Heathfield-Headlines-Issue-72-20-September-2019-

We were delighted welcome students back to College over the last two weeks and to welcome Year 7 to the start of their secondary career.. We were able to share with them the fantastic A

We were delighted welcome students back to

College over the last two weeks and to

welcome Year 7 to the start of their secondary

career

We were able to share with them the fantastic

A Level Results, (the best the College has

achieved) and the exceptional GCSE results

from 2019 which ensured that Heathfield

Community College was the highest performing

school in East Sussex

for students gaining GCSEs Grade 4+

including English and Maths There is now

an inspiring heritage of high achievement and attainment that our current students inherit and can learn from

As you will see in this first edition of Headlines for 2019-20 the College is excited to start a new academic year genuinely steeped in Pride, Ambition and

an inclusive sense of Community

Welcome Back!

Heathfield Headlines

Message from the Headteacher, Caroline Barlow

As I write this, we are approaching the end of our first fortnight of term We have

welcomed all staff and students back to College, shared our recent examination

achievements and the key messages for the start of a new academic year I would

especially like to extend a warm welcome to Year 7 and Year 12 as they start new stages

of their educational journey with us; I very much look forward to celebrating their

achievements over the coming year

All students have started the year in a very positive way They look smart, are well

equipped and clearly ready to learn Thank you for your support with that! With your help,

we aim to provide the very best educational opportunities for our students and to enable them to thrive in a college environment where they can excel Students are rising to this challenge magnificently, starting the year with a focused and ambitious approach to

contractors who worked with us, who have worked tirelessly over the summer to achieve this in 6 short weeks

The full range of clubs and activities is available on our website Our Library will be open until 4:15pm every evening which provides a quiet work environment for those who need

it The College Calendar with upcoming events is on our website but for those who wish to

be one step ahead you can also purchase a Heathfield Academic Calendar via School

Gateway, which contains key College events as well as high quality student photography

There is no doubt that the real magic day-to-day happens in the classroom We are very proud of the large number of skilled and talented expert teachers we have here at

Heathfield I am particularly grateful for how well supported they are by parents We all know that the success our exam groups achieve is a product of good instruction and a lot

of hard work On that front, our students have started the year exceptionally well

We have seen students engaged and focused in lessons They are demonstrating clearly the Heathfield Habits that they develop in their time here: their determination and ambition

to achieve well, their consideration and compassion for each other and their sheer

enthusiasm to enjoy and participate in College life Staff are keen to recognise and reward these qualities when they see them As the level of challenge continues to increase, we will all be actively supporting students to build their confidence and skills so that they are able to achieve the outcomes of which they are more than capable

I’m looking forward to what will undoubtedly be a busy but brilliant year,

Heathfield Headlines

Heathfield Headlines

Lead Prefect Team

Alex, Tatiana, Elise, George

There will also be many new and exciting

opportunities that will arise in the upcoming

year, that we hope a number of you can get

involved in Don’t be afraid to get involved or to

try new things out!

Let this not be a year that is wasted, but a year

of determination, motivation and above all,

success!

Welcome back to a new school year! We hope

that everyone had a spectacular summer

holiday and are feeling engaged and

motivated for another year of hard work

Collectively, we would like to say a huge

thank you to all the students who have taken

part in events around the college in these

first couple weeks

YEAR 11 YOUNG LEADERS

Thanks must go to the five wonderful Year 11 Young Leaders who also supported Ms

Cobbold in being able to field 6 teams at the Netball Tournament through umpiring and managing one of the Heathfield sides each The oppositions teachers commented on

how fantastic they were as the umpires

Remember, “Excellence as standard and not a moment wasted.”

Heathfield Headlines

Ambitious & Confident

STUNNING GCSE OUTCOMES: HIGHEST ATTAINING SCHOOL IN

THE COUNTY

The Heathfield GCSE class of 2019 excelled themselves with 62% gaining the “Good Pass”

of 9-5 and 82% achieving the new “pass” of 9-4 in both English & Maths Amidst what seems to be excellent progress, there are also some fantastic examples of achievement

in the face of challenging circumstances for individual students

Indications also show attainment at the very highest levels, including the elusive Grade

9, is very strong There are exceptional outcomes to celebrate with 18% of grades at 9/8 and over 10% gaining Grade 9 27% gained 5 or more GCSEs at Grade 7 and above

On results day, ITV Meridian came in to film

students opening their results and spoke to a

number of happy Year 11s – all of whom were

eloquent in their conviction that it was sheer hard

work over time that had led to the outcomes with

which they were so delighted

Ambitious & Confident

HIGHEST EVER A LEVEL OUTCOMES FOR THE COLLEGE.

