Private School News

Kingham Hill School bucks the recession trend by growing 10%

At a time when many independent schools are tightening their belts and experiencing lower student numbers, Kingham Hill has enjoyed a ten percent increase in its school roll.

The school, situated between Chipping Norton and Stow-in-the-Wold, welcomed new headmaster, Nick Seward (39), in September 2008. He introduced a revised vision for the school, one that has already made quite an impact. 2020 Vision, as it is being called, builds upon the school’s historic founding principles yet accommodates the latest in educational thinking and the demands of today’s parents.

Saturday school has been abolished, weekend activities for boarders have been seriously upgraded, two day houses have been opened, an academic society launched, a director of development appointed to enable ambitious refurbishment and new building projects and school transport offered to day pupils.

Nick Seward, who joined Kingham Hill from Magdalen College School, Oxford, comments: “I am relieved and delighted! The past twelve months has been a busy time, involving some significant readjustment. I applaud every member of the school community for their willingness to embrace change and for their contribution and support. I am doubly encouraged. Not only has the school roll increased, we are also celebrating record GCSE results.”

Record GCSE results at Kingham Hill School!

Kingham Hill School enjoyed record GCSE results this summer, with 92% of pupils gaining at least five grades at A*-C. The school is non-selective academically, but prides itself on the tremendous value-added it achieves with pupils across the ability range. Nowhere was this more evident than with the Wormington brothers, Thomas and Edward. Not only are they identical twins, they achieved identical, and spectacular results. MidYIS (a national measure) predicted them an average of an E grade in every GCSE on arrival at the school. They actually achieved an A*, 2 As, 2 Bs, and 4 Cs each in their 9 subjects. Headmaster Nick Seward said, “I am tremendously proud of them. Not only do they deserve these results for their hard work, they have been outstanding adverts for Kingham Hill across the board, and reflect our emphasis on the whole person. The media focus can often be on pupils with strings of A* grades, but these results show what is possible when pupils of less stellar ability are given the right environment to succeed –well done, boys!”

Kingham Hill School bucks the recession trend by growing 10%

At a time when many independent schools are tightening their belts and experiencing lower student numbers, Kingham Hill has enjoyed a ten percent increase in its school roll.

The school, situated between Chipping Norton and Stow-in-the-Wold, welcomed new headmaster, Nick Seward (39), in September 2008. He introduced a revised vision for the school, one that has already made quite an impact. 2020 Vision, as it is being called, builds upon the school’s historic founding principles yet accommodates the latest in educational thinking and the demands of today’s parents.

Saturday school has been abolished, weekend activities for boarders have been seriously upgraded, two day houses have been opened, an academic society launched, a director of development appointed to enable ambitious refurbishment and new building projects and school transport offered to day pupils.

Nick Seward, who joined Kingham Hill from Magdalen College School, Oxford, comments: “I am relieved and delighted! The past twelve months has been a busy time, involving some significant readjustment. I applaud every member of the school community for their willingness to embrace change and for their contribution and support. I am doubly encouraged. Not only has the school roll increased, we are also celebrating record GCSE results.”

Record GCSE results at Kingham Hill School!

Kingham Hill School enjoyed record GCSE results this summer, with 92% of pupils gaining at least five grades at A*-C. The school is non-selective academically, but prides itself on the tremendous value-added it achieves with pupils across the ability range. Nowhere was this more evident than with the Wormington brothers, Thomas and Edward. Not only are they identical twins, they achieved identical, and spectacular results. MidYIS (a national measure) predicted them an average of an E grade in every GCSE on arrival at the school. They actually achieved an A*, 2 As, 2 Bs, and 4 Cs each in their 9 subjects. Headmaster Nick Seward said, “I am tremendously proud of them. Not only do they deserve these results for their hard work, they have been outstanding adverts for Kingham Hill across the board, and reflect our emphasis on the whole person. The media focus can often be on pupils with strings of A* grades, but these results show what is possible when pupils of less stellar ability are given the right environment to succeed –well done, boys!”

