The more effort you give, the more commitment you show, the more opportunities you’ll make, the further you’ll go.

Tutor Curriculum

Progression Exams

The Progression Exams saw the first exam experience for the Y10 cohort. The experience of exam sessions, and the expectations needed to ensure that a fair environment is provided, is invaluable in supporting all students in doing their best.

Rights and Responsibilities

Students have been looking at what makes social media so popular, and how it can be edited to distort our view of the world.

Numeracy

As a school we’re keen to develop student understanding of finances, with this in mind Y10 have looked at credit scoring and how the impact mortgages.

Work Experience

Both the external and internal work experiences were a fantastic success.

Comments for those student who completed external placements include:

• ‘Samuel was smart and knowledgeable with a sensible attitude to work.’
• ‘Katie did a great job. She was very willing to do tasks and did them efficiently. Her confidence in communicating really improved over the week.’
• ‘Jamie was superb and we would have no hesitation in offering him a job in the future.’
• ‘Rebecca was an excellent addition to the work place and we were really glad to have her around.’

The internal placements ranged from experiences of the world of work in the engineering, communication and advertising sectors. In addition, there was a day of enterprise activities as well as second day of team building experiences with the army.

Sports Day

Tuesday 12 July marked the last sports day for Y10 as they will have left school this time next year.

They were gritty, competitive and the sports leaders endeavoured to ensure that students across all year groups got the right event.

College Logo Competition

Rewards and celebration

The end of year Celebration Assembly is another highlight of the year, and I look forward to celebrating the achievements of the students on the last day of term, as well as thank their Learning Mentors for all their hard work over the last two years. Next year Y10 students will be working with the Y11 team of specialised Learning Mentors who are well experienced in supporting students through this important year as they prepare for the GCSE exams. All in all it has been a fantastic year for Y10 and it continues to be a real pleasure being part of their school journey.

Mrs Sarah Barley-Morey                                                         Mr Matt Atkins

AHT Y10 Lead, CEIAG/Learning Conversation Lead           Senior Assistant Headteacher

Year 11 Students have been had opportunities to say their final goodbyes over the last few weeks. Prom and the Leavers Assembly were huge successes and I hope all students involved enjoyed themselves. A few snapshots of students arriving at the prom and having the opportunity to sign each other’s shirts on their last day in school can be seen below. Student’s behaviour was exemplary throughout both events and really highlighted what a fantastic year group they are. We also had an opportunity to celebrate individual student successes at the whole school celebration evening towards the end of term. Well done to all students who received a nomination and subsequent award winners.

World Book Day
After many months of covid restrictions, we were finally able to put on some events to rejoice in all things English. The first was to celebrate World Book Day - a whole day dedicated to improving the lives of young people through reading and literacy. This comprised of a book swap bonanza which saw student trading books they had read, loved and were ready to pass on to another student to spread an appreciation of the written word. A huge thanks to those involved and the library for their support on the day.

LS Summer Reading Challenge!

Hello Year 7 and 8, 

Fancy a journey into the imagination over this summer?

We have the perfect challenge for you! This summer the English department are tasking you with reading books about the following: 

1. A story that is set in a fantastical world
2. A story about spies
3. A story about someone whose life is different from your own
4. A story that has been developed into a movie/television show
5. A book with a beautiful cover 
6. An autobiography or biography about a fascinating person. 

Prizes: 

• An R1 will be awarded to everyone who takes part. 
• An R2 will be awarded to everyone who completes over half of the challenge. 
• An R3 and a postcard home will be awarded to any student who completes the challenge. 

To enter: Your current English teacher will give you a sheet to fill in once you have completed each book. Hand this sheet in to your new English teacher in September. 

Here are some recommendations from the English Department:

Year 7

After their completion of the central text ‘A Monster Calls’ in our Relationships scheme, our Year 7 cohort headed into the theatre to watch the film adaptation, to further support their understanding of the plot and themes within the novel. Whilst there may not have been a dry eye in the room, with the film exploring heart-wrenching grief and loss, the story also sheds light on the importance of independent decision-making, dealing with difficult emotions and finding your voice – all of which are extremely important in our ever-changing, contemporary world.

Throughout this year, the English Department have embedded further opportunities to encourage our young people to ‘read for pleasure.’ In all of our Year 7 and Year 8 classes, we have implemented 15-minute independent reading sessions at the beginning of one English lesson per week, where students read a book that they themselves are interested in.  Whilst this has obvious benefits for students’ literacy skills, reading also significantly increases empathy, improves relationships with others and enhances one’s wellbeing throughout life. In light of this, we were thoroughly impressed by this book review of Weirdo’s War by Michael Coleman, completed within one of our reading groups!

Year 8

During the summer term, Year 8 have been studying Jason Reynolds’ ‘Long Way Down,’ a novel exploring themes of gang violence, revenge and morality, told through contemporary prose poetry. This text broke the literary boundaries many people associate with poetry and students were thoroughly engrossed with the story and stylistic choices the poet makes throughout the novel.

Earlier this year, the English Department launched a new writing initiative: the 200-word challenge! Once per fortnight, every student in KS3 partakes in a topical writing activity which is relevant to the learning that has been taking part in their classrooms. As part of a 200-word challenge, students were given the opportunity to create their own concrete poetry based on the text. Here is one of the fabulous pieces of work that was produced for this task:

Year 9

It has been an extremely exciting and successful term for our year 9 students, who kickstarted the summer in the theatre watching a theatre adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which has complemented their study of work in the English curriculum, as well as prepared them further for their GCSE study of Macbeth in Year 10 and 11.

