As another academic year comes to end, as always we have quite a few goodbyes to say to staff. We have two of our longest serving support staff leaving - Linda Atkinson after 17 years of dedicated service in reprographics and HR. Also leaving after 15 years as the Headteacher’s PA is Nicki Blayber, who I have obviously worked very closely with for the last 10 years. Both these ladies have been amazing servants to RWBA and will be hugely missed.

Teachers leaving are Ali Snowden after 13 years in the Geography faculty. Ali is going to teach nearer her home in Nailsea and has a job at Kings of Wessex in Cheddar. Jenna Broadway is leaving after 9 years of incredible service in Art and Photography, Jenna is going to be full-time mum. Jenny Beveridge is leaving the Social Sciences faculty after 5 years of outstanding service and leadership. Jenny is moving back to the midlands to be closer to family. Daphne Marion is leaving English after 5 years of remarkable dedication. Daphne is retiring and we have been so lucky to have her here for the last 5 years. Beth Martin is leaving Maths after 5 years and Beth has gained promotion and a move to the seaside. Tom Pearce is leaving History after 3 years for his dream life in France, he has made a real impact in a short time especially in his role as SEND Co-ordinator. Nigel Atkins is leaving Science after 3 years and moving into Higher Education. Also leaving Science to head off to the fashion capital of the world Milan is Laura Butler after 3 years in Science where she has also led Key Stage 4. Jonny Hake is fed up of the M4 and has a teaching job nearer to his house in Bristol. He has introduced the Student Parliament with great success. Nikki Mesnard has also decided to teach nearer home and will be teaching Psychology in Salisbury next year. Luisa Farmer is leaving English after 2 years and has a full-time post. Natasha Dixon is going back to Lawn Manor Academy after a highly successful year in PE where she led our dancers to the National finals. Also leaving after one year are Dan Dos Santos in Computer Science and Selima Fernandez in Science. Rian Peters has finished his University placement in ICT. Chris Waring is leaving his PE/Cover Supervisor role to join our SCITT to train to be a teacher for a year and Mel Umbleja- Johnson is leaving after her maternity cover and has a job at Devizes next year. We hope that Linda and Daphne both have long and happy retirements and wish everyone else well in their future careers.

This year has been yet another amazing year here at RWBA. We have seen success across the board with our Whole School Production of Beauty and the Beast, Music concerts, National Dance finalists, sporting County Champions in virtually every sport at a minimum of at least one age group. We have had our second year of our Mad Dog Rugby Academy with them working with more students in the lower school as well as the 6th form. We had a stunning Art exhibition in the gym with a portrait of Mr Robertson as part of it. Academic success will hopefully come in August for our Year11 and Year13 students. We are hoping that the introduction of several new policies and procedures will have helped to improve teaching and learning even further. These were Behaviour, Teaching Learning and Assessment and the introduction of Show My Homework.

I would like to thank all staff, students and parents for supporting the school and ensuring that these new policies were a great success. We look forward to another set of outstanding results coming in the summer and wish you all happy holidays. School starts again for staff on Monday September 2nd with Years 7 and 12 in on Tuesday 3rd and then the whole school on Wednesday 4th.

George Croxford, Headteacher

Former student Daniel Blinkhorn was awarded a Gold Medal at the Island Games hosted in Gibraltar earlier this month, taking part in Judo. Daniel attended RWBA from 2000 to 2005 when Mr Batty was his PE teacher. With Daniel’s success in the men’s judo open category, the Isle of White notched up 20 Island Games medals after four days of competition in Gibraltar.

Congratulations Daniel. Here’s to many more gold medals coming your way!

Our Year 8 Spanish Students are excited to go to Malaga this term. Please follow @RWBAMFL on twitter or @RWBAMFL on

Instagram for updates and photos

MFL CLUB

MFL Club has been well attended this year by many familiar faces, and lots of new ones too. Students have metaphorically travelled the world this year and have enjoyed making friends along the way.

Here are what some of the clubs members have done this year, in their own words:

“We do lots of games and fun activities eg. Gimkit, pancakes. I enjoy MFL because it is so fun and you can make new friends here. The best thing I’ve done in MFL club in my opinion is making pancakes and eating them. People should come to MFL club because it’s fun and you laugh with each other.” -Lori – Year 7

“In MFL club, we have lots of fun doing Gimkit, learning different extra-curricular languages and doing wacky activities. I enjoy it because it is a place where we can socialise, meet new people, and learn really cool languages! The best thing we have done in MFL club is making pancakes, because I learnt how to cook things in a pan. It would be really good for people to come to MFL club because they can learn awesome new things, have fun with other people and go to a club!”

