Dear Parent/Carer
We have had some fantastic celebrations this week and we are so proud of all of our students.
I would like to share a huge thank you to all of our staff who have made every lesson and every extra curricular activity possible. We pride ourselves to ensure we provide every student the best opportunities and I am hugely grateful for staff who go above and beyond as it makes a massive different to student experiences. I am extremely proud of every student who has challenged themselves in and outside of the classroom.
As part of mandatory uniform and equipment, from September, we will be requiring all students to bring a bag and a pencil case. This is to ensure that students can carry all of the necessary equipment ensuring they are ready to learn.
Please review the uniform page.
I would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to colleagues. I want to thank the following members of staff for all of their hard work and commitment to The Suthers School and wish them all the best for the future:
Mrs Pettit- you have made a huge difference to the personal development curriculum and to all of our students who you have taught. We are so grateful for everything you have done.
Mr Cochrane- you have been a huge support to school improvement and have developed relationships with all students, something we know you are proud of. Thank you for your dedicated time and commitment to Nova schools over the last 8 years.
Mrs Rainforth- what an amazing year for ECTs and your work with our newly qualified teachers. We are all grateful for your support and feedback which has developed our staff. We wish you all the best for your future.
Mrs Benhmouda - our provision for IMedia and Business has been a huge focus for you this year and we are grateful for your support to enable all of our students to be succesful. We wish you all the best for your future.
As we bid farewell to colleagues, it is also exciting to have new staff joining us in September. I would like to offer a warm welcome to the following colleagues:
Simon Buckberry - Assistant Headteacher SEND and Inclusion
Terri Salisbury - Assistant Head - Behaviour/Pastoral
Kassie Leek - Associate School Leader - Personal Development
Jessica Forbes - Associate School Leader - Leader of Humanities
Elspeth Alexander - Grocott - Head of Modern Foreign Languages
Fatima Mitchel - Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages (MAT)
John (Rob) Kennedy - Lead of Geography
Laura Yates - Associate School Leader - English
Matthew Smyth - Head of Computing & Business
Grace Berrington - Teacher of Girls PE
Thank you all for your continued support. I wish you all a very safe and happy summer.
Best wishes, Nic.
Simon Buckberry - Assistant Head - SEND and Inclusion
"Hello! I am writing to introduce myself as the school SENDCo. As from September 2023, I will be joining The Suthers School as the new Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for SEND and Inclusion. I have been lucky to come and visit the school a number of times, and have been greatly impressed with how pupils demonstrate our TORCH values and how they dedicate themselves to 'Work Hard, Be Kind'.
I shall be making myself as visible as possible, and will often be on duty at the beginning and end of the day should you wish to come and say ‘hello’. I will be catching up with pupils during their breaks and lunchtimes, as well as visiting classes and talking to the children about their learning. I will be focusing on any barriers to learning and what we can do at Suthers to reduce these barriers, ensuring that they build a strong academic foundation and well-developed character strengths to succeed in education and into adulthood.
I have had the pleasure of teaching young people across the primary and secondary ages with pupils, with multiple SEND needs, and I am passionate about ensuring that all children receive a high-quality education that is equal parts enjoyable, enriching, challenging and nurturing, whilst maintaining the high standards of The Suthers School.
I will be working with Miss Watkin, the senior leadership team and staff, to implement current school priorities, together with other new and exciting ideas, in order to ensure continued positive whole-school developments and ensure provision for our learners, regardless of identified needs, is of high quality. I look forward to meeting you all over soon and being part of the journey that your child takes through this wonderful school."
We said goodbye to our year 11 students this term.
Remember this: you are truly tremendous and can achieve your dreams. You can be whoever you want to be and you can succeed in whichever pathway you choose. You are in charge of shaping your future and I look forward to meeting you all again in a few years time when you are proudly telling me about how well you are doing!
We are your Suthers family and we will miss every single one of you! Take care and stay in touch, Miss Watkin
History
In History this year, we are extremely proud of the progress that students have made. Students have been learning about a range of topics including medieval life, World Wars and the Civil Rights Movement. Many students have gone above and beyond this year with their practice learning, and in particular their projects. Most year 7s were tasked with making Motte and Bailey Castles, Year 8s built some fantastic trenches and Year 9s developed their knowledge of the Cold War by making museums... and lots of cakes!! Our KS4 students have excelled this year and are well on their way to get some fantastic GCSEs due to their hard work and tenacity. The History Department look forward to welcoming everyone back in September for another fantastic year.
Miss Allen .
