Head Teacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we bid farewell to another productive term and prepare to embark on the Easter break, I am delighted to share with you a summary of our recent achievements and important updates in the Spring Bulletin.

Throughout this Spring half term, our students have continued to embody our core values of Commitment, Opportunity, Respect, and Excellence. Their dedication to their studies, participation in extra-curricular activities and support for one another have truly made this term a success.

In our latest Spring bulletin, you will find details of all the fantastic work that has taken place in each subject area. From inspiring projects to innovative lessons, our students and teachers have been engaged in a wide range of enriching activities that reflect the depth and breadth of learning at our school. I encourage you to visit our school website to read the bulletin and celebrate the achievements of our school community.

Key events have also marked this term, including Year 11 students completing our Sixth Form interview process, World Book Day celebrations and the highly anticipated Dance Recital. These events not only showcase the talent and dedication of our students but also provide valuable opportunities for personal growth and enrichment.

I would like to extend a special congratulation to the students in Manor College who are on track to potentially replace Binswood College as our current leading college. Your hard work and determination are truly commendable, and I am proud of the progress you have made this term.

As always, we strive to make our communications relevant to each year group. Please take the time to read your child's end-of-term year group bulletin, where you will find tailored information and updates specific to their academic journey and progress.

Before we break for Easter, I want to wish all our students who depart today on our annual Ski Trip a safe and enjoyable experience. Make the most of this opportunity to create lasting memories and develop new skills.

As we look ahead to the Easter break, I urge students in examination year groups to prioritise revision in preparation for the upcoming exam season, which starts swiftly upon our return. Remember, your hard work and dedication now will pave the way for success in your exams.

Finally, I would like to wish all our students and their families a wonderful Easter break, may this time rejuvenate and inspire you for the term ahead.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child's education journey. Together, we can continue to nurture a learning environment where every student feels supported, valued, and empowered to reach their fullest potential.

Yours sincerely

Mike Lowdell
Head Teacher

Well done to Manor who achieved the most Reward Points this term.

Students have enjoyed the second College fortnight of the year this term. Activities included Inter-College sport competitions  and a College quiz.
In the Inter- College sport competitions, teams from each year group represented their College in basketball and football. Taking the points from each match the overall winners were Manor and Park who tied for first place.

1 = Manor and Park
3 Blackdown
4 Binswood
5 Croft

Well done to all the students who took part

Teams also represented the Colleges in the termly Inter-College quiz.  The general knowledge quiz consisted of five rounds -  flags, products, films, landmarks and food.  After a fiercely fought competition the winners overall were from Binswood. The students celebrated with a box of chocolates. 
Well played, Binswood!

Our Student Leaders have also been busy this term.

The Charity  Leaders organised a cake sale and a Soak the Teacher in support of Comic Relief last Friday. 

Students were invited to bring in Red Nose Day themed cakes which were sold at break time.  There was also an opportunity to Soak the Teacher which was a very popular event. Fifteen teachers bravely volunteered with a large student crowd supporting the event.

We are delighted to have raised £235 for this very worthwhile cause with the school community coming together.

Our Year 13 Equality and Diversity Leaders met with students from Years 7,8 and 9 who have joined the school mid-year since September to support them as part of their settling in process. Our newest students were highly complimentary about the support they have received since joining the NLS community, which is credit to all of the staff and students who have helped them feel welcome since they joined the school.

Year 10 students  have enjoyed learning about Globalisation this term, Topic 2.1.  Students have been researching multinational businesses and the impact of unethical and environment practices. During the past two weeks students started their International Schools Project and have been researching to gain an understanding of how our partner school in Mumbai is impacted by climate change and looking at unethical practices of Multinational companies. 
It is imperative that all students complete revision and practice questions from the workbook to check understanding.  We recommend all students have a copy of the Business Revision Guide and Workbook. 

Year 11 students have studied Topic 2.4, Making Financial Decisions this term. interleaving and revision has taken place to prepare students for the Paper 1 assessment.  All students have been emailed a copy of a revision timetable, which they can edit to their chosen options.  It is imperative that all students continue to update their revision resources for all topics covered in lessons.  Students need to ensure they are completing practice questions to identify areas of development.  A reminder intervention is in place every Tuesday 3.15pm – 4pm.

Year 12 students have made a great start to the year and have
enjoyed learning and participating in mock interviews for the Human Resource unit. Students have also been learning about the motivation theorists; Maslow, Taylor, Herzberg and Mayo. We have seen some lovely interactive teamwork activities and thought-provoking discussions.

Students have also learnt about Resource Management, enhancing their understanding of Production, Quality and Capacity utilisation.

All students are encouraged to read and research entrepreneur autobiographies as part of the literacy focus.

Year 13 students have successfully completed theme 1, 2, 3 and 4 and started to  focus on their pre-release topic for Paper 3 topic, the clothing industry. Paper 3 research involves an in-depth analysis of current trends, markets, resource management, economic environment, competitive environment and global economy. Students have found the leadership and entrepreneurs in the clothing market a particularly interesting topic researching Bernard Lewis, Christopher Bailey and young entrants to the market such as Grace Wales Bonner.

Lead examiner workshop

Year 13 students are looking forward to a workshop in April, with a lead Examiner from Edexcel, Paul Clarke, which will focus on exam technique. Students will spend the day examining how to build a contextualised response, developing effective lines of analysis, using business theories and models to hone and sharpen analysis, writing strong conclusions and strategies to help develop evaluation. The workshop will challenge their quantitative skills and the use of calculations to support analysis and evaluation.

Year 9 Taster Lesson to support Option Choices

The Business department presented eight taster sessions for Year 9 to support them in making their option choices.  Staff discussed the specification and the topics that students will learn over the GCSE course. Theme 1 concentrates on the key business concepts and skills involved in running a small business e.g. finance, liability, laws, tax, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and government impact. Theme 2 examines how a business develops beyond the start-up phase. e.g. Marketing, Procurement/Logistics, Finance for growth and Human resources. It also considers the impact of the wider world e.g. Globalisation, Ethical Issues and Global Economy.

We also looked at future opportunities for students after completing a Business GCSE.  Students completed application and financial based tasks to give them a true understanding of a typical Business lesson.  We hope the student found the taster lesson useful.  

Year 7 – Computer Networks
This half term students have been investigating the different types of computer networks (WAN/LAN) including their topologies and explaining where they are used. Students have also learnt about how the internet works (including packet switching) and identifying security risks (viruses/malware/etc.) of using computers, including prevention measures.

Year 8 – Python Programming
Students have learnt the basics of a high level programming language (Python) and have understood how to create print statements, identify and use data types and perform calculations. Students have developed their understanding and application of the theory behind variables and sequencing.  

Year 9 – Searching and Sorting Algorithms
This half term students have learnt about the standard searching algorithms (Binary and Linear) and standard sorting algorithms (Bubble and Insertion).  Students have been able to understand the main steps of each algorithm and apply the algorithm to a given data set.

All of our GCSE students have continued to develop their programming skills using a high level language (Python). In addition to this …

Year 10 – GCSE Computer Science
Students have studied Unit 2 topics including Computational Thinking, Searching & Sorting Algorithms and how to develop Robust Programs.

Year 11 – GCSE Computer Science
Students are continuing to develop their ability in answering exam style programming questions whilst revisiting topics taught in Year 9 and 10 and being tested on more in depth exam style questions. Students are ready to move onto exam techniques after reviewing the specification twice over Years 9, 10 and 11.

Year 12 – A Level Computer Science
Students have been developing their understanding of web technologies (HTML, CSS & JavaScript) plus networking theory.

Year 13 – A Level Computer Science
Students are developing the exam technique whilst reviewing and revising key areas of their own learning program.

Extra Support – GCSE and A Level
For all our GCSE & A Level students there is a continued promotion of using the Smart Revise platform to develop and enhance student’s ability to recall information and facts plus improve their use of literacy and keywords around the subject. Your support by encouraging your child to engage with this at home on a regular basis is much appreciated. Each student has their own personal login and can access the platform on any device through a web browser.  At GCSE we also run an after school support club once a week on Wednesdays with Mr Challice.

Computing Club
The club now has a regular steady group of students from Years 7 to 10. Students get involved in a range of activities from Coding to Lego to Games.

CISCO Certificates & iDEA Award
We continue to offer CISCO certification and our latest certificate (Introduction to Packet Tracer) has now ended.  Look out for the next course next term. 

We also encourage all KS3 students to at least complete the Bronze award for iDEA.  This is something students can access at home as well as in class; students have their own individual logins for these.  This term we have seen Ellie, Louie, Aran, James and Janice achieve their Bronze certificate whilst Izzy and Sofiia have progressed and completed their Silver certificate … well done!

