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Attleborough Academy Times
Spring 2018                                 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

 Page 14
Sixth Form
Presentation Evening

                               £6,000 Donation from former
 Page 6
                              Headteacher for Attleborough
Annual Presentation Evening       Academy Library - Page 4

Ski and Snowboarding Trip 2018 - Page 18
part of the
£6,000 Donation from former Headteacher for Attleborough Academy Library - Page 4 - Page 18 £6,000 Donation ...
Academy Times Winter 2018
Principal’s Foreword
                                                           Parents will know that it is our aim at the Academy to not
                                                           only ensure that our students achieve academically, but
                                                           also, and just as important, to educate them to become
                                                           admirable and kind individuals; Nic is certainly testament
                                                           to our ability to do this.

                                                           Equally, we also celebrated the achievements of the Sixth
                                                           Form this term when our Guest Speaker, Jan Coates,
                                                           joined us in welcoming back the 2017 Year 13 students.
                                                           Jan inspired us all with her positive and pragmatic outlook
                                                           on life, which has given her so many opportunities during
                                                           her admirable career.

                                                           I would like to repeat my appreciation to those
                                                           businesses and organisations in our community who
                                                           sponsored the many prizes and trophies that we give
                                                           out to acknowledge the success of our students at these
                                                           Presentation Evenings. Acknowledgement is one of our
                                                           main core values and so we thank all those of you who
                                                           help us reward the success of our students so admirably.

                                                           We also learnt this term of the generous donation from
Welcome to the Spring Term 2018 edition of the Academy
                                                           the estate of the school’s first Headteacher, Mr Jeffrey
Times although as I write this foreword, we are still
                                                           Blagg. Mr Blagg’s son, Julian Blagg, visited the Academy
recovering from the effects of the ‘Beast from the East’
                                                           with his wife to donate £6000 to the Library. At our 50th
that made it feel like the depths of Winter rather than
                                                           Anniversary celebrations last Summer, we recognised and
Spring time!
                                                           celebrated Mr Blagg’s service and commitment to the
                                                           school by renaming the Library the ‘Jeffrey Blagg Library’
As I look back on the impressive range and number
                                                           in his honour. This donation will go to the development of
of activities and events that have taken place and
                                                           our Library services, which Jeffrey was so keen to initiate
are highlighted in this magazine, I am, yet again, very
                                                           and develop during his leadership at the school.
thankful to our dedicated staff who have made all these
opportunities possible for our students.
                                                           This is the term when we hold our final set of mock
                                                           exams for our examination years and so
In our Main Academy Presentation Evening, held at the
end of last term, we celebrated the many successes
                                                           I would like to wish our Year 11 and Year 13 students
of our students and we also welcomed back, as guest
                                                           all the best of luck with all of their upcoming exams.
speaker,
                                                           I would also like to thank our staff for their hard work
                                                           and dedication and all our parents and carers for your
Nic Jackman our former Head Boy. Nic spoke fondly of
                                                           continued support.
the many experiences he had been offered at school and
how they had shaped him to become the confident young      Mr McShane
man and successful actor he is today.                      Principal

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Sporting Round-Up
Norfolk Schools Cross Country

After a long period of absence, this
year we entered students into the
Norfolk Schools Cross Country, and
we are glad we did! On a long, tough
course for all age groups, all our
students performed really well, given
how little experience they had had.

Top finishers included:
Lucas Fulcher – 12th for Year 7 boys,
Harry Sparrow - 18th for Year 7 boys,
Tilly Anema - 7th for intermediate
girls, and Owen Bollingbroke - 13th
for intermediate boys.
As a result, both Lucas and Tilly have
been selected to represent Norfolk.

We wish them the best of luck.

Netball

Both the Year 7 and 8 teams have started their leagues this term, beginning with
an inter-house match against each other, where the Year 7s narrowly took the
win.

We then travelled to Thetford Academy for two very convincing wins. Both
games were fast-paced, and it took a while for the girls to play their own game,
but once the momentum had started there was no stopping them.

The second match of the season saw us come up against Wymondham
College, away. This is always a tough fixture for us and the girls were nervous
for this match.

The Year 7s found their rhythm quickly and took an early lead that Wymondham
College could not overcome, taking a comfortable win 15 – 9.

Year 8s struggled to settle and Wymondham College took a 15 - 1 goal lead
after the first quarter, leaving AAN girls with their heads down. However, with a
few positional changes, they worked hard and although they were beaten they
kept Wymondham College goals to a minimum.

More matches to come.

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£6,000 Donation from former Headteacher
for Attleborough Academy Library
                                                                                               Mr Blagg also had a very extensive
                                                                                               personal library, and kindly made provision
                                                                                               that the Academy could select some
                                                                                               books from it. As a result, the Academy
                                                                                               librarian, Miss Kathryn Elliott, visited his
                                                                                               home and chose some books for the
                                                                                               library and English department. Principal
                                                                                               Mr Neil McShane was then surprised and
                                                                                               delighted when notification came at the
                                                                                               end of the year that Mr Blagg had also left
                                                                                               a sum of £6,000 in his will for the Academy
                                                                                               library. His son, Mr Julian Blagg, and his
                                                                                               wife came to the Academy to meet with
                                                                                               the Principal and librarian to give the
                                                                                               donation cheque, witnessed by Sixth Form
                                                                                               students.