IB results for the class of 2009 at St Clare’s, Oxford

St. Clare’s is delighted to announce another set of really good results this year. Our average score was 34.40 which is the equivalent of 4 grades A’s at A Level; we felt that it was an excellent reflection of the year group.

This year only 68 of the 45,132 students worldwide (0.15% of candidates) gained the magical 45 points meaning that they had gained full marks in every component. Two of those delighted students were from St Clare’s, Oxford.

We achieved:
·An outstanding overall pass rate of over 97% and an average points score of 34.4 – this kept us well ahead of the world average points score of 29.53
·46 students with 35 points or more (considered equivalent to 4.5 grade As at A level) = 45%
·16 student gaining the elite category of 40+points (top 5% around the world) = 16%
·2 students with 45 points, the maximum possible score achieved by only 68 students worldwide i.e. 0.15% of candidates around the world.

This is the sixth consecutive year in which we have had 44 and 45 point students, an outstanding achievement in the fiercely competitive IB environment.

Dragon Boat success on the River Thames for St. Clare’s

Fourteen different nationalities represented St. Clare’s on the River Thames on Sunday and secured third place in the 11th annual Dragon Boat race run by the Rotary Club of Abingdon.

The St. Clare’s Team competed against 17 others including teams from RAF Brize Norton and the Thames Valley Police.

The team competed in three qualifying races in which the fastest time over the 800m stretch determined qualification for the semi finals and finals. St. Clare’s won the semi final race but failed to reproduce the same form in the final.

All team members will receive medals with the group trophy being proudly displayed at college. The team included: Endri Lito (Team Captain), Rauf Fratari, Holly Norrington, Julie Laeremans, Felipe Verillo, Valeriya Nefyodova, Tijana Ostojic, Philipp Gerhard, Patrick Reece, Christopher Caioni, Maximilian Wilson, Ilya Zemskov, Youssef El Azouzi, Alexander Parsczenski, Francesco Garosci, Kirsten Lillie, Kevin Hennessy (Team Manager).

SIBFORD SCHOOL RECEIVES GLOWING REPORT

Teachers, parents and pupils at Sibford School near Banbury are celebrating a highly successful inspection report from the ISI – the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

The report states that the Quaker-run school ‘meets well its aims to encourage and enable all pupils to recognise their gifts and talents, and to realise their full potential’.

It describes the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils as ‘outstanding’ and the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning and achievement as ‘good, with many examples of outstanding practice’.

The ISI, which is the body approved by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for the purpose of inspecting independent schools, looked at nine different aspects of the school and awarded ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ status in all.

Sibford head, Michael Goodwin said: “Everyone is delighted with the outcome of this inspection. The published report affirms the high standards that we strive to achieve and I would like to take this opportunity to thank staff, children and their families for all their hard work, dedication and support.”

A total of nine inspectors spent a week at the school at the end of February, examining pupils’ work, observing lessons and conducting interviews with pupils and staff.

The report praises Sibford School for developing a ‘high moral sense’ amongst its pupils and says: ‘the school secures an atmosphere of tolerance, openness and trust in which teasing, harassment and unacceptable behaviour would find great difficulty in developing’.

Links with parents and the community are described as ‘outstanding’ as are the breadth of the curriculum and the provision for pupils of a wide variety of abilities.

The report also recognises the important dimension that overseas pupils provide to the experience of all and concludes that the quality of governance is ‘strong, purposeful and clear’ and that the leadership and management of the school are ‘confident and direct’.

Year 9 camping challenge at Shiplake College

Selecting a spot amongst the nettles and flourishing vegetation to settle down for the night on Shiplake College’s very own mid-Thames Island has presented a challenge for Year 9 pupils this term.

Every House has taken the opportunity to bed down for the night after Mr Foakes has transported them across the river in his narrow-boat. With just tarpaulins and string boys have had to use their engineering skills and imagination to create a shelter that will keep them dry and warm for their overnight stay.

