School closes on Friday 8th February.
Term 4 begins for all students on
Monday 18th February 2013
The temperatures are fall-
ing again and although
more snow is a distinct
possibility, this can only be
good news for the stu-
dents and staff leaving
Langtree on Friday for the
2013 annual ski trip. This
year the group will be
returning to a favourite
resort of Torgon in Swit-
zerland, where snow con-
ditions are reported to be
excellent. I would like to
take this opportunity to
wish each member of the
trip a happy, safe and
memorable week in the
mountains.
Following her relocation to
Buckinghamshire, we will
be sorry to see Rosie Sulli-
van leave Langtree at the
end of this term after four
years of very hard work in
the Art Department. I
would like to thank her for
all she has done in her
time with us, and on behalf
of all staff wish her the
very best in the future.
Rosie will be replaced by
Laura Hodgson, a prac-
tising artist and teacher of
art who joins us from St
Birinus School in Didcot. I
am confident that this
excellent appointment will
enable us to continue the
reputation we have for
outstanding visual art on
display all around the
school.
We were also delighted to
welcome Mary Taylor-Lane
to the post of part time
receptionist at Langtree.
Mary was appointed from
an extremely strong field
and will be working part-
time at one of the busiest
desks in the school! Mary
has settled in very well in-
deed and is quickly getting
to know all the staff, stu-
dents and parents who pass
through our busy reception.
The second of this year’s
scheduled Creativity Days
was again a huge success.
Students enjoyed a wide
range of creative learning
opportunities: Y8 students
travelled to London to visit
the London Dungeons, the
Science Museum and a west
end production of Singing
in the Rain. Meanwhile, stu-
dents back at school en-
joyed a rocket building –
and launching - workshop in
Technology, a PE training
session conducted solely in
French, as well as a range of
other creative activities in
school. Congratulations to
all staff and students for
such a positive and enthusi-
astic approach to the day’s
activities. Yet again it was a
huge pleasure to receive
praise from members of the
public and visitors to the
school with regard to the
high standards of behaviour
and positive attitudes dis-
played by so many students
involved in the various activ-
ities. See inside for more
Message from the headteacher
February 2013
information!
And speaking of Creativity,
congratulations to all students
who took part in the coastal
cake bake off organised by the
Geography and Technology
departments. The cakes, which
modelled a range of physical
coastal features, actually tasted
as good as they looked! Spe-
cial congratulations to the win-
ners, Jess Perry, Isabelle Wood,
Charlotte Tosdevin, Alex Smith,
Imogen McCalman and Jack
Stovell.
Do have a look at some
of the stunning entries
posted on the front page
news of the website at
www.langtreeschool.com
With very best wishes to you all
for a restful break over the
February half term. It is amaz-
ing to think that we are half
way through our academic year
– many thanks indeed for the
support of all parents over the
last three terms.
Rick Holroyd
Many sports fixtures were postponed due to the recent bad weather.
Murder Mystery
Evening
Saturday 2nd March 2013,
7pm
Langtree School Main Hall
£20 per head, including
buffet supper & play
1920s dress optional but
highly encouraged!
Join us for our most adven-turous fundraiser to date and help solve The Mystery of the
Missing Vanilla Pods!
It is 1920 and a serial killer is on the
loose, with a grudge against Huntley&
Palmers biscuit factory. Chief Inspector
Robert Fabian has received messages
from the ‘GINGERNUT’, naming his next
victim. Despite everything, the Palmer
family are carrying on as best they can.
Join the wedding reception of Eric Palm-
er and Agnes Winser and see the tragic
events unfold. Form your own detective
agency and try to catch the killer!
With a huge cast of characters to keep
you guessing, GenX Theatre Company
are proud to present their latest murder
mystery. Zoe Beeusaert, cover supervisor
at Langtree, takes the role of the blush-
ing bride, but will she survive the even-
ing?