-Ewan – Year 7

“In MFL we don’t only do modern foreign languages we sometime do other fun things like making pancakes and play fun games on

the iPad like Kahoot! And Gimkit!I enjoy MFL club as I can talk and hang out with my friends. The best thing I have done in MFL club

is beat everyone in Gimkit. You should MFL to gain friends and learn, you will have lots of fun.”

Ninam – Year 7

“At MFL club, we learn multiple languages, cultures and play games. I enjoy MFL club because it allows everyone to hang with friends and meet new people. The best thing we have done at MFL when we decorated the doors for world book day and we all worked together. People should come to MFL to interact with more students, have more opportunities with different cultures and make some friends along the way.” -Chloe – Year 7

On the 2nd July, the Drama Club performed 'Lost in Fabula' a performance written, directed, rehearsed and produced by Year 10 students. Beth McInally (10Compton1) and Lee Davies-Hillier wrote the comedy, using recognisable characters and a clear plot. It was very funny! Liv Crowley (10Compton1) aided rehearsals and Amelia Baker (10Berwick3) stage managed. About 30 Key Stage 3 pupils performed in front of parents and friends and did exceptionally well. I would personally like to thank the Year 10 pupils involved (yes, even Charlie Barton-Embling for doing the poster) as they were an absolute credit to us and made Miss Cullen and I very proud. There will be a Christmas performance - watch this space! Well done everyone

Mrs Markham-Lee

Les Mis School Trip April 2019 Best school trip ever to see last year’s Year 13 A-Level Music student Harry Apps perform as Marius in the Les Mis tour at Birmingham Hippodrome. We are happy to say that Harry has had his contract with Les Mis extended! Harry met with students and signed programmes after the show. Here is a photo of RWBA students, staff and Harry Apps after the show!

Alexander Harris, Year 13, National Youth Orchestra Alexander Harris performs in his second year in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. In April NYO toured to Birmingham Symphony Hall with an exquisite programme of music from the Americas. Tickets for the National Youth Orchestra Prom at the Royal Albert Hall are nearly sold out! Catch it on BBC 4 on Sunday 28th July to watch some of the UK’s most talented young musicians 13-18 perform in the NYO Prom! There is nothing quite like a NYO Prom!

Merrily We Roll Along In May, Year 12 A-Level Music students performed in the pit band of the amateur production of Merrily We Roll Along in Cirencester. Nathaniel Evans on bass guitar, Niamh Potter on oboe and cor Anglais, James Absalom on a variety of woodwind. The challenging score by Stephen Sondheim accompanies a musical which catalogues a series of events telling Franklin Shepard’s Story of how he became a rich, famous, and influential songwriter and film producer in LA. Uniquely the years roll back over 20 years of his life to unfold how he went from penniless composer to wealthy producer and what he gave up to get there. Mrs Markham-Lee made her Cirencester Musical Theatre debut as a member of the ensemble.

Year 9 Lion King Theatre In June a coachload of Year 9 students went to London to see the West End musical ‘Lion King’ at the Lyceum!

Noremarsh School Fete On Friday 21st June, Junior Voices and Clarinet and Saxophone Ensemble walked to Noremarsh to perform in the band stage area at their annual school fete!

Wiltshire Inspiration Project RWBA’s Clarinet and Saxophone Ensemble performed at Broad Town and Lydiard Millicent in June. The Wiltshire Inspiration Project encourages and enables secondary school students to inspire primary pupils to take up learning a musical instrument. Students performed a concert to primaries and demonstrated musical performance and elements of music in a workshop. Along with ensemble performances we heard stunning solos from Parker Fisher 7Co1-Clarinet, Samuel Dicks 8Ba1-Alto Saxophone, Katie Channing 10Be1-Clarinet and Alto Saxophone and Bethan Griffiths 11Co2-Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone.

Sixth from Chamber Concert Monday 11th March 2019

The Sixth Form Chamber Concert began with a Sixth Form ensemble performance of Haydn’s London Symphony, 104, first movement. Sixth Form Flute Ensemble performed So Long, Farewell with choreography!

James Absalom (tenor saxophone) Nathaniel Evans (alto saxophone), Callista Howells (voice) and Niamh Potter (oboe) performed fabulous solo pieces. Alexander Harris performed his exquisite solo A Level recital on French Horn. The concert finished with a trio by Carl Reinecke performed by Niamh Potter (oboe), Alexander Harris (French Horn) and Vanessa Harris (Piano). Such a musically talented group of Sixth Form students who love to perform.