                                                                                               Miss Elliott commented about the
                                                                                               occasion: “This most generous donation is
We were delighted and honoured to                 A few years ago, Mr Blagg was invited        fantastic news for the library and the whole
receive a donation for £6,000 from the           back for our Annual Presentation              Academy, as it is a well-used and popular
estate of the school’s first headteacher         Evening where he was warmly                   space for many of our students. It is
for our Academy library.                         welcomed by current Principal, Mr             extremely fitting that the library now bears
                                                 Neil McShane, to participate in the           the name of Mr Blagg as it is something
Mr Jeffrey Blagg became headteacher              celebrations acknowledging our students’      that he fought to have included in the
of Attleborough High from when it first          achievements. Everyone who was present        original school and was a great supporter
opened its doors in 1965 and led the             greatly enjoyed meeting Mr Blagg and          of throughout his time in charge. For him
school over many successful years,               were taken by his kindness, intelligence      to have left us this money as a statement
becoming well known and respected                and gentle humour. 2017 saw the 50th          of the importance of a school library is a
in the community. The school was                 anniversary of the official opening of the    wonderful legacy.”
officially opened in 1967 by Mr Robert           original school under Mr Blagg’s leadership
E Presswood, the Director of Education           and a range of exciting events took place     Principal Mr McShane commented:
for Cardiff who, during his opening              to mark this important milestone. Sadly,      “we are exceedingly grateful to receive
speech, stated that “it is of fundamental        the academy had been informed that Mr         this substantial sum from Mr Blagg; this
importance that the school reflects the          Blagg passed away just months before          donation will ensure that the library -
aspirations, desires and characteristics of      Attleborough Academy celebrated their         which is named in honour of this former
the local community”. Dr F Lincoln Ralphs,       50th anniversary; throughout the occasion     headteacher - remains at the heart of
the Chief Education Officer for Norfolk at       he was remembered fondly by the staff         the Academy. This will keep alive Jeffrey
that time, who was also present at this          and former students who had been              Blagg’s legacy: his determination to work
ceremony stated that “the inhabitants of         present in the years he had served as         to enhance the lives and prospects of all
Attleborough will begin to rejoice in this       headteacher.                                  Attleborough students and his strong belief
essential amenity. It has been taken great                                                     that a well-stocked and sustainable library
care of and to take care of the things that      During the 50th Anniversary celebrations a    resource was central to the school right
are worthwhile is the basis of education”        ceremony was held to rename the library       from its inception.”
– and Mr Blagg certainly took great care         to ‘The Jeffrey Blagg Library’ in honour of
in his time as leader of the school and he       Mr Blagg’s dedication and leadership of
strove to reflect the aspirations of the local   Attleborough High. Mr David Jones, who
community, as have the three leaders of          had been a colleague of Mr Blagg’s, spoke
the organisation who have followed in his        warmly about him during the opening
footsteps.                                       ceremony.

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Author Visit

Students were treated to a special visit from local author
Mitch Johnson, who came in to speak to Year 7s about his
debut book, ‘Kick’.

The story follows 12-year old Budi, an Indonesian boy who works
making football boots but dreams of becoming a footballer
himself. Students were given some tips for their own writing
and had fun competing in a race to put a pair of football boots
together. However, there was also a more serious message
regarding the human rights of children like Budi working in
sweatshops and some mind-boggling statistics, such as the fact
that it would take Budi 20,000 years to earn as much as a top
footballer’s yearly salary!

A group of Year 7s then enjoyed a creative writing workshop with
Mitch, where they were taken through the story-writing process
in a series of activities. Some great ideas and opening sentences
came out of this session!

Mitch was also able to spend some time talking to the Year 13
Creative Writing A-Level students, giving them an insight into his
time at university and the journey to and practicalities of getting
a book published. This was a really useful and honest insight into
the life of a writer.

Many thanks to Mitch Johnson for visiting us and helping to
inspire the next generation of writers!

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Annual Presentation Evening 2017

     On Wednesday 6th December, Attleborough                      We would like to extend our thanks to all the students,
     Academy held its annual Presentation Evening.                parents, members of the community and teaching
                                                                  staff, who joined with us to celebrate another year’s
     This was to celebrate the achievements of the main           outstanding achievements at Attleborough Academy.
     Academy body through the last academic year. The
     students who took their GCSE exams last summer               We would also like to thank all our many sponsors
     returned to receive their certificates. Subject awards       who made this evening possible by their kind award
     were also given for outstanding achievement across the       donations:
     curriculum. It gave students the opportunity to catch up     • Acutech Precision Engineering
     with their former teachers and gave parents and carers       • Attleborough Christmas Carnival
     the chance to celebrate their sons’ and daughters’           • Attleborough Heritage Group
     achievements.
                                                                  • Attleborough Town Council
                                                                  • Caroline Flaherty
     Current students were also rewarded by gaining cups for
     performance, progress and attainment, amongst other          • Dolphin Double Glazing Services
     areas, whilst still in the Academy.                          • Donna Kissinger Estate Agents
     The guest speaker was Nic Jackman, former Head Boy           • East of England Co-Op Funeral Services
     at Attleborough Academy, and now a successful actor          • Edwards and Blake Catering
     in film and television where he has appeared regularly       • Inspired Flower Design
     on Holby City. He gave a motivational speech on his          • Last Step Flooring Ltd
     journey from being a quiet and timid student in Year         • M+A Partners
     7, to currently acting in a feature film in Mexico called
                                                                  • Martin Christopher Opticians
     ‘Silencio’ starring John Noble and Rupert Graves. The
                                                                  • Millbank Estate Agents
     thriller will be screened at festivals and released in the
     later part of 2018. He spoke to the students about           • Norfolk Christmas Trees
     the importance of setting high aims for yourself and         • Plandecil
     persevering through setbacks.                                • Sherbourne House Hotel
                                                                  • St Marys Church Attleborough
     Nic spoke about his time at Attleborough: “My education      • Weatherill Brothers Ltd
     and experiences from the Academy have played a               • William French
     huge part in shaping who I am. I’m very grateful for
     the support and recognition I received while studying
     here and it’s a real pleasure to be back as their guest
     speaker.”