These courses are an invaluable addition to CV’s, references, College and University applications plus apprenticeships.

Computing Literacy
The Computer Science department now has a selection of fiction, non-fiction and coding books plus a range of revision guides available to loan from either the department itself or the school library to supplement homework and NLS literacy focus as a whole.  We also have a large selection of computing magazines.  We will be adding to this over the next year so, if you have any recommendations that you would like to see included, please email Mr Sycamore to add to the reading list.

KS3 Drama - Year 7 & Year 8 students have focused on developing their collaboration skills and how to work well in a group.

Year 7 have explored House of Secrets (Northwood Hall). After listening to a radio play and introduced to two characters who are journalists, students have developed role-plays linked to the story. Why does Mrs le-Strange want to sell Northwood Hall? What are the rumours and stories linked to the house? What happened in Northwood Hall the night that Mrs Le-Strange’s  uncle died?  By creating performances in small groups using a range of Drama strategies they have created interesting and believable characters which builds confidence.  The final performance allowed students to devise an ending to the story exploring the genre of mystery, crime and/or horror and considering how they could interpret the characters through the performer skills.

Year 8 explored extracts from a play from A Monster Calls as a monologue, duologue or group and explored line learning and interpreting the script using physical theatre, chorus and props.

Year 9 students had the opportunity to explore extracts from a play, DNA by Dennis Kelly, including line learning and interpreting a monologue or duologue and a group extract of the script using physical theatre, chorus and props. The play is about a group of teenagers who do something bad, then panic, and try to cover the whole thing up. 

Year 7, 8 and 9 have also explored live Theatre watching performances of Peter Pan, Treasure Island & One Man Two Guvnors.

Alongside the story and themes they have considered the production elements in the play including Costume Design, Set Design, Lighting and Sound Design.

Year 10 GCSE Drama students performed their devised performance (40% of their final GCSE grade) in February. Working in groups as a designer or performer they created a performance based on a stimulus of their own choosing.

Their pieces included:
Operation Mincemeat – based on a gripping WW2 espionage story that was a turning point in the war, this piece explored the elaborate plan in 1943 to mislead Germany about UK invasion plans.

Nicole’s Story - portrayed the story of Nicole, a young girl whose life was turned upside down by County Lines, guiding the audience through the emotions of Nicole, her friends and family who were all affected, hoping to raise awareness of this very current topic.

Be a Lady – the intention was to demonstrate how women are constantly pressured by societal standards and social media ideals to present themselves in a certain way with the performance exploring real life experiences of women and stories that highlight the theme of social pressures including body image and the impact on their lives.

The Girls that Changed the World followed four different inspirational womens stories in history and included themes of power, leadership and strength to try to encourage girls to accomplish their goals, ignoring the comments of society. The stories included in the piece often go untold and the aim was to highlight their victories that are hidden with our history.

Like a Girl - explored stories that reflect the role of women at the heart of conflict around the world with the performance recognising the achievements of women from deprived and war-torn countries and how they risked everything to stand up for what they believe is right.

Year 11 GCSE Drama Students performed a preview of their Component 2 Performance exam to an audience in February.  Students chose a Performer or Designer pathway either performing a monologue or duologue and Designers their pathway (Costume, Set, Lighting or Sound).

Year 10 & Year 12 Theatre Visit to see Life of Pi

Students enjoyed a theatre visit to see the National Theatre’s performance of ‘Life of Pi’ at The Curve Theatre on 12 March.
This trip will help prepare students for their GCSE/A-Level Component 3 Theatre Makers in Practice examination worth 40% of their GCSE and A-Level.

Year 12 A Level Drama & Theatre
Year 12 Drama students have explored different practitioners to create a performance for their Component 1 Devising based on a theme linked to the play, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. This component focuses on collaboration skills and how to work well in a group.  Students were introduced to approaches to devising through the exploration of their chosen practitioner (Splendid Theatre) as well as continuing to explore a range of Drama strategies.

 Students performed their piece “Society” on 13 March to an audience.

Year 13 A Level Drama & Theatre
Year 13 enjoyed a theatre visit in January to see a performance of Metamorphosis by Frantic Assembly at the Belgrade Theatre which will support their exam preparation as students are required to write about performances they have seen in a Live Theatre Evaluation for their written examination.

On March 20 students performed their own interpretation of Berkoff’s Metamorphosis for their Component 2 Performance examination. 

RSC Associate School News

The Drama Department organised a KS3 theatre visit to see a preview of the RSC’s First Encounters Performance at Sydenham Primary School in January. 

This edited version of the original language created a perfect introduction to Shakespeare.  

KS3 Update
Year 7 students have been studying ‘A Monster Calls’ (a superb book by Patrick Ness) for the past term. In Spring 1, they used the novel to begin to write analytically about Conor’s emotions and how we as a reader interpret these and, in Spring 2, they continued to read the novel and then worked on their own creative and descriptive writing.  Students have completed their main assessment on this and viewed a screening of the film version today. Beginning in Summer 1, students will be looking at the theme of Culture and Identity through the lenses of literature and non-fiction.

During the Spring term, Year 8 studied their first Shakespeare play with ‘The Tempest’. This created a beautiful segue (well done, Mrs Wilson) into Spring 2s study of Dystopian fiction, which has involved students recreating their own Dystopian worlds. 

Year 9 have been exploring the world of Shakespeare over the last term, gaining insight into the tragedies of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet before they study these in more depth when they approach GCSE.

Students were tasked with writing analytically on this text, exploring how Shakespeare uses language to portray such ideas as power, violence and conflict. Students continued their study of this most famous of plays, by turning their hands to writing creatively about it and completing a Media Studies unit based around the creation of a hybrid-genre DVD cover.  

Students in 9Y3 have been using their creativity and comprehension of the texts to collaborate and create dramatic freeze-frames of the key moments within the play and have been sharing these with audiences from their group.

Some of our Year 9s had the opportunity to engage in drama-focused workshops led by Miss Fitzgerald after her exciting encounters with the RSC recently. The students were immersed into the Italian setting of the tragedy, exploring the atmosphere and characters of the opening scenes in order to build a contextual and comprehensive understanding of the play. It was really lovely to see how well students engaged with these sessions, developing their spoken literacy skills through drama.

In the last Parent Bulletin, we shared with you the exciting news that Esme and Jasnoor were awaiting feedback on whether their amazing poems would be published in the newest Young Writers anthology aptly named ‘This is Me.’ We are really happy to announce that both of these passionate writers were successful in the competition, and have now received their copy of their published work! We are really proud of both of these students and their creativity, perseverance and patience – well done girls!

KS4 Update
Year 10 have studied English Language paper 1. The paper is divided in to two sections with section A requiring students to analyse writers’ use of language and structure as well as using evaluative skills to explore how a writer conveys an idea to the reader. Section B is the writing component of paper 1 and requires students to write a description or narrative based on a picture as a stimulus. Students then began working towards their Shakespeare text for GCSE English Literature. For most students this is Macbeth, with a few groups studying Romeo and Juliet.

They will continue their exploration of this over next half-term. Before reading, students had the opportunity to explore the plot, characters, contextual information and themes in order to consolidate and prepare their knowledge as a basis for the rest of the play. Here are some lovely examples of consolidation posters from Sophia and Eliza.

Year 11 this term worked on their GCSE English Language paper 2 and sat a mock exam in the first week of term.  They then began having bespoke in-class intervention based on the mocks they have taken this year in both language and literature.  English revision for Year 11 students takes place every Tuesday in H015 and H016. Students should be attending as many sessions of these as they can in order to prepare fully for their final GCSE English exams in the summer. The timetable for forthcoming sessions is below but for any further information, please contact cwilliams@northleamington.co.uk or swright@northleamington.co.uk   

KS5 Update
All students have continued their respective courses wonderfully well and are already adapting to the demands and rigour of Level 3 study. 

Our Year 13s this term year have undertaken more mock exams and have a real taste of what their final exams will be like in the summer. There were some fantastic responses and many lessons learned for where the EBIs are for the summer. Students handed in their completed NEAs this week and these will be marked, moderated and sent off to the exam board over the next couple of weeks.

If any parents or students wish to know more about our A Level options or require any further information, please email jbarrett@northleamington.co.uk.

Rewards in English  - our top students in each year are as follows:

Student’s Work in English

Some of our students have produced some excellent work this term.

The Fisherman's Day

"Down to the shore,"
The fishermen roared,
Ready to fish another day more.

Down to the bay,
‘Twas night, now is day,
Planks on the path now start to decay.