KS3 Recital – Wednesday 19th June

Music Results

James Absalom – 12Bassett2 ABRSM Theory Grade 5

Clarinet Grade 8

Distinction

Distinction

Megan Davies – 12Bassett2 ABRSM Flute Grade 3 Merit

Katie Hughes – 9Winterbourne1 ABRSM Flute Grade 1

Singing Grade 2

Merit

Merit

Jade Wells – 7Wootton3 ABRSM Recorder Prep Test

Nathaniel Evans – 12Berwick2 Trinity Jazz Sax Grade 8 Distinction

Samuel Dicks – 8Bassett1 Trinity Jazz Sax Grade 1 Distinction

Daisy Osbourne – 9Compton3 Trinity Sax Grade 1 Distinction

Oliwia Smietanka – 9Compton3 Trinity Sax Grade 4 Distinction

Mariko Shiel – 11Winterbourne1 Trinity Sax Grade 4 Merit

Jakub Tucker – 11Winterbourne1 Trinity Clarinet Grade 7 Merit

Samuel Dubarry – 11Winterbourne1 Trinity Jazz Sax Grade 5 Merit

Katie Channing – 10Berwick1 ABRSM Clarinet Grade 5 Pass

Rianna Wardle – 9Compton1 Trinity Clarinet Grade 2 Merit

Cofi Nash – 9Bassett1 Trinity Sax Merit

Bethan Griffiths – 11Compton2 Trinity Clarinet Grade 5 Merit

Sophie Saru – 7Bassett2 Trinity Piano Initial Distinction

Ellie Fleckney – 8Bassett1 Trinity Piano Grade 1 Distinction

Ben Kimberley – 9Bassett2 Trinity Piano Initial Distinction = 100%

Samuel Case – 10Winterbourne1 ABRSM Piano Grade 4 Pass

Samuel Davidson – 10Wootton2 Trinity Piano Initial Distinction

Isabel Draycott – 10Compton1 ABRSM Piano Music Theory Grade 1 Result Pending

Sienna Tunney – 10Bassett2 Trinity Piano Grade 5 Merit

Tannaz Hooshyarabnavi – 11Basset2 Trinity Piano Grade 5 Pass

Millie Evans – 12Berwick1 ABRSM Piano Grade 7 Pass

Natalie Pocock 10Compton1 Piano Grade 1

Piano Grade 2

Merit

Merit

Alaya Roberts – 9Compton3 Piano Initial Distinction

Nathan Turner – 9Berwick2 Piano Grade 2 Pass

Alexandra Privett – 9Bassett2 Piano Grade 1 Pass

Siobhan Male – 8Bassett1 Piano Grade 1 Distinction

Eden Harris – 7Wootton2 Piano Grade 1 Distinction

Rhiannon Caple – 8Wootton2 Piano Grade 5 Merit

A stunning joint concert with Royal Wootton Bassett Academy soloists, RWBA Brass Ensemble and Royal Wootton Bassett Choral Society. On Sunday 7th July Alexander Harris performed his final concert with the Royal College of Music Junior Department. Alexander has been part of RCMJD for three years studying Horn, Conducting and Musicianship, travelling up to London every Saturday for a full day of musical education. He has been a member of the RCMJD flagship Symphony Orchestra and Wind Octet. He looks forward to studying Music full time at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London from September. A great day at Minety Music Festival on Friday 5th July with the sun shining! Fab performances from Junior Voices, Clarinet and Saxophone Ensemble and Senior Choir! On Sunday 14th July, Chameleon performed their first gig at the Hall & Woodhouse in Wichelstowe! They performed jazz standards and their own jazz compositions! Chameleon is a student jazz group led by Nathaniel Evans (Year 12). This gig was the first of many we hope! They are available for bookings and gigs! Featuring Billy Spearman-Trumpet (Year 11), James Absalom -Tenor Saxophone (Year 12), Alexander Harris-Piano (Year 13), Callum Davison-Drum Kit (Year 13) and Nathaniel Evans-Bass Guitar (Year 12). On Tuesday 16th July, fifteen of our young pianists performed at our annual Grand Piano Recital. Here you can see the pieces our players performed. One of the many highlights was a composition written by Ewan Johnstone, Year 7! RWBA Piano Recital Tuesday 16th July.

