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Friday 18th May 2018

Well done to Year 11 students who have made an excellent start to the GCSE season. There is never any point over-analysing their performance after an exam but most I have spoken to (teachers and students) feel that the papers have been fair and that they have done themselves justice. Further challenges lie ahead next week with a pretty full schedule for many, including the whole cohort exams of English Literature and Maths. I mentioned self-belief as the key last week but clearly stamina is going to be crucial as well; just think, folks, push through this week and then half term to gather your collective breath, take stock and re-energise!

Leadership and Learning Partner Visit
We had a very successful visit on Monday from our Leadership and Learning Partner from Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service, Jean Thorpe. This involved a discussion with my senior team about self-evaluation and student data, a learning walk across the school, visiting a number of classrooms, a discussion with middle leaders and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and student interviews with a selection of Year 7/8 students.

Jean visited a range of lessons and commented that the lessons were "Calm and purposeful, had excellent behaviour for learning and that students were fully engaged. All lessons were very well structured lessons with some excellent examples of extended writing. Teachers were also using very good questioning in lessons." She also indicated "there is very strong leadership underpinning a very clear approach to self-evaluation where all aspects of the school are regularly and rigorously scrutinised and where leadership accountability is fostered."

Our self-evaluation process allows us to see those incremental gains we are making to enhance the lives and life chances of our young people. I say incremental as I sometimes think people are too ambitious with regard to the pace of change. If we are to really 'make a difference', to bring about lasting, impactful change, then it must be gradual and very carefully considered.

As you will all know I have one simple ambition at Harrow Way: to be the finest secondary school for miles around. By this we mean that all our students will receive a better education at Harrow Way than they would at any other local establishment. The journey is well underway and the school is determined to build on its successes and we will continue to work to ensure that every student achieves their own successful outcomes from their time spent here.

25 trainee teachers at Harrow Way
Today we hosted 25 trainee teachers from all over Hampshire, as part of our work with the LEARN Alliance (based at Thornden in Chandlers' Ford). A wide range of staff shared their considerable expertise on behaviour management and promoting positive behaviour. One of the highlights was where our excellent student support team shared their years of experience with the budding teachers. Feedback was fantastic and everyone found the day valuable and enjoyable.

Two County Champions at Harrow Way
The Hampshire Athletics Track & Field Championships took place on Saturday 12/Sunday 13 May. I was in attendance with my daughter Emily. She was meant to be taking part in the javelin but broke her leg in a football match the previous week! Anyhow we were there as spectators and it was great to see two Harrow Way Year 9 students becoming Hampshire County Champions. Adam Robinson in the High Jump and Beth Matthews in the Hammer. Adam is currently ranked No2 in the UK (1 cm from No1), and Beth is ranked No 7 in the UK. A fantastic achievement.

UK Junior Maths Challenge
Year 7 and 8 Maths students have recently put their mathematical skills to the test in the annual UK Junior Maths Challenge (UKMC), a national competition organised by the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT). To recognise the highest performers in the Challenge we award the top-scoring 40% of participants bronze, silver and gold certificates in the ratio 3:2:1. The results are now in and overall one student, Shaun Scratchley, achieved 'Junior Kangaroo'. The UKMT invite around 1200 of the very highest performers to take part in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad and around 8,000 to take part in the Junior Kangaroo. Good luck Shaun in the next round! We also achieved 2 Gold, 10 Silver and 14 Bronze certificates.

2 Gold
Shaun Scratchley and Tommy Ladd (Year 8).
10 Silver
Year 7 George Smallbones, Xander Gillies.
Year 8 Tarik Kirgin, Charlie Holloway, Sophie Nash, Callum Brown, Charles Nock, Salem Barahmeh, Ollie Romero-Taylor, Toby Harrison.
14 Bronze
Year 7 - Paul Price, Kyle Barrow, Kelsey Gibbs, Ryan Gardner, Ben Purser, Alex Panter, Lewis Panter, Izzie Wincott, Kiva Dyer.
Year 8 - Faseeh Arshed, Erin Bradbury, Dana Browne-Cole, Lauren Smallbones, Rhys Lloyd.

Plas Pencelli
All students returned safe, well but very tired yesterday after an exciting and adventurous time in Wales. The photos on our Twitter feed show they had an action-packed stay!

Assemblies
​After a fantastic assembly on LGBT last year Mr Manson and his tutor group 9EM have delivered a bespoke Kahoot for each Year Group to help answer some questions and discover some interesting facts about LGBTQ. A fully interactive assembly that everyone has enjoyed. Thank you 9EM.

Sporting success
Year 8 and 9 Girls both won their matches against Wellington this week. Faith Holman and Anita Lukacovicova were nominated players of the match.

Michael Summerfield is continuing to enjoy success with London Irish selection. He has already had a tournament with their U16s and recently gained the Players Player at the Andover Rugby awards.

Hampshire Music Service have the following activities calendared for the next term:

Hampshire County Youth Wind Ensemble Open Day - Saturday 19th May, 10.15am - 2.30pm, Henry Beaufort School, Winchester. More info...

Deadline for county youth ensemble applications -31st May 2018. Apply here.

Jazz Composition Competition - Deadline for entries: 15th June. This project provides a fantastic opportunity for young composers to compose a piece of music inspired by one of the most memorable images of WW1. More info...

Guitar Festival - Saturday 16th June, The Wickham Centre, Wickham. Calling all young guitarists, soloists, bands and ensembles - young guitarists have a unique opportunity to improve their performance skills with a professional guitarist. More info...

These visits for 2017/18 have currently been agreed by the Headteacher. Others will be added throughout the year. There is no guarantee that they will all go ahead as this depends on student uptake. Further details on each visit will be given out to the year group/classes involved by the member of staff organising the visit.

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