Cooking supper, sausages, loins of pork and jacket potatoes, on a BBQ is also part of the survival exercise. As the light fades the boys sit around the camp fires. Sometimes they chat, occasionally they sing but often they like to revive the age-old art of story-telling. Then next morning it is back to school for a shower and breakfast.

Thames Ditton Regatta success for Shiplake College

Shiplake College’s J14 octos had an excellent day, amongst the squally showers, at the Thames Ditton Regatta. The J14B octo put in a very strong performance and received a lot of acclaim on the day from onlookers. They convincingly beat Whitgift School in the first round and then drew Kingston Grammar School A crew in the Semi Final. Unfortunately they lost but not without a fight and they maintained good style and determination throughout the race.

The J14A octo were a true credit to the College. The timetable was very drawn out with 3 races set over 8 hours but the young rowers maintained their concentration and focus throughout a long day, looking well-turned out too.

In the first round they dominated Tiffin A and took an easy victory. In the Semi-Final they drew a very strong crew from Dulwich College. They soon realised that Dulwich were not going to be an easy adversary to beat and yet the boys rose to the challenge with both crews level down the whole course. A final burst from Shiplake guided them to victory by a canvas.

In the final Shiplake drew St George’s College, second-placed crew at the Schools’ Head. Again the boys realised this would be tough and again they raised their game. They produced a spectacular race to beat St George’s by half a length, resisting an impressive push from St George’s in the final 100m. To quote the commentator, ‘the St George’s crew looked incredibly good; but the Shiplake crew looked exceptional’. The boys have won their first ever rowing pot and have had a confidence boost for National Schools Regatta at Nottingham.

EXCEPTIONAL TALENT

Esther Monaghan, a pupil at Sibford School, near Banbury, has been awarded the Bristol University Warren Scholarship for students with exceptional artistic talent.

The 19-year-old violinist, who lives in Kidlington, will be moving to Bristol in September to study English and Classics and to audition for a place in the University Symphony Orchestra.

ROUGHING IT FOR BYHP

Pupils at Sibford School near Banbury gave up the comfort of their own beds to sleep rough in a bid to raise money for the Banbury Young Homelessness Project.

Using only cardboard boxes for shelters, the year 9 pupils were sponsored to spend the night out in the cold.

Said tutor Mike Spring, who joined them for the duration: “I was really proud of their efforts, both in the planning stages and on the night itself. It brought home to them the reality of being homeless and also raised over £650 for BYHP.”

BYHP volunteer Laura Yates and 18-year-old Steph Adambury, a previous service user of BYHP who is now working with the charity as a peer supporter, attended a special Meeting for Worship at the school to receive the cheque.

Said Steph: “BYHP helped me through homelessness and drink and drug addiction. They supported me through domestic violence and helped me into training.

“When I was homeless I felt lonely and useless and couldn’t see a way forward. BYHP helped me find a way out and my aim now is to help others who find themselves in a similar situation.”

Added Laura Yates: “BYHP supports over 425 vulnerable young people across Oxfordshire and this week alone we have registered 15 new people who need our support.

“Unfortunately the funding we receive doesn’t cover all the costs of running our essential front line services and it is support, such as this from Sibford School, that helps to ensure that the Project can continue to thrive and flourish.”

PHOTO: Laura Yates and Steph Adambury are pictured with tutor Mike Spring and Sibford pupils Iain Riley, George Cowper, Siobhan Jennings and Oliver Wissenbach.