I just wanted to give a special shout out to 7H for their fantastic work in History and Geography this year with myself. They have shown dedication and focus across the year and I'm so proud of how far they have come in independent work. Each and every single one of them comes to the lesson ready to learn, they show the utmost respect to me and other class members and they are genuinely all such delights to teach. I am so excited to continue teaching them in History next year and I'm looking forward to seeing how they continue to develop in their already wonderful journey at Suthers!
Miss Shelton.
Science.
Year 9 and 10 Success in Junior Biology Challenge & Junior Physics Challenge
Last half term, students in Year 10 were given the opportunity to compete in an international competition - the Junior Physics Challenge - organised by the British Physics Olympiad. The competition involved sitting two question papers, the content of which was based on the GCSE specification and relied on a wider understanding of Physics as well. There were 11,758 participants worldwide, from 265 schools. Of the 28 students from The Suthers School who took part, it gives me great pleasure to announce that 18 students all achieved a Bronze Award for their efforts, with all other students still receiving Commendation certificates. A special mention also goes out to Evie Baker-Stimson who achieved a Silver Award; an outstanding achievement!
Additionally, the Junior Biology Challenge was opened up to both Year 9 and 10 students. This competition, organised by the UKBC, was similar in both format and scale. 43,685 students took part in the competition, from 621 schools around the world, with only the top 15% of students receiving Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards. Nevertheless, we had some fantastic results from our students, including 4 Bronze Awards achieved by Ben Thompson, Bianca Newsome, Emma Dawkins and Luke Ley, all from Year 10.
A massive well done to all students who took part in either, or both, competitions. If you are a student in Year 8 or 9 now, look out for the opportunity to compete again next year!
In English this year.
8R have worked fantastically in English this year and are starting to move towards using their critical (particularly feminist ) lens to critique Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. They are using the SHAPE strategy to share these views with the rest of class and are building and contributing on each other's thoughts.
7T have worked tenaciously all year, never giving up when things have become difficult. They particularly impressed me with their Shakespearean insults which they delivered in front of the class in the roles of people living in Elizabethan England. All members of the class showed determination and respect even if they were calling each other things like 'a very ragged wart'.
A Midsummer Night’s Courtroom Drama.
This term Year 7 have been studying Shakespeare’s brilliant comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
We have learned about Shakespeare’s life, his contributions to the evolution of the English language, and his famous Globe Theatre. While reading the play, we analysed Shakespeare’s use of different settings and created profiles for the different characters- Puck and Bottom were clear favourites!
To conclude the unit, students had the opportunity to showcase their knowledge in a court trial to determine if Helena is guilty of stalking Demetrius. After carefully preparing the evidence for both sides, the students got to choose if they wanted to take on a role as of the characters, or they had the option to join the defense team, prosecution or jury. The students demonstrated their curiosity by interrogating the witnesses (sometimes relentlessly, showing tenacity!). They also showed hard work when considering the evidence presented, citing the act, scene, and line number from the play. Kindness was reinforced as we had to speak formally and politely, listen to each other, and respect the rules of the court.
Although each class, 7T, 7O, 7R, 7C and 7H conducted the course case using evidence from the same play, the way in which the students presented the evidence and used their persuasive writing and speaking techniques made all the difference.
So, the question remains, is Helena guilty of stalking Demetrius? Ask students from each class to see what the jury in their trial decided!
Literacy news this year.
This year we have been involved in many events to support our literacy agenda. We started off the year with National Poetry Day where students tried blackout poetry for the first time and created some excellent examples. We celebrated the festive season with our Christmas Book Tasting event and a visit from the scholastic book fair which was a huge hit, and it was great to see so many students purchasing from the book fair. Then it was time for World Book Day which saw staff and student fancy dress, creative writing, book swaps and the Masked Reader which certainly got the whole school chatting!
We have been extremely lucky to engage in two author talks and celebrated Newark Book Festival on the 6th of July. Students visited our local library, completed creative writing by the Castle and visited a highly engaging and inspiring author talk with Sara Barnard which provided our students with top tips on how to get into writing. For our budding creative writers, we also visited Belvoir Castle to reward our winners of the creative writing competition. We received a guided tour and learnt all about the history of the castle which students then applied to some creative writing. We are so proud of how our students have engaged with reading, writing and The Fern this year and are looking forward to all of the wonderful events again next year!
Food and Hospitality.
The school and food department had an exciting delivery of free Hake fillets from the National Fish Heros campaign. 9 classes from across Key Stage 3 and 4 made a homemade batter and oven roasted chips. Lots of students said 'I don't like fish' but then tried it and loved it. As a food department and school we are very thankful for the free produce which enables us to enrich the curriculum delivery.