All profits from the evening will go to-
wards supporting school projects. To
book a table or find out more about the
evening, contact Jacqui Gray on 01491
875984 or via e-mail at gray-
Langtree School PTA
Follow us on Twitter @ Head4094
Writing
Competition
Open Morning for School Governors
On Thursday 24th January, we held an open morning for school gover-
nors. They attended our Teaching & Learning staff briefing, toured the
school with student guides and visited a number of lessons before break-
time. Governors said the morning was very useful and a very positive
experience. Most importantly they spent time with a pupil panel hearing
first hand the issues and experiences raised by the students
with regard to life at Langtree. These points have been fed
back to senior staff as part of our ongoing self evaluation.
Jane Stephens
Headteacher’s PA
Congratulations to more than 60 of our students who partici-
pated in the whole school production of Jesus Christ Superstar
in December 2012. We are immensely proud of these students
whose talent, dedication and enthusiasm combined together
to create some truly memorable theatre. To relive the experi-
ence or see what you missed, have a look through the photo
gallery on our website.
Thank you to all of you who supported us by attending the
performances and providing the inevitable taxi services re-
quired for all of the additional rehearsals! Interested in getting
involved in productions at Langtree?
Come and see Mrs Pimm or Mrs Idowu or email us at
[email protected] or [email protected]
Mrs G Pimm, Head of Drama
The cast of Jesus Christ Superstar
Main/supporting cast
Christian Gittings, Philip Hunt, Bethany Sayers, Thomas Axson, Grace Ullah, Michael
Canning, Phoebe Bennett, Will Redding
Apostles
Ada Nwande, Lydia Bark, Maisie McDonald, Megan Warwick, Sebastian Avery, Bea
Bartlett-Ellis, Ethan Bartle, Isaac Gordon-Potts, Maisy Bowen
Dancers
Madie Bennett, Alice Werrell, Grace Werrell, Lucy Hallet-Jones, Hannah McDonald,
Tabitha Steel, Charlotte McBride, Rebecca Corbett, Ellie Harding, Isobel Gunderson,
Ellie Peters, Rose Rushbrooke.
Lepers, Mob, Soldiers
Conrad Heath, Amy Collyer, Imogen Freedman, Eilish Murphy, Nicholas Sims, Holly
Balchin, Connor Parish, Ruth Buckley, Helen Moody, Rosie Toolin, Toby Pitt, Ross
Mitchell, Leilah Whitehead, Megan Lowe, Theo Patrick
Music Director: Maureen Idowu,
Stage Director: Gill Pimm,
Choreography: Deirdre Bryson
Musicians
Guitar: Alistair Jenkins, William Hathaway, Bass: Will Goss, Percussion: Alex Good-
year, Woodwind: Rachael Lyons, Jessica Rainsden, Ben Gordon-Potts, Nina Webb.
Brass: Ian Barlow.
Backstage crew
Melissa Butler, Dan Rumble, Ian Brakspear
Costumes
Katie Pickthall and parents of the cast
Sound/Lighting
Alex Davis, Erik Haxhilari, Jamie Shears
Programme Design
Tom Axson
And with thanks to Miss Pickthall, Langtree staff for front of house and backstage
support.
I am running an in school version of the 500 words writing
competition that Chris Evans is running nationally on Radio 2.
The Competition is open to all KS3 students. All winners will be
published on the school website and the overall winner will be
published in the school newsletter. The deadline is Friday 22nd
February. Writing workshops take place Tuesday lunchtime in
English room 32 to help students prepare. There's also lots of
ideas and help on the radio 2 website.
Students should submit their entry by e-mail to
[email protected] by Friday 22nd February.
Mrs Holroyd, Head of English
Music Notice GCSE Performance Evening: The GCSE music students in Years 10 and
11 will be performing in their annual concert as part of their GCSE exam
on Tuesday 12th March . Do come along to see some special musical
talent. Tickets for this will be available after the February holiday break.
Mrs Idowu
Head of Music
Jesus Christ Superstar Production
Jesus Christ Superstar DVD: Copies of the Jesus Christ Superstar production will be available to purchase, price £3.00,
from 11th February. Order forms will be circulated to students who wish to buy a copy. Please return these to reception
in a sealed envelope, or alternatively pay on-line.