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AWARD WINNERS
                                                                                              ANNUAL PRESENTATION EVENING 2017
                      MAIN SCHOOL AWARDS                                                          YEAR 11 AWARD WINNERS
            Year 7-10 Students 2016 -2017 PRIDE AWARDS

                                                                            YEAR 11 AWARD CATEGORIES
                         (for most reward symbols earned)                   SARAH MEAD CORE SCIENCE AWARD – Small cup     Raquel Fontes
   PARTICIPATION AWARD
                                                                            SARAH MEAD SCIENCE AWARD – Large cup          Alfie Holmes
   RESPECT AWARD
                                                                            ENGLISH LANGUAGE AWARD                        Rebecca Parsons
   INDEPENDENCE AWARD
                                                                            ENGLISH LITERATURE AWARD                      Julia Jopkiewicz
   DETERMINATION AWARD
                                                                            AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN
   EXCELLENCE AWARD                                                         ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE               Lily Whear

                                                                            ORACY SKILLS AWARD                            Esther Collier

                         (for most reward symbols earned)                   MATHEMATICS AWARD                             Joseph Gyde
   PARTICIPATION AWARD                                                      BUSINESS STUDIES AWARD                        Jamie Currie
   RESPECT AWARD                                                            ICT AWARD                                     Sophie Chatfield
   INDEPENDENCE AWARD                                                       COMPUTING AWARD                               Jamie Allen
   DETERMINATION AWARD                                                      ART AWARD                                     Aimee Pope
   EXCELLENCE AWARD                                                         ART AWARD: EXPRESSIVE ARTS                    Tamara Birch

                                                                            MUSIC AWARD                                   Nikita Lane
                         (for most reward symbols earned)                   MUSIC PERFORMANCE AWARD                       Heidi Lodge
   PARTICIPATION AWARD
                                                                            CATERING AWARD                                Rebecca Bush
   RESPECT AWARD
                                                                            D & T AWARD: GRAPHIC PRODUCTS                 Chloe Williams
   INDEPENDENCE AWARD
                                                                            D & T AWARD: PRODUCT DESIGN                   Alfie Holmes
   DETERMINATION AWARD
                                                                            FRENCH AWARD                                  Chloe Williams
   EXCELLENCE AWARD
                                                                            THE LINGUISTS AWARD
                                                                            For exploring language beyond the classroom   Lily Whear

                          (for most reward symbols earned)                  CITIZENSHIP AWARD                             Ellie Leaker
   PARTICIPATION AWARD                                                      GEOGRAPHY AWARD                               Joseph Gyde
   RESPECT AWARD                                                            HISTORY AWARD                                 Julia Jopkiewicz
   INDEPENDENCE AWARD                                                       RELIGIOUS STUDIES AWARD                       Rebecca Parsons
   DETERMINATION AWARD
   EXCELLENCE AWARD

    PRINCIPAL’S AWARD FOR PROGRESS (for most reward symbols earned)         GENERAL AWARDS

                                                                            DAVID BARTRAM AWARD FOR DETERMINATION         Aleks Ivanov
    PRINCIPAL’S AWARD FOR PROGRESS YEAR 7                    Jodie Hughes
                                                                            ALL ROUND ACHIEVEMENT AWARD                   Esther Collier
    PRINCIPAL’S AWARD FOR PROGRESS YEAR 8                    Julia Leiva
                                                                            ACADEMY COUNCIL’S AWARD
                                                                            FOR OUTSTANDING GCSE RESULTS                  Alfie Holmes
    PRINCIPAL’S AWARD FOR PROGRESS YEAR 9                    Lois Martin
                                                                            OUTSTANDING PROGRESS AWARD (The Parry Cup)    Rebecca Bush
    PRINCIPAL’S AWARD FOR PROGRESS YEAR 10                   Jade Barker
                                                                            MOST IMPROVED SEN-D STUDENT                   Jack Clarke

                                                                            SENIOR PREFECT OF THE YEAR                    Raquel Fontes

    THE HOUSE CUP                                            Boudicca

                                                                            PRINCIPAL’s AWARD

                                                                            PRINCIPAL’s AWARD (Head Boy)                  Ben Castle

                                                                            PRINCIPAL’s AWARD (Head Girl)                 Chloe Williams

www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                                                       07
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PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS

                          PRINCIPAL’S AWARD                 PRINCIPAL’S AWARD
                              (Head Girl)                       (Head Boy)
                           CHLOE WILLIAMS                      BEN CASTLE

     PRINCIPAL’S AWARD FOR PROGRESS

                          PRINCIPAL’S AWARD                 PRINCIPAL’S AWARD
                            FOR PROGRESS                      FOR PROGRESS
                           JODIE HUGHES (Y7)                  JULIA LEIVA (Y8)

      PRINCIPAL’S AWARD                    PRINCIPAL’S AWARD                     PRINCIPAL’S AWARD
        FOR PROGRESS                         FOR PROGRESS                          FOR PROGRESS
       LOIS MARTIN (Y9)                     JADE BARKER (Y10)                    ALFIE HOLMES (Y11)

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YEAR 11 AWARD CATEGORIES

         SENIOR PREFECT OF THE YEAR   RELIGIOUS STUDIES AWARD          ICT AWARD
               RAQUEL FONTES             REBECCA PARSONS            SOPHIE CHATFIELD

         MUSIC PERFORMANCE AWARD        MATHEMATICS AWARD             ART AWARD
                HEIDI LODGE                JOSEPH GYDE              EXPRESSIVE ARTS
                                                                     TAMARA BIRCH

           ACHIEVEMENTS IN ENGLISH           ART AWARD              CATERING AWARD
            LANGUAGE & LITERATURE            AIMEE POPE              REBECCA BUSH
                 LILY WHEAR

              CITIZENSHIP AWARD       ENGLISH LITERATURE AWARD   BUSINESS STUDIES AWARD
                 ELLIE LEAKER             JULIA JOPKIEWICZ            JAMIE CURRIE

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PRIDE AWARDS

          PARTICIPATION AND          RESPECT AWARD - YEAR 7    DETERMINATION AWARD - YEAR 7         YEAR 8 PRIDE AWARDS
      EXCELLENCE AWARD - YEAR 7         KYVAN WOODROW                MITCHELL PAGE                   RUBY SMALLWOOD
           WILLOW CUBLEY

     PARTICIPATION AWARD - YEAR 9    RESPECT AWARD - YEAR 9    INDEPENDENCE AWARD - YEAR 9     DETERMINATION AWARD - YEAR 9
            CHARLIE MILLS               MATTHEW JEWSON                ZEYNEP AYHAN               HUGO FREITAS RODRIGUES