Year 9 food lessons were based around planning, organising and delivering a 'pop up restaurant' for an end of year staff celebration event. The result was a superb 'Tiki Bar' themed hour offering 'mocktails' and canapes all designed and made by the students. Year 7 and 10 students spent time at break and lunch making decorations for the bar. Further student led events are planned for the start of the next academic year including a Mad Hatters Tea Party for students from year 5 and the surrounding primary feeder schools.
Mrs Gollin (Subject Lead for Food and Hospitality) is delighted that there will be two year 10 hospitality and catering groups starting their key stage 4 journey in September.
A massive thank you to Miss Beresford our wonderful Technology technician for supporting classes and managing the day-to-day food ordering and cleaning.
Performing Arts.
Six talented students from The Suthers school sang in the wonderful setting of Newark's market square. They wowed passersby with their performances and many of the public were amazed at their age and talent. Many compliments were passed on, "what a delight and a real treat here today in Newark". Students were grateful for the opportunity to sing and had a wonderful afternoon entertaining the public at the event.
Please follow the link to view career opportunities that all our year groups have experienced this year.
Year 10 Work Experience.
Our year 10 students took part in Work Experience this term. The feedback from employers was excellent. Students were extremely professional, actively involved in their work and some of our students have even been offered a part time weekend job as a result of their commitment and maturity towards their roles.
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE SUTHERS PERFORMING ARTS
The Performing Arts Department has seen big changes this year as our new team have worked alongside our students to bring the Performing Arts to the forefront of life at The Suthers.
In the classroom, we have introduced new schemes of work for all year groups that have given our students the opportunity to explore a wide range of styles, techniques and traditions and allowed them to gain a broad understanding of the importance of music and drama in culture and society, and how engaging with the arts is highly beneficial in the development of character and in gaining an understanding of our sense of self.
In years 7 to 9, students have enjoyed studying a range of topics in drama such as Roald Dahl, the story of Derek Bentley, comedy through the techniques of John Godber and a story of injustice and empathy called ‘The Island’. In music, students have developed a range of performance and composition skills through studying the Baroque and Classical traditions, Blues and Jazz, Film Music, Variation form and the evolution of pop music form the 1950s to the present day through instrumental and vocal performance and composition.
Our GCSE students have also been extremely busy completing their qualifications which has allowed them the opportunity to complete some outstanding composition and performance coursework which should lead to some pleasing outcomes.
Beyond the classroom, Year 10 and 11 have been to visit Leicester Curve Theatre and Sheffield Lyceum to see a moving performance of ‘Noughts and Crosses’ and the Willy Russell musical ‘Blood Brothers’. They behaved exemplary and represented the school brilliantly.
Alongside the curriculum, exciting extra-curricula events are also happening. This has included the introduction instrumental and singing lessons which has seen a strong uptake and lots of our students making excellent progress as performers. Many of which are looking towards taking their first music exam very soon. We are also very lucky to welcome Victoria Potter to the team. Victoria is an experience LAMDA tutor and has begun preparing students for exams in ‘Public Speaking’, ‘Musical Theatre’ and ‘Acting’.
Students began rehearsals for the whole school production of Grease in September and performed to a sell-out audience in March and our first Christmas Concert was a great success and featured a myriad of performers. Following these successes, our students have begun rehearsing for our Summer Spectacular Showcase which will took place in June. This sell-out will concert included a number of our year 7 Drama students who have been successful in gaining roles for a ‘Roald Dahl Extravaganza’, showcasing their extraordinary talents in Drama, alongside an exciting array of music and dance performances. The concert was so successful that we decided to schedule a second performance for all of year 7 and 8 the following week.
There are also big plans in place for next year, including our production of The Addams Family, further performance events and the introduction of more extra-curricular opportunities and trips… watch this space!
Evie & Connie Year 9 are progressing in their Grantham Water Polo club. They have just represented East midlands in the inter-regional under 16's water polo tournament in Liverpool. They played regional teams and the team from Scotland.
Bella, year 9 has taken part in the Young Handlers’ Class at the Festival of Hunting held at the East of England Showground at Peterborough. Bella showed Voter from the East Lincs Basset Hounds who she has worked with at the kennels practicing with him regularly since the beginning of April.
Bella and Voter won his class in the Basset Hound Show and was judged to be the champion doghound (i.e. male hound) and was then reserve supreme champion.
Photo credited to Rural Shots.
SAVE, our school charity, raised a brilliant £100 with a bake sale which took place this term. The money raised will go towards a inclusivity and diversity mural for the school.
The Suthers School
Train to teach with the Nottinghamshire Torch SCITT