A Level outcomes this year continue a consistent trend of high performance at the Collegeand is another step on from previous very good outcomes, particularly for those studentsachieving the higher grades: 58% of students reached the gold standard of A* - B grades,34% achieved the top grades of A*-A with 9% gaining A* 78% students gained A - C At thisstage, provisional results show the overall pass rate at A* - E of 98%

This year’s students are now off to Oxbridge, Russell Group University, University abroad, Medicine, Advanced Apprenticeships, Art Foundation courses

or amazing Gap Year adventures among others Both the College and many parents are very proud!

Heathfield Headlines

Ambitious & Confident

ALUMNUS NATHAN LAWSON SUMMER UPDATE

Nathan Lawson completed A Levels at Heathfield Community College in 2018 He secured a coveted place at Oxford University to complete a Foundation Year prior to being awarded a place on a degree course He was offered a fabulous opportunity this summer and has kindly shared his experiences with us:

“I was invited to undertake a teaching internship abroad in Japan this summer It was my first experience teaching abroad and I embraced it fully It’s not every day that you get an offer to teach in Japanese schools and to spend time with a host family, let alone for free! Teaching abroad taught me so much about Japanese culture and the Japanese education system

It has opened my eyes to the myriad of teaching styles and techniques used in different schools Moreover, the experience increased my confidence in public speaking and

communicating difficult concepts to people with a range of English speaking abilities

I was invited to speak about climate justice at one particular state school, a topic that is close to my heart It is the idea that those poorest in society will often experience the worst effects of climate change despite having contributed to the issue the least

The brilliant thing about traveling and stepping out of your comfort zone is you grow in so many different ways

At the end of my speech a small group of students came up to me and said: “Nathan, you have inspired us to take action on climate change in our local area and school; we are going

to start a project to reduce this school’s food waste so that our impact on the environment

is less.”

Ambitious & Confident

NATHAN LAWSON (CONT.) OXFORD UNIVERSITY AWAITS

On reflection, I felt empowered and realised that I could use my voice for positive

change As such, upon returning to the UK, I will continue to visit schools and inspire the next generation to 'think global and act local'

I now return to Oxford University, having completed a Foundation year with a

Distinction, to read biological sciences I will continue to pursue my passion in climate change by attending talks and participating in the Oxford climate society But perhaps most importantly, I will continue to use my voice to encourage positive environmental change.’

We thank Nathan for sharing his adventures with us and would love to hear from more of our alumni

If you have a story to share about your own

summer escapades or first days at University,

please send them to alumni@heathfieldcc.co.uk

CALLING ALL ALUMNI….

Heathfield Headlines

Year 12 students participated in a the second annual Study Skills Day at the University

of Sussex Heathfield joined other local Sixth Form Colleges for a day that included information on University and progression along with developing the right strategies to approach A Level Study

During the sessions, students were taught strategies for effective reading techniques, note taking and time management to allow them to make all of their independent learning time as effective as possible

Thanks goes to the East Sussex Post 16 EIP for organising and partially funding the event and to the University of Sussex for the free use of their facilities

YEAR 12 STUDY SKILLS DAY AT SUSSEX UNIVERSITY

Engaged & Enthusiastic

On 4th of September, nine Year 12 A-level drama students, as well as our three Drama teachers, attended one of the final performances of Peter Shaffer’s Equus directed by Ned Bennet The stage was occupied by an outstanding cast with Zubin Varla and Ethan Kai (Martin Dysart and Alan Strang) creating one of the most outstanding theatrical duos I was mesmerised by the way the abstract horses were played as the

choreographer Shelly Maxwell had worked tirelessly with them using physical theatre

to create these entirely believable, yet abstract and mythical, “human” horses The movement of these actors was simply beautiful and compelling to watch