Down to the dock,
Fishermen you can spot,
The blinding sun, they use as their clock.

Out from the harbour,
The wind hits harder,
Pushing the boats with fishermen out farther.

Out in the sea,
Fishermen melancholy,
Throwing hooks, trying to catch their tea.

Under the boat,
The fish see bait float,
They nab and bite and are caught by their throat.

Up on the deck,
Pulled up by their neck,
Are the fish and their lives that are sold for a cheque.

Sailing back home,
The waters they roam,
Trav'ling through locks of sea as a comb.

Beyond the pier,
The fishermen push near,
Their shanties and songs and cheers you can hear.

Back on their land,
Their boots hit the sand,
Dragging nets, fish full, held tight in their hand.

The fishermen, not seen,
Fishermen, set off in a dream,
Prepared again for the same routine.

Dylan S, Year 11

Our Year 11s have now completed their coursework many having taken the opportunity of intervention to further improve and they can be really proud of the hard work and creativity they have put into Component 3.

Our Year 13s have also completed their coursework and produced work that is exceptionally creative and imaginative and also demonstrates a high level of technical expertise. It was really pleasing to see students work collaboratively to support each other and be inspired to apply for creative Media courses in higher education institutions. I am also delighted that Year 13 are three weeks into their programme of revision and, if they match this with an equal amount of revision at home, will be very well-placed to take on the challenge of the final two exams.

A reminder to Year 11s there are a variety of materials available to them on TEAMs for their revision over the Easter holidays.
Our Year 10s and 12s will have the latest version of Photoshop and Indesign when they start their coursework production and with an individual licence for the Adobe Creative Suite this will allow us to set creative coursework tasks.

During the second term of this year Year 7, 8 and 9 classes have been exploring various locations around the world.

Year 7 have been learning about coral reefs of the world and we are hugely impressed with some of the Nemo storyboard assessments they produced – a selection of which are below.

Year 8 have been learning about hazardous areas of the world linked to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes and produced some amazing tectonic tour of the world projects.

Year 9 have been exploring tropical rainforests and deserts of the world. They have also been guided through both what GCSE Geography entails as well as learning about BTEC Travel and Tourism as a possible KS4 option.

Year 10 have been extending their knowledge of tectonically hazardous areas of the world and weather hazards, both in the UK and globally.

Year 11 Geographers are on the final topics of their GCSE course and have been producing some excellent answers to their weekly revision questions.

Year 12 went on a field trip last week to Sheffield where they investigated the regeneration of a grade 2 listed housing estate called Park Hill. We were lucky  to have a guided tour around both a regenerated apartment as well as exploring the derelict parts. Year 12 will use this as a key case study for a topic called Changing Spaces Making Places; a great day had by all.

Our Year 12 Geographers also enjoyed a visit from a member of the Leamington Society recently. He gave an excellent talk about the role of the Leamington Society, which will really help students understand the role of community groups. We are very grateful to Paul from the Leamington Society for sharing so well with us.

Year 13 should be very proud of themselves as they have produced some outstanding coursework projects. This term they have also been completing a huge range of revision answers in preparation for their final exams. 

Year 10 have been completing their first piece of coursework with a range of tasks from researching ancillary services such as car hire and travel insurance. They have also investigated how travel agents use technology and they have enjoyed a task which involved  planning a holiday for a South Korea football team travelling to Birmingham!

Year 11 have been working through component three of the course which is the exam based unit – Good Luck for this exam in May.

Year 13 students have reached the end of the teaching of the Health and Social Care content for their examination component and are busy reviewing their knowledge in lessons, working brilliantly as a team to recall key information and apply this knowledge to a range of practise questions. A particular highlight has been seeing the students wear their ‘headbanz’ for yes/no recall activities for key terms!

The students have one further ‘learning aim’ to write up in their coursework component and are checking through existing work, ensuring references are used correctly and checking for any typing errors – excellent skills practise for the future!

Year 11 students are now into their final component of their Health and Social Care course. This exam is worth 40% of the course and takes place on Tuesday 7 May.  Students have been learning about the factors that impact their physical, intellectual, emotional and social development across the different life stages.  They have also been looking at health indicators such as BMI, pulse rate and blood pressure and the physical impact on these not being in the healthy guidelines. 
Finally students are working through how to set person-centred health improvement plans based on different case studies we have looked at in the lessons.  Students have completed 60% of the course through a series of written tasks.  The results for Component 2, worth 30%, were released on  Thursday 21 March and hope it gives them the confidence boost to ensure they push themselves for the final component in their exam.  Students have been issued with revision booklets to support with the knowledge and structuring of revision in a series of templates.  These are also available on G4S.

Year 10 are off to a good start with their first round of coursework that looks at how humans develop across the lifespan. This first component is worth 30% of their overall grade. A reminder that all students are invited to coursework catch-up/intervention every Wednesday after school for the remainder of this coursework window, which ends in April. It is especially important that students attend these session if they miss any lessons due to illness. I am pleased to say that lots of students have attended these sessions already; keep up the good work everyone.

Once their coursework has finished in April, students will then begin learning about health and social care services and values in preparation for their second round of coursework (again worth 30%) at the start of next year! Here students will start to look at how specific services can support individuals' needs and the traits and qualities that make a good service provider in the health and social care sector.

Year 9 Taster Lessons 

We have been delighted to welcome Year 9 students to our Health & Social Care Taster lessons in support of them making their Option choices. We were able to give an overview of how the course relates to them, what Health & Social Care is all about, followed by some interactive tasks.

For the taster lesson we focused on one unit of the course – Human Lifespan Development - which looks at different life stages and what influences development at each stage, along with what Health Wellbeing is and the PIES tool used by practioners to help categorise and understand what development happens through the life stage.

The students enjoyed interactive sessions where they were tasked with:

• Identifying which life stages certain changes occur in and the type of change
• Identify which motor skills are being developed
• Justifying how the infant is using the identified motor skill- e.g. gripping the handle

Students then moved onto a task where, working collaboratively, they imagined they were working as part of a toy manufacturing company with a brief to design and create a new toy to be marketed to infants between the ages of 0-2 years. 

Brief 1 was to support the physical developmental needs of Infants - focusing on their fine and gross motor skill development.
Brief 2 was to design and create a toy that supports the physical developmental needs of Infants, which also considers their other PIES developmental needs (Intellectually, Emotionally & Socially.)

We really enjoyed seeing Year 9s working together and they created some fantastic new toys including a sensory matt and a sensory book. 

Year 7 have been looking at the problems faced by medieval Kings, including the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury cathedral over the issue of spiritual versus temporal power, a theme continued through to Year 8 with Henry VIII and the Reformation. We have  also looked at the importance of religion to the medieval mind, the Black Death and its de-stabilising effect on medieval society, leading to the Peasants Revolt. We will go onto to look at the Crusades and the Renaissance.

Year 8 have focused on the ill-fated Stuarts and their role in the English Civil War, ending with the execution of Charles I. Then Oliver Cromwell and the Interregnum, which ended with the return of Charles II.  Our focus for the Restoration is the declining power of the monarchy, the witch-craze, a source analysis on the position of women in the period 1500-1700 and the scientific revolution. This sets the scene for the reforms of the industrial period from 1750, our focus for the rest of the year from Easter.

Since January, Year 9 have been working on an assessed piece of work on the causes of World War II and the role played by the British government’s appeasement policy. We then cherry pick the most interesting aspects of World War II, including the evacuation of children from major cities and urban developments, whether the evacuation from Dunkirk was a triumph or a disaster and the Blitz. Please look out for a research homework project asking students to research their family’s involvement in World War II. We also examine the Holocaust and the arguments for and against the bombing of Dresden and the first and only use of atomic weapons to end the war in the pacific. During the summer term we will begin a unit looking at the British Empire and immigration into Britain.

Year 10 continue to work through paper 2 of their GCSE this year. We are currently finishing off Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88 and begin International Relations and the Cold War, which completes the second half of paper 2.

Year 11 focus is to complete Paper 3. We have been looking at life in Nazi Germany, which will complete the examined content. Year 11 have been given a revision schedule to organise their revision focus, at home, on Paper 2, which we last covered in Year 10. A reminder we also have revision schedules after school on Mondays, 3.20-4.00. A timetable and focus for each session is advertised on the door of each classroom. Please contact your child’s History teacher if you have any concerns or need any support with revision.

Year 12 Historians are working through paper 1– Britain, 1918-97 and the USA, 1955-92 – which is their focus for the year.

Year 13 historians are progressing well with Paper 3 – the British Experience of warfare – and working on the final stages of their coursework, ready to hand in the final draft.