SUCCESS ADDS UP FOR GUIMING

Sixteen-year-old Guiming Zhang is well on his way to becoming a mathematical genius.
The Year 10 pupil at Sibford School has already received an A* for his GCSE Maths which he took while still in Year 9.
And he has now received an incredible 100% in his first Maths AS module … which under normal circumstances he wouldn’t even sit until he was in Year 12!
His success is all the more impressive because until he arrived at Sibford in 2007 he spoke virtually no English.
Tutor Sally Pickering, said: “Guiming is a very ambitious young man. He originally enrolled on our intensive English course but within a very short space of time had picked up enough of the language to be able to join our mainstream classes.
“In addition to his Maths AS he is also studying for eight GCSEs and I am sure that he will gain some very impressive grades.”
In a further recognition of his success, Guiming has been asked to participate in the Pink European Kangaroo. This one-hour paper, set by The European Kangaroo Foundation (so named because it was inspired by the Australian Mathematics Trust), is open to only the top 5% of maths students worldwide.
Said maths tutor Debra Collins: “Guiming has already sat the UK Mathematics Trust Intermediate Challenge where he gained a Gold Award and as a result has now been asked to enter the European Kangaroo.
“Candidates sit this paper by invitation only so it is a great honour to be asked to take part and we wish him well.”

Pictured: Guiming Zhang.

Co-Education at Our Lady’s, Abingdon

For nearly one hundred and fifty years pupils have enjoyed the benefits of a first class education at Our Lady’s Abingdon. I am delighted to announce that as from September 2009 boys will be admitted to the Senior School.

We will be offering the same opportunities in the Senior School that boys presently enjoy up to the age of 11 in the Junior School. OLA will be the first independent senior school in the town to offer co-education. This is an exciting step forward not only for Abingdon, but also for the surrounding area.

In today’s world, we strongly believe there are educational advantages to be gained from teaching boys and girls together in a co-educational senior school. Co-education offers many benefits to both boys and girls. In modern society and in the work place it is important for girls and boys to understand each other’s attitudes and to appreciate each other’s points of view. Co-education will help them to achieve these aims.

You are warmly invited to come and visit the school, to meet our pupils and staff and to see at first hand our vibrant and exciting community.

Lynne Renwick

Headteacher

Football Success

The Junior School Girls’ Football team are the proud holders of the Jack Seymour Trophy having recently won the Vale of White Horse Primary Schools Girls 6s. This is the second time we have won this competition, having been previously successful in 2006. We were also runners-up in 2008.
The tournament was a fantastic occasion with a win over Blewbury and draws against Cumnor and All Saints in the group games. In the knockout stages we beat Millbrook 3-2 on penalties at the end of a gruelling match which had ended in a 0-0 draw at the end of extra time. In the final we beat Willowcroft 2-1 to become Vale 6s Champions for 2009.

11 Oxbridge Offers

We are delighted to announce that eleven of our students have been offered places at Oxford and Cambridge Universities this year. Many congratulations to them all on this fantastic achievement.

Alastair Mitchell: Balliol College, Oxford; Classics and Modern Languages
Bella Radenovich: Homerton College, Cambridge; History of Art
David Alliu: St Catherine’s College, Oxford; Civil Engineering
Mansour Ahmed: King’s College, Cambridge; Computer Science
Jim Tang: Churchill College, Cambridge; Computer Science
Timur Tankayev: Lincoln College, Oxford; Maths
Hao Wu: Mansfield College, Oxford; Physics
Stasya Ng: St Edmund Hall, Oxford; Psychology
Val Saksornchai: St Hilda’s College; PPE
Hannah Beavan: Harris Manchester; PPE
Marthe Klöcking: Christ’s College; Natural Sciences

A perfect score …

As we recently announced, our International Studies Centre students received excellent results in their IELTS exams.

Saksornchai Pankaew (also known as Val) received the extraordinary result of 9.0 – the highest possible score, reflecting a faultless performance in the exam.

Val is a Thai government scholar, currently in her first year at d’Overbroeck’s Sixth Form and in the midst of a busy exam schedule – but was kind enough to spare five minutes to be photographed in the College garden. She plans to apply to Oxford University, to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) – and is wrestling with the question of which college to choose.

Volunteer of the Year nomination for Jo Kalies

Jo Kalies – Sport & Extra-curricular Activities Co-ordinator at d’Overbroeck’s Sixth Form and Leckford Place School – has been nominated for the Sunday Times Volunteer of the Year award.