     PARTICIPATION AWARD - YEAR 10   RESPECT AWARD - YEAR 10   DETERMINATION AWARD - YEAR 10   EXCELLENCE AWARD - YEAR 10
              JOE DANIELS                  MIA SOUTH                  FRASER ARDEN                 GRACE LUCKHURST

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Natural History Museum Trip
December 2017
                                                                                At the museum, the students were
                                                                                greeted by Hope the blue whale (who
                                                                                is 25.2 metres-long!) instead of Dippy
                                                                                the Dinosaur as he is on his tour
                                                                                around the UK. Dippy will come to
                                                                                Norwich Cathedral but not until 2020!
                                                                                In the Red Zone they discovered the
                                                                                power of the earth in the earthquake
                                                                                simulator and travelled through time to
                                                                                see the formation of the planet. In the
                                                                                Green Zone they were able to see the
                                                                                treasures that rocks can contain and
                                                                                see what a Dodo looked like in real
                                                                                life. Whilst in the Blue Zone they came
                                                                                face to face with a Tyrannosaurus Rex
                                                                                and found out how the human body
                                                                                worked.

                                                                                The group were also involved in
In December, Year 8 were given         as they were given a guided tour
                                                                                the Rocks the House talk in the
the opportunity to visit the Natural   along the Thames which pointed out
                                                                                Attenborough Lecture Theatre. Here,
History Museum, London. In total 40    some of the spectacular features
                                                                                Beth Evans and Ruben Gomes got
students travelled down to London      of London’s skyline. Such delights
                                                                                involved in making an “earthquake”
where they were able to explore the    included: The Shard, which is
                                                                                against one another whilst Jodie
museum and find out more about         95-storeys high, the Tower of London,
                                                                                Hughes got her hands dirty playing
Geography and Natural Science.         which started to be built in 1078 and
                                                                                with custard to show how the mantle
                                       Big Ben, hidden inside the Elizabeth
                                                                                of the earth can move.
On the ride into London the students   Tower which is the second largest,
were given an extra special treat      four-faced chiming clock in the world.

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                             11
Christmas Concert
                    On Wednesday 13th December, the school opened
                    its doors to host the annual Christmas Concert in the
                    main hall, organised by the Music Department.

                    There were a variety of musical acts, ranging from solos
                    to ensembles, and encompassing a wide range of
                    musical styles. Over fifty performers from Years 7 to 13
                    took part in the concert, ranging from beginners, who had
                    only started learning in September, to more experienced
                    students.

                    The concert was overseen by GCSE and Sixth Form
                    Music students, who prepared the set design, organised
                    rehearsals and managed the overall event.

                    It was a fantastic evening enjoyed by staff, students and
                    parents. A massive thank you to all who attended and
                    well done to all of our very talented performers.

12                                                       www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk   13
Sixth Form Presentation Evening

In January we were proud to welcome back all our former                    to do the job. Every success we had was a huge deal to us because
Year 13 students, who had travelled from their universities and            they were hard fought for - but it did feel like we were helping to
workplaces from around the country to attend our annual Sixth              pave the way for more women to do this type of work in the future.”
Form Presentation Evening, which is held to honour the year
group’s achievement.

The evening was led by the Head of Sixth Form Mr Andy Cole,
supported by Director of Sixth, Mrs Carmina McConnell and was
attended by former Head of Attleborough Sixth Form Mr Brian Hunt,
AAN Principal Mr Neil McShane, members of the Academy Council
and all our Sixth Form teachers and tutors. Our guest speaker, Jan
Coates, joined our assembled students, parents, staff and members
of the local community to celebrate the achievements of this year
group.

During the course of this celebratory evening, the students were
presented with their examination certificates on stage to the
applause of the audience. After an interval where staff, students and
parents had time to mingle and share their experiences since leaving
the academy, our guest speaker, Jan Coates gave the assembled              After leaving the RAF she began a new career in the Education
audience a superb inspirational speech about her extraordinary             sector and went on to be Head of Quality and Standards for CITB’s
career and presented her strategies for success. Jan initially served      National Construction College to focus on leading on the attainment
in the Royal Air Force for 22 years beginning in 1979, qualifying          of Ofsted Outstanding Training Provision. Then, in 2015 she decided
in aircraft electronics and working on both Phantom and Tornado            to move forward again to join the Attleborough based company,
aircraft systems – and went on to become an aircraft technical             Fireworks Fire Protection Ltd - a highly successful and rapidly
instructor and engineering course designer. In her speech, Jan             growing business that installs high pressure water mist systems
spoke about how in this early part of her RAF career, females were         across a range of sectors in the UK and abroad – to develop and
relatively new entrants to aircraft engineering in the RAF: “these early   manage their Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental Management
years were both exciting and challenging as the culture was one of         Systems. During this awe-inspiring career Jan, a mother, has run her
doubt and prejudices regarding whether women should be allowed             own businesses and trained in a diverse range of additional skills.

14                                                                                                                  www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
For the second part of the evening event, further wonderful awards       from my speech. I was hugely impressed by just how much the
- to acknowledge progress, endeavour and individual subject              award winners I heard about during the evening had already
excellence - were distributed and the students’ achievement              achieved – and I am certain they will all go on to pave out successful
celebrated. Heads of subject and subject teachers spoke about            paths of their own. I wish all of them a very bright and happy future.”
the specific qualities of each of the excellent award winners, before
Principal Mr McShane concluded the enjoyable and successful
evening by presenting awards to the highly deserving Lead
Presidents Aaron Cahill and Poppy Williams.

The evening could not have gone ahead without the fantastic
support of Attleborough Academy staff: from the superb
organisational and decoration skills of Fiona Campbell-Horne,
supported by Alexandra Cooper and Cala Parks and sound
and lighting expertise provided by Garry Baisden and Stefan
Middlebrook.