Millie Evans 12BE1 Nocturne in C# minor by Chopin Ellie Fleckney 8BA1 Minuet by Reinagle / Kyle Hayward 7WI1 Own Composition Natasha Harris 8BA1 A Passing Storm by Walter Carroll / Katie Hughes 9WI1 The Merry Peasant’ by Robert Schumann Samuel Davidson 10WO2 Mango Walk, piano duet arr. Kirkby-Mason / Tane Castle 8BA1 Waltz in E Minor by Chopin Naomi Kremerov 10CO2 The Reef / Tom Gahan 8BE2 Holiday in Paris by William Gillock Daisy Dowdeswell 7WI2 Por una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel / Isabella Draycott 10CO1 Hand in Hand by Ben Crosland Ewan Johnstone 7WI1 Feast of the Forest by Ewan Johnstone / Sophie Saru 7BA2 Stick and Hat, piano duet by Michael Stahl Lullaby by Daxböck et al / Ashwin Chandrabalu 8WI1 Mango Walk arr. Kirkby-Mason / Lucia Green 7WO2 In Dreams / Daniel Leslie 7CO2 All Is Calm

On Friday 5th July RWBA Saxophone Ensemble and RWBA Swing Band performed at the National final of Music For Youth at Birmingham Town Hall! This is huge achievement from comprehensive school to have two groups on the national final. There were many county music groups in the same categories as RWBA! Saxophone Ensemble: James Absalom Year 12, Benjamin Coombs Year 11, Samuel Dubarry Year 11, Nathaniel Evans Year 12, Niamh Potter Year 12, Jakub Tucker Year 11 Swing Band: James Absalom Year 12, Benjamin Coombs Year 11, Samuel Dubarry Year 11, Millie Evans Year 12, Nathaniel Evans Year 12, Adam Hubbard Year 11, Cofi Nash Year 9, Charlie Mann Year 9, Niamh Potter Year 12, Shauna Potter Year 10, Billy Spearman Year 11, Bethany Taylor Year 13, Jakub Tucker Year 11, Robert Williams Year 7 Supported by ex-pupils: Tom Absalom, Christopher Colpus, Joel Coombs, Ben Pope, Kieran Potter, Joshua Spreadborough and Flic Woolnough and Laura Wickens

Summer Music Concert A superb Summer Concert showcasing RWBA’s musical talent. Performances from Wind Band, Saxinets, Brass Ensemble, Senior Choir, String Group, Junior Voices, Flute Ensemble, Sixth Form Flute Ensemble and Chameleon. A stunning Trio for Oboe, Horn and Piano performed by Niamh Potter, Alexander Harris and Mrs Harris. A solo Classical Guitar performance from Max Chambers (8BE2) and special performances from Music For Youth Finalists Saxophone Ensemble and Swing Band. Guest performances from ex-pupils too! Mrs Hodgson gave a farewell speech for the stunning Year 13 musicians present who will be sadly missed in the Music department. Callum Davison (Drums), Alexander Harris (Horn, Piano and Drums), Emily Munn (Flute), Jayne Spearman (Violin, Oboe and Piano) Emily Smith (Flute) and Bethany Taylor (Voice and Clarinet). Wishing them all good luck for your new chapter and we hope you all continue with music!

It’s been another hugely busy, varied and productive term for the programme, providing a range of opportunities for students, staff, parents and the community to be informed, engaged, inspired and empowered by all things Holocaust, genocide and human rights. Some recent highlights: #RWBAPoland19 was an educational and cultural triumph – superbly organised by Miss Cassidy, and supported by Mr Williams, the trip was part of a new international exchange partnership with a school in Krakow, Prywatne Akademickie Centrum Kształcenia. Students spent time at the school, playing a communist inspired queuing board game, enjoyed time at the local water park, visited the beautiful Square, Wavel Castle, eating out and tasting the Polish cuisine, touring the Jewish Quarter and then a full day excursion to Auschwitz-Birkenau. One of my stand-out memories from the trip was the morning of traditional Polish dancing – and all students, Miss Cassidy and Mr Williams too, getting up, out of comfort zones and giving it a go, all with smiles, laughter and learning a lot too about the symbolism and stories that underpin such traditions. Might this mean we introduce a Morris Dancing session into UK leg of exchange next year? Our four-day return visit in June coincided with the heat wave that swept Europe - it was 42o on the day we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau, but the students were incredible! Mindful of where they were, there was no complaint about the heat. Students were actively engaged in all they saw and heard, attuned to their feelings, their care for others and aware of the opportunity this provided. Tellingly, one student, said ‘I’m nervous of course about what I will see and how I might react, how I might fell as I know its going to be tough, but I think I’m most worried or anxious about seeing someone else, anyone, showing any disrespect to the place, to the memory or not treating the visit in the right way.’ That speaks to me of a student’s values, their maturity, upbringing, sense of self and place in the world – it speaks to why we feel the HGP programme is important, as these Year 9 student truly appreciated the challenging, sensitive nature of the site, its history and how it connected with or broke with other parts of their exchange visit. I wanted to note one among several special moments at Auschwitz-Birkenau: We were mid-way through the Auschwitz I tour, inside the barracks and looking at the collections of shoes, suitcases, personal effects. I turned a corner into the next room and spotted at the far end of the room and small, old lady who I recognised instantly as Eva Moses Kor – a survivor, who, along with her sister was a victim of Mengele’s experiments on twins. She was sat in front of a large print of an iconic liberation photo of a small group of children walking along the barbed wire – Eva and her sister are at the front of the group. Past students of mine will know we used to talk about Eva due to her recent notoriety as ‘the survivor who forgave Mengele, the Nazis, the perpetrators’. She established a museum in the US and tirelessly talked and travelled to share her story. When we turned that corner, we had to go over to her… she shared some words, telling our students that ‘Getting even has never healed a single person’. She went on “…forgiveness is not so much for the perpetrator, but for the victim. For me, when I forgave it set me free, it gave me power… without forgiveness I was haunted, filled with hate, and that was hurting no one but me”. After a few minutes with this remarkable lady, who had divided the survivor community due to her forgiveness, our tour continued and we left her talking to another group of young people informing and inspiring the next generation. We were sad to learn on our return to the UK that Eva had passed away in Krakow, that next day. She was aged 85 – may her memory be a blessing. Throughout whole trip, the students did themselves, their families and the school proud – super RWBA Ambassadors