Please check the website for letters home
On Creativity day some of the Year 8’s had the opportunity to go to
London on an amazing trip! We visited the Science museum and even
watched a performance at the Palace Theatre in London which was
great! When we arrived in London, we first went to the museum where
we had a look around the huge building and explored the very inter-
esting exhibitions about the history and developments in science. There
were five different floors and everyone really enjoyed it; one girl said ‘it
was very interesting and there was a lot to see.’
After we had our picnic lunch we set off once more in the coach to see
‘Singing in the Rain’ at the theatre; some students were even lucky
enough to go on a special backstage tour beforehand to meet the
performers and see how the special effects, such as the rain falling on
the stage, worked. The building was beautiful, old and very elegant
with a lot of detailed patterning on the ceiling. The performance was
very good with lots of singing and tap dancing especially towards the
end when rain fell down from the ceiling and all the umbrellas came
out. The music too was excellent with really good singers.
The teachers were congratulated by members of the audience that we
were well behaved and with no problems the trip was a huge success;
it was extremely enjoyable and everybody had a good time.
By Katie Cole 8NM
Creativity Day
During Creativity Day, students in Year 11 enjoyed an opportunity
to attend a mock interview in preparation for their future. They
arrived at school suited and booted!
We were very fortunate to have a wealth of professional people in
school to conduct these interviews including personnel from edu-
cation, lecturers, retired teachers, retail, a CEO from a local Police
Rehabitation Centre, a Landscape gardener, an actress, representa-
tives from Accountancy and publishing companies, Southern Elec-
tric, an estate agent, a sports events coordinator and army person-
nel.
One of our visiting interviewers said :
“The four students that I interviewed were a credit to the
school and even more importantly to themselves.
The staff at Langtree School should be so pleased with the
quality of students they are responsible for producing: may
it continue so”
Ian Blower, Work Experience Co-ordinator
A delightful poem below, the task was to create a stanza poem
and each stanza had to personify January and present two differ-
ent images of the month.
JANUARY by Tabitha Steel, 7RB
A broad, young lady,
Venturing down the snow-dusted streets alone,
Wrapped up in only a shawl, with no one to hold,
Bare legs and high heels, tottering down the icy path,
And looking up at the snow under the street lights,
Returning from a New Year’s party,
With frozen tears clinging to her face,
And miserable feelings fill her mind while all alone.
A middle-aged woman wrapped up in a blanket, on the sofa, with
her arm around her little girl,
Searching through all the new programmes,
Holding a warm cup of hot chocolate and,
Enjoying the left over Christmas treats,
Whilst she watches the snow gather upon the window panes.
Mrs Holroyd, Head of English
Year 11 Mock interviews
On Tuesday 5th February our Year 7’s competed in the first round
of our Sports Hall Athletics competitions. After two hours of in-
tense competition and great team support. 7HW finished with 84
points winning the Langtree round of events. They will now go
on to represent Langtree in the South Oxfordshire round after
half-term. Well done to all the teams who competed with great
enthusiasm and effort. Finishing positions: 1st 7HW, 2nd 7CF,
3rd 7TD, 4th 7RB I would also like to give a special mention to
our Year 10 Sports Leaders who helped to officiate the event with
great professionalism and efficiency. They also helped run our
Primary School Y3/4 Football event the previous week and did a
fantastic job. They are a great credit to Langtree School.