Our thanks go out to all our ex Year 13 students who attended along
with their parents, our staff and members of the community, and
for the incredible generosity of all our prize sponsors - Attleborough
Surgeries, Breckland Industrial Limited, Breckland Auto Services,
Brian Hunt, Christmas Carnival, Cider House Joinery, Connaught
Bowls Club, Daniels Plumbers Limited, East of England Co Op
Funeral Services, icanbea, Last Step Flooring, K M First Aid, P F
Southgate, Richard Johnston and St Mary’s Church.
Jan Coates commented about the evening: “It was an honour to be
asked to speak at Attleborough Academy’s Presentation Evening – I
hope that everyone took something either interesting or inspirational

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                                                     15
Sixth Form Presentation Evening
Prize Winners

Subject Award                         Prize Winner

Art                                   Grace Mahony

Biology                               Matthew Hogan

Business Studies                      Kiara Oluyole

Chemistry                             Daniel Smith- Hughes

Computer Science                      Liam Havers

Creative Writing                      Kiara Oluyole

English Literature/Language           Amy Foster

Geography                             Alexander Neil

Health and Social Care                Sian Evans

History                               Laura Higgins

Maths                                 Joe Ground

Further Maths                         Daniel Smith- Hughes

Media Studies                         Aaron Cahill

Photography                           Emily Hinsley

Physics                               Daniel Smith- Hughes

Product Design                        Tempany Martin

Psychology                            Poppy Williams

Sociology                             Shannon Painter

Brian Hunt Award for Progress         Tom McIndoe

Keith Maughan Memorial                Breeze Lister
Golden Moustache Award

The Sarah Mead Award for Endeavour    Bethany Cook

Head of Sixth Form                    Aaron Cahill

Principal’s Award to Lead President   Aaron Cahill
8” Salver in Presentation Box

Principal’s Award to Lead President   Poppy Williams
8” Salver in Presentation Box

16                                                           www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
Playhouse Lighting Trip
In January, our Year 13 Drama students went to The Norwich
Playhouse for a technical workshop. This was tailor-made
for them to explore how the opening scene of their set text
Frankenstein could be enhanced through lighting and sound.

Before the workshop, the students analysed the text very closely
and wrote to the technical team explaining what atmosphere and
effects they wanted to achieve:

“The overall vision for the play is going to be one that combines
dark gothic macabre, with the theme of twisted science, and the
human arrogance of industry. To this end, the lighting must reflect
both    theour
 In January,  idea
                 Yearof
                     13 the
                         Dramasupernatural,       and
                                students went to The    a defiance
                                                     Norwich Playhouse offor anature,    but
                                                                               technical workshop.
 This was
also   thetailor-made
             concept   for of
                           them to explore
                              new          how the opening
                                     technology      andscene    of their setThey
                                                           machines.          text Frankenstein
                                                                                      must becould
 be enhanced through lighting and sound. Before the workshop, the students analysed the text very
entwined       so as
 closely and wrote      totechnical
                   to the   createteama vision   ofwhat
                                         explaining  Science     vs and
                                                        atmosphere   Nature,       which
                                                                          effects they      has
                                                                                       wanted  to
 achieve:amalgamated in the Creature.”
been
“The overall vision for the play is going to be one that combines dark gothic macabre, with the theme
of twisted science, and the human arrogance of industry. To this end, the lighting must reflect both
The   Playhouse
the idea                Teamandresponded
         of the supernatural,                       saying
                                    a defiance of nature,     thatthethey
                                                          but also          needed
                                                                       concept           us to and
                                                                               of new technology
be  moreThey
machines.    ‘technical’       andsosent
                 must be entwined       as to a  proa forma
                                              create             sheetvsthat
                                                      vision of Science         they
                                                                          Nature,  whichuse   with
                                                                                         has been
amalgamated in the Creature.”
professional companies. The students completed this and we
The Playhouse Team responded saying that they needed us to be more ‘technical’ and sent a pro
were   all set to go.
forma sheet that they use with professional companies. The students completed this and we were
all set to go.

Cue#        Text              Desired effect             Lighting                       Sound
            reference

LX1         Darkness.         Tension, gothic            Total blackout.                Relentless rain. Plays
                              atmosphere,                                               through whole scene.
SFX1                          something bad is
                              about to happen.
                              Audience focus
                              zooms from outside
                              to inside.

LX2         Sudden            Shocking, sterile.         Bright cold blue, white.       Heartbeat. Starts
            flash of                                                                    hesitant, gets louder
            brilliant                                                                   and steadier, plays
            light.                                                                      through whole scene.

SFX2

It was an excellent event. We all learned a huge amount of technical terminology, which is essential
Itforwas
      the exam,  and then got the
            an excellent             opportunity
                                 event.     We all to have     a go at experimenting
                                                         learned        a huge amount with different    light and
                                                                                                 of technical
  sound combinations. The results were tremendous and everyone got very excited by how
terminology,           which
  professional it looked.         is used
                            Jackson  essential
                                           his actingforskillsthe   exam,
                                                               to show        and then
                                                                         the Creature’s       got theas he was
                                                                                        bewilderment
  ‘born’ into the human
opportunity                world and
                     to have       a gotheat
                                           lighting   changed from thewith
                                                experimenting               red glow of the womb
                                                                                  different          to aand
                                                                                                 light     cold blue
  as Frankenstein rejected him. We created a shadow to symbolise the fact that the creature is part
sound       combinations.            The    results       were       tremendous
  human, part monster and is terrifying but still heartbreakingly vulnerable.            and    everyone
got    verylike
  We would     excited       byPlayhouse
                  to thank the    how professional
                                             for making their it      looked.
                                                                   theatre         Jackson
                                                                           our classroom   for theused      hisand
                                                                                                    afternoon
acting
  for addingskills   to show
              such depth            the Creature’s
                           to the students’   learning. The bewilderment              as wrote
                                                                following week students    he was        ‘born’
                                                                                                   an essay
  entitled: “How could lighting be used to bring out the Hero and Villain theme in Frankenstein?”
into
  Their the   human
        answers   were wellworld
                              informedandandthe
                                              highlylighting
                                                      perceptive.changed          from the
                                                                     There is no question        red practical
                                                                                            that their  glow of
the    womb
  experience   hasto   a them
                   given  coldanblueinsightas
                                            thatFrankenstein
                                                 will boost their exam   rejected     him. WeWecreated
                                                                            grades significantly.       have
  followed up the workshop by creating mini theatres using Blu Tack actors and mobile phone torches
awhich
    shadow
         has beento    symbolise
                    a lot of fun!        the fact that the creature is part human, part
monster and is terrifying but still heartbreakingly vulnerable.