throughout. A massive thank you to Miss Casidy, Mr Williams and Mr Whitehorn for a great trip and for the opportunity to

embed site based pedagogy within our HGP provision, by visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau.

#T2TA initiatives ran throughout the year, but in the past three weeks some 130 RWBA students (across Years 8-10) have

had opportunities to participate in a range of bespoke 1-day workshops. ‘Time to Talk about…’ Bosnia, Rwanda, British

Responses to the Holocaust, Memorials and so on, enabled us to invite in survivors, expert guests, develop poetry,

creativity, source analysis, critical thinking, citizenship and values. They each sought to be take students out of their

comfort zones and to inform, engage, inspire and empower them – and the outcomes have been wide-ranging, hugely

impressive and mature. Students were sometimes mixing/working with students from other Year groups, indeed in

some cases with students from partner or Trust schools – so this was a holistic and personal development/learning

opportunity, outside, but related to their regular curriculum. I would like to thank the survivors, partner organisations,

experts and network schools for their support and participation, also to Mrs Ferguson in DT, Mr I’Anson in PE and Mr

Gunstone in English who contributed sessions within the various workshops – bringing varied expertise, approaches to

these topics. The students were magnificent and treated the days and subject matter with the upmost respect. You can

see and read about their responses and get a flavour of the events by checking out @RWBAHolocaust account on

twitter, whether further details and photos, student quotes etc have been posted.

#LessonsfromAuschwitz was another HGP opportunity embraced again this term, thanks to the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET). In addition to the two Sixth Form students, accompanied by Mrs Salmon, earlier this year, this term saw PE’s Mr I’Anson participate in the three-part programme: A pre-visit seminar including a survivor speaker, a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, and a follow-up/next steps event. Mr I’Anson has returned informed and inspired, he writes: ‘I would like to apologise for the lack of knowledge I have had of events pre, during and after the Holocaust. The journey I have been on with the LFA has opened my eyes to the need to educate our young people on the Holocaust. It has made me reflect massively on my professional practice and identify a need for me to champion the sharing of history in the hope it goes someway in shaping young people to understand events such as this should not be allowed to happen. I also feel it opens the door to all teachers no matter their subject interests and background to support the work of the LFA and its charity organisations. With regards my teaching and the use of Physical Education to educate pupils on the holocaust, watch this space as we will be actively supporting our schools work as a Holocaust UCL Beacon school and will be playing our part in contributing to HGP events’ It is notable, his first words to me on his return from the visit were… ‘Not sure how, where or what to say or share. But a quote that stuck – “come here you free citizens of the world, whose life is safeguarded by human morality”. Big thanks to Mr I’Anson for going out of his comfort zone and for so embracing the opportunity. What an advocate and role model for our young people! And thanks too, the Holocaust Education Trust for facilitating.

