Noadswood Termly Newsletter May 2025

I enjoyed a super visit to Furzey Gardens last evening, with members of the Art team and Miss Fitzgerald, Assistant Year Leader for Y10/11, as we celebrated the success of our very own Y10, Izzy, whose incredible dinosaur is part of their new Jurassic trail. I also spotted Eliza’s beautiful egg on show, too! It was lovely to be together to enjoy the trail, and to tell Izzy and her family, in person, how proud of her we are. My thanks to all of the Art team for encouraging such creativity and enrichment.

The Military Group had an enriching experience at Winchester University during Creative Forces Day, where they explored their unique experiences as military students. Our Year 7 students are already looking forward to next year’s event!

Mr Shearsmith proudly showed off the silverware from the students’ hard work at the New Forest Athletics event this week to all the staff who were at our briefing today. My warmest congrats to all the students and to Team PE for the hard work and team spirit that went into our becoming the overall winners... again!

And, finally, we welcomed Anne Cullum from the Quality Assurance organisation, Challenge Partners, to which we subscribe, for a two-day consultancy visit looking at three of our key school improvement objectives. I would like to thank everyone who welcomed Anne to their lessons, who chatted to her about their ‘real life’ experiences of our school (adults and young people alike) and who demonstrated the Noadswood ‘typicality’ without fear so we can learn and improve from people experienced across the country in best practice. If you are interested in finding out about in the work of Challenge Partners, you can read about them here: https://challengepartners.org/

Thank you, as always, for your continuous support, partnership and challenge. Wishing everyone a very restful half term break – if you need us during the week, please use info@noadswood.hants.sch.uk marking your mail URGENT.

Meantime, please, please book your tickets for Beauty and the Beast – more about it below in the Music section of this newsletter. You are going to have serious regrets if you don’t because it’s going to be superb!

Best wishes,

Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team

REDWOOD

This half-term at Redwood has been full of cooking, gardening and art.

The students have been busy in the Redwood kitchen cooking up sausage rolls, pizza, shortbread and much more! They have also been practicing recipes that they can recreate on an outdoor fire in the nearly finished forest school space! The students are very excited for its completion and have been working hard planning and preparing the space ready for the equipment to be moved in! The students have also been busy gardening offsite at the allotment space. They have been planning the landscape and what they intend to grow.

In small group art, the students have been experimenting with different painting techniques to achieve abstract style landscapes and the year 9s and 10s have been working hard preparing for their mocks at the start of the next half term.

The students are all getting ready for a busy final term and are very excited for our end of year residential trip to Calshot!

YEAR 7 NOTICE

A letter was emailed home to those parents whose child is not attending Bude to let them know what activities will be taking place. If you are unable to see this email, please check your SPAM/JUNK folder and place it into your inbox to avoid missing future updates.

Walk to School Week

Thank you so much for your support in allowing students to walk to and from school this week, The air quality around the school has improved this week and we will publish more data on this in the following term. Including the staff who recorded their walk and students, we have walked a total of 1586.06Km / 985.53 Miles.

All prize winners will be given their prizes the first week back and names circulated.

SUBJECT NEWS

ENGLISH

Some Year 10 students had the pleasure of visiting Barton Peveril college to watch a performance of Lord of The Flies. The text is studied as part of the GCSE Literature course, so seeing it in person was a brilliant opportunity. The college commented on how brilliant the students were. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

10C have been revising Macbeth this half term. Miss McEntee often gets the class involved in role play to help with understanding! Here we have Alfie, Charlie, Olivia, Ellie and Alissa playing the roles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the Witches. The sword is acting as the dagger that Macbeth used to commit regicide. Excellent participation from these students!

MATHS

Year 10

Erin entered The Senior Mathematics Challenge run by the University of Southampton last term. The challenge involved answering several complex problems and giving detailed solutions. Erin did extremely well and gained a Merit. We would like to congratulate her on this amazing achievement.

Years 7 & 8

Well done to all those students from Years 7 and 8 who took part in the 1 hour long Junior Maths Challenge on 1st May. This competition encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve non-standard problems. It is targeted at the most able of pupils in Years 7 and 8.

