News from Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)
News from Key Stage 3 – June 2019
Shirley Watson, Head of Key Stage 3, writes: 'Before the half-term break, Year 7 hosted some of the new pupils who will be joining us in September for a special tea and treasure hunt. Key Stage 3 pupils turned up in huge numbers to our newly established lunchtime Wellbeing Club when they heard that two very special visitors were arriving – Guide Dogs Tigger and Jeffers. These very well trained dogs were happy to be fussed and stroked to relieve any school nerves ahead of school exam week. Relaxing sessions including yoga, sport and cookery were interspersed with the exams themselves. After a well-earned holiday, Year 9 returned for their overnight leadership course at Cornbury Park where they learnt bushcraft skills and slept under the stars in the shelters they had built. Over 80 pupils from the Key Stage took part in the Diana Award filming, debating, presenting an assembly to Warwick Prep or being taught by our student cyber mentors about Internet Safety.'
News from Key Stage 3 – May 2019
Shirley Watson, Head of Key Stage 3, writes: 'We congratulated every pupil in Years 7-9 for their tremendous commitment to charity events. Year 8’s Easter Fete brought the charity total raised to well over £1000 and we await income from 9K’s recent ‘Inflatable 5K Obstacle Race’ at Stoneleigh Park before we announce our overall total. We have been focusing on exam preparation in pastoral time, with Year 7 forms receiving a special visit from Wellbeing Ambassadors, who distributed bookmarks they had made, giving great advice on how to take a break every 20 minutes. Many pupils chose to watch the Wellbeing Ambassadors’ lunchtime screenings of ‘Wonder’ with its powerful antibullying message, and a particular highlight was the Guide Dogs, Jeffers and Tigger’s visit to the Wellbeing Club. Girls raised over £80 for Guide Dogs from selling popcorn at the ‘Wonder’ screening. Following the Founders’ Day Service, the whole Key Stage celebrated the school’s 140th birthday with cricket, and a very special picnic lunch.'.
News from Key Stage 3 – March 2019
Shirley Watson, Head of Key Stage 3, writes: ‘Key Stage 3 celebrated International Women’s Day with a special Assembly led by Sophie Long from the Fairtrade Foundation. Pupils were shocked to find out how poorly women are paid for working on cocoa farms, and how few opportunities are available to them. Our pupils have also been reaching out to the broader community by fundraising for the Key Stage 3 charities, with a very successful Year 7 Valentine’s Fair and a Year 9 doughnut sale, raising over £400.
Our Cybermentors have continued to share their expertise in pastoral time. In Year 9, the focus was on digital footprints and their impact on university applications and Year 7 discussed how sharing personal data can be the equivalent of erecting a giant ‘for sale’ sign outside their homes.
Over a third of the Key Stage volunteered to enter the Inspire homework competitions, and several girls were invited to participate in the TCS Oxford Computational Thinking Challenge. There have also been some fine displays of creativity from Key Stage 3 pupils in dance, drama and music performances.
News from Key Stage 3 – February 2019
Shirley Watson, Head of Key Stage 3, writes: ‘Thinking of others has been very much on the minds of Key Stage 3 forms as we launched this term’s charity appeal. Over forty girls helped launch each form’s suggested charity to the whole Key Stage in assemblies, the high quality of presentation made voting extremely close. Make a Wish Foundation, British Heart Foundation and local charity Bliss Babies won through and now forms are finalising their fundraising activities, some of which will take place at our annual Valentine and Easter lunchtime fetes.
On the academic front, a group of pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 chose to spend a day ‘off timetable’ to carry out research as part of our Inspire programme. Joined by Warwick School Key Stage 3 boys in our new Sixth Form Centre, they interpreted the theme ‘101’ very creatively.
Year 9 have been diligently choosing their GCSE options whilst Year 7 pupils were led by nationally-acclaimed theatre company Highly Sprung to interpret the story of the Snow Queen using physical theatre. This amazing ‘Play in a Day’ showed to a full house of supportive parents and friends at the Bridge House Theatre.’