Year 12 Politics students have been working through paper 1 and 2 – British Politics and British Government – which is their focus for the year.

We were fortunate to be able to take the year 12 students on a very successful visit to parliament this January.
Students enjoyed a tour of the Houses of Parliament and were granted a Q&A session at Millbank House with Baroness Hayter and Matt Western MP.
A range of questions were asked by each of the students with thoughtful and insightful comments from our hosts. 
It was a fantastic experience for our students and we are grateful to Baroness Hayter and Matt Weston for theri time in supporting our students.  

It is important that students keep abreast of contemporary political events by reading broadsheet newspapers, following politics programmes on TV and radio and listening to the podcasts that have been suggested to them in class.

The same applies to Year 13 to enable them to comment on contemporary events in their June exams. They will also need to follow global political events which is the focus for their paper 3 which looks at Global Politics.

Year 7
Students have fully settled into their new maths groups and have made good progress throughout this term.  There is a great atmosphere in the classroom and as we begin with more advanced topics such as graphs and equations; we continue to be impressed with the great work ethic the year 7’s are showing. 
Well done!

Year 8
Students continue to work well and they have now spent time using calculators.  They must ensure they always bring them to lessons.  We are very pleased with the attitude and efforts of our Year 8s and they should now be thinking of revisionand practice for their end of year exams.

Year 9  
Students continue to make good progress and have been working on Probability, one of the key topics in Year 9. With the end of year exams approaching, revision will be crucial and students must look back over their work and ask relevant questions when needed to close gaps in learning as much as possible.

Year 10
Students have completed two of the biggest modules – Equations and Mensuration.  They are now well into the Key Stage 4 curriculum and we are pleased with their efforts so far.  Students must however, ensure they bring a calculator to every lesson!

Year 11
Our Year 11s have now completed their second set of mock exams in Maths and have shown real potential and resilience so far.  We are so pleased with the positive attitude of the cohort.  As they head towards their final exams they will continue to close any gaps in learning, be exposed to more past papers and should use MathsGenie and put in at least 1 hours worth of revision per week from now on!

Year 12
Students have now completed their first set of mocks and the results are very encouraging.  We are now well into the A level course and all teachers are extremely impressed with the attitude and effort shown by our Year 12 cohort.  Continual revision will be needed and there are now intervention sessions in place to support students.  We are also making great progress with our Further Maths students, with all on track for excellent grades!

Year 13
Having now completed their final set of mocks Year 13s are now in the run up to the final exams.  Plenty of past papers and revision will occupy their time from now on, and they must all ensure they have revised every single aspect of the course as fully as possible.  We are very hopeful that with lots of practice they will do well in their final exams this year.

German
Year 7 students have continued to learn to communicate effectively with others in the present tense. They have asked, and answered questions, about themselves such as providing names, saying where they live, discussing birthdays and ages (numbers / dates). They have a good understanding of phonics in German and can now construct longer sentences. We are really pleased with their recent speaking assessment; they spoke with confidence and achieved high scores.

Year 8 students have discussed where they go on holiday and why, described the weather and activities they do in different weathers. They have talked about what they eat in different countries and are able to complete transactions in restaurants and hotels. They are also able to explain which mode of transport they prefer and why and with whom they travel, using the dative case.

Ten Year 8 students were invited to a “Routes into Languages” day at Warwick University last month.
They explored the traditions of Kölner Karneval and used their German languages skills as well as teamwork and creativity skills to present a decorated truck for the Karneval parade.

We are extremely proud of their work and how well they conducted themselves throughout the day.

Year 9 students have been studying films and social media this term. They are able to discuss films and provide opinions as well as reasons, describe their favourite actor and future intentions about films. They have compared types of film and developed their understanding of the comparative and the superlative.
Students have also discussed activities on social media, compared different types of media and discussed how media has changed over time.
We are really pleased with the progress our students have made and how well they have completed translation tasks from both German into English and English into German. We have also discussed how German is used in the working world and how important it is to have a second language for future careers.

Year 10 students have described and compared different types of houses and their locations. They are able to describe their home and discuss activities they do at home in different tenses using a variety of verbs. We have studied different festivals such as birthdays, Christmas and other religious festivals.

Students are also able to give opinions and reasons for liking and disliking their town.

We have studied transactional vocab such as understanding and giving directions, ordering food in a restaurant and buying clothes. In the lessons leading up to the Easter break, students have learned about German festivals and compared them to festivals in the UK. We are really pleased with the effort and progress our students have made and look forward to seeing them go from strength to strength.

Year 11 students have studied the holiday topic. They are able to explain how they travel and talk about problems on holiday, including health, as well as discuss types of accommodation and activities in different weather. This has also included considering the impact of tourism on holiday destinations and compared mass tourism to eco-tourism.

Year 11  have recently completed a second speaking mock examination and we are so pleased with the progress our students are making. Students are able to conduct a role-play, describe a photo card in detail, developing answers with opinions and reasons. They are able to speak at some length about a number of topics and know which target grade structures they should be including to achieve their target grade. They have also shown the ability to use a number of tenses successfully. We would like to say a huge well-done and wish our students the best of luck for the actual speaking examination in April. 

French
Year 7s have been working on physical and personality descriptions and learnt a lot of new vocabulary, including words such as: hair, eyes, short, curly, kind, funny. Students have also understood the key grammatical differences between French and English when describing themselves and others.

Year 8 are making great progress through the holiday topic. Within this topic, students have learnt many different countries in French and the tricky grammar rules for saying ‘I am going to…’. Students have also covered reasons for going on holiday, weather phrases and transport, which means that all students are now comfortable producing some more extended pieces of writing about their holidays.

Students in Year 9 are studying relationships between family and friends. They are learning and applying more complex adjectives and understand how different adjectives agree with the subject. Most recently, they have learnt how to use abstract nouns such as honesty and loyalty, and apply them to their written and spoken language.

Year 10 students are nearing the end of their Town topic, which forms a key part of Theme 2 of the AQA, GCSE French syllabus. During the topic, students have learnt how to describe their town in great detail, using a range of negatives and the imperfect tense to describe their town in the past. Students have recapped regular and irregular comparisons and superlatives and are confidently applying these to their language. In recent lessons, students have covered the conditional tense in order to say what they would like in their ideal town.

As Year 11 students  near the end of the GCSE curriculum they are finishing by covering the Environment and Social Issues topics. They have recently completed their last speaking mock exams in preparation for their final exams, which will take place after the Easter holidays, and will count for 25% of their overall GCSE French grade. All students did themselves proud in the mocks and are feeling confident for their final exams. 

Year 7: Rhythm in Music & Keyboard Skills

Rhythm in Music
This unit of work focuses on music appreciation, composition and collaboration. Students are provided with listening tasks to develop their understanding of rhythm and to encourage creative thinking. Alongside class Samba performances students have been tasked with creating and performing their own percussive Stomp-style pieces using recycled or repurposed objects.

Keyboard Skills
This unit of work focuses on performing written music. In pairs students continue to develop their practical music-making and keyboard skills. Notated music challenges students to consider note placement alongside practical skills, performance technique and collaboration. Students are encouraged to perform to the class for assessments and build confidence through shared music-making experiences. Resources provided offer students of all musical ability the opportunity to access the curriculum and develop musical understanding.

Year 8: Film Music and Sound Effects & Keyboard Duets

Film Music and Sound Effects
This unit of work focuses on music appreciation, composition and sequencing, exploring the use of musical devices to create music and sound effects for a film clip. Students have been provided with listening tasks, including programme music, to develop their understanding of how music and effects are applied to enhance film. Students were tasked with using music software to compose a detailed soundtrack to enhance the action, drama and emotion in the moving images. They continue to refine their musical sequencing and editing skills alongside elements of composition and theory.

Keyboard Duets
This unit of work focuses on students collaborating in pairs to perform a selection of popular pieces. Students are encouraged to develop their practical, technical and collaborative performance skills, practising and performing more challenging notated music. They are also encouraged to consider the musical genre and apply genre-specific stylistic or musical features to their performance with demonstrating a disciplined approach, review their work, monitor progress and identify areas for development.

Year 9: Musical Styles

Performing/Composing/Sequencing 
Composing & Sequencing
This unit of work focuses on students collaborating in pairs or small groups to compose and produce a variety of pieces, covering a selection of styles (12 Bar Blues, Reggae. Latin). Students have used sequencing software to reproduce style-specific musical features and demonstrate their musical knowledge/understanding. Students are encouraged to analyse a range of genres through listening tasks to develop their understanding of key terms, historical and contextual significance and the musical features associated with each style.