#FootballWelcomes was a huge success and was thanks in large part to Miss Bickell’s inclusive sporting vision and

commitment to community cohesion. Her enthusiasm and passion brought seven teams: Wiltshire Police, All Girls,RWBA

Sixth Form, RWBA staff, Lawn Manor staff, Lime Kiln Sports and Leisure Centre and a team of refugee friends from

Swindon Harbour Project. The weather couldn’t dampen spirits and the football tournament made quite an impact –

raising awareness of LGBTQ issues, with teams wearing rainbow laces, challenging myths and misconceptions about

diversity, refugees and stereotypes, and enabled us to remember those who were lost in genocide and human rights

abuses, or those forced to flee. Bosnian survivor Safet Vukalic joined us throughout and presented the trophies. The

RWBA and local community came together for a wonderful tournament that was fun, meaningful and it had some great

media coverage. Lime Kiln were the tournament winners with the Swindon Harbour team receiving the fair play award.

The event was supported by so many – G4S, Out of the Can, Young Referees, Power of 10

students – staff from across the school all played their part to stand together against hate and

indifference, to offer welcome, foster, respect, empathy and inclusion.

#SrebrenicaMemorialWeek (this year marking 24th anniversary) was principally marked by the school thanks for Mr I’Anson and his wonderful PE Department colleagues. Mr I’Anson reflected: ‘Within the context of Physical Education at RWBA, the department are developing learning opportunities that cross over curriculum areas. The department and school are very proud of the topics and variety they are able to offer to our students. As part of this we have scheduled in a mental well-being week which we theme around a topic for pupils to reflect on whilst also championing the aspects of their own lives that need celebrating. In support of the work the school carries out as a UCL Holocaust Beacon school, our in house HGP programme led by Miss Wetherall, and in support of the fantastic work of the Remembering Srebrenica charity, we looked at how we could educate all our KS3 pupils by sharing an understanding of events in Bosnia and most importantly the genocides in Srebrenica. We decided we would look to recreate the symbol of a white rose in conjunction with the symbol used by the charity. Pupils were presented a short assembly on the information and knowledge of events that occurred in Bosnia and Srebrenica and set the challenge to complete 8732 steps during their timetabled PE lessons. The completion of these steps would serve as a memorial for the lives lost whilst also giving students the opportunity to walk, think and admire the things they may take for granted. At conclusion of the assembly and prior to pupils taking on the step challenge they recorded a pledge in honour of those affected by the events in Bosnia. This gave them a focus for their own mindfulness whilst completing their steps in lessons. These pledges were them laid in the form of a white rose, completed with a green centre of sports equipment. This week of lesson was completed in the week leading up to 11th July’. Some examples of pupil’s pledges are as follows:

‘By walking my 8,732 steps it will make me think about how grateful I am to have everything I have today.’ ‘My 8,732 steps will make me appreciate the freedom I have to do things I like. I pledge to speak to the people around me more.’ ‘I pledge to honour and help my family more and support the loving environment I have at home and in school.’ As a department we will be looking to further our work in developing cross curricular links that further educate our pupils on historic events whilst also supporting their learning as good global citizens. In summary: There is a lot more we could report, about the ongoing success of the RAD (reading and discussion group),

the showcase that united Prijedor Bosnian survivors Kemal Pervanic & Safet Vukalic, class activities and ilearn work to

mark #Kwibuka25 (the 25th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda), White Arm Band Day, Refugee

week and always our value of the month and links to the UNCRC – but space does not allow.

Suffice to say, massive thanks to all staff involved in every aspect of the programme, especially to students who so

engage and embrace the complexities, the personal stories and understand the relevance, and to the survivors,

organisations and experts who so support us. We have achieved a lot – but the work continues – there is more to do, so

we look forward to moving the work forward in 2019-20.

Miss Wetherall MBE

We’ve had a busy year in the Geography department, with exciting trips, outdoor learning opportunities and inspiring learning about the world around us.

Key Stage 3 Geography

Geography Clubs We have been running Geology Club and Geography at the movies after school this year. We are hoping to grow these clubs further next year. We would like to invite all Key Stage 3 geographers to come along and enrich their experience of the subject. Trips to Jubilee Park We are lucky enough to have a fantastic outdoor learning resource within our reach during lesson time. We have taken students to Jubilee Park to investigate the impact that leisure use has on the natural ecology of the lake grounds. We hope to do more local visits during Geography lessons next year, with further trips to Jubilee Park to look at the ecosystem and Royal Wootton Bassett High Street to conduct a Human Geography enquiry.

