Friday 10 May 2024
#AHSWalksTall
Headmistress' Introduction
This week we wish our uniquely talented Year 13s well as they go on study leave. Please remind them, as with Year 11s, that we stand beside them; if they need us they need only reach out. Also that these upcoming public exams, whilst important, do not represent who they are, these exams are a mere fraction of the lives of the amazing young people that we have been so proud to support through these formative years. Get outside Year 13, see friends and family, remember - all in balance!
We hosted the return visit of the Swedish Exchange after they so graciously welcomed us in Gränna in April; you can see more about their visit below.
On Tuesday afternoon, we were delighted to welcome retired NASA astronaut, Michael Foale CBE, into School to talk to our Year 9 & Year 12 Physicists - more detail below. Y10 participated in Active Tutoring, and some of our students had D of E First Aid Training in readiness for their Bronze Award expedition this weekend; we wish them all well on what promises to be a very warm weekend.
House Drama on Tuesday was fantastic! Congratulations to all who took part and thank you to the students, staff and parents/carers for your participation and support. Claydon emerged the worthy winners after a very close run evening of excellent performances.
This year's public exams started in earnest yesterday and we had our Year 8 Consultation Evening.
Finally, we are sad to be saying goodbye to Mrs Tracy Dalby who is leaving the school today. Mrs Dalby has worked at AHS for almost 13 years, first of all in the Library and then for the past six years as our Sixth Form Pastoral Support Assistant, in which role many parents/carers will have had frequent contact with her. Mrs Dalby has managed superbly all the complex organisational demands of the Sixth Form and has been a friendly and supportive presence for the students. We will all miss her and send her our very best wishes, as she pursues her love of gardening.
From Monday 13 May we welcome Mrs Stacy Kaley who will be moving from Reception to join the Sixth Form as Pastoral Support Assistant. Please contact Mrs Kaley (skaley@ahs.bucks.sch.uk) about absences and attendance in the same way that you would have contacted Mrs Dalby.
Sport this week
Rounders
This week, we played a lot of rounders!
Year 7 results:
AHS 1.5 - 3 Royal Latin School
AHS 2.5 - 4 Waddesdon
Year 8 results:
AHS 4.5 - 7.5 John Colet
AHS 1.5 - 5 Waddesdon
AHS 1.5 - 3 Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School
Year 9/10 results:
AHS 8 - 9.5 Royal Latin School
Athletics
English Schools Athletics Association Track and Field Cup 8th May at Stantonbury, County Round.
We took 2 teams (Juniors: 7&8s and Inters: 9&10s). Each student must compete in two events to try and score the team as many points from their performance as possible. Both the Juniors and the Inters came 2nd overall which is a fantastic result - well done to everyone who attended! We are yet to see if we qualify for the next round.
Arts Award Bronze
80 students in Year 8 have been taking part in the Arts Award Bronze programme since September. They have been developing their creative passions both in school and in their free time. Mary in 8W chose to develop 3 skills linked to cake decorating. You can see her stunning final piece on display in the reception area. We are looking forward to a visit from Year 4 at Bedgrove Junior School in July, where our students will have to lead a session, teaching their skills to our visitors!
Congratulations!
Huge congratulations to Charlee in 9H who is through to the grand final of the ESU 'Performing Shakespeare' Competition. Over 4,000 students took part nationwide with only 12 being selected for the final in June. Charlee will perform her speech on the stage at The Globe Theatre, combining public speaking and oracy skills in her introduction, with her theatrical skills for the extract from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'
Visiting Astronaut
On Tuesday afternoon, retired NASA astronaut, Michael Foale CBE, regaled Year 9 and the Year 12 physicists with anecdotes and videos from his 6 missions to both Mir and the International Space Station. He explained how taking off in a rocket is so much smoother than a space shuttle and even made time to practice his, what sounded like fluent, Russian with one of our bilingual Year 9s.
The STEM talks continue after school on Wednesday 22nd May with planetary scientist, Dr Suzy Imber from Leicester University.
Swedish Exchange
This week, we hosted the return visit of the Swedish Exchange after they so graciously welcomed us in Gränna in April.
We took the group on excursions to Oxford and Harry Potter Studios, and hosted a Family Day on the Bank Holiday. On the 'Family Day', each host family picks an activity to show their exchange student an aspect of English life - activities this year included days out to Waddesdon Manor, Silverstone and the London Dungeons!
The Swedish students visited lessons on Tuesday, which allowed us to discuss the (many!) differences between the Swedish and English education systems.
On Wednesday, the Swedish group explored Aylesbury Town whilst doing a quiz to learn about its history and attractions, and we rounded off the trip with a 'pub' quiz all together back at school.
It was sad to say goodbye on Wednesday afternoon, but I am very happy that our Year 9s, 10s and 12s had the chance to create lasting friendships and valuable international connections.
Textiles 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 Textiles and we have a catch up with Ellie Taylor, the Head of Textiles. Please also take this opportunity to look at the subject content summary for Textiles which can be found on our website.
Can you give us an overview of the Textiles curriculum at AHS?
The curriculum has been designed to enable students to develop a range of practical skills each year. We aim to challenge the students at KS3 and KS4 and build up their confidence on pieces of equipment that, for some, are new to them.