Performing
This unit of work focuses on students collaborating in pairs or small groups to perform a selection of jazz pieces. Students are encouraged to develop their practical, technical and collaborative performance skills, practising and performing challenging notated music. They are also encouraged to consider the musical genre and apply genre-specific stylistic or musical features to their performance with demonstrating a disciplined approach, review their work, monitor progress and identify areas for development.

Year 10: BTEC Music Level 2: Component 1 & 2

Students have completed PSA Component 1 of their BTEC Music course and working towards completion of Component 2. They  have been learning about a range of musical styles, tasked with performing, reproducing and composing pieces to demonstrate their practical/instrumental/music-making skills. Alongside their practical work students have produced written analysis and reviews to demonstrate their historical, contextual and theoretical knowledge.  

Year 11: BTEC Music Level 2: Component 3

Students have completed the PSA Component 3 for their BTEC Music course. This unit has focused on developing and performing cover versions of selected musical repertoire. Students have applied their performance, composing, sequencing and analytical skills to realise their creative ideas and demonstrate their musical knowledge in their final assessed piece of work.

Year 12: BTEC Music Level 3: Unit 39 and 7 

Year 12 are developing their knowledge of the music industry and exploring how the different areas are interrelated. Students have studied job roles, venues, contracts, marketing and business plans with a view to building a comprehensive understanding of how the industry operates and the potential career opportunities. Students also use their time to continually develop their performance skills and broaden their musical repertoire.

Unit 7 is aimed at developing students composing skills and provided the opportunity to create and compose five original ideas in contrasting styles/genres, with a view to developing a selection into full compositions.

Year 13: BTEC Music Level 3: Units 33 and 43

Year 13 have completed Unit 33 by presenting and performing a programme of solo music. They performed their musical choices in a 30 minute recital in March 2024. They continue to collaborate with other musicians along with research for their Specialist Subject Investigation.

Extra-Curricular

Wind Band: Tuesdays 3:30pm – 4:30pm

Rock Club: Wednesdays 3:20pm – 4:20pm

Pop Choir: Wednesdays 3:30pm – 4:30pm

Steel Band: Wednesdays 3:30pm – 4:30pm

String Ensemble: Fridays 3:30pm – 4:30pm

The NLS Wind Band led by Mr Howe have been busy preparing and rehearsing to perform with the Southam Melody Makers. Another great opportunity for our wind players!

There are a variety of extra-curricular music opportunities on offer at NLS. Many of the groups and soloists are preparing and rehearsing for the annual Summer Concert. Students from each year group will be involved and we look forward to celebrating their hard work and talent in our annual summer show.

The Spring term has been an extremely busy one, with Boys and Girls Football, Basketball, Netball, Rugby, Squash and Cross Country fixtures taking place and some fantastic successes.

Year 7 Football team
The Year 7 Football team continued their impressive unbeaten run when taking part in the 12 school 6-a-side competition at Kenilworth School. They dominated the group stage, without conceding a goal, winning against Stratford, Aylesford, Henley, Studley and Shipston by at least 2 goals in each game. Unfortunately they fell at the final hurdle to finish runner up. 

However, in their League Campaign, a 3-0 win at Southam meant they finished unbeaten and secured the League Title.

They are hoping to complete the double and win the Cup competition as they are through to the final on April 10 - congratulations to Mr Butler and the Year 7 team.

The Year 8 have also made it through to the District Cup  Final and they hope to retain the title they won last year, (by beating Alcester Grammar School.) The Year 7s kick off at 4pm, with the Year 8s following at 6pm - Good luck to our teams!

The Year 7 Girls Football Team also competed in a 6 a-side tournament this term and mirrored the boys performance. With some making their debut, the team cruised through the group stage winning against teams from Myton, Kenilworth and Alcester Grammar comfortably. Unfortunately, they finally conceded their first goal in the final and fell to what was a well fought 1-0 defeat to Studley, to finish as runners-up.  

The team were particularly unlucky, as the 11 a-side U13 girls team had cruised to a 7-0 victory against Studley only 2 weeks before and that this was the teams only defeat and the only goal conceded, which is remarkable!

The girls have also continued their impressive form in the District League and Cup with wins against Princethorpe and Kenilworth School. The girls are still unbeaten in the League and through to the semi-finals of the District cup.

The Year 9 Football team finished runners up in the league campaign, and successfully made it to the semi final of the District Cup.  The Boys played extremely well, and with the game finishing 1-1 after full time a late penalty prevented the team  progressing to the final.

The Year 10 Football team recently played the quarter finals of the District Cup and were  drawn against a very strong Alcester Grammar School, the current cup holders.  After a close and well fought match, the game finished 1 – 1 after full time. Sadly, the boys went out to the champions on penalties, but they go into a League Title decider against Myton on the back of a brave and excellent performance.

The Year 7 Basketball team competed in the new District league. They won their first ever game against Southam, with a well deserved 31 – 25 win followed by convincing wins against Campion and Myton, 32 -12  and 27 – 5 respectively.  

With their final game against Aylesford, and both teams holding 100% records the first half saw the score tied at 15-15 before NLS dominated the second half and won the game 37 – 22 to secure the District title.

Well done to all the boys who have represented the school team this year.

The Year 8 Basketball team continued their impressive unbeaten run with strong victories against Campion and Myton, (51-12 and 67 -4) in the District Competition and the Jr NBA National Competition.

The Year 8 Basketball team continued their impressive unbeaten run with strong victories against Campion and Myton and Southam, in the District Competition securing the District Title.  They have also secured impressive wins against Rugby Free School  and Parker E-ACT Academy in the Jr NBA to finish undefeated and top of the league and qualify for the knock out stages of the national competition.

The Year 9 Basketball team continued their District campaign against Campion and Myton. With injuries and illness leaving the team down to 5 players verses Campion, the boys suffered their first defeat but they hope to get back to winning ways when they face Myton on the 14^th.

A mixed Year 7 and 8 Rugby team faced off against Stratford at home. The team was made up of a mixture of experienced players and boys playing in their first Rugby match. North Leamington ran out winners with eight tries to six and debutant Dylan Kerr, coming away with four tries. Well done to all the boys who took part. North Leamington also welcomed Kenilworth School for Year 7 and 8 matches. The more experienced Kenilworth teams were too strong for North Leam, but it was great to see the number of players taking up Rugby growing. Both age groups put on spirited displays.

Year 8 Rugby team 

Squash
North Leamington had three Squash teams completing in the second round of the National School Squash competitions. The Key Stage 4 team travelled to Marlborough College with the Key Stage 3 and 5 teams travelling to Edgbaston to compete. Our students acquitted themselves superbly and, although on this occasion they didn't progress to the final rounds, it was a fantastic effort by all and a great experience playing schools  from across the country including one of the competing teams being a squash speciality school.

NLS had a number of runners take part in the Warwickshire Inter Schools Cross Country event at Princethorpe College in January. With five performing so well they were selected to represent Warwickshire at the ESAA National Cross Country event  which took place on March 16 in Pontefract.

A huge congratulations to Lola G, Daisy G, Jacob S, Archie L (not pictured) and Dylan K for being selected.  

Netball
Its been a very successful first Netball season for the strong Year 7 team. After winning the majority of their league matches they reached the semi-final where they played well but unfortunately lost narrowly in the final quarter. However, the girls bounced back and played well in the District  Tournament the following day. Winning all groups games  they showed a strong performance in the semi-final to reach the final and lost by only one goal. The Year 7A team have been fantastic in their commitment and effort to training and matches and I look forward to the Netball season next year.

The 7B team have showed commitment and enthusiasm for their Netball this term in friendly matches and a Tournament . They have worked hard to improve skills and learn the rules of the game. Again I look forward to having them next year.

Well done to all those who competed.

Year 7 tournament runners up

The Year 8 team have also had a successful year and reached the Plate final.  This was a tough final match for our team with some nerves at the start  before they  pulled it back, with Ellie, Flo and Sadie making fantastic interceptions and Bella and Molly gaining confidence in their shooting. At the end of the final quarter the scores were 15-15 so  four minutes (two each way was added) which again resulted in a draw 16-16. The match then went to a golden goal which Kingsley made. We are so proud of the girls fighting to the end and they should be proud of their commitment, enthusiasm, and improvement, this year.

Year 9 Netball this term has been outstanding. We have seen such a huge shift in play since the girls were in Year 8 with lots of players now representing clubs outside of school such as Leamington and Copsewood. Throughout the season the girls brought home a number of wins against Aylesford, Southam and Campion. It has been a pleasure coaching the girls this season and I look forward to more success in 2024/25.