GCSE Geography

The GCSE Course The new GCSE course is now fully embedded and resourced and students are experiencing high quality learning experiences both in and out of the classroom. Yet again, we have a large number of students choosing to study GCSE Geography. Our Year 9 students going forwards will be able to start experiencing the course in September. Fieldtrips to Swindon and Swanage Year 10 have been out on two fieldtrips this academic year. We went to Swindon back in November – a perfect place to learn about the impact of regeneration projects. More recently, we have visited Swanage to learn about beach defences against erosion. Both trips were a thorough success and have provided students with data for their Fieldwork exam at the end of Year 11. Into the future Year 11 exams are over now, but we are lucky enough that approximately 50 of our students are coming back to the department after the summer to study A Level Geography!

A Level Geography Year 12 The A Level course is in full flow and students are approximately half way through the exam content. Students have been studying a range of geographical topics including glacial landscapes, climate change, changing places and sustainable cities. Fieldtrip to Snowdonia and Bristol, March 2019 A Level students have experienced a range of field trips from the stunning landscapes of Snowdonia to the dynamic changing city of Bristol. Their independent fieldwork is currently being carried out in school and at home, supported by their class teachers for guidance. Year 13 Students have now completed their final year of study. We wish them luck in the future and hope they remember their journey through Geography – not just the ox bow lakes!

Students from Year 11 and Year 13 had the opportunity to go on an exciting two-destination fieldtrip to Sicily and Sorrento! The

Italy Fieldtrip November 2018

Students from Year 11 and Year 13 had the opportunity to go on an exciting two-destination fieldtrip to Sicily and Sorrento!

The highlights included climbing Etna, visiting Pompeii and bathing in naturally heated pools on the island of Volcano.

Fairwell to Mrs Snowdon!

After 12 years of teaching Geography at RWBA, Mrs Snowdon is leaving to start a new Geography adventure!

We will miss her and we would like to thank her for being such an inspiring teacher over the years!

Good luck Mrs Snowdon.

For the third year in a row, RWBA are Swimming County Champions! As a team we won all of the relays and placed top 3 in 18 out of 19 individual races.

Individual event winners include: Lavinia Morsani-Jones (8Winterbourne3), Bria Knight (8Berwick2), Reuben Marchment (8Berwick2) and Charlie Griffiths (7Wootton2).

The event was attended by Paralympic gold medallist Stephanie Millward MBE

On Monday the 13th May, 9 current RWBA students and 6 ex-RWBA

students attended a Duke of Edinburgh Award presentation ceremony

at Buckingham Palace. The students were presented with their

Gold award which is the culmination of many months of hard work,

learning a new skill, volunteering, taking up a physical activity, doing a

week’s residential course and finally spending 5 days wild camping.

This is a huge achievement by these young people and was rightly

acknowledged by Princess Beatrice when she was talking with the

students ahead of their presentation of certificates by Natalie Dormer

(Game of Thrones actress). Proud parents looked on as the weather

was kind to ensure a truly memorable experience was had by all.

15 students and 3 members of staff visited RWBA from Prywatne Akademickie Centrum Ksztalcenia, Poland from the 10th

to 15th June.

During their stay, we took them to the trampoline park and ice skating rink in Swindon. We also participated in some design technology activities with Mrs Ferguson and Mrs Gasson. Finally we completed a project day in which we looked at Britishness and exploring life and legacy of Janusz Korczak, alongside the British and Polish responses to the Holocaust, where groups of students made informative presentations. Everyone benefitted from this cultural exchange. To reciprocate, RWBA students had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz when they went Poland on the 24th June for 3 nights. Everyone had a great time visiting each others countries and learnt a lot about each other.

Sixth Form Fundraising The new Sixth Form Leadership Team ran a very successful cake sale on Monday 8th July as part of their ongoing fund raising for their charity. They are supporting Greenpeace and encouraging students to look after their environment, to recycle and to reduce their carbon footprint. The cake sale raised £75. Thank you to everyone who helped out, baking cakes, selling cakes and of course the most important eating cakes! As part of our Induction Days for the Year 11’s moving up to Sixth Form, we held an event to link into this year’s theme of the Tour De France. Cycles were set up on turbo trainers and students attempted to cycle as far as they could in 30 seconds. The aim being to complete the final leg of the Tour from Rambouillet to Paris. This however proved a lot harder than anticipated. All those that took part peddled extremely hard and participated with a positive humour. Well done to those who competed it was a tough task. Thank you to Bassett Bikes who loaned equipment and to Mr & Mrs Hopkins who loaned us the cycles for the event.

Coming Up Following our successful projects last year, we are out and about again in the community during the last week of term. Year 12 students will be taking on projects as part of their enrichment week. We will be gardening and conservation work, painting, producing art work and creating murals and mosaics and working with local care homes and residences John Watson House, Springfields, Miranda House, Ridgeway House, local schools, Longleaze Primary School, Noremarsh School, Rowdeford School, Devizes, and local churches United Reformed Church, and St Bartholomew’s Church. The students are looking forward to the days out in the community and an opportunity to give something back. Watch out for the photos in the autumn newsletter.