Tina Blower, School Sports Co-ordinator
Year 7 Inter-tutor Sports Athletics
TERM 4 DATES Mon 18 Feb Start of Term 4 for all students Tues 19 Feb 7-8.30pm Gifted & Talented Lecture, Hall Mon 25-Thurs 28 KS3 Art Exhibition, Hall Tues 26 Feb Y9/10 TDP Immunisations Wed 27 Feb 7.45pm Drama Club performance, main hall Thurs 28 Feb pm: Maths 1 Exam Sat 2 Mar Murder Mystery PTA Event, 7pm main hall Fri 1 Mar 9-1pm Y7 Athletics final in Sports Hall Fri 1 Mar Y11 Composition 2 deadline Fri 1 Mar Y9 Reports to Parents Sat 2 Mar 7pm Murder Mystery Fundraising event Mon 4 Mar am: Maths 2 Exam Tues 5 Mar P3&4 PSHE Wed 6 Mar am: Maths 3 Exam Thurs 7 Mar Y9 Options Evening Mon 11-15 Mar Year 10 mock examinations all week Mon 18 Mar Y10 Yenworthy week Tues 19 Mar Creativity Day 3 Wed 20-22 Mar Year 9 CAT tests Thurs 21 Mar Year 11 Targeted consultation
Mon 25 Mar Y10 GCSE Art & Design coursework deadline
Mon 25 Mar Art Exhibition opens and will remain open through
Easter holiday
Wed 27 Mar 1-4pm Y7/8 Girls football
End of Term 4 for students
Thurs 28 Mar Staff inset day
Term dates for 2013-14 will be published on the school website
at the start of next term.
The Langtree School Academy Trust Company, a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales, company registration number 07980335. Registered Office: Langtree School, Woodcote, Reading, Berkshire, RG8 ORA.
STEM gifted and talented workshop STEM is a strategy to promote learning in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics
On Thursday 24th January 2013, 17 students were given the
opportunity to be involved in an ox heart dissection. All man-
aged to stay conscious. Only a few were a little over whelmed.
The afterschool workshop was from 3:35 to 4:45 which included
the investigation of how the heart works. Then we labelled the
parts of the heart to show our understanding of what we had
discovered. The majority said that it was interesting to look at a
real heart rather than a diagram of a heart. The atmosphere in
the room was tinged with curiosity and a little anxiety. We want
to say a big thank you to Mrs Hobbs and Mr Murray for organis-
ing the event and we look forward to the creation of the heart
on 21st February.
Languages at work day
On Thursday 10th January, ten Year 9 Langtree students had
the opportunity to attend a Languages at Work day at The
University of Reading. The day included talks and workshops
by the Goethe Institut, European Commission and BBC Moni-
toring. Not only that, but the students had the chance to learn
a bit of a language that isn’t usually offered in secondary
schools. We learnt Arabic which was really interesting. Universi-
ty students worked with us so we were also able to find out
about studying a language later on and about university life.
Throughout the day, we learnt how learning a language can
open doors to many exciting careers and the importance of
having a language. Thank you to Miss Williams for taking us
and to our driver, Mrs Parker for helping to make it a great day.
Marie-Amber
Smith, Y9
Please pay on line for trips & visits
rather than by cash or cheque. If you do not have your unique pupil code please call Sue Tamnee on 01491 683392 or email her in the finance office at [email protected]
Set design visit On Thursday 24th January Bruce Gordon who is a sculptor who works in the UK
film industry came into Langtree to show us his work. Bruce came in to the
Design and Technology room and spoke to the Graphic Products and Art GCSE
group. He started off by talking about his education and how he got into the
job he does today. He has done many films and TV series. His longest working
project was Thomas the Tank engine. The average time spent on a project is
about 4-5 months. He has worked on recent films such as Thor2, Dark Shadows
and Clash of the Titans. It was extremely interesting he brought in 2 or 3 book-
lets from a couple of the films he has done. Now he creates bronze sculptures
as well as films.
By James Jefferis, Y10
This is a comparison between prototype and the real Trojan horse from the film Troy.
GCSE English Literature Students’
Theatre Visit On Thursday 31st January, 27 year 11 students went on an
evening theatre trip to the Corn Exchange Newbury. The show
was an unusual piece; a one man performance of the story
played by actor/storyteller, Guy Masterton. Simply, through
voice and movement, Masterton was able to retell Orwell’s
famous story of the pigs that take over Manor farm and make
it “Animal Farm”. Written as an allegory about the events of the
Russian revolution, Masterton cleverly updated many refer-
ences of political power to link with current issues such as the
economic crisis and the need for austerity. For the students,
the show provided an introduction to the novel; they will com-
mence study of the book in the next few weeks, ready for their
English Literature exam in May. An enjoyable and educational
evening for all involved.
Mrs J Holroyd, Head of English
Marie Smith, Year 9