The Year 10 Netball team have ended the season taking home the U15 District Plate. The team have had a brilliant season beating Aylesford, Campion and Kenilworth. We have seen a number of different players being selected for the team this season due to player absence for Duke of Edinburgh. The team played exceptionally well during the Plate final, beating Aylesford 24-15, were incredibly supportive of each other and highly motivated and respectful to the opposition. Huge well done to all players who have represented NLS throughout the season. 

Well Done to all students who have represented the School sports teams this term.

At NLS, we utilise the schemes of learning and opportunities that The Prince’s Trust offers to enable some of our most vulnerable pupils to achieve. Students in Year 10 have completed a module on Managing Money and another on Sustainability so far. In the summer term, Year 10 students will be building and installing bird boxes in the school grounds.

Our Year 11 students have been working on their units for three years now (with many completing six units) and are on track to achieve the Level 1 Certificate at the end of their Year 11 – recently completing modules in Careers and Well-Being. If any students have any outstanding work that has not been entered into their folder, please ask them to submit it, either to me at the address below or to their teacher for PT.

If you wish to have any more information about The Prince’s Trust, please contact jbarrett@northleamignton.co.uk

Year 7 have been looking at strategies for dealing with bullying in person and online. I have really enjoyed popping into lessons and watching some of their role-plays as they tried to demonstrate when banter becomes bullying and the role that everyone has to play in tackling this.

Year 8 students have been have been looking at emotional health and issues that can impact this. We are covering some potentially challenging topics such as bereavement and body image. If you feel your child might need some extra support with the content from these sessions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Year 9 have been looking at issues relating to family life and conflict at home. We have been looking at different scenarios that could potentially lead to conflict with friends and family and strategies managing and de-escalating situations before they become more serious. Year 9 have engaged really in class discussions and have shared some thoughtful suggestions.

Year 10 have examined some of the pros and cons of living in a society so heavily influenced by social media. They have been suggesting strategies to prevent becoming reliant on mobile phones and other devices. We are now looking at issues relating to drugs and alcohol misuse and warning signs of addiction.

Year 11 have been studying features of healthy relationships and red flags that we might start to see when a relationship becomes unhealthy. Year 11 have shown a great deal of maturity when discussing exploring issues such as harassment and stalking. 
We were very fortunate to have guest speakers in from Stand against Violence in January who delivered a powerful session to Year 11 on the impact of domestic abuse and how and where victims can seek support

Year 12 have been working through our relationships unit and have been looking in particular at importance of communication in intimate relationship and strategies for ending relationships sensitively. It has been lovely to hear the advice they have offered during class discussions on how to manage emotions after a relationship has ended.

As a continuation of our relationships unit Year 13 have been examining issues relating to fertility and some of the potential challenges of becoming a young parent.  It’s been great to see Year 13 engaging so well with this making links to their own lives and the impact this could have.

Our Psychology students have had a fantastic Spring term studying complex new topics on behaviour, planning, delivering Psychology club to younger students and preparing for the exam season around the corner.

What have we been studying?
Year 12 have been studying Research Methods, Psychopathology, Memory and exploring varying ideas on why we behave the way we do in our popular topic of ‘Approaches’. It’s been lovely to see this year group grow in both skill and knowledge as budding future Psychologists and we can see significant potential in many of them. For example, our Psychologists of the month this term were Elisa, Puran, Weller and Ingrid – all for excelling in their contribution to lessons, wider curricular reading, assessment outcomes and mock exam preparation.

We asked Elisa what she has been enjoying about studying Psychology

‘I enjoyed learning about conformity in social influence because it’s relatable to every day situations. I have also enjoyed memory because it’s helped me to understand why certain revision techniques are effective’

Year 13, have been reviewing previous topics in preparation for the exam season around the corner, as well as studying some of our more complex topics. For example, they have studied the various explanations and treatments of Schizophrenia, reasons why people become psychopaths and criminals, and how we develop our cognitive reasoning skills from birth to adulthood. A very important topic studied in Psychology is that of ‘Issues and Debates’ whereby students look at famous debates on human behaviour.

We asked our March Psychologist of the month, Ellen if our behaviour is based on ‘Nature’ or ‘Nurture'?

‘I would say I take a more interactionist approach and believe that a combination of nature and nurture contributes to our behaviour. Although somebody may have the biological features that would pre-dispose them to being a good runner like long legs/long arms, they may only become a good runner if they train and practice often.'

A very insightful explanation of behaviour – what do you think?

What are we reading?
In line with World Book day, we wanted to pass on our current reads and our Summer term reading list. Miss Clifford has been reading ‘Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole – Dr Allan Hopper which covers case studies of those with neurological deficits and how it affects their behaviour.

Miss Sears has recently read ‘Wild by Kristen Hannah’, which follows a child psychiatrist who begins working with an extraordinary six year old little girl who is found speechless and alone in a forest.

Both books link to popular Psychology topics Biopsychology and Cognitive and Development. Our Summer term Psychology reading list includes:

• The Happiness Hypothesis – Jonathon Haidt
• The Man who mistook his wife for a hat – Oliver Sacks
• When the body says no – Dr Gabor Mate

Psychology Club
Grace  and Emily in Year 13 have continued to run Psychology club with our younger year groups. They are thoroughly enjoying covering famous experiments and teaching students key concepts and fundamentals of the subject.

They recently delivered a session all about The Rorschach test, a famous psychological test in which participants perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analysed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning.

The group thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to have an insight into their personality.

Take a look at the famous examples of ink blot pictures below, what can you see?

Interpret your results using this link: https://www.rorschach.org/

What’s coming up?
Year 12 will be continuing with the topic of ‘Psychopathology’ and their knowledge of Research Methods. Psychopathology refers to how we diagnose and treat mental health conditions and we will specifically be focussing on phobias, OCD and depression.  Year 12 will also have a taster of statistical testing and analysis and will continue to study Research Methods.

Stats is definitely the theme for Summer term as Year 13 will be finishing their extended maths knowledge on how to interpret data and studying what statistical test is necessary for what type of data which is very important as many of our students are planning to go on to a science based degree!

They will also be finishing their final topic of ‘Cognition and Development’ with a specific focus on how children develop their social cognition skills as they grow.

The first Monday back after the Easter holidays (8 April) there will be a ‘Psychology Bake off!’ Students are invited to bake Psychology themed cakes which will be judged by the Psychology students and proceeds donated to ‘Mind’ charity.

We are looking forward to another great term – and wish all of our Year 13s the best of luck in preparation for their exams in the Summer Term!

Year 13 have been completing the final topics of their A Level studies. Next half term we will revisit some of the more challenging topics so as always, attendance  is crucial.  Please remind your child that revision sessions are taking place every Tuesday from 3.20pm in H118. We will be setting regular revision tasks and practice essays to support students in their preparation for the final exams so it’s important that your child checks Go4schools regularly.

Year 12 have been looking at the idea of religious experiences and some of the challenges that arise when proving their existence. Students are growing in confidence when discussing their own views which is great to see. Please encourage reading around the topics studied so that they develop their knowledge of the views of key thinkers. A Level revision guides can be purchased for all three components. Contact the RE team if you would like further details on this.

Year 11  were very fortunate to have a guest speaker from the Humanist society  in January who shared with them his reasons for becoming a humanist and some of the problems he has with believing in a God. We were so impressed by the insightful contributions made by our students. Many were able to challenge some of the ideas shared in a respectful way and students asked some great questions. Well done Year 11!

Year 10 students have just finished studying Islam practices which is the final topic of the GCSE course. We will be reviewing previous topics and refining exam skills next half term to support students as they prepare for the final exams. All students have been given their Themes revision booklets to take home over Easter. Please encourage your child to start using these as part of their revision.

It has been lovely to see lots of students attending the after school revision sessions and the breakfast club. These sessions will continue to run until the final exam so if your child needs some extra support, remind them to come along.

If you have any queries about this or how to support your children to revise at home, please contact the RE team.  

Year 9 students have explored issues of life and death during the spring term. It has been really interesting to hear their views on topics such as abortion and euthanasia. They have shown a great deal of maturity and sensitivity during class discussions.
We are now beginning to look at Muslim beliefs as part of Paper 3. Students will be assessed on this next half term. Please remind your child of the importance of revising thoroughly for end of unit assessments. If you need any advice on helping you child to revise at home please contact the RE team.

We introduced our Year 8 students to Humanism this half term. We have focused in particular on how humanists might respond to different ethical issues and their approach to the afterlife. Students have been comparing humanism with other belief systems as well as their own. They have particularly enjoyed examining the views of some famous humanists.

