Friday 26 April 2024

Headmistress' Introduction

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope this letter finds you well.

On Tuesday, our Y10 Sports Leaders ran a Multi-skills festival, involving 90 students from local primary schools.  It was an 8 station multi-sport event, working on their fundamental movements.  One of the schools involved very kindly sent some feedback which said, "Thanks again for such a wonderful and well organised festival.  All the children have said how great it was and they were really tired this afternoon which is a good sign! Also, lots of staff told me how fantastic it was...the best we have been to in years".  Congratulations Y10 Sports Leaders!  

On Wednesday, Year 12 Geographers visited Amersham Field Studies Centre to investigate Water and Carbon Cycles.  Students spent the day learning a range of fieldwork techniques to measure how much carbon is stored in a woodland and various ways to measure soil water in preparation for their A level independent studies. 

Yesterday was our 9th Open Morning/Evening (inc Sixth Form) of the year.   It was delightful to welcome Year 4 and 5s and their families to the School.   Can I also gently remind all our existing families that you are super welcome to also use these events to have a tour of the working School, we want our community to feel welcome!

External assessments are continuing, this week A Level PE and Dance and Language orals.   Well done students, and again, make sure you have time for friends, family and getting outside at the weekend.

If any Year 11s would like to donate their study guides, then please give them to Mrs Burt after the exams or on the Sixth Form Induction Day. In addition, if any Year 11 students would like to donate their PE kit, then please can you give it to Miss Nicol in the PE office.  Any donations would be very gratefully received.  Thank you.

We have been asked to take part in the Good Schools Guide and so this week hosted a visit.   Our huge thanks to all students who showcased our outstanding School, and staff too. We will share the final report with you all.

Year 13 Last Day Arrangements - Wednesday 8 May

Year 13 will be in normal lessons for periods 1-3 on their final day. There will be an early lunch in the Sixth Form Study Centre and a celebratory final assembly at 2pm. The (optional) fancy dress theme for the day is Movies, TV Shows and cartoon characters. The inflatable obstacle course will be available from 09.05 (to students not in lessons) and the Ice Cream van from 12.30. Students in other years are welcome to use the van after school. 

Year 13 Graduation Event - Thursday 2 May

In addition, the Cabinet has worked exceptionally hard to put together a small graduation style ceremony on Thursday 2 May immediately after school. There will be a review of their year and time here from Dr Falls and Mrs Forster and the presentation of a small token for each student. This event is open to all Year 13 students and one parent or carer. Thank you to those of you who have signed up already; if you haven't and you'd like to, please do so here.  (We will make further places available if possible, for those families where more than one parent/carer would like to attend, but are currently limited by our legal capacity of 400 in our Main Hall). Thank you to the Cabinet for driving this! 

House Chess

Congratulations to all involved in the House Chess matches this week.  20 students took part and the winning House was Missenden!

2nd place: Ascott

3rd place: Hughenden

4th place: Stowe

5th place: Waddesdon

6th place: Claydon

Special mention to Divya 10M, Sarani 8M, Kitika 9A, Areesh 10S, Gaby 8W, Ling 10A and Rithika 8H.

Business and Economics at AHS

We are continuing our interviews with Heads of Department to help parents get a flavour of our different subject areas.  Today the focus is on Business and Economics and we have a catch up with Pedr Morris, the Head of Business and Economics.  Please also take this opportunity to look at the subject content summary for Business and Economics which can be found on our website.

Can you give us an overview of the Business and Economics curriculum at AHS?

Both subjects are options at GCSE and A level. Both are popular subjects and appeal to students because of their real world relevance and links to a range of career choices and skills.

Why do you think this curriculum suits students at AHS?

We follow the AQA specifications for all our courses. The curriculum is designed so that the courses progress neatly from GCSE to A level. We also get a number of students who join at A level as a new subject. The A level course allows both new and students with prior knowledge to thrive and build their analytical and evaluative skills.

What are the recent developments in your curriculum and how have you decided on any changes you have made?

Fortunately, we are never short of news stories from the dynamic business environment to include in our lessons. Both Business and Economics have specific content that is assessed in the exams, but to bring it to life, we will use news stories, case studies and data based on what is going on in the world.  

How are students assessed in Business and Economics?

All our courses are assessed through exams at the end of the course. There is no coursework element.

How does the Business and Economics curriculum prepare our students for life beyond AHS?

Business complements a variety of career choices as your interests and skill sets will be needed in any role you take in a business or organisation. Human Resources will help students through the recruitment process and build their skills as future managers or entrepreneurs. A grounding in finance is an essential life skill, as well as the importance of thriving in a competitive environment.

Economics helps explain how the world works, building critical thinking skills and reflecting on how markets, the country and the world can work better. Whether it is realising how incentives can work, rational behaviour or correcting market failure in Microeconomics; or the wider state of the Economy and the Macroeconomic impacts households and businesses, an economist can look at the world differently and apply these skills in any walk of life.

What are the features of the Business and Economics curriculum that you are most proud of?

The real world relevance of the subjects alongside the skills it can develop in our students. These will include interpreting complex data, argument and debate or evaluating the right course of action.

How can parents help their daughter with Business and Economics work?

We would advocate following the news and taking an interest in current affairs, as well as casual conversations and debate about what works well in the world. All our resources are shared with students via the department Google sites, where there are a range of revision activities alongside the exam papers and lesson resources.

What co-curricular opportunities does the Business and Economics department offer?

We run subject clinics to support students as we approach exam periods. Outside the classroom, we offer opportunities to students with competitions from the ICAEW and the student investor share dealing challenge. We have had guest speakers from the Bank of England, as well as business owners and entrepreneurs come into school and provide insight about their experiences and the relevance of the subjects. We recently visited Oxford University’s Creative Destruction Lab with Year 12 students to observe their sustainable entrepreneurship mentoring programme.  In September, Year 10 students carried out a research project in Aylesbury town centre to investigate business ownerships and how businesses operate in the real world.

What are you reading at the moment?

Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett and Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

What do our students say about studying Business and Economics at AHS?

Parent parking, drop off and pick up on and around the School site

Please can we impress upon parents the need for considerate, safe, and socially responsible accessing of the School site and dropping off/picking up students in the area around the School.  As a reminder:

1. The School entrance and car park must not be used by parents to drop off or collect students, unless you have permission to do so. This is for the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff as it is such a tight space.

2. If dropping off and collecting students at the start or end of the school day, parents must abide by the law of the highway and not park or wait on double yellow lines. The Highway Code is specific and our relationship with local residents is very important to the continued success of the School. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/waiting-and-parking-238-to-252).  

3. The School has received a number of complaints from residents in Landon Court, directly across from our main entrance, about our parents blocking their entrance or using their carpark.  Their entrance is in constant use, often by emergency services as this a sheltered housing scheme, providing accommodation for elderly, disabled and other vulnerable people. 

4. The Police have also asked to ask parents not use the Wynne Jones Centre as a waiting area to drop off or pick up students at the start or end of the day. The area is in constant use by industrial and commercial users. The parking spaces are allocated to specific businesses that operate in the area, including the Probation Service. 

Whilst we appreciate and sympathise that parking and spaces are limited in and around a town centre, we are fielding a number of complaints from the local community, and so thank you in advance for your help.  

Vacancies

Part - time Dance Teacher with core PE

Caretaker

Cover Supervisor

Teacher of Mathematics (Maternity Cover)

Wishing all well for a lovely weekend and thank you, as ever, for your support.

Marieke Forster