The year group have also completed an element of their GCSE Language course this term – the spoken language endorsement. Students had to choose a topic they felt passionate about, plan and write a 5 minute speech to be delivered in front of their class. Topical issues discussed included the disparity of pay between genders, the unethical nature of animal testing, and even whether pineapple belongs on pizza! This is a tricky and particularly daunting element of the course for lots of students, however, it has been lovely to see so many students grow in confidence and discovering their independent interests. Please do commend our Year 9s on their great efforts!

Year 10

The end of the year calls for huge congratulations for this year group, as they have now completed all content for their English Literature GCSE. Over the past 18 months, these students have worked tirelessly, studying 1 prose text, 2 plays, 16 poems and an abundance of unseen poetry practice. During their progression exams, the cohort sat the longest and hardest Literature exam, which is fantastic practice for the real examinations this time next year.

The hard work does not stop there – due to COVID restrictions in the classroom, these students were unable to complete their speaking and listening endorsement last year, thus they have ended the year preparing and completing their speeches. Year 10 have worked extremely hard this year and regardless of COVID, have taken learning in their stride, and we are confident that this diligence and perseverance will contribute to their successes.

Year 12

Our English Literature A Level group went Welsh in June, climbing The Skirrid, a mountain just outside Abergavenny which inspired the poetry book ‘Skirrid Hill’ by Owen Sheers, which they are studying. Everyone made it to the top, although with little breath left, and enjoyed the spectacular views of Wales and England either side. Whether they discovered “the answers to every question (they) have never known”, as Sheers' proclaims, you’ll have to ask them.

The group also took part in an Academic Conference at The Cotswold School this term. The purpose of the trip was to enrich students’ experience of English by having the opportunity to hear professional subject knowledge talks and engage with students who work on complimentary texts. It gave them the opportunity to gain confidence presenting their work (NEA topic), which aligns perfectly with study in Further Education. The trip was a huge success and all students involved were a huge credit to the school and themselves.

Extra-Curricular

Sports clubs and fixtures against local schools are now complete for the summer term. Competitive fixtures have taken place in Cricket, Rounders, Athletics & Tennis– congratulations to all students who represented NLS so brilliantly.

Sports Day – Tuesday 12 July 2022

Sports Day is one day in the school year where we come together as a whole community through Sport. Every year, new stars emerge and remind us of what hard work and dedication can achieve.  All students play their part in accumulating college points in what is one of the highlights of the school calendar.

In the morning EVERY STUDENT in Y7-10 competed for their college in one of the following sports against their own year group for college points:

• Football (Mixed)
• Netball (Girls)
• Tennis (Mixed)
• Athletics (Mixed)
• Dodgeball (Mixed)
• Rounders (Mixed)

In the afternoon the WHOLE SCHOOL were out by the athletics track for a non-stop action packed afternoon, cheering their college on in 100m, 200m, Relays and Tug of War across all year groups.

Final Standings were as follows :

Congratulations to Mr Foxon and students in MANOR college who were this years Sports Day winners, claiming back-to-back success!!

Congratulations also to the following students who broke whole school records this year:

• Archie Lane Y8 800m - 2:20s, beating the previous record held by Jai Sispal by 7 seconds!
• Y8 Blackdown Boys 4x100m Relay - 56.56s, beating the previous record held by Park in 2018 of 57.03s.

Sports Personality of the Year

Congratulations to the following students who were named Sports Personality of the Year in their respected year groups. The students were presented with personalised glass trophies at Celebration Evening and their names will now appear on the prestigious boards in the PE foyer area, becoming a part of NLS history!

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award

119 students across Years 9 & 10 signed up to undertake their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, with a fantastic 115 of those making it across the finish line by completing their qualifying expedition in the magnificent Cotswolds. We had expeditions out on weekend of Friday 8 & Saturday 9 July and Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July with routes starting in Broadway, Condicote, Sedgeberrow and Naunton - making their way to our campsite at Hayles Fruit Farm. During their expedition, our students' navigation and camp craft skills were kept under constant scrutiny by our qualified NLS DofE assessor team. There were of course one or two navigational mishaps along the way, but all groups across both weekends showed a good level of competency with all students successfully passing this element of their certificate. The energy, spirit and teamwork throughout both expeditions was a sight to behold and memories made on the expedition will last a lifetime.

To receive their bronze certificate our students will need to ensure evidence is uploaded to their eDofE account in the form of a completed assessor’s report card for each section. For troubleshooting and support with this process, please see the DofE Youtube channel or contact your DofE Leader. All units must be completed by 1 September.

Year 9 – Mr Schofield

Year 10 – Mr Beese

News regarding the Duke of Edinburgh Award in the 2022-23 academic year will be circulated in September.  Please see below a selection of photos from our expeditions

Under 13 Girls County Finals (Small Sided)

Congratulations to our U13 girls who qualified for and participated in the County finals small sided tournament. The finals were hosted at the fantastic Solihull Moors Damson Park Stadium, and featured the best female school football teams from across the Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull area. After a chastening defeat in their opening game vs Stratford upon Avon School, a side that made it all the way to the National U13 girls cup semi-finals this year – our girls turned on the fireworks, winning their next 4 matches to cruise into the semi-finals. The girls would play Tutor Grange Academy in the semi-finals, and having had the better of the game – girls would bow out on penalties after the game ended 0-0.

Mr Burt and Mr Beese