Alongside the excellent teaching, support and coaching she provides to d’Overbroeck’s students, Jo also works as a volunteer at Summertown Stars AFC, the largest youth football club in Oxfordshire. There, she not only manages and coaches the girls’ under 12 team, but has also set up a visually impaired football team.

‘This season, Jo’s Summertown team are in the under 14 league. The players play for fun and the team spirit and friendship they have is amazing. They lose more matches than they win, but the players turn up every week as keen as mustard to play. At Christmas they all donned Santa outfits and ran around Oxford as a team, raising nearly £300 for Helen and Douglas House.’

‘Jo has helped girls’ football grow at the club, and Summertown now has over 50 girls playing regular football. Jo is a likable individual, an excellent coach, and she would be a worth winner.’

– Paul Chamberlain, Summertown Stars AFC

Congratulations to Jo on her richly deserved nomination.

Photo: Jo (right) with the Sixth Form netball team

Library – the heart of Kingham Hill

Headmaster, Nick Seward, has introduced a number of significant changes since his arrival in September. One non-negotiable was the reintroduction of the name and significance of the traditional school Library.

So out with ‘Learning Resource Centre’ and multi-purpose use and in with more books and silent study.

The change is evidence of the Headmaster’s commitment to help students love learning, enjoy reading and aspire to academic success.

The Library is also home-base for the school’s academic society – Octagon. The society draws together the brightest students, offering extended studies, visits to public lectures and various other means of ensuring that the students are thoroughly stretched.

Improved package for day students at Kingham Hill

A five-day teaching week, school transport and competitive fees are all part of a carefully thought-out plan to respond to the demand for places from day students.

Although Kingham Hill will always have a very strong programme and wonderful provision for boarders, it is determined to combine these qualities with offering a great package to its growing number of day students.

All students will benefit from a re-worked academic timetable that focuses effort in the classroom between Monday and Friday. The rhythm of school life will improve. At the same time, demands on parents of day students will ease. Day students will be fully integrated and able to access optional weekend activities and occasional overnight accommodation for a modest fee. The school week will change from September.

Families of day students are right to expect the school to lay on transport both morning and evening. Kingham Hill will offer at least four routes from September and add more as demand dictates. Precise details of routes, times and cost will be published soon after Easter on the school web site: www.kingham-hill.oxon.sch.uk

Very few families are immune to the effects of recession. With this in mind, fees for day students will be very competitive and offer excellent value for money.

Headmaster, Nick Seward, is excited about the school’s ever-improving provision for day students: “We are determined to respond to the times in which we live, offering superb facilities, great education and improved levels of service to families, and all at a competitive price. I am so grateful to the prudent yet generous Christian trust behind the school that ensures our viability and encourages innovation.”

You are welcome to visit to discuss application and to look around at any time. Our next Open Morning will be on May 2nd to which you and all your family would be extremely welcome. Further information can be found on our website.www.kingham-hill.oxon.sch.uk

SIBFORD SCHOOL GOES BANANAS DURING FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT

On Friday 6 March, pupils at Sibford School near Banbury will be munching their way through more than 400 bananas when they join the Fairtrade banana eating world record attempt.

Organised by the Fairtrade Foundation, the event, which takes place at the end of Fairtrade Fortnight, hopes to set a new world record for simultaneous banana eating over a 24-hour period.

Said Sibford pupil Heather Kensett, a member of the school’s Fairtrade Group: “The whole school will be taking part and eating bananas … from the youngest junior pupil right through to the teachers.

“We are currently working towards Fairtrade School Status and the banana eating marathon is just one of a number of things we’re doing to raise awareness of the importance of trading justice.”

Other events taking place throughout the fortnight include a special screening of the award-winning documentary Bonia: Ugly Bananas; break-time sales of Fairtrade goodies and a casuals day where pupils will wear the Fairtrade colours of blue and green. In addition school caterers, Thomas Franks, will be creating special Fairtrade-themed lunches.

Pictured: Going bananas are: Heather Kensett (17), Isha Burton (12), Oliver Hancock (9), James Cameron (14) and Jessica Edwards (9).