained with the student until an ambulance arrived to take her to hospital. All of these efforts resulted in Anna not being able to finish the race.
Anna, however, wins first prize for selflessness and compassion. She has also been awarded the Headteacher's Commendation for the term in recognition for her kindness.
VOTE ISABELLE! North Lincolnshire Youth Elections 2022
Isabelle Cooke, 9D, has put herself forward to become the next Young Mayor to lead the Youth Parliament for North Lincolnshire. Isabelle wants young people’s voices to be heard, as it is their future that is being shaped. Her main priority is looking at ways to improve young people's mental health and to encourage people to go outside as a way to maintain a balanced lifestyle. She said that one of the current issues we face is that a lot of the green spaces are being destroyed by people. Another issue is how it can be difficult to find volunteer opportunities and she would like to help more charities and work places to be able to deliver this as well as raise money in the process.
Her manifesto, personal video and profile can be found following the link below. Isabelle has worked extremely hard to get to this final stage, please support her journey. Voting is open until 28 February. Parents/Guardians unfortunately cannot vote. However, students can and your child’s vote could make a big impact on not only Isabelle’s future, but your child’s too.
The link below will take you to the ballot form:
https://forms.office.com/r/LkB91PkVgU
“A vote for Isabelle is a vote for young people”.
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DofE)
QEHS still holds pride of place as having the highest number of participants and highest pass rate of all DofE centres in Lincolnshire. 2021 was an extremely busy year as we cleared the Covid backlog of expeditions. Students in Years 9 and 10 completed their Bronze expeditions while those in Years 12 and 13 completed their Silver. A huge thank you must be extended to staff who spent many hours sitting at checkpoints and braved all extremes of weather to see the students through what is a testing and arduous challenge.
By way of a reminder:
- Full details of the DofE award scheme are on the DoE website: dofe.org
- Once students have paid for a DofE place on ParentMail, they should decide what activities they are going to engage in for each of their sections and ask the person who supervises that activity to be their assessor for that section.
- They should then complete the Bitesize Planner (attached and available from Reception and on the school website).
- They should then email their completed Bitesize Planner to the QEHS DofE verifier, Mrs Stevenson in the school Library. Her email address is: [email protected]. Mrs Stevenson will check that each of the sections chosen by the student complies with DofE criteria.
- If all sections comply, Mrs Stevenson will enter the student’s details on eDofE, the online portal for the DofE award, and students will receive an automated email to the student’s school email address with details of how to log on to eDofE. A DofE logbook will then be posted to the student’s home address.
- Students must register on eDofE using the logon details in the email and should fill in the details of their activities on eDofE. They should then upload evidence, for example photographs, of their activities to their eDofE page. There is an option to have a personal eDofE record book created for the student when they have achieved their award.
- When students finish their activity, their assessor for that activity must fill in the relevant page in the student’s hard-copy log book. The student must then upload a photo of the page to the eDofE website and submit it for DofE staff in school to approve. It is possible for assessors to upload their report directly to the student’s page on the eDofE website by following http://www.dofe.info/assessor/ and typing in the student’s 6 figure eDofE identification number.
- Once all sections, including the expedition, are complete on the eDofE account, QEHS DofE staff will check the record and award the Bronze certificate and badge.
- Expedition dates for the Duke of Edinburgh Award 2022 are shown in the table below. Students completing the Bronze Award will only camp for one of the two nights listed, students completing the Silver Award will camp for both:
Award |
Dates |
Silver practice expedition |
Thu 21 – Sat 23 Apr 22 |
Silver assessed expedition |
Sun 10 – Tue 12 Jul 22 |
Bronze practice expedition |
Thu 19 – Sat 21 May 22 |
Bronze assessed expedition |
Wed 20 – Fri 22 Jul 22 |
If you have any questions or concerns over your child’s DofE award, please contact Mr Kingdom via the School Office.
Work Experience - steps to take now to meet the deadline
A lot of students who have opted to carry out a work placement in July have made a real effort to secure a placement and students have been following due process and submitting their placement bookings through Google Forms with a separate email to Mrs Thorpe, attaching their employer confirmation. The response has been more positive from Year 10 than Year 12 and I would encourage Year 12 to consider the value of work experience for their personal statements and UCAS applications. For any Year 10 or Year 12 student who wishes to take part in the programme and has not yet booked or applied for a placement, time is marching on!
The final deadline for all placement paperwork to be handed in is Friday 22 April 2022. As we are now at the end of Term 3, that deadline will quickly be upon us. This is a later deadline than we have had in recent years, but does mean there is no leeway for any extension beyond this date.
It is the need for ensuring the safety of students whilst on placement, which dictates the Safety Measures deadline for the handing in of work placement details. They visit and make checks on thousands of student placements every year, which necessitates a lead time of at least two months to make sure placements have the necessary risk assessments and insurance checks carried out and agencies outside the East Midlands often take longer than this.
I have mentioned to the students that if they bring me a placement form on 22 April which is incomplete or there are inaccuracies or it does not have the written confirmation, I will probably not have time to sort this out before the end of that day and the placement will not be able to go ahead. Students should really aim for handing them in a few weeks before the final deadline which will give me enough “wriggle room” to sort out any potential queries!
Historically, Year 12 students who opt to take part will sometimes leave a specialist or long distance placement until the last minute. This then leaves them disappointed when I cannot get all of the details required to book it for them by the deadline, which means even an excellent opportunity cannot go ahead, so please make sorting out your work experience a priority over the half term break. Hopefully the easing of Covid restrictions will lead to more positive responses to student enquiries by potential employers.
I would advise students to use the holiday week to contact or chase up employers by letter, phone, email or even call in. There is strong competition for work places in July from other schools, so if you are awaiting a reply, a follow up email asking if your application has been received would not come amiss. Employers who regularly take students for work experience are aware of the lead time needed for risk assessments to be done and they will be aware of your deadline if you have sent them a copy of the school support letter (available on the W drive and school website).
Thank you to all parents/guardians who have been supporting the students through the work experience process. I am sure the efforts of all concerned will be rewarded with worthwhile placements.
Mrs J Thorpe
Work Experience Co-ordinator
Our Year 10 artists have made a real impression on American artist, Keemo. Keemo is an internationally collected artist who creates unique, colourful and abstract portraits in his instantly own recognisable style.
The students have used Keemo as inspiration for their latest work and created a vibrant painting based on a person of their choice. A selection of our students work was featured on our @qehs.artdept Instagram account, where we tagged the artist into the post and he sent the following message:
Great work Year 10! We are so proud of your hard work and talent.
Mrs Walsh
Kaiserschmarren kochen Bericht
We are very proud to have been able to host two Foreign Language Assistants again this year. Our German Assistant, Anna, is from Austria and recently ran a lunchtime cooking session with the help of Ms Jones and the Technology department. During this cooking session, ‘Bake with Anna’, our GCSE German students volunteered to make a delicious specialty from the region. There were some great results!
Am 21 Jänner hatte ich einmalig die Chance, mit den wunderbaren Schülerinnen und Schülern der 10. Klasse ein typisch österreichisches Gericht zu kochen: Den Kaiserschmarren. Am Freitag in der Mittagspause ging es los: Mit einer Schürze und den deutsch-englischen Rezepten bewaffnet, haben sich je zwei Jugendliche einen Herd geteilt, um die fluffigen Pancakes zu kochen. Mit wundervoller Unterstützung des Kochteams unter Mrs. Jane Jones und den vielen Deutschlehrerinnen, die sich einen Blick auf die Köstlichkeiten nicht entgehen lassen wollten, wurde das Kochen zum vollen Erfolg. Die Zeit verging wie im Flug und nach einer Stunde fokussierten Backens unterstrichen von original österreichischer Blasmusik konnten wir die großartigen Ergebnisse probieren. Vor allem in Kombination mit dem köstlichen Apfelmus und Zwetschkenröster waren die Kaiserschmarren ein wahrer Gaumenschmaus und das Kochen insgesamt ein voller Erfolg. Ein großes Dankeschön an alle, die zu diesem Erfolg beigetragen haben!
Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools and education settings accredited by Arts Council England. The Artsmark recognises a school's dedication to the arts, culture and creativity across the whole curriculum, and celebrates commitment to cultural education. Queen Elizabeth’s High School has been awarded a Platinum Artsmark Award for the second time, becoming the first school in the East-Midlands to hold a double-Platinum Award.
QEHS is very proud to be an International School as accredited by the British Council. The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that conduct outstanding work in international education, such as through links with partner schools overseas. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to live and work as global citizens.
QEHS has forged links with schools all over the world. Groups of students have visited our partner schools in China, Tanzania, Germany, France and Spain. We also have strong links and participate in joint activities with partner schools in Australia, France, Morocco, Poland and Romania. We have welcomed teacher visits from many of these countries.
A further string to our bow is our Camps International programme, which allows students to work on development schemes for a five week period during the summer. So far, students from QEHS have assisted with projects in Cambodia and Tanzania.
QEHS is delighted to have been awarded with the Career Mark Accreditation. Career Mark recognises the quality of the independent and impartial careers education, training and guidance that we offer, ensuring our students leave with the confidence and skills required to enter the world of work and further/higher education. Career Mark Accreditation demonstrates that we are providing an efficient and effective careers programme, in accordance with the Gatsby Benchmarks, through:
- Management: The effectiveness of our systems for planning, managing and integrating the whole programme
- Guidance: The effectiveness of an integrated programme of advice, guidance and support
- Curriculum: The effectiveness of our curriculum to supports the development of learners’ knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes
- Information: The accessibility, relevance, importance and effectiveness of information, the acquisition of skills to research and evaluate allowing for well-informed and realistic career decisions.
The Education Business Partnership (EBP) Investors in Education was awarded in recognition of Mrs Thorpe's efforts in liaising with employers and supporting the students in finding worthwhile and meaningful work placements which would enhance their career paths. As a school we would nominate a number of employers who we believed deserved an award for their commitment to our students whilst on placement and in return employers would nominate schools who had gone above and beyond in organising their placements and in 2018. Mrs Thorpe was nominated by the EBP as an Investor in Education for her exceptional work with the young people in our school.
Our school has worked closely with the English Speaking Union for nearly five years now. Our students have successfully participated in the MACE, the Churchill Speaking Competition and Performing Shakespeare Competition, reaching regional finals. As a result of our students’ participation and dedication to the competitions, we can now use the title of 'ESU Oracy Affiliate School' and display its logo on our school's website and in other school communications. We recognise how important it is to raise awareness of the importance of oracy in schools, and displaying this logo will help promote this.
School Games Gold 18/19, 19/20 and 20/21
We have achieved this recognition for our ongoing involvement in the School Games Programme and also for our extensive extra-curricular provision offered to our students. This includes external fixtures in our district league, county and national competitions across a wide range of different sports. In addition, our House sporting offer is outstanding and provides all our students with the opportunity to take part in a competitive sport.
Sport Department of the Year 2019 (Secondary, Further and Higher Education)
The Physical Education and Sport department was recognised as the leading sport department across the whole of Lincolnshire including secondary, further and higher education. This was because of our extensive curriculum offer to our students, alongside our excellent academic GCSE and A Level results.
Active School Award 2020
We were awarded the Active School Award 2020 due to our outstanding provision during lockdown in 2019 and 2020. We not only kept our students involved in Physical Education and Sport but our parents/guardians and staff also participated.
QEHS has been awarded the prestigious Platinum Science Mark in recognition of the excellent work undertaken by our Science department in the classroom as well as the local community.
Science Mark was created by the National STEM Learning Centre and Network to recognise and celebrate best practice in secondary science departments across the UK. Schools and colleges receive the Science Mark when they can show that they are delivering inspiring lessons for students and demonstrate their department’s commitment to high-quality science education.
Since the award, the Science Teachers at QEHS have continued to have a positive impact on the local community through its strong links with other departments. One such initiative is offering over 200 primary school students the opportunity to obtain the STEM CREST award, ensuring that the next generation of Gainsborough scientists are well equipped to be leaders in their chosen fields. The department also runs the yearly STEM fair where children from local primary schools can experience the wonders of Science.
Watch this space for very exciting announcements we have planned in the very near future!
Wow, what a start to 2022! The first House events of the year were Senior Boys Rugby and Girls Football. The younger students loved watching this event, hoping that one day they would follow in the older students footsteps. We quickly followed with Inter and Junior Boys Rugby and Girls Football. These have been amazing events and it is so nice to see the whole school out on the field enjoying House activities.
House Music is one of the biggest evening events on the House Calendar. Students were given just over two weeks to rehearse in school. This event was led by our amazing Sixth Form students, and what a fantastic job they did. The only information we gave them was what the Judges would be looking for and where they could rehearse. From this, each group produced a 10 minute performance. All of the judges involved commented that the students were a credit to the school and what a lovely variety of musicians they were.
Budding Reporters
Any student interested in becoming a reporter for House events, please email Ms Frecknall explaining how you would report on each event. The deadline for this is Friday 25February.
Congratulations to the following students upon receiving their fantastic Music grades.
Molly McCorkell, 7A, Grade 2 Clarinet
Zoe Marshall, 7D, Grade 2 Violin with Merit
Sebastian Ramirez-Capes, 9B, Grade 4 Piano with Merit
Liya Binoy, 10A, Grade 3 Piano with Merit
Isabelle Martin, 10C, Grade 4 Piano and Grade 7 Flute with Merit
Cassandra Bell, 10D, Grade 2 Piano with Merit
Rosemary Alex, 10D, Grade 3 Piano with Merit
Ethan Elliott, 10E, Grade 5 Singing with Merit
Evan Raisborough, 12E, Grade 4 Piano with Merit
Meisha Roberts, 8S, Grade 1 Violin with Distinction
Andriana Castellan, 11S, Grade 8 Alto Sax with Distinction
Charlotte Hunt, 13A, Grade 8 Musical Theatre with Distinction
The Kickstart Scheme is a programme launched by the government to deliver funding for employers offering new job roles for 16-24 years olds who are currently in receipt of Universal Credit. The programme is aimed at preventing young people who are currently unemployed facing long term unemployment.
We employed three people on the Kickstart Team at the beginning of this term.
Kyle - Library Assistant
Kyle works in the Library and we asked him what he is enjoying about his role. He said, "This is a really fun environment and the people within being super kind, caring and helpful. I like working here. It is a new challenge for me being with the young ones who are inspiring and a delight to work with. All the staff are kind and helpful, helping me with anything and everything. Also a shout out to my friendly and nice colleagues Maxine, Jane and Janet who I have got to know a lot over cups of tea and the entertaining talks we have. I feel welcomed as part of this team".
Sam - Administration Assistant
Sam works in the Main Office and we asked him what he is enjoying about his role. He said, "So far, the job is going really well and the role of Office Assistant has been quite interesting as no two days have been the same from the work to the flow of the day and to the different types of enquiries and problems that need dealing with in a school environment. The main things I like about this role is that there is a constant but steady workflow. In addition to this, the environment and people I work with are helpful and supportive of me when I am unsure about how to do something or just have a regular question."
Oliver - Premises Assistant
Oliver works with the Site Team. We asked him what he is enjoying about his role. He said, "I like that every day is different on the job. The team are nice and I am fitting in well. I am learning the job very well and learning new skills and putting names to faces of the staff. I am getting on well with the help desk system that the team use daily and I am getting used to working my way around the big site."
Christmas Jumper Day - Save the Children
Thank you to parents/guardians who donated to Save the Children for Christmas Jumper Day. We raised £475.50 in total!