The results are as follows:

18 Bronze certificates;

6 Silver certificates in Year 8 to Max, Elizabeth, Ethan, Zofia, Harry and Sofia

5 Silver certificates in Year 7 to Milo, Casper, Sebastian, Lucas and Alexa

7 Gold certificates in Year 8 to Edward (91), Tyler (94), Harry K (101), Josh (107), Daniel (119) and Sam (130) which meant he only got 1 question wrong!

And 1 Gold in year to Rose who got 95.

The scores over 100 are truly outstanding, giving them the opportunity to take part in the following round, The Junior Kangaroo. Sam also takes part in the Junior Olympiad. The name Kangaroo acknowledges the contribution made by Australia to establishing large-scale Mathematics contests. This puts them in the top 0.1% in the country for Years 7 and 8!

A question from the paper was:

Three consecutive one-digit positive integers are a square, a cube and a prime (not necessarily in that order). What is the product of the three integers?

ANSWER – the digits required are 7 (prime), 8 (2 cubed) and 9 (3 squared).

Their product is 7 × 8 × 9, and that is 504.

And here’s another one:

What is the sum of 20% of 40% of 60 and 40% of 60% of 80?

ANSWER = 4.8 + 19.2 = 24

SCIENCE

Miss Hill has chosen Lottie as the next winner of the science book of the term. After reading it, students wrote a review on 'Hidden Figures'; a story which follows the careers of three women at NASA.

HISTORY

History - Longford Castle Education Opportunity

On the 28th April, some year 11 students had the opportunity to visit Longford Castle in Salisbury. One of our key topics is Elizabeth I early years 1558-1588. The history department, for the third year running, were given the opportunity by Lord Radnor to visit Longford. The castle, having been built in the Elizabethan period, gave students a sense of the styles and buildings from this historic period which were created from the wealth generated through Elizabethan voyages of discovery. The Gorges family built the castle with the proceeds of one of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia’s galleons, which sank in the wake of the Spanish Armada. Lady Gorges was one of Elizabeth I ladies in waiting and the chief lady in waiting during Elizabeth I death procession through London in 1603. Longford Castle is one of the grandest stately homes in Britain and has been the residence of one family for 300 years.

We had a wonderful morning with four tour guides whose knowledge of the house during this period was enlightening. All four tour guides commented on how excellent the students were, stating that the group had 'impeccable behaviour.' Our students asked some imaginative questions and thought about how they could use their visit to supplement their GCSE Elizabeth I examination. We had the opportunity to look at some of the country’s best art and architecture and considered the symbolism behind painting. For example, finding out that in portraits, a lady holding a rose symbolises pregnancy. We saw a Medieval German Chair that the Nazis tried to obtain by writing and requesting its sale. The Radnor family ignored the request. Information and plans found after World War Two in Germany indicated that German bombers were not to hit the castle under any circumstances and therefore it can be suggested that the chair saved the house from air-raids.

We had not appreciated that Noadswood are the only school group who are routinely welcomed to Longford, and so this is such a unique opportunity for us. I am sure, based on this year, if we request a revisit again, then we would be welcomed back. Well done Year 11!

GEOGRAPHY

Years 10 and 11

Firstly, I would like to say a massive well done to the Year 11 Geographers who have been working so hard in preparation for their final exams. One paper down and two to go! Keep up the great work! You are almost there!

Moving on to Year 10s; just a reminder that after half term we have our fieldwork days. Make sure you know which day you are going:

Monday 9th June - 10R2 (Mrs Way)

Tuesday 10th June - 10R3 (Mrs Conti)

Friday 13th June – 10U (Mrs Way)

Monday 16th June - 10R1 (Miss Skinner)

Please ensure that you dress appropriately for the weather and activities. Sturdy footwear and a packed lunch will be essential. Thanks! Miss Skinner

ART

Art Department – Summer Term Highlights

It’s been a vibrant and creative term across all year groups in the Art Department, and we’re excited to share what our talented students have been up to!

Year 7 – Day of the Dead Design Magic

Our Year 7 students have been diving into the rich traditions of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). They’ve been busy designing imaginative skull artworks, drawing inspiration from the colourful patterns and symbolism of this Mexican celebration. After lots of planning and experimenting with ideas, students are now beginning to bring their designs to life through their own painted skull artworks – and we can’t wait to see the final results!

Year 8 – Landscapes and Hockney Inspiration

Year 8 have been exploring the world of landscapes, taking inspiration from the bold colours and striking compositions of British artist David Hockney. They’ve been developing their understanding of one-point perspective to help bring depth and realism to their work. Next up, students will apply what they've learned to create their own painted landscapes – watch this space for some stunning scenes!