We would like to thank the Playhouse for making their theatre
our classroom for the afternoon and for adding such depth to the
students’ learning. The following week students wrote an essay
entitled: “How could lighting be used to bring out the Hero and
Villain theme in Frankenstein?” Their answers were well informed
and highly perceptive. There is no question that their practical
experience has given them an insight that will boost their exam
grades significantly. We have followed up the workshop by
creating mini theatres using Blu Tack actors and mobile phone
torches which has been a lot of fun!

  www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                               17
Ski and Snowboarding Trip 2018

Year on year we have lots of fun on the ski trip to Italy      Jake Linnett he took this somewhat literally and was
and once again it didn’t disappoint! We had a bigger           awarded the ‘Ostrich’ award for trying to bury his head in
group of students join us this year, with 17 brave souls       the snow too many times!
willing to put themselves forward for the challenge of
spending a week on a snowy mountainside.                       Yet again, the weather treated us kindly and we had back-
                                                               to-back sunshine all week. Après-ski events included bum
The beginners were quick to progress and they managed          boarding and a torch-lit ski where all the schools grouped
to complete some tough runs by the end of the week.            together and skied down the slope whilst holding light
Everybody in that group from Attleborough was a natural-       sticks. We went on night walks to the gelateria to try out all
born skier. The group’s Italian instructor, Gulia, even said   the tasty flavours: strawberry and mint were clear favourites
they were the best beginners she’d ever had! Even when         with this year’s group. Highlight of the après-ski schedule
they stumbled, they got straight back up on their feet and     this year however was the Disney themed disco, attended
continued, which was just as impressive as seeing the view     joyously by Olaf, Mr Incredible, Genie and Cinderella with
from the top of the mountain over a glacier at 2991m high.     her Prince Charming.

The intermediate and advanced skiers progressed really         A very special mention goes to Kieran ‘Kiwi’ Fitt in Year 13
well each day and were able to show some real talent at the    who skied for the last time with us this year after having
sport. Mr Cole led the group on the pistes and by the end      been on every trip since 2013 when he was in Year 8.
of the week he had the group come down one of the most         Although he might not be skiing with us next year, he hopes
notorious black runs in the resort, “Paradiso”. Each of the    to become a ski instructor; so maybe we haven’t seen the
students said they loved the challenge of the slope and felt   last of him and his glittery personality just yet?!
a tremendous sense of achievement in completing it. The
‘Most Improved Skier’ award went to Karis Harvey as her        If you are interested in joining us next year, get a letter
technique was brilliant.                                       from Miss Billin in HU1. Deadline for signing up is soon –
                                                               don’t miss out!
The snowboarders also loved being out on the slopes and
they all got stuck in to the fun. Unfortunately, for

18                                                                                                    www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
Kiwi in 2013 and then in 2018

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk         19
AAN Sixth Formers’ Red Cross
First Aid Sessions
In January we were delighted to welcome Rebecca                 In each session Rebecca recorded ‘before and after’
Cotterell from British Red Cross to our academy to              on the students’ confidence in their ability to respond
provide our Sixth Form students with basic first aid            when witnessing someone in medical difficulty, and the
training at no cost to the academy.                             results reflected the huge benefit from the knowledge
                                                                and instruction our students received during the day’s
The British Red Cross has built up their training branch        workshops.
over 35 years and is acknowledged by the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) as a standard setter for first aid at    Year 12 student, Julia Jopkiewicz, commented:
work training and practice. The one-hour training sessions      “The course allowed me to gain confidence, knowledge
at AAN were aimed at increasing students’ confidence to         and understanding on how to help people in need of first
be able to provide first aid support; an interactive workshop   aid. It was a fun and friendly experience with various
to increase the practical skills needed to help save lives      discussions and hand on activities; anyone who takes
when an accident strikes.                                       part will only benefit from it.”

Over the course of a day, over 100 of our Sixth Form            Similarly, Year 12 student Rebecca Parsons also
students attended one of the four, one hour first aid           recognised the value of the session she attended:
instruction sessions that Rebecca presented. The                “The first aid experience gave me vital and potentially
students were instructed on a range of medical                  lifesaving information that no one should be without. While
emergency procedures before practising them. Students           enhancing my basic medical knowledge, the course was
on our A2A course will receive an additional three hours        also able to broaden my social skills and confidence through
of first aid over this term, along with those Sixth Formers     group activities. The relaxed and light-hearted atmosphere
who did not get the chance in January.                          provided an effective learning environment, ensuring
                                                                these valuable skills will not be forgotten.”

20                                                                                                   www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
Teenage Cancer Trust