During the spring term Year 7 finished exploring Buddhism and we saw some fantastic Buddhist temples. I particularly enjoyed sampling the Buddhist biscuits and cakes! Thank you for your support at home with this, it’s always so encouraging to see the effort that students put into these creative homework tasks.
We have recently been looking at some philosophical issues so you can look forward to answering some of life’s big questions over the Easter break. 

Ramadan: It has been lovely to hear from some of our students who have been sharing their experiences of fasting during this holy month of Ramadan. We look forward to hearing about your Id-Ul-Fitr celebrations next month.

Investigating pressure in solids in Year 8
Students have been learningt about what pressure is, how to calculate it and determine practically if surface area affected pressure.  Some students  then went onto determine how the amount of force affected pressure by measuring the amount of indentation in the sand.

This practical was fully engaging with the the opportunity for students to apply their concepts of pressure visually and were ultimately able to make accurate conclusions on the link between pressure and surface area. The opening question posed "....why stilettos sink into thick snow whilst wearing sandals do not ? " was revisited.

Water Contamination Experts in Year 9
As part of our Separating Techniques topic, Year 9 students can be seen here testing both tap water, and our pure distilled water, to compare the purity of each sample. For each sample, students looked at; its ability to conduct electricity, what the labels claimed each sample contained, whether chloride and sulfate ons were present in the sample, and what the pH of each sample was. From this, we discussed the different ions present in tap water, compared to pure distilled water, and students were able to conclude that the water that we drink is not in fact pure! This lead to some great discussions about water that is safe to drink and the health benefits that the ions in our tap water have for us!

Making  Crystals in Year 10

The lovely  results from Year 10 students performing their required practical to produce copper sulphate crystals by reacting copper oxide with sulphuric acid can be seen here.

They methodically went through the process of filtration, evaporation and crystallisation, demonstrating excellent practical skills, to produce these stunning blue crystals.

Students were able to articulate their methods, present their results in appropriate formats and evaluate their experiment and in doing so, making improvements.

Getting Technical in Year 12 Chemistry

Our Year 12 Chemists have been honing their practical skills this term. Within our  Amount of Substance topic, we have carried out our Required Practical with some complex titrations and testing for the Halide ions in precipitate reactions, taking great care in observing the colour changes to identify whether the solution contained Chloride, Bromide, or Iodide ions.  

This week Year 13 Sociology students enjoyed an online seminar Keith Trobe who has been a senior examiner for the exam board for the past 35 years and principal examiner for many of those. 

He is a contributing author to the students' A Level Sociology textbook. The students listened to Keith discussing top tips to approaching questions, many of which have been applied to lessons. 

He also shared some great knowledge on questions that have historically scored the lowest and some knowledge of the skills that need to be applied to these questions to secure the top mark band. 

It was fantastic to have another opportunity this year of the ‘insider knowledge’ from Keith and have no doubt in the final few weeks this will support our students in  making the difference. 

The revision schedule to support Year 13s in the last few weeks is in place and we encourage them to attend where possible.  These run every Monday with Ms Holland and Miss Howard (and where there is a Bank Holiday the session will be moved to Thursday).

An additional two study sessions have been provided for students in Sociology on a Wednesday P5 with Ms Holland and Friday P5 with Miss Howard.  This is a great opportunity for students to use an additional two hours each to work through past exam questions across the three papers, recap knowledge and work through any final revision resources. 

Our Sprint Finish Revision Schedule has been shared with students. These sessions have now been running for the past 10 years prior to the final exams and is a great opportunity for students to re-visit all knowledge and skills requirements for each of the papers in one sitting. 

Knowledge will be re-visited in context of the questions that could be asked for each topic.  We look at the hot contenders for questions in the 2024 exam papers and the days act a good refresher for each paper.  Please encourage the students to attend on these days where possible. 

It’s been another fantastic term with all students consolidating their learning and producing strong outcomes.

Year 11 and 13 have now started their external set exam preparation ready for the exams in the Summer Term, with the GCSE on 17 and 18 April & A level on 1 and 3 May.  Support continues for Year 10 & 11 with our intervention available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday where staff can support students in either coursework or exam preparation. These sessions run from 3.15 until 4.15pm.                                                                                                                                   

Year 7 students have studied the mixed media techniques of Jim Dine. They have really enjoyed exploring splatter techniques, stencil making and used a variety of materials to create a final piece.
Here are a few pieces that show how students have utilised their learning to create interesting compositions.

Year 8 students have been recording sea creatures and coral using a variety of materials and background papers. Focus has been on presentation of these recordings ready for summer term when they will design and create a clay outcome from their sketchbook recordings. These lovely pieces in sketchbooks demonstrate their preferences and imagery and drawing materials.

Year 9 are now developing their research skills and learning about the key features of the work of the artist, Loui Jover. His style of work is abstract pattern, balanced with line and colour blocking.

These are some of the first responses created by our students. The focus has been on celebrity and composition and balance of colour. Students have selected their own resources and these are some lovely examples of their work.

Year 10 students have chosen one of six starting points for their sustained investigation for Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) Component 1, completing research, drawings and responses based on the key features of the artist chosen. There are some fantastic sketchbooks being created and students are working independently making choices in imagery and materials to explore.

They are now working on their second Artist and again we expect some fantastic responses from both classes.

Year 11s  NEA 2  has started and students have worked on their chosen starting point generating research, drawings and ideas in their sketchbook. The two day exam takes place on April 17 and 18 and students continue to produce, experiment with materials ideas and test out a final piece ready this.
We wish them all Good Luck.

Year 12 have been working on their short personal investigation in preparation for their A level pieces which will start after Easter. There is such a wealth and variety of art they are studying.
Here are swatches and planning for the final pieces they have been creating. 

Year 13 students have  received their starting points for their NEA 2 External Set Task and have until 1 May to prepare and investigate their starting point. This year the starting points chosen are transformation, resplendent, tranquil, shadow, and power of Art. Students start with research, recordings and then explore their own ideas. 

Year 9 students have been learning about the importance of colour in their images and developing an understanding of varied colour theories. They have created their own colour filters explored these to create varied images. Still life images have also been created and then varied colour schemes have been applied using Photoshop.

GSCE 
Year 10 students are working on their Component 1, currently looking at varied Photographers and sources of research to inspire their own images.

Year 11 students have handed in their Component 1 coursework and are now well into their preparation for their Component 2 Externally Assessed Assignments. They are given varied starting points and from these develop their own ideas and images.

A Level
Year 12 students are completing their first project, ‘Tell Me a Story’ , here are some of their outcomes  

Year 13  students have received their exam papers for Component 2 and working hard to develop their projects. They will be producing their final outcomes during their 3 day exam in May - we wish them al the best for this.  

Year 7 have been completing their Pop Art inspired drawing and analysis and moving onto developing their embroidery skills.

Year 8 have been learning about the work of Lucy Sparrow and Holly Levell and creating some practical samples to help them with their final supermarket inspired pillow.

Year 9 have been busy researching 2 New York artists – Keith haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, creating motifs, fabric samples and using the sewing machines

Year 10 GCSE Art Textiles
Students are now well into their own personal coursework project (worth 60% of their final grade). They have been researching and completing samples based their first chosen artist and have been using a variety of techniques, such as; laser cutting leather, screen printing, machine and hand embroidery amongst many other exciting things. 

Year 11 GCSE Art Textiles
After handing in their main coursework project (worth 60% of final GCSE) they have been busy preparing for their exam component. Students have been able to select one of the 15 titles to inspire there artwork that will be completed over a 2 day period in a 10 hour practical exam.

A level Textiles

Year 13 have handed in their course work project (60% of the grade) and have worked tirelessly to get work completed on time.

I feel very proud of their efforts.

Year 12 have been working on their mini coursework project, that has given them the opportunity to develop a range of skills and push themselves using the creative process. 
They will be able to transfer the lessons learnt using feedback from tutorials into their upcoming final coursework project.

Year 11 Food Preparation and Nutrition Practical Assessment

Our second NEA has almost come to the end with a large number of practical items being made to fulfil the tasks of ‘cooking on a budget’ and ‘prepare a range of dishes for a special occasion or event’   Now that the NEA 2 is completed and being marked students should be turning their attention to revising for their upcoming written examination.

Student's revision should focus around:

• Food Science
• Nutrition
• Food Provenance
• Food Safety and Hygiene

Here are some of the products made from the most recent assessment.

Year 11 Design Technology

The NEA completion is now at a close and students have completed their assessment ready to begin their revision for their written exam after Easter.

Students should be using the AQA DT specification to aid them in their revision and continue to come to after school intervention to support them in their preparation for the exam.