Year 9 – Exploring Photography

Year 9 students have been experimenting with photography, focusing on portraiture. They’ve taken a creative leap into distorting portraits, drawing over them, and incorporating textile design to build expressive fabric collages. This unique mix of media has resulted in some truly imaginative and thought-provoking artwork.

GCSE Year 10 – Building Portfolios

Our Year 10 GCSE Fine Art and Photography students continue to impress us with their dedication and creativity as they develop their coursework.

BTEC Year 10- Our Year 10 Btec students have just finished their component 1 which is worth 60% of their overall grade. Well done on your efforts and hard work. We hope you look forward to exploring and developing your art skills in art this term.

A special shout out to Year 11 -

A massive well done to our Year 11 BTEC Art students, who have worked incredibly hard on their final art exam which went over two and a half days! Your focus, creativity and perseverance have not gone unnoticed – we’re all very proud of you!

We wish all the Year 11 Art classes the best during their upcoming exams.

A reminder that Art Club is on every Week B Thursday in T22! We are after helpers to make props for this year’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Please do come along if you would like to help and take part.

A special shout out to Izzy in year 10. We enjoyed celebrating with you at Furzey Gardens for the private viewing of the Jurassic trail.

The trail will be available at Furzey Gardens from 24th May to 31st August. Please do go and take a look at the wonderful dinosaurs designs painted by local artists and look out for Izzy’s fantastic raptor head!

Please see the website below for more details.

Jurassic Furzey - Furzey Gardens

As always, thank you to all our young artists for bringing so much energy and imagination into the department. We look forward to seeing your continued artistic journeys unfold!

The Art Department 🎨

DT

Years 7 and 8 have been working exceptionally hard this year on a new project in Design and Technology, where pupils have been using Affinity Designer to create computerised 3D versions of 2D characters they designed on paper. Pupils have risen to the challenge and there have been many outstanding pieces of work generated across both year groups. It is always lovely when groups of pupils get together to create characters on a theme, with Sponge Bob, Minions and Tellytubbies; these were some of the firm favourites so far in these year groups!

In Year 9, we have had some brilliant outcomes in our Recycled Bottle Top project, with some pupils opting to add vinyl illustrations or graphics to the top of their coasters. The end products are always a revelation as we cannot accurately predict how the colours will blend, and it has been wonderful seeing the pupils encourage and praise each other when the big reveal happens!

Any plastic bottle tops that can be donated to help with this project are gladly received. Please send them to Miss McNab in T15 where they are sorted into colour coded boxes ready for our pupils to choose from.

MEDIA STUDIES

Year 10 have had a busy half term. We've been looking at music videos and representations, focusing on Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Duran Duran. It's been interesting to discuss the transformation and progression over the decades. The students have really got stuck into the work. Year 10 have also been introduced to the coursework element of the GCSE. We've been experimenting with Affinity Photo and learning the basic steps. The next step is to start creating. Well done Year 10!

COMPUTER SCIENCE

The Year 10 Computer Science class, and some Year 7s from Waterside Code Club, were given the option on whether they wanted to enter the Bebras Written code competition. This is where the students code in python to complete tasks that need to be solved using a text-based programming language. The Coding Challenge is an event for UK students aged 10-19 who took part in this year's UK Bebras Challenge. It replaces the OUCC as the next step for UK Bebras participants. Just over 9000 students entered world-wide.

Well done to the five students who achieved Distinctions to Merits. This was great as they have just started to learn text-based coding and it was a new challenge where we were unclear on what was going to be asked.

Finn M Distinction/Best in school

Chloe A Distinction

Rose F Merit

Will S Merit

Isaac W Merit

Computer Science students will continue to be entered for the Bebras Challenge in November 2025 to solve logic problems using computational thinking.

MFL

For Careers Day, Years 7-10 did an escape room activity which was enjoyed by pupils and staff alike. A big thank you to Mrs Goodacre for devising such an engaging activity.

Since the last newsletter, our Year 11 linguists have completed their mock and real speaking exams. The invigilator praised our pupils’ organisation, timekeeping and attitude. Well done to them all!

Our Year 11 Germanists have finished their GCSE exam! Pupils studying French and Spanish will still have exams after half-term. We would like to wish our Year 11 linguists the very best of luck with their remaining exams and their results.