A WONDERFUL ADAPTATION OF PETER SHAFFER’S EQUUS; THE PERFECT TRIP TO KICK OFF THE 2019-2020 DRAMA A-LEVEL

Bennet’s interpretation of this classic play, which questions what is “normal”behaviour in society, was a stark contrast to previous productions with literally no setand everything stripped bare except for a thin veiled curtain and a mottled grey floor.His cast and his crew achieved the unthinkable and performed the play in a way that ithad never been seen before The atmosphere created was cold and austere and theacting stark and minimalist which forced the audience to focus on the spoken word.The heavy contrast between the main characters’ stiffer, rooted movements and theenergy and freedom of Alan and the Horses magnified the idea that Dysart had

“shrunk” his own life

For me, Ira Mandela Siobhan was the outstanding actor who took on the incrediblyphysically demanding role of the main horse character, Nugget He performed thehorse roles with a shocking, whimsical, and somewhat disturbing accuracy that I cansay for certain blew me away With graceful, almost contemporary, dance-likemovements, Siobhan conveyed the essential essence of a horse through his ripplingshoulders and contorted back muscles which he constantly tensed and untensed Heaffectionately and tenderly craned his head round Alan and demonstrated the mostincredible display of physical control I have ever seen in a theatre production, makingNed Bennet’s Equus for me, a play worth seeing, and the perfect trip to kick off the2019-2020 school year

Molly Goddard: Year 12 A-level Drama student

Heathfield Headlines

Engaged & Enthusiastic

The final few students due their CREST awards have received them for completing

projects last academic year Emma Dear, Katherine Hills and Isla McNay received their Bronze award for their research project entitled ‘World Wide Washing’ looking at the spread of disease and its prevention

Zach Fulwell and Rachel Sparrow received their Silver CREST award for their research into the perfect Pizza Box design, which I believe included eating a lot of pizza (for

research purposes of course!) Also achieving their Bronze CREST awards last year

were: Gemma Adams, Finley Jones, Dora Lewis, Martha Marsden, Blake Nunn, Matthew Prus, Jessica Seymour, Kristian Skilton and Alfie Taylor

CREST is a nationally recognised scheme for student-led project work in the STEM

subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering And Maths) CREST awards for this

Academic Year will be launched later this term

CREST AWARDS

ECO REPS UPDATE

Term 6 for the Eco Reps saw six new Year 7s and 1 new Year 8 join our team, which is fantastic! All the Reps signed up for watering duties to make sure the new herb garden stayed in good shape through the drier weather Our new recycling bins will be ready for Term 1, so watch out for these in the Snack Shack and Quad areas – they will have the Eco Rep logo on them, being made by Mr Stidder - along with a reminder as to what can go in them

The Eco Reps will now be working on more developments including an Eco-Conference hosted by Heathfield Community College in conjunction with our local primary colleagues –

so watch this space!

Determined & Reflective

These two events were going to be a hard act to follow In the 200 Back and 200

Individual Medley on day 4 and day 5 she was just off her PB On the last day she came back fighting with another great PB in the 100 Fly of 1.04.94 which saw her just missing out on the finals

In addition to this, and because of her success this year, she has been invited on an

Aquatic Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DISE) Course This is an external government funded course that runs alongside her A’ Levels, including PE

British Summer Age Group Nationals returned again this year for Maisie Thornton After a very successful qualifying window, she managed to place herself in the top 25

in the country for 5 events Her best events were first, starting with the 400 Individual Medley on day 1 In the heats she smashed it with a time of 4.58.90, a 6 sec PB, making her the first girl in Sussex ever to go under 5 minutes and qualifying her for the final She did not quite match her time in the final but still managed a PB on her entry time with a 5.01 placing her 7th Following a day’s rest, came her next best event the 200 Fly In the heats she finally managed to break a huge milestone for her of going under 2.20 She did this with a 2.18 placing her in 2nd place going into the final She knew the final was going to be tough and even with another PB and another Sussex county record with a time of 2.16.47 she just missed out on Bronze coming 4th but a race she could be proud of

SWIMMING NATIONALS

Rosie Moon was invited to compete at a friendly

international equitation competition in Slovenia She flew

to Lubljana on 4th September and got back 3 hours before

the new school term started!

Her team did fantastically and came home with lots of

team rosettes for dressage and show-jumping Rosie also

achieved an individual 4th place in the dressage, 7th place

overall and the award for the best British Rider

Well done Rosie!

INTERNATIONAL EQUITATION COMPETITION

IN SLOVENIA