Valedictory Dinner – 5 July A successful night was had by all at the STEAM Museum in Swindon to celebrate with staff the end of two years hard work in the Sixth Form, focusing on A Levels and BTEC Courses. Speeches were given by the Head Girl and Head Boy and Deputies to thank everyone for coming and being a great cohort of friends and colleagues. Dancing followed the meal and there were some very sore feet at the end of it!

We wish the students well for results day in August and for their ongoing future studies and career paths.

The summer term has been one to look back on with fond memories for all involved in Mad Dog rugby. We hosted our very first Mad Dog Rugby 7’s Festival back in May, with 8 teams attending and some amazing rugby put on show. Although RWBA did not come away with the trophy, a draw to the deserved winners Bishop Wordsworth’s School in the group stages really marks how close the entire tournament was. We hope to make this a yearly event based on this year’s great success. Training has been impressive, as always, and commitment from the players through exam season has been great to see. With Year 13’s focusing on their final A Level exams, the Year 12’s have really stepped up and put down some solid work ahead of their final senior rugby year. Extra-circular activities for this term have included our End of Season Awards dinner and a trip to Twickenham for an RFU careers day as well as a trip to the University of Bath for a sports and open day experience. Amongst the continual hard work from players and coaches alike, there have been hints of nostalgia as we say goodbye to an amazing group of Year 13’s and wish them well in all their future endeavours. University, apprenticeships, gap years and the world of work await these young men; exciting times ahead for all. This year group has been first to complete the two year rugby programme and their growth, in terms of rugby and also as young men, has been incredible to see. It was a pleasure to be able to attend Valedictory with this group and say goodbye. Of course, no goodbye is final with Mad Dog as our office door always remains open. We massively look forward to next year, with a strong group of Year 12’s and an intake of 16 new Mad-Doggers (internal and external). The programme will be stronger than ever and we can’t wait to push our boys on to have a hugely successful year on and off pitch.

Applications for September 2020 will open in October

Keep an eye on our website for further information

Wiltshire Police receive repeated requests to deal with poor, inconsiderate or dangerous parking by parents during the

‘school run’. We are working with your school to reduce the issues that are caused by inconsiderate parking at school drop

off and collection times.

Following the end of term, Wiltshire Police CPT officers will look to continue to conduct school patrols during the new

school year to engage with and provide visible policing to the users of our schools at their busiest time, this will include

enforcement of parking that is an issue.

Wiltshire Police, having given due warning by this communication, will enforce parking offences and this may include a fine

and/or points on a driving license. This may occur without further warning and may include our partners at Parking

Enforcement. Please do not be caught out.

To avoid this, please park considerately and follow the below rules:

- Do Not park on any double yellow lines

- Do Not park in a dangerous position (i.e near bends where vehicles are forced onto oncoming traffic)

- Do Not park within 10 metres of any junction

- Do Not cause an obstruction, including rights of nearby residents and their properties

- Do Not drive or park on a pavement or verge, regardless of whether you may be obstructing the path or not

- Take a parking space further away and enjoy a little extra walk with your child to school

Inconsiderate parking causes frustration, anger and danger to children, please do not do it.

Take the time during the summer holidays to plan your school parking to allow for these considerations.

Wiltshire Police may use any results on FaceBook site to assist in ‘getting the message across’ please park sensibly and do not

get caught out.

Kind Regards

Wiltshire North CPT

CHARITY SUPPORT

On behalf of Royal Wootton Bassett Academy and the charities that we have been able to donate to this year, I would like to thank our students, their parents and guardians and our staff for raising in the region of £10,000.

We have supported: Stand By Me – An international charity as we are in the process of building a Children’s Home in Ethiopia Stonewall UK – Rainbow Laces A variety of Military charities Brighter Futures at the Great Western Hospital Barnardo’s Shelter Young Minds Runvember Cancer Research UK Sports Relief Cancer & Leukaemia Movement MIND Harbour Project Winston’s Wish The NSPCC Save The Children CRY UK World Book Day CLIC Sargent Help for Heroes Military Concert Numerous Non-Uniform Days Wiltshire Air Ambulance Poppy Appeal The Rainbow Run Dementia UK Prospect Hospice We are incredibly proud of our ability as a community to raise these kinds of amounts and it is thanks to everyone’s generosity that we are able to help so many people, locally, nationally and internationally. Mrs Ellis, Deputy Headteacher