Students should be concentrating their revision on the following topics:

• new and emerging technologies
• energy generation and storage
• developments in new materials
• systems approach to designing
• mechanical devices
• selection of materials or components
• forces and stresses
• ecological and social footprint
• sources and origins
• using and working with materials
• stock forms, types and sizes
• scales of production
• specialist techniques and processes
• surface treatments and finishes.
• materials and their working properties.

Year 7 and 8 and 9 DT classes

Classes are now working on a rotational system with Art Textiles, Food Prep and Product  Design the last of these rotations will take place after Easter. Students will hopefully be able to show you some of the lovely items they have made in the workshop or in the food room. 

Thank you again to parents for supporting us by providing ingredients for the food lessons.  If any of you have spare containers such as empty sweet containers or ice cream tubs we would greatly appreciate having these to support students who may at times forget to bring the correct container for their food.

Some of the fabulous products KS3 have been making are shown below.

Year 10 DT
Classes have started working with new materials in particular making a product from metal.    The classes have also been focusing on hand tools and using a range of tools to create specific joints.  Many of the tasks and projects that Mr Batchelor and Mrs Long are teaching the students are skills that are so essential to life beyond the classroom and the current projects are certainly supporting this skill building aspect of the course. Throughout the year we will keep you updated with the new and exciting projects that we have planned but some of these will be –

Bird Box
Storage box
Use of Laser cutter

Year 10 Food
Students have completed some new complex dishes over the past term some of these have been themed towards the season or event that is approaching.  Cooks that have occurred throughout the past few weeks include vanilla slice, a breaded chicken and dauphinoise potato dish, sacher torte, and as we approach Easter we look forward to giving the students a little more freedom with themed cooks.

Students have also been concentrating on the theoretical aspect of the course by looking at sustainability, farming initiatives, and seasonality.

A Level Product Design
Students have completed their first set of mock exams. Students are also using their lessons to develop their knowledge of the world of engineering and manufacturing looking at how materials are made and the economic impact of our consumerism.

Students can also utilise the facilities of 2D design from home by downloading the software onto a PC.  We look forward to welcoming our new recruits for September in Year 12 and hope to become a real preferred destination for offering our students such a wide and varied curriculum.

Safety & Wellbeing - We continue to work with a variety of partners to promote the safety and welfare of students. We look to cover a number of current and emerging issues that put young people at risk. The risks often emerge when they are out of the family home and ‘out and about in the community’ or communicating ‘on line’ with people they do not really know. 

This is called a ‘contextual’ safeguarding risk

So to highlight this, the school engaged with ‘Loudmouth’ on 4 and 5 March.

Loudmouth are a theatre and education provider. They engage students in education and training through theatre performances and workshops and have 30 years’ experience delivering a variety of programs.

On March 4 Loudmouth delivered a program titled ‘Calling it out’ to the Year 10 students. This was around harmful sexual behaviours, sexual harassment and assault.

On March 5 a program titled ‘Working for Marcus’ was delivered to Year 8. This was around child exploitation, county lines and relationships.

Following the theatre production students had the opportunity to engage in a workshop with the performers. Within these workshops they explored further the warning signs of the topics, how to keep themselves and others safe, who they can speak to about concerns and relevant support groups and signposting

The above events also coincided with Warwickshire Police and the Local Authority promoting a ‘County Lines awareness’ week.

On Wednesday 6 March, PCSO’s Dwyer and Rossington visited the school where they had the opportunity to interact with all the students during lunchtime. They spoke with numerous students giving safety messages and at times were surrounded by students wanting to have a positive interaction with them.

Many of the above messages will continue to be reinforced throughout the year within the PHSE curriculum.

If you would like any more information about the above topics, there are resources available for you to browse on our website under the ‘safeguarding’ section. Many of the websites have also been signposted to the students.

Young Carers Day Wednesday 13 March

The focus for Young Carers Day this was year was "Fairer Futures for Young Carers". To celebrate we invited Matt Deakin, from Caring Together Warwickshire, into school to meet students who are Young Carers.  As well as an opportunity to learn about the support services available to young people and their families during this session students also wrote a letter to their future selves outlining hopes, dreams and aspirations.

Earlier this month our Year 11 Young Carers had a visit from Tracey Beasley, Warwickshire Young Carers transitions co-ordinator to offer advice and support on services available to students post-16.

Throughout March the SSE team have continued to offer students support and advice of services available through Warwickshire Young Carers and Caring Together Warwickshire.

For more information on Warwickshire Young Carers and Caring Together Warwickshire

http://www.warwickshireyoungcarers.org.uk/ 

https://www.caringtogetherwarwickshire.org.uk/

Eco Leaders

Our Year 7 Eco Leaders have done a wonderful job of launching our new NLS Pen Recycling programme which they have spearheaded themselves.

They challenged Tutor Groups to create their own designs to upcycle a shoe box into a pen recycling box to collect the pens for recycling.

They have already collected hundreds of pens that were destined for landfill.

International Leaders
0ur Year 8 International Leaders have been working on creating a presentation all about our partner school and our video call with them.

They are planning to deliver this in assemblies next half term – so watch this space!

Tutor Curriculum
In Tutor Time students have been working on our very own NLS Earthshot Prize. They had to find a solution to one of the world’s or school’s environmental problems using ideas from the real Earthshot competition as inspiration and then present their ideas to each and then submit the best one. The competition closes this week so winners will be announced after Easter.

Our newest Extra Curricular club is the Year 7 and 8 Craft which two of our Year 9 students have been running.

With a range of projects planned  the club started with students making their own pillows followed by some fun tie-dye work. Students have been enthusiastic and really enjoying developing their making skills and working with other creative students.

Astronomy Club
Students from Astronomy Club had an amazing opportunity to attend an ‘Evening with the telescope’ event in February.

Greg Lynes joined us to and speak about his passion of astrophotography and shared his amazing photos with us (see below). He spoke to students about his hobby, space and answered many questions from our young astronomers.

We looked at the equipment he used to produce these amazing images as well as our own school telescope.

Due to weather conditions we were unable to set up and observe through the telescopes, but we will definitely reschedule it for another, hopefully clearer, evening.

Mr Lynes will be invited to future events here at North Leamington School so he can continue to spread the joy of looking into space!

Vibe Drama Club
Vibe is open to all Year 7 and Year 8 students and led by the Year 9 and Year 10 Drama Leaders. The groups worked towards a performance at the end of the Spring Term based on children’s stories with Year 7 performing The Hungry Caterpillar and Year 8 the Twits.

Screen Acting Masterclass
Another new club, launched this term by Mrs Wright, is Acting for the Screen with over 50 students having signed up.  Students have enjoyed learning the key attributes of acting for screen such as creating naturalistic characters and annotating scripts for performance. They have explored industry knowledge such as how to ensure they  are in frame and hitting their mark. Students have also begun to look at self tape tips and tricks as well as casting types and performer profiles. 

There will be an opportunity for some students to audition for a major TV broadcasting platform and we will update you in future Bulletins.

Students in Year 9 who are undertaking the Bronze Award have been completing their Skills, Volunteering and Physical sections since the start of the academic year and many are coming to the end of at least one of these.

For Bronze students, their commitment to the award looks like this:

Training for the Bronze Award has begun and will continue to take place on the following dates:

And our expedition dates are as follows. More information about these will be coming to parents over the next week or so:

Students in Year 10 who are undertaking the Silver Award have also been completing their Skills, Volunteering and Physical sections since the start of the academic year.

For Silver the demand is a little more and students’ commitment to the Silver award looks like this:

Training for the Silver Award will be taking place on the following dates:

And our expedition dates are as follows. More information about these will be coming to parents over the next week or so:

Students in Year 12 who are undertaking the Gold Award have been completing their Skills, Volunteering and Physical sections since the start of the academic year.

For Gold the level of demand is higher still and students’ commitment to the Gold award looks like this

Training has been taking place every Wednesday since the start of the academic year and our expedition dates are as follows:

Gold Training Day White Peak Derbyshire

On 5 March, Gold Dof E students went on a training day to White Peak in Derbyshire where they learned navigation, orienteering and map reading skills.

Below are some photos from the training day.

Abm Catering Solutions – Awesome Awards

We are delighted to share that two members of our catering team Michaela Reed and Maureen Mogridge have recently been awarded Abm Catering Solutions – Awesome Awards.

Michaela and Maureen constantly strive to provide students and staff with quality food and excellent customer service.

They know our young people well and go above and beyond to ensure they are appropriately nourished and hydrated to learn to the best of their abilities.

Winners of the award are selected from nominations across all ABM employees in Warwickshire.

Matthew Bradley, Catering Manager, nominated the ladies for their service to North Leamington School, their hard work and their support.  They have been valued members of our catering team since 2008, and its fantastic they have been recognised.