Attleborough Academy Sixth Form chose the charity              A representative from this charity has made regular visits
Teenage Cancer Trust as the recipient of the money             to AAN to develop greater understanding about the illness
raised by several of their fundraising activities this year.   and to encourage students to be pro-active in looking for
                                                               warning signs. The Teenage Cancer Trust educates young
Following a number of inventive fundraising activities,        people about cancer – its signs and healthy living, with the
Attleborough Academy Sixth Form were excited to be able        aim of empowering young people to take control of their
to hand over a cheque for £580 to the Teenage Cancer Trust     own health. They explain what cancer is, the treatments
when their Education and Awareness Executive, Morwenna         available and how people can be pro-active in learning the
McNeill, visited the Sixth Form to give a presentation about   signs for early diagnosis. The charity delivers free, interactive
the charity. Not only our current Sixth Form Presidents, but   education programmes and web-based downloadable
also all Sixth Form Students who had been involved in the      resources. It was with pleasure, when Morwenna from the
recruitment process for the Presidential Team, were highly     Trust came this term to speak to our Sixth Formers, that we
active in raising money for this worthwhile cause: through     were able to donate £580 to this extremely worthy cause.
refreshments and stalls at the whole academy Sports’ Day
and through non-uniform donations.                             Attleborough Academy’s Lead President Keziah Collier
                                                               commented: “As Sixth Form students at Attleborough
The Teenage Cancer Trust is devoted to improving the           Academy we recognise the importance of coming together
lives of young people diagnosed with cancer. They provide      to support charities and giving back to the community.
invaluable accommodation for young people suffering from       The Teenage Cancer Trust provide excellent care for
cancer to be solely amongst patients their own age, by         teenagers and also save lives through educating about
providing specialist units within NHS hospitals in relaxing    cancer. We were excited to raise money for such a relevant
and peaceful surroundings. This wonderful charity aims to      and worthwhile charity.”
increase awareness amongst young people of the warning
signs of the rare instances of youth cancer.

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                                     21
The Sixth Form & Staff Giant Book Swap
In the Autumn Term we held the first Attleborough Academy
Sixth Form and Staff Giant Bookswap event.

Assistant Principal Mrs Carmina McConnell organised this event
in order to promote the joys and educational, intellectual and
emotional value of reading to students across Attleborough
Academy by creating an opportunity where everyone had the
chance to restock their home library. The event aimed to extend
everyone’s access to texts across a large range of genre and topic,
role model prolific readers and to promote discussion about books
and reading by sharing responses and recommending texts to
each other.

In the weeks leading up to the event, Sixth Form students and staff
donated nearly 400 books both fiction and non-fiction, hardback
and paperback: from classic novels, historical novels, modern
literature, through to children’s classics, history, crime and fantasy.
In return for the books that they donated for the event they were
given book swap tokens ready to use to ‘purchase’ books at
the book swap event. It was exciting to see the books mount up
before the event and to witness the extensive range of style and
genre of texts that our students and staff enjoy reading.

Students Beth Alexander and Emma Seager donated the highest
number of books individually in the Sixth Form, whilst Psychology
teacher Mr Paul Hendy, and Claire Sadler provided the most book
donations from our staff.

On the day itself, a number of Sixth Formers worked with Assistant
Principal, Mrs McConnell, carrying books, organising them into
categories and labelling and laying out the room ready for the
event in the Sixth Form Centre. When doors opened later in
the day the room was buzzing with our staff and Sixth Formers
swapping ideas about books in the process of spending their
tokens. Within a short amount of time piles of books quickly found
new homes and readers to appreciate them. We were able to also
donate a number of relevant books to our academy library, and our
librarian Ms Elliott carefully selected the books on the day for this
purpose. After the book swap was over, both students and staff
requested another book swap, so watch this space for more news!

Mrs McConnell commented: “This was a very successful
and enjoyable event, giving all those who joined us hours of
additional reading treats for no financial cost. It provided a superb
opportunity at the academy to extend the range of discussions
about books: to share favourite texts and to explore with
colleagues and students just how invaluable reading is. It also
showed how, irrespective of electronic books, people still take
great pleasure in owning a physical copy of a book that they can
hold, inspect, show and talk about in the company of others. We
hope to hold a repeat event in 2018 and include students from
every year group.”

22                                                                        www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
Children in Need at AAN

Fundraising fever hit Attleborough Academy on Friday                The Sixth Form also took part in a sponsored ‘Row-athlon’.
17 November as the entire school community joined                   Throughout the school day, a team of students and staff
together to raise money for Children in Need.                       pushed the boat out to see how many miles they could
                                                                    row. Everyone who took part gave it their all, adding to the
At the Academy, The Sixth Form President Team – the                 overall distance and total raised, with some students raising
group of nominated students who organise social and                 sponsorships of over £40 each. Overall, the team effort
fundraising events for the whole school, and who are the            reached 68 miles and Attleborough Academy’s Sixth Form
representative body for the whole Sixth Form – planned              Progress Manager, Mr David Nevard commented: “the
and ran a large range of fund raising activities to take place      Row-athlon has been the biggest and best challenge that
throughout the day.                                                 I have been part of in over 10 years of fundraising for
                                                                    Children in Need. I’m amazed by the team effort that got
During the day hundreds of homemade Pudsey cupcakes                 us to over 110,000 metres in 6 hours! A huge well done to
and tray-bakes, baked by Sixth Formers Ella and Georgia,            everyone who took part and thank you to everyone who
were sold around the school, and they proved so tasty that          sponsored us”.
they completely sold out within a very short amount of time!
Around the Academy, the Presidents coordinated a range              By the end of the day over £400 was raised by the students
of activities, ranging from a penalty shootout and face             for Children in Need - a total that is ever growing as the
painting, to competitions such as guessing the number of            money is still rolling in.
sweets in a jar.

At lunchtime, the charity fundraising turned competitive
as staff and students went head-to-head in a netball
match. This was an exceedingly closely fought match
with great skill shown on both sides. Tala, Emily, Senna,
Beth, Chantelle, Shannon, and Maddie formed the student
team, while the staff line-up consisted of Miss Billin, Miss
Anderson, Miss Newton, Mrs Sparrow, Mrs Cushing, Mrs
Marsh, Mrs Phoenix, Ms Jones, and Miss Wilson. For this
heavily hyped contest, spectators donated to watch the
game and were not left disappointed as the match proved
to be a thriller. During the first half, the staff had built up a
commanding lead of 4-0, but the student side showed real
commitment and resilience as they steadily pulled back.
With a solid defence in place, the team scored point after
point. After the game drew level at 6-6, goal-attack for the
students – Chantelle – scored a superb final net to win the
match. A great victory.