FOOD

Budding Chefs Impress with Culinary Creations in Food

The aroma of delicious dishes has been wafting through the halls lately, and it's all thanks to the incredible talent and hard work of our food studies students. We've seen students master new techniques, experiment with exciting flavours and showcase their creativity in truly impressive ways.

A huge congratulations to all our food students for their fantastic achievements. We can't wait to see what culinary delights they'll conjure up next. Keep up the amazing work.

PE

A huge congratulations to all the pupils who represented Noadswood so outstandingly at the New Forest District Athletics Event. for the 13th time in the last 15 years, we came home with the Overall winners trophy alongside 7 other trophies for:

Year 7 Girls Relay

Year 7 Boys Relay

Year 7 Girls Overall

Year 7 Overall

Year 8+9 Girls Relay

Year 8+9 Girls Overall

Year 8+9 Overall

EVERYONE who attended contributed to this fantastic result and 34 of the 83 Noadswood competitors have been selected to represent the New Forest District at the Hampshire County Athletics event.

What a way to bounce into Half Term Holidays!

PERFORMING ARTS

As the half-term draws to a close, we come ever closer to our school production of Beauty and the Beast. Our pupils have been working tirelessly to think about their characters, learn their lines, sing the songs and dance the dances, both in and out of school. With group and individual rehearsals, our students are working incredibly hard. After this half-term, we’re straight into full-show rehearsals to prepare for the final thing, happening in less than a month! With a split cast and over 50 performers, there’s nearly a whole week of shows in the evening. Tickets are available via Arbor for adults and under 18s for all four evenings.

This half-term has also seen our Year 11 pupils complete their Music and Dance BTec courses, with all their coursework handed in and sent off before exam season kicked off. We know how hard they’ve worked and the effort that has gone into getting everything finalised as best they can. Some of the load is now lifted, ready to continue with their GCSEs.

We will also be kicking off with our Arts Week visits halfway through the next half-term with a few of our local primary schools coming for a day of music, dance and DT/art to celebrate everything under the umbrella of the arts. Whether they’re performing some African drumming or ‘going to the party’, it’s always a highlight of the summer term enjoyed by everyone.

We hope you have a good break and hope to see you at the show!

- Mr Watkins, Miss Costa and Mrs Smith

RWANDA TRIP

Muraho!

As the excitement builds for our upcoming school trip to Rwanda, there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes - getting our jabs, gathering the essentials, and, most importantly, the Rwanda fayre! The fayre was a highlight for all of us with students baking delicious cakes, running vibrant stalls and even practicing and performing a traditional Rwandan dance. From crafts and foods to music and dancing, the fayre was a huge success, helping us connect with the spirit of Rwanda before even stepping foot on the plane!

Our itinerary is packed with exciting experiences that will give us a deeper understanding of Rwanda’s rich culture, wildlife, and history. Over the course of ten days, our group will explore Kigali and its surrounding areas, visit a local school, and take part in workshops and community activities, including Umuganda - a nationwide monthly community service initiative. We're especially looking forward to the two-day safari in Akagera National Park, where we’ll get up close with Rwanda’s stunning wildlife. This trip promises to be an unforgettable adventure full of learning, cultural immersion, and new experiences!

Written by Amelie Davidson and Simeon Case Year 10

MILITARY GROUP

Our Year 7 military students enjoyed a trip to Winchester University for Creative Forces Day during the Month of the Military Child. They had great fun taking part in a Creative Writing subject taster, Student Voice games and a session created solely for military students by Seekers Create. Students had the opportunity to speak about their own experiences of being a military student and heard from military students who are currently studying at university. The tutors were impressed by the interest and involvement of our students, and we hope to attend next year with our new Year 7s.

BEREAVEMENT FRIENDSHIPS

🧡 Bereavement Friendship Group (BFG) 🧡

At the end of April, our BFG came together for a reflective and heartfelt session. Students who have experienced loss had the opportunity to create crochet and fabric hearts – small, meaningful tokens to honour their loved ones and remind themselves that they are not alone.

It was a powerful moment of connection, compassion, and shared understanding among peers.

If you or someone you know would like to be part of the Bereavement Friendship Group, please speak to Mrs Blanco or your Year Leader. Everyone is welcome and the support is always here. 💛