At Key Stage 3, students learn to use a range of equipment, including the sewing machines, irons, heat press and sublimation printer. Students learn a variety of decorative and construction skills across the 3 projects: holiday postcards in Year 7; cushion covers in Year 8 and a wall hanging in Year 9.
At Key Stage 4, students are able to build on the skills learnt during KS3, in order to be creative and independent with their project. Students are encouraged to research textiles artists and explore their style and techniques, in order to create imaginative pieces of work. Students need to use a variety of decorative techniques, such as applique, reverse applique, felting, free machine embroidery and hand embroidery in order to develop risk taking and creative outcomes.
Why do you think this curriculum suits students at AHS?
The curriculum provides challenges to all students, at both KS3 and KS4, teaching them a range of transferable life skills. Students are encouraged to develop practical skills, to problem solve, design and to be critical thinkers, analysing textiles artists' work, offering their own opinions and evaluating their findings.
What are the recent developments in your curriculum and how have you decided on any changes you have made?
The curriculum is always evolving and in recent years we have introduced skills that are transferable between Art and Textiles, such as mono-printing in Year 8 and collage in Year 7. We have also added more research tasks into KS3 schemes of work in order to prepare students for GCSE.
In Year 10, we have written an introduction project to the course to enable students to stretch their skill base and also find out which aspects of the curriculum interests them the most in preparation for their Non-Exam Assessment work.
How are students assessed in Textiles?
Students are assessed in a variety of ways, through written feedback, verbal feedback, either as a class or in one to one tutorials. As part of the written feedback, students are assessed in four key areas; research - where they look into fashion designers/ textiles artists; the way they use materials and techniques; their recording skills and the final outcome.
How does the Textiles curriculum prepare our students for life beyond AHS?
Studying Textiles enables students to develop a range of practical life skills. We encourage all students to use a range of equipment in the making of their project, as learning through ‘doing’ is the best way to build confidence and skills. As part of the curriculum over the years, students have had workshops from visiting textile artists, to enable them to develop new skills and also enable them to understand a range of career pathways using Textiles.
What are the features of the Textiles curriculum that you are most proud of?
I love the practical nature of Textiles, all students learn to use a sewing machine and these skills can be used beyond the classroom. I am also proud of all the amazing outcomes that both KS3 and KS4 students produce, they are highly creative and they work incredibly hard on these pieces.
How can parents help their daughter with Textiles work?
Keep encouraging them to work on their final outcomes at home and look at their creative work. If students are to pick GCSE Textiles it can be helpful to have a sewing machine at home - not vital as students are able to come to lunch clubs but many students do find this a useful piece of equipment to have. It enables them to build further confidence and practise their skills.
What co-curricular opportunities does the Textiles department offer?
The textiles room is open during lunch time. KS3 on a Wednesday and KS4 on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Over the years we have also had visiting textiles artist workshops to develop practical skills.
What are you reading at the moment?
I am reading Danny The Champion of The World to my 6 year old daughter each night.
What do our students say about studying Textiles at AHS?
Textiles Video (1).mp4
Art and Textiles Summer Show
We would like to congratulate all our GCSE and A Level students on completing their work and will be celebrating in our annual Summer Show on Tuesday 11 June from 16.00 - 18.00 in the art rooms. We would love you to attend and encourage any current Year 9 and 10 students to come along to see the GCSE artwork and Year 12 to come along to see the work that the Year 13s have completed.
Suzie Hartwell and Ellie Taylor
Art
We are really excited by the work our Year 9 art students are producing in our new project 'Taking a Leap'. Students have been responding to the artist Kandinsky by developing artwork to music. They have created expressive marks developing their understanding of the formal elements. More recently, they have used these pieces to create imaginative collage pieces in response to the artist Beatriz Milhazes, a Brazilian artist who uses bright colours and pattern in her art. The student responses are really exciting, well done Year 9.
Mobile Phones
Mr Pitchers recently gave an assembly to encourage our students to consider the dangers of mobile phone addiction. In a recent survey, 26% of AHS students said that using their phone had stopped them getting to sleep at night, which is something that we're obviously concerned about. Mrs Queralt would like to invite parents and carers into School to discuss the issues surrounding mobile phone use both in and out of school. Please fill in this short form to let us know if you can attend on 23 May from 5-6 pm and to let us know anything in particular that you would like to discuss.
Smartphone Addiction-4.webmSupporting Children with SEND - New Recorded Webinars
We were sent details of these new webinars during the week and thought that they may be of interest to some of our parents and carer.
Mental Health Week Challenge
Vacancies
Teacher of Maths (maternity cover)
Closing date: 17 May
Teacher of Product Design & Engineering
Closing date: 10 May
Interviews: W/c 13 May
Closing date: 17 May
Interviews: W/C 20 May
Closing date: 17 May
Interviews: W/C 20 May
Closing date: Monday 13th May
Wishing all well for a lovely long weekend and thank you, as ever, for your support.
Marieke Forster
The AHS School Fund
The AHS Fund helps us to enrich the curriculum and develop the school's facilities to ensure that every student is able to fulfil their potential, wherever their strengths lie. Support from our Parents, our Alumnae and our wider community allows us to provide the outstanding education you expect and the students deserve.