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                                       23
Sixth Form A2A Programme of Study

For the second year we have run our innovative new           research carried out in this world famous centre of plant
one year programme of study for Year 12 students:            research. This term he has moved on to gain different
the A2A course. This bespoke programme, designed             experience in a charity shop, where Kian too gained valuable
to meet individual level and need, includes a one day        work experience. Tamzin spent time supporting the work
a week work experience placement throughout the              in the academy’s student support centre and this term is
academic year, along with a range of Level 2 and 3           carrying out her day each week at the Fairland House Care
qualifications and life skills.                              Home. Both Lace and Dane have been learning the skills
                                                             associated with a family business: Dane at the Attleborough
Since beginning the programme in September 2016,             Boxing Club and Lace in catering. Aleks has put his sporting
we have been incredibly lucky in that a wide range of        skills to great use by working for Vinnies Gym, where he
local businesses have embraced the opportunity to            hopes to be completing an additional qualification with
provide Attleborough Academy students with on-the-           the organisation. Both Louise and Rebecca have been in
job experience. From Primary and Infant Schools, to          Attleborough retail work: Rebecca has enjoyed the creative
different sector charities, gyms & sports centres, science   surroundings of the craft shop, with Louise being at Myhill’s
research centres, car repairs, restaurants, retailers and    pet store. Kierra has been working with ‘The Lighthouse
manufacturers. The work experience helps our students        Charity’ in Attleborough where she has been involved in
to develop essential skills that will prepare them for a     their programme to support the elderly in their usage of
successful future in the workplace.                          computers, alongside being involved in the ‘life stories
                                                             project’ recording events in a local resident’s life.
Sixth Former Kah enjoyed a series of days at The John
Innes Centre in the Autumn term learning about the           This A2A programme, along with providing opportunities for

24                                                                                                www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
students to increase their qualifications within the academy      the ability they have shown in the different work areas.”
timetable, is also having a very positive impact by providing
practical learning opportunities in the workplace.                As A2A student Kah commented since beginning a new
                                                                  Work Experience with The Lighthouse Charity: “This
Over this year, the aim has been to extend the range of           allows me to gain new experience, learn about how
experience the students on this course gain in diverse and        charities are organised and also help the community”.
interesting ways that will benefit them greatly in their future   Dane commented: “I work with people all ages and cover
lives in both theoretical and practical ways: this year the       all types of skills and helping people to master them.” All
A2A students have taken part in four First Aid training           the students agree that this opportunity to experience a
sessions, along with having the opportunity to study for          work place environment prepares them well for the future.
their Driving Theory test, whilst many of them have also          Rebecca commented that “You learn people skills.” Whilst
had specific small focus group English skill lessons.             Louise points out: “The people who I work with treat me
Assistant Principal Mrs Carmina McConnell, who set                like an adult, give me a range of responsibility and are really
up the programme and has been working to extend the               great to work with.”
provision commented “We have had wonderful support
from Attleborough workplaces for this programme. Many             If you are a local business and you are interested in
organisations in the area have really engaged with the idea       accepting a Sixth Form student for Work Experience,
of bringing an academy student into their workplaces once         please contact Mrs McConnell through the Attleborough
a week to guide them into developing new practical work           Academy Office
skills. The students have learnt a range of new skills and
have gained great confidence from the experience and

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                                                                                       25
Borderline

On Tuesday 21st November, a group of Year 11 and              laugh even when their hearts are breaking, and this is very
13 Drama students were lucky enough to get tickets            therapeutic for us. Laughter is the best medicine and it
to go and see Borderline at The Garage Theatre in             cuts across cultural and linguistic barriers.” We all came
Norwich.                                                      away feeling warmed by the magic that these actors had
                                                              woven from the most tragic of stories and inspired by the
This production and the following workshop was a part         strong message that the human spirit can survive in the
of Norwich’s Refugee Awareness Week. It was an hour           most desperate of times. It was a real reminder of what
long devised piece of theatre that was originally created     is really important in life and how human relationships are
in the Calais Refugee Camp by a drama therapist, theatre      more valuable than material objects.
practitioner and a group of refugees. The play premiered
earlier this Summer on the London Southbank and has           The workshop that followed was equally as thought-
since toured all over Europe to great acclaim. The actors     provoking and encouraged us all to question what it is
left Norwich after the show to head back to their base in     that causes human beings to persecute one another. It all
London and then on for a world tour starting in India.        boiled down to the same thing: fear. Fear of change and
                                                              fear of the unknown. These actors felt like our friends by
The play was a satirical comedy and had our students          the end of the performance and any stereotypical ideas
laughing one minute and crying the next. The actors           we might have had about what a refugee is were blown
explained at the end that the play was constructed of their   out of the water. We met people from Syria, Sudan, Italy
own stories and those of their friends and families which     and Germany and saw them all working collaboratively as
gave it an honesty not often found in the theatre. In the     one big family. A particularly poignant moment in the play
Q&A session, we asked why they chose to use comedy            was as they stood around a mound of shoes and a single
and one actor replied: “we have had enough of tears, we       voice sang ‘I Have a Dream’. Mrs Phoenix asked them
need to laugh. Humans have the remarkable ability to          what their own personal dreams were, and one person

26                                                                                                www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
said, “to return to Syria”. It was then agreed that they
would all like to go home and also that they dreamt of a
world where people put love before hate.

Our students all agreed and went home with the advice
of another actor ringing in their ears:
“You can help with just a smile. One smile can change
everything.”

We went with the primary aim of seeing a piece of live
theatre to review in the drama exam and came away
recognising that theatre has the extraordinary ability
to change the way that we see the world. This was a
wonderful opportunity for our students and we were very
proud of the maturity and sensitivity with which they
received it.

 www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk                                    27
Sixth Form: Accepting Applications
        for September 2018
       Achieve your aspirations with
    Attleborough Academy Sixth Form

       For further information, or to arrange a visit,
 contact Mr Andy Cole, Head of Sixth, on (01953) 452335

  Apply through our website at www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk

                   Attleborough Academy Norfolk
           9 Norwich Road, Attleborough, Norfolk NR17 2AJ

                    t: 01953 452335 f: 01953 456817
         e: office@aan.norfolk.sch.uk www.aan.norfolk.sch.uk
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