15th December 2015
Dear parent,
The Christmas Carol Service in St Pauls saw over a hundred students perform from all year groups. There
was a wide range of readings and musical genres. The quality was extremely high and is a testament to the
dedication of the music department led by Miss Sampson.
Arkwright Scholarship
Applications are now open for the 2016 round of the Arkwright scholarship. This external award gives
industry mentoring and financial support to 6th form students who are keen on a career in engineering related
settings and studying Maths at A level. Any Year 11 students interested should visit www.arkwright.org.uk
for more information and email Mr Rayne (rayne.jeremy@ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk) if you wish to register
your interest in the application process. The closing date for applications for the next academic year is
January 15th 2016. Two students from the current Year 12 were successful in last year’s process. Not only did
this award provide a substantial financial payment for the 6th formers, but it also opens up opportunities of
degree sponsorship, work experience and long term career prospects. I would strongly urge any interested
Year 11 students to investigate the scholarship.
Senior Citizens Party
The Senior Citizens Christmas party takes place on Thursday. Around 100 local senior citizens are attending
the event. The gathering has a number of extremely positive features. First, the funding has been raised by
the bazaars organised by Year 7-10 students. Second, all aspects of the party have been organised by the 6th
form team of student volunteers including transport. Third, the afternoon offers a number of Year 8 students
the opportunity to host those who are attending. Finally, the catering is all organised by the Year 10
Hospitality & Catering students. In a general sense, the party helps to highlight to the more senior members of
society how positive the majority of young people are, both in our school and the wider community. I would
like to pay particular thanks to Mr Woollett who is responsible for the coordination of the party.
Year 11 mock exams and study leave
The Year 11 students have just completed their mock exams and Science ISA. The vast majority of students
have undertaken these assessments with great maturity. The students will receive their results after the break.
Mr Ketley has been in touch throughout the assessment programme and will continue to advise parents on
how they can support children through what is often a stressful period for all engaged.
Year 10 Information Evening on the new GCSEs in Maths & English - 12th Jan
Pupils in Year 10 are studying for the new GCSEs in Maths and English, which they will take in June 2017
and receive a 9-1 grade (replacing the existing A*-G grading). We have written to parents of pupils in Year
10 explaining the new exams and the grading system, and will be holding an Information Evening on Tuesday
12th January at 7pm to give more information and to answer questions. Parents of pupils in Year 9 who will
be studying the new GCSEs (with 9-1 grading) in almost all their subjects next year will be informed about
these at the Upper School Evening on 21st January.
Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise has been an extremely successful development in the school, run by Mr Mercer. The
current Year 12 group formed a company this year called “Noops” making scented candles. They have made
a tremendous start, selling their entire first batch of stock at the school production. They were also part of the
Dorking ‘Gala night’ shopping event and again did tremendously well, alongside Young Enterprise alumnus
Danesh Amin with his huge Brocks Chocs stand! The company are making candles as fast as they can to keep
up with sales in a variety of double scented candles from Mulberry and Candy Cane to Linen and
Lavender. Our Young Enterprise companies will be taking part in the national competition and we will keep
you updated on their progress.
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The programme is incredibly useful in developing leadership and collaborative skills and gives the students a
taste of the business environment as well as providing them with the opportunity to make a product. It was
interesting that at a recent presentation for one of the Russell Group Universities, the admission team cited
Young Enterprise as the most valued extra-curricular activity on personal statements.
Football
Ashcombe have been playing in the national football tournament over the past few months and the Year 9
boys are now the most successful team we have ever had in this competition. The team won 6-2 in the 5th
round and will play in the 6th round (last 32) in January. This is a great achievement as 668 teams entered
from across the country. I would like to thank Mr Harris for his enthusiasm and skill in developing football
across the school.
Useful websites
We have been contacted by CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) who are publicising a number
of helpful resources in advance of Christmas. CEOP are focussed on developing greater internet safety
awareness and they have suggested that this period of the year is often one where risks appear to be increased.
This is largely due to young people getting new devices as Christmas presents. The revamped website can be
found at www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents. The new site offers a completely refreshed suite of articles and
guidance on all aspects of child internet safety. Families can visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents to access
advice and support on how to keep children safe from sexual abuse, both online and off. Articles provide
guidance on topics as diverse as: challenging harmful sexual attitudes and promoting positive behaviours;
helping a child with autism negotiate life online; supporting a child who has been sexually abused; and dealing
with a range of online issues. Users will find films, downloadable guides and useful links to support
organisations.
Building Learning Power and Helping your child to Learn
The school has worked with the well-known educationalist Guy Claxton, who has developed an approach
called Building Learning Power which aims to equip students with the key learning skills for life beyond
education. We will have regular information for parents, both in letters and during presentations, detailing
how you can support in this process. One particular focus is resilience and he has given some very specific
advice on how we can develop the coping skills for failure or struggle. Some ways parents can help in
developing greater resilience and resourcefulness amongst our young people are:
1)
praising effort which shows students a focus on the process rather than the outcome.
2)
Parents can help to create situations in which children have to work out the answer by themselves,
and hold back from helping children too soon.
3)
Highlighting to children that struggle is good in learning as it means that you are pushing your
abilities to the full.
We will confirm details of our first Building Learning Power parents' information evening in the spring term
but we wanted to introduce the concept briefly in the parent letter.
Last Day and Mufti
I would like to remind you that the school will break up on Friday 18th December at 1pm as usual and we will
restart on Monday 4th January. Pupils who pay £1 in advance towards our school charities will be able to wear
mufti on the last day, ideally with a Christmas theme (but pupils should not bring sprays into school) to finish
term on a merry note. I would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and thank you for your ongoing
support.
Yours sincerely
D.J.